Close Menu
miapple.me – Tech.Blogmiapple.me – Tech.Blog

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

    What's Hot

    Content Is Still King! 12 Years Of Blogging: miapple.me – Tech.Blog’s 12th Anniversary

    January 21, 2024

    Content Is King Again! 10 Years Of Blogging: miapple.me – Tech.Blog’s 10th Anniversary

    January 21, 2022

    Fixing: Time Machine couldn‘t complete backup

    April 30, 2021
    • Downloads
    • Email Subscription
    • Imprint
    • Privacy Policy
      • Push Notifications Subscription
      • Terms of Use
    • Search
    miapple.me – Tech.Blogmiapple.me – Tech.Blog
    • Apps
    • AirPlay
    • Apple
      • Apple TV
      • Apple Watch
      • iCloud
      • iTunes
      • macOS
    • iOS
    • HomeKit
    • Plex
    • Raspberry Pi
    • Windows
    • Downloads
    • Email Subscription
    • Imprint
    • Privacy policy
      • Push Notifications Subscription
      • Terms of Use
    • Search
    Subscribe
    miapple.me – Tech.Blogmiapple.me – Tech.Blog
    Home»macOS»macOS: Fixing SMB Windows File Sharing Not Working On Mac
    macOS

    macOS: Fixing SMB Windows File Sharing Not Working On Mac

    Gee Are PabstBy Gee Are PabstSeptember 4, 2016Updated:August 26, 20176 Comments4 Mins Read
    Fixing SMB Windows file sharing not working_user grayed out
    Fixing SMB Windows file sharing not working_user grayed out

    macOS 10.12 sierra logo 256x256SMB Windows file sharing not working on Mac after upgrading to macOS 10.13 High Sierra or macOS 10.12 Sierra or setting up a new Mac or MacBook via iCloud is easily fixed. For SMB windows file sharing, you need to select a user for activation. Sometimes, you cannot select the user because the user is grayed out. The real cause of this problem is that you most probably use the same password for accessing your Mac and as your iCloud password. Due to security reasons, you cannot use the same password for both your Mac and iCloud anymore. This fix also applies to Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan.

    Fixing SMB Windows file sharing not working_user grayed out
    Fixing SMB Windows file sharing not working_user grayed out

    Background: How to enable SMB Windows file sharing on your mac

    Go to the  Apple menu and choose ‘System Preferences‘ from the drop down menu. To enable File Sharing in macOS or Mac OS X, open the ‘Sharing‘ pane of ‘System Preferences‘ and select the option for ‘File Sharing‘. Windows computers and Macs can then see your computer on the local network. If you want to add an existing user for SMB file sharing open ‘Options…‘ for selecting and activating the user. For details see Apple’s support document.

    Problem: Cannot select and activate user for SMB Windows file sharing on my Mac

    You cannot activate SMB Windows file sharing because the user is grayed-out. The reason for this is that you got the same password for both your iCloud account and your mac (local password). I guess you set up or upgraded your macOS or Mac OS X and chose your iCloud account and password to access your Mac locally. This iCloud password login was removed in Mac OS X 10.11.4 El Capitan (I think due to security reasons). It doesn’t forcibly remove it from existing accounts, but if you turn it off, you can’t turn it back on.

    Fixing SMB Windows file sharing not working_cannot connect to iCloud
    Fixing SMB Windows file sharing not working_cannot connect to iCloud

    Some user will see the pop-up message ‘This mac can’t connect to iCloud because of a problem with ‘Your iCloud email‘. Open iCloud preferences to fix this problem.‘ The fix for this is the same as for SMB Windows file sharing.

    How to fix Mac cannot access user account for SMB Windows File Sharing

    For enabling SMB windows file sharing, you need to change the password of your local account on your Mac and NOT the iCloud password:

    1. Go to the  Apple menu and choose ‘System Preferences‘ from the drop down menu. Click on ‘iCloud‘ and then sign out from iCloud.
    2. On the next pop-up choose ‘Stop using iCloud…‘.
    3. Now you need to use a separate password for your local Mac account. Click on ‘Use separate password‘ and give the local account on your Mac a new password different from your iCloud one!
    4. On the next window ‘Do you want to keep a copy your iCloud data on your Mac before signing out?‘ select ‘Cancel‘. You’ve already changed the password of your local account and you really need not to sign out from iCloud.
    5. Next, go back to ‘System preferences‘ > ‘Sharing‘ >’File sharing‘ and click on ‘Options…‘. The user is not graded-out anymore and can be activated. Select the user and click on ‘Done’.
    6. Now you have to type in the newly generated local password from step 3 and click on ‘OK‘.
    7. Finally, the user activated for SMB windows file sharing on your Mac.

    Fixing SMB Windows file sharing not working_user not grayed-out anymore
    Fixing SMB Windows file sharing not working_user not grayed-out anymore

    Choosing a new password for your local account on your mac different to your iCloud account will fix that SMB Windows file sharing is not working on Mac after upgrading to macOS 10.13 High Sierra, macOS 10.12 Sierra, Mac OS X 10.11.3 El Capitan or setting up a new Mac or MacBook via iCloud before Mac OS X 10.11.4 El Capitan. 

    Stay tuned! 😉

    El Capitan file sharing Mac MacBook macOS High Sierra macOS Sierra SMB Troubleshooting Yosemite
    Previous ArticleInstalling Huawei E3372 On macOS 11 Big Sur, Mac OS 10.12 Sierra And macOS 10.13 High Sierra
    Next Article macOS: How To Fix Grayed Out Folders Or Files On Mac
    Gee Are Pabst
    • Website
    • Facebook
    • X (Twitter)
    • Pinterest
    • LinkedIn

    Hi there,my name is Gee Are, blogger and analyst. Blogging is my Passion! I’m the founder and owner of the two blogs called pabst.socialmedia and miapple.me - Tech.Blog.My work experience as a blogger and analysist (Internet Intelligence, SEO and social media) is the basis of the services of pabst.socialmedia.Find more about me.

    Related Posts

    macOS

    Fixing: Time Machine couldn‘t complete backup

    April 30, 2021
    Android

    Calipio: Screen Recording Without Registration, E2E-encrypted

    February 15, 2021
    macOS

    Fixing Mac No Admin Account On macOS Mojave Or Later

    February 3, 2021
    View 6 Comments

    6 Comments

    1. Martyn Ford on November 15, 2017 05:20

      Smb is a joke so is Apple’s move to ACL’s over unix permissions. My 5cents do not install past 10.11 as the password reset app that allows reset ACL’s is gone and external drives change “ignore privileges” after 12hours. Use Onyx to fix problems in permissions but first found if you Click “Create New” UUID ( Preferences/Users unlock first, then right click user Advanced Options) then boot into recovery, run Terminal “password reset” then tick Clear ACL’s it works better. To revert back to AFP do not use the finder side bar an use the go command (command k) afp:// ip address e.g. 192.168.0.61

      Reply
    2. Jan Bosmans on January 16, 2017 23:54

      Disable client signing on the client end:

      How to Fix It In One Command
      Open up a terminal and enter this command.

      printf “[default]\nsigning_required=no\n” | sudo tee /etc/nsmb.conf >/dev/null
      Then unmount and remount any SMB shares.

      Reversing The Change
      If the fix is causing other issues or lack of SMB connectivity, and you need to reverse it – simply delete the /etc/nsmb.conf file with this command

      sudo rm /etc/nsmb.conf
      By default the file does not exist on a fresh install of OS X/macOS.

      This is how I solved the SMB file sharing problem on my Mac running Sierra. Please let me know if this worked for you!

      Reply
    3. robin on November 15, 2016 12:52

      Unfortunately, this does not solve the problem for users who do not use iCloud.

      Reply
    4. @mestevie on October 10, 2016 23:32

      FIXED – Had this issue today after updating work machine – macOS: SMB Windows FileSharing Not Working @appletalk_au https://t.co/3zmDG2H9dr

      Reply
    5. Richard on September 25, 2016 17:37

      Test is required.

      Reply
    6. Gee Are Pabst (@grpabst) on September 4, 2016 12:40

      macOS: Fixing SMB Windows File Sharing Not Working On Mac https://t.co/okldOFv43J https://t.co/xV0AhYfJe5

      Reply
    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    Top Posts

    Fixing ‘Cannot Connect MacBook To iPhone Via Bluetooth’

    May 5, 20166,986 Views

    Fixing No Notification Sounds On iPhone When Locked

    January 8, 20214,560 Views

    How To Fix MacBook Micro-Vibrations While Charging Due To Insufficient Grounding

    June 21, 20203,604 Views

    Fixing Mac No Admin Account On macOS Mojave Or Later

    February 3, 20212,135 Views

    Installing Huawei E3372 On macOS 11 Big Sur, Mac OS 10.12 Sierra And macOS 10.13 High Sierra

    August 11, 20161,877 Views

    Apple iCloud Mail Blocks Outbound Emails: Silent Filtering And How To Fix It

    December 1, 2020822 Views
    Featured Reviews

    Fixing ‘Cannot Connect MacBook To iPhone Via Bluetooth’

    May 5, 20166,986 Views

    Fixing No Notification Sounds On iPhone When Locked

    January 8, 20214,560 Views

    How To Fix MacBook Micro-Vibrations While Charging Due To Insufficient Grounding

    June 21, 20203,604 Views
    Our Picks

    Content Is Still King! 12 Years Of Blogging: miapple.me – Tech.Blog’s 12th Anniversary

    January 21, 2024

    Content Is King Again! 10 Years Of Blogging: miapple.me – Tech.Blog’s 10th Anniversary

    January 21, 2022

    Fixing: Time Machine couldn‘t complete backup

    April 30, 2021

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

    • Home
    • Search
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    Copyright © 2012-2025 miapple.me™

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.