Connecting & away from home

When Kin can’t reach your Mac for more than a few seconds, it shows a small Offline tag and keeps showing your saved data. It reconnects on its own. If it doesn’t, check that:

• Your Mac is on and awake, and Kin Server is open.
• At home, your phone is on the same Wi‑Fi as your Mac.
• Away from home, away-from-home access is turned on (see the next question).

If you just got home and Kin still won’t connect, close the Kin app completely and open it again. Still stuck at home? Follow My phone can’t find my Mac at home.

At home, your phone talks to your Mac directly over your Wi‑Fi. If that isn’t working, check these in order:

1. Kin Server is running. The Kin icon should be in your Mac’s menu bar. If it isn’t, open Kin Server from Applications.
2. Local Network is on for Kin. If you tapped Don’t Allow when your iPhone asked, Kin can’t see your Mac. On your iPhone, go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Local Network and turn on Kin.
3. Your Mac allows the connection. If your Mac asked whether Kin Server (or a part of it, like kin-server or frpc) may accept incoming network connections, it needs Allow. If you clicked Deny, open System Settings → Network → Firewall → Options and set the Kin entries to allow incoming connections.
4. Both are on the same network. Guest Wi‑Fi networks usually keep devices from seeing each other. Connect your phone to your main Wi‑Fi, the one your Mac uses.
5. No VPN is in the way. A VPN app on your phone can hide your home network from Kin. Kin then goes through the relay, which still works but is slower, and if away-from-home access is off it won’t connect at all. Pause the VPN and try again.

Still stuck? Close the Kin app completely and open it again. If that doesn’t help, set the phone up again: in Kin, open Family → Log out of server, then point your iPhone’s Camera at the QR code in Kin Server under Devices → Connect a phone.

Away-from-home access is on by default. When you leave the house, Kin reaches your Mac through an encrypted relay, with nothing to set up.

You can turn it off on your Mac in Settings → Privacy → Away-from-home access, or in the app in Family → Server Settings → Access Kin away from home. While it’s off, Kin only works on your home Wi‑Fi, and you’ll need to be home to turn it back on.

At home, yes. Kin runs on your Mac, so chatting, memories and messages within your household keep working over your home Wi‑Fi. Things that need the internet wait until it’s back: web searches, weather, notifications, messages to connected families, and reaching Kin away from home.