IPhone – How to remotely control the iPhone from the MacBook with no wifi or AC power available (so no router)

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I'm connecting my MacBook successfully over my home wifi network via VNC (using Mac OS X's /System/Library/CoreServices/Screen Sharing.app) to my jailbroken iPhone 5, which is running Veency.

Now, in preparation for needing to control my iPhone remotely from my Mac when there is no wifi or AC power available (so a wireless router is impossible), I'm trying to use VNC over a direct wireless connection between my Mac and iPhone. I've created the network on the Mac and connected it to it from the iPhone. Problem is, I need the iPhone's IP address so that I can connect to it via VNC.

How can I use VNC to control my iPhone from my Mac when there is no wifi or AC power available? If I can't do it over a wireless direct connection, is there some way to do it over a USB cable connected between the MacBook & the iPhone?

Best Answer

Summary of solution

  • "Create Network..." on MacBook to create a "computer-to-computer" network (via a right-click on the wifi icon in the main menu).
  • Go to wifi settings on iPhone & join network created.
  • Either wait for IP address to show up on iPhone's network details page or statically assign one in the range 169.254.x.y, as long as it's not the same as the other computer's IP address.
  • Go to Finder (or Path Finder), click Main Menu\Go\Connect to Server... (or just type ⌘K) to connect, then type vnc://169.254.x.y, where x.y are the last two network octets you assigned statically to the iPhone or that the MacBook assigned to the iPhone.

You should then be connected. Remember to be patient when connecting -- I experienced not exactly quick response times when connecting, and that was with no security...

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