Deep in the macOS system preferences, there are options that let you share files and folders on your Mac with other computers on your network. If you need and use file sharing, you know it well and may be wondering how you would survive without it. If you don’t use it, you may not even know it exists. However, sharing files directly between computers on a network can be very useful, even though almost everything seems to sync with the cloud these days. However, sometimes file sharing goes wrong and doesn’t work. What to do when that happens?

What to do when Mac file sharing doesn’t work

There are many reasons why file sharing might not work. We list a few scenarios below, along with possible fixes.

1. The shared folder or server does not appear in Finder

If the server or Mac you want to connect to appears in the sidebar of the Finder window, but it does not, do the following:

  1. Open the finder.
  2. Select the Finder menu, and then select Preferences.
  3. Select the sidebar.
  4. Make sure Bonjour’s computer and connected server are selected.
  5. If you want to see the servers you are connected to on your desktop, click General and select Connected Servers

2. The shared computer cannot be logged in

You need to talk to the administrator and ask them to check that you have access to the computer and the files and folders that you want to access. If you are an administrator, perform the following operations.

  1. Launch system preferences and select the Sharing panel.
  2. Make sure file sharing is selected.
  3. Make sure the folder you want to access is in the list of shared folders. If not, press “+” and add it.
  4. Is your user name in the user list? If not, press “+” and add it, then enter your password.

3. You are denied access to the folder

As we explained above, file sharing on the Mac is built on Unix, which uses a permission system. If you can’t access the files or folders you need, there may be a permission issue. Files in a shared folder do not automatically inherit the same permissions as the folder. To apply the permissions granted to a folder to all files in it, right-click the folder in System Preferences > Share and select Apply Permissions to Closed Projects.

To set permissions for a shared folder, select it in the Shared Folder panel in the Sharing panel of System Preferences, then click your user name in the right panel and click the arrow to select permissions.

If you are trying to connect from a Windows PC, click Options in the Share main window, check the account name that contains the file or folder you want to share, and then press Finish.

File sharing on macs is a handy tool if there are multiple Macs or Macs and PCS on the network. Most of the time, once set up, it works. However, sometimes it goes wrong and you either can’t connect to your Mac on the network or can’t access the folder you need. If this happens to you, follow the steps above and file sharing will be back to normal soon.