The Ultimate Guide to Enabling Bonjour on Mac OS X

Bonjour is Apple’s implementation of Zeroconf that allows Macs, Windows PCs, Linux machines, iOS devices, and others to discover each other on a network without requiring any configuration. For example if you print to a Bonjour-enabled printer while sitting in Starbucks with your MacBook Pro, chances are good that the iPad 2 you’re sipping a latte with will show up ready for you to print to it wirelessly. Bonjour is also part of Apple’s Back to My Mac service, so if you have more than one Mac, they can all see each other and transfer files over the Internet without requiring any configuration at all on your router.

How to Enable Bonjour on Mac

Step 1: Open your Network Preferences

Go to System Preferences. Click the icon resembling a castle (or possibly a mountain-like structure). If you are running OS 10.7 or later, click on the Sharing panel.

If you are running OS 10.6 or earlier, open up Internet Connect, which is located in Applications > Utilities.

Step 2: Enable File Sharing (10.7 and above)

If you are running OS 10.7 or later, skip this step because it is enabled by default. File sharing should already be on. If not, click the checkbox that says File Sharing to enable it.

Step 3: Enable Bonjour (10.7 and above)

If you are running OS 10.7 or later, skip this step because it is enabled by default. Bonjour should already be on, but if not click the checkbox that says Bonjour to enable it.

Step 4: Add Your User to the File Sharing List (10.6 and below)

If you are running OS 10.6 or earlier, click on the Users & Groups panel in System Preferences. Click the plus sign below the list of users to add a new user.

Click on the new user to select him/her.

Check the box next to Allow User to log in from Windows if this user is on your local network, or check the box Allow User to log in remotely if you want them to be able to connect across a VPN or from another computer outside of your local network.

If you are using this for Back to My Mac, click on the checkbox that says Allow user to log in using Apple Remote Desktop.

Step 5: Disable Guest User (10.7 and above)

The guest account in Mac OS is disabled by default. In this step, you will find out how to re-enable it if desired.

Step 6: Enable Guest User (10.6 and below)

If you are running 10.6 or earlier, click on the Accounts panel. Click the Guest User account to select it and check off Allow guests to connect to shared folders.

Step 7: Save Changes

Click on the lock in the bottom left-hand corner and type in your admin password when prompted. Click on Apply. Your changes will be saved.

You can now access other computers on your local network from Finder by clicking on Go > Connect to Server or pressing command+K.

You can now access other computers on your local network from Finder by clicking on Go > Connect to Server or pressing command+K.

If you have problems accessing shared folders, try going back into System Preferences and checking that File Sharing is still enabled for the user you set up in Step 4 . If it’s not, check it back on. If it still is not enabled, check that your firewall is not preventing you from accessing File Sharing.

If this does not work, please refer to Apple’s article on connecting to shared folders in Mac OS 10.6 or earlier  or the article on Connecting to shared folders when using Guest access in Mac OS 10.7 .

Once you have successfully connected to a shared folder on another computer, your Mac will remember it. In the future you will be able to connect to it again by double clicking on the shared folder from Connect to Server and entering your password if prompted.

Conclusion

Having Bonjour enabled lets you connect to other Macs on your local network without having to know their IP addresses, making file sharing easier.

To check that Bonjour is running, just open the Activity Monitor (located in Applications > Utilities) and look for mdnsresponder. If it’s there, then Bonjour is working just fine.

If you have any questions or comments about this article, please post them below.