iOS-Mac Handoff Calls not working while using Wifi & Ethernet simultaneously

[htpc 9]

Hello

 

I'm not sure this even belongs here and probably it's a hard one to crack, but here it goes.

 

My setup involves multiple Apple devices (MBP, iMac, iPhone, iPad). Apple offers a service they call Continuity/Handoff that allows (among others) to take or make a call via your iPhone from your Macs. The problem is on my iMac which is usually connected to the router via ethernet cable. For Continuity to work one has to have an active Wifi connection though. So on my MBP this feature works flawlessly (it's always only connected via Wifi). On my iMac I now have both ethernet and Wifi activated, but the call relay functionality fails. I guess it has to do with Wifi and ethernet being used simultaneously. To make thing s more complicated of course the iMac should stay behind the VPN. 

 

Now, the first thing I'm not sure about is what actually happens with AirVPN connection when both are active. Does this even work? Is it OK to do so? Furthermore will this ever allow ethernet and Wifi to stay on the same subnet? In my research I was able to find some hints that only if both are on the same subnet this has a chance to work.

 

Some of you might say I should just disable ethernet and go ALL Wifi, and I'll probably do so if no other solution can be found, but for the time being I'm still holding some hope that this can be solved somehow and I can continue to use my precious ethernet and the benefits of Apple's Continuity and call relay offering (which is a very nice feature if your taking a few dozen calls a day).

 

Grateful for any help!

 

Cheers

 

 

[htpc 9]

OK, I have to update my question. As it turns out Continuity works even over ethernet, also when WiFi is disabled. Unfortunately it doesn't work as long as AirVPN connections are involved. As soon as I disconnect from the VPN the feature works flawlessly even if I block any connections to the internet with Little Snitch.

I could swear that I had it working on my MBP with an active VPN connection once but I was not able to replicate that anymore. 

 

So to rephrase the question. Is there anybody who was able to get this working whit an active VPN connection? Does anybody have any idea where I could start to troubleshoot this (routes, DNS settings etc.)? Is there even a chance this might be working?

 

All official requirements for continuity from apple are fulfilled. Probably the crucial one though is: 

• Each device is connected to the same network using Wi-Fi or Ethernet

On some apple related forums people claim it's also necessary that the subnets are identical and that DNS settings might cause problems. I'm far from an expert on all those things and wouldn't know where to start.

 

Thanks for helping!

[Ricnvolved1956 51]

Not sure if this has anything to do with the problem you're having but I can't get Facetime to work on my iMac desktop through AirVPN. It was suggested to go through either Tunnelblick or Viscosity and see if that solves the problem. Haven't tried it yet so I can't say if that works.

[htpc 9]

It think I got it working, at least temporarily. The key seems to be that all devices have to be connected to a server in the same country. No hacks needed. In my case it doesn't matter if the devices are behind a VPN or not (even mixed setups) as long as the servers are located in the same county. It is absolutely possible that this is just a coincidence but at least it's a promising start.