macOS features are currently in closed alpha. Customers that are interested in participating in the macOS alpha program can sign up here. Remote Desktop for macOS is available to all macOS alpha program participants.
Overview
PDQ Connect offers Remote Desktop functionality, accessible via the Device Details page, which allows you to connect and offer fully unattended remote desktop functionality or remote assistance. This article covers installing and running Remote Desktop on macOS client devices.
Install remote desktop agent
On the left navigation bar, click Devices, and then click the name of the device you would like to connect to remotely.
On the device details page, click Remote desktop.
If this is your first time connecting to this device, note the status at the bottom of the tab, which indicates Remote desktop agent not installed. Click the button labeled Install remote desktop agent to begin the installation.
A circular progress indicator will appear, along with the notice Installing agent:
When the installation process is complete, a message will appear indicating Agent installed successfully.
Note that the status at the bottom of the window will also indicate that the agent is installed.
The remote desktop agent makes use of a third-party provider with additional connectivity requirements - see Network Requirements for details.
Download and install local viewer application
If you are connecting from a computer running macOS, see: Install Remote Desktop local viewer app on macOS.
If you are connecting from a Windows computer, see the Download and install local view application section of this article.
Configuring permissions on macOS client
Due to differences in Apple's security model, the Remote Desktop setup experience is slightly different on macOS than it is on Windows. End-users will need to manually grant the Remote Desktop application access to specific macOS system services.
To remotely access macOS devices you need to enable TCC (Transparency, Consent, and Control) for the PDQ Remote Desktop application (ISLAlwaysOn.app) on macOS. On the initial install, the client device user will be required to enable macOS permissions for the application.
After starting the first session, when prompted, click “Open System Settings”.
Under System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility, toggle "ISLAlwaysOn" to "On". This enables remote control capabilities.
Under System Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access, toggle "ISLAlwaysOn" to "On". This enables file transfer capabilities.
Under System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen & System Audio Recording, toggle "ISLAlwaysOn" to "On". This enables remote screen viewing capabilities.
Note: These setting names/paths may be slightly different on older versions of macOS.
Note: For a more automated setup, use an MDM service such as SimpleMDM to configure these permissions using a Privacy Preferences configuration profile. For instructions on building the configuration profile with an MDM service, see this guide.
Starting a remote session on macOS devices
To start a remote session on a macOS target device, click "Start Remote Session".
The PDQ RD Viewer window should appear on the viewing device:
When "Notify logged-in user that remote session is starting" is checked, on the target device, the user should see a prompt:
When the user accepts this prompt, the viewing device should now be connected to the client device.
Additional Prompts
Depending on the macOS version running on the client device, the user may see various additional prompts to allow the service to run, or to continue running in the background. These prompts can be accepted. Some examples are shown below:
