Get notified

What your Mac needs

Gatereach reaches the Mac you already own. It cannot reach a Mac that is off, asleep or not yet unlocked. This page says plainly what state the Mac has to be in, and what you do about it.

Gatereach is in development and not yet available. What you read here describes how we are designing it; details may change before release. Pricing has not been announced.

The short version

  • Powered. The Mac is switched on and has power.
  • Online. It has a working network connection.
  • Awake. It is not asleep. Nothing wakes a sleeping Mac from the internet.
  • Logged in. Someone has signed in at the Mac, and the Gatereach app is running.

What each state means

  1. Asleep. You can’t reach it. Gatereach cannot wake it. If your Mac goes to sleep when idle, change that in macOS settings, or wake it at the keyboard.
  2. Screen locked. You would see the lock screen. Gatereach does not unlock your Mac, does not type into a locked screen, and does not promise to open it with Face ID or Touch ID.
  3. After a restart. If FileVault is on, the Mac asks for the password at the Mac itself before macOS starts. Nothing of ours can run before that. Someone has to unlock it there. After that, the Gatereach app has to be running again; starting by itself after a restart is not promised.
  4. Off or no network. A power cut, a switched-off Mac or a dead network at the Mac means no connection.

Plugged in or on battery

Plugged in is best. Gatereach is designed to hold the Mac awake while it is plugged in and away access is on (planned). On battery, the Mac may go to sleep, and the app is designed to tell you that away access needs power.

What you do

  • Leave the Mac on, plugged in and online.
  • Keep it signed in, with the Gatereach app running.
  • After a restart, unlock the Mac at the keyboard, or ask someone at the Mac to.

What we do not promise

  • No promise about availability, speed or uptime. A Mac at home or in the office is not a data centre.
  • No wake from the internet, no unlock of the Mac, no way past FileVault.
  • Away access, from other networks, and Face ID or Touch ID for it, are planned and not built yet.Planned

Reach your Mac.

Gatereach is in the works. Leave your email and we’ll write to you when it’s ready.

Get notified

Trademarks

Apple, Mac, Mac Studio, macOS, iPhone, iPad, Face ID, Touch ID, FileVault and Xcode are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Tool names are trademarks of their owners. Gatereach is not affiliated with, endorsed or sponsored by any of these companies, and does not integrate with any of the tools or services mentioned.