File sharing issue between Mavericks and Sonoma.

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File sharing issue between Mavericks and Sonoma.

I have a late 2012 iMac running Mavericks and a 2024 iMac running Sonoma. Both are on the same wifi network. I can log in to the Sonoma machine from the Mavericks and access files with no issues. However, I can not log in to the Mavericks machine from the Sonoma one. When I try as a Guest, I'm told that access has been denied. When I try as registered user, the window just shakes, presumably because the user name and password are incorrect. But, they are correct. I think all the Sharing settings are correct (and they do allow login in the other direction). Any suggestions as to what might be wrong? Thanks for any info.

iMac 24″, macOS 14.7

Posted on Mar 11, 2025 7:36 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

aronfromtoledo1 Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 13, 2025 10:45 AM in response to aronfromtoledo1

Thanks christopher rigby1 and MartinR. I do have the right name for the Mavericks machine, and the name and password are the same ones I use to log on to the mavericks machine when waking or starting it up. On the Mavericks machine there is an option for SMB, under System Preferences>Sharing>Options. There are two check boxes, one for AFP and one for SMB, both are checked so I assume I’m supposed to be able to connect either way.

It turns out, after MartinR’s mention of SMB, that I have been able to connect to the Mavericks machine from the Sonoma one, but only by AFP. I have to go to Connect to Server on the Sonoma machine, and use afp://<ip address>. I guess the Sonoma machine was defaulting to SMB, which for some reason wasn’t working on the Mavericks. As an additional discovery, it appears that I can only connect to the Sonoma from the Mavericks using SMB!

I need to do some more fiddling around and testing, but at least after reading your replies, I know where to look.

Thanks again.

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Answer 2

MartinR

Level 7

24,101 points

Mar 13, 2025 2:38 PM in response to aronfromtoledo1

aronfromtoledo1 wrote:

I'll try disabling AFP on the Mavericks machine. I don't know how to do that on the Sonoma one. But, as I mentioned in my previous reply, I only seem to be able to go from the Sonoma to the Mavericks using AFP.

You can try disabling AFP on the Mavericks Mac to force it to use SMB only, but if it doesn't work you will just have to turn it back on and accept using afp://<ip address> to connect from your Sonoma Mac to your Mavericks Mac. The problem may have something to do with the (old, potentially unresolved) SMB2 issues on Mavericks; it just didn't work right for a lot of people.

There is no control in Sonoma system settings to enable or disable AFP. As I said, AFP still exists "under the hood" but it's not visible. That's because Apple deprecated AFP back in Big Sur.

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Answer 3

Mar 12, 2025 8:41 AM in response to aronfromtoledo1

You have got the name of the Mavericks machine exactly right in File Sharing on the Sonoma? And - silly question probably - you are using the registered name / password of an admin user on the Mavericks?

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Answer 4

MartinR

Level 7

24,101 points

Mar 13, 2025 10:39 AM in response to christopher rigby1

Mavericks supports AFP, SMB1 & SMB2. But I recall there were lots of problems with SMB2 on Mavericks and don't know if they were ever resolved in that version of OS X. Sonoma supports SMB2 & SMB3. Under the hood, AFP still exists in Sonoma although it is not officially supported and there's no visible evidence of it in System Settings.

I would check settings in both Macs to make sure SMB is enabled and AFP is disabled.

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Answer 5

MartinR

Level 7

24,101 points

Mar 12, 2025 6:34 PM in response to aronfromtoledo1

Check to make sure both of these are enabled on BOTH Macs:

File Sharing
Share files and folders using SMB under Sharing > Options

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Answer 6

Mar 13, 2025 4:33 AM in response to MartinR

MartinR wrote:

• Check to make sure both of these are enabled on BOTH Macs:

File Sharing

Share files and folders using SMB under • Sharing > Options

Not an option in Mavericks.

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Answer 7

Mar 13, 2025 10:50 AM in response to MartinR

I'll try disabling AFP on the Mavericks machine. I don't know how to do that on the Sonoma one. But, as I mentioned in my previous reply, I only seem to be able to go from the Sonoma to the Mavericks using AFP.

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File sharing issue between Mavericks and Sonoma.

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