1. Enable the remote login feature


For Managed users:




For Dedicated users:


  • Log onto your Mac server


  • Open "System Preferences"


  • Open "Sharing"


  • Check the check-box for "Remote login" 



2. Making the connection


  • Please ensure the following:
    • Port 6000 is not blocked
    • Port 22 is not blocked
    • You entered the server name as: [servername].macincloud.com
      • ex. LA123.macincloud.com
    • You are on a stable internet connection (Cable recommended)


  • Log onto your server


  • With your server connection open, open Visual Studio on your local machine


  • In Visual Studio on your local machine go to:
    • Tools > Options
    • Xamarin > iOS Settings
    • click Find Xamarin Mac Agent


  • Enter your IP address and your server credentials


During the first time you are connecting Visual Studio to the Xamarin Mac Agent you will need to login to the server and open Xamarin Studio and at the same time try to connect to the Xamarin Mac Agent from your  Visual Studio Project.





Troubleshooting if you already have the add-on:

  • You did not purchase "remote build port (SSH)" addon during your checkout. Since the remote build port is required for remote build, you will not be able to connect without this addon. To resolve this issue, simply log in to your portal account at portal.macincloud.com and add this addon to your existing server plan


  • Your firewall is blocking port 22. Port 22 is required for remote build with Visual Studio and Xamarin. Please check your local office or home firewall (including, but not limited to your main router, your local computer's software firewall and antivirus) and make sure port 22 is not being blocked.


  • Visual Studio for Mac (or Xamarin Studio) is not running on the remote Mac. You need to run Visual Studio for Mac on the Mac side for the remote build connection to work.


  • Your local Visual Studio has not been updated to the latest available version. Make sure you check your Visual Studio update and apply all available updates to ensure your local Visual Studio version matches the required version to run remote build.




"Unable to connect to Address='x.x.x.x' with User='xxxx'" error


Xamarin 4.1 security feature – This error will happen if you downgrade to Xamarin 4.0 after using Xamarin 4.1 or higher. In this case the error will be accompanied by the additional warning "Private key is encrypted but passphrase is empty". This is an intentional change due to a new security feature in Xamarin 4.1. 


To fix this, try delete id_rsa andid_rsa.pub from %LOCALAPPDATA%\Xamarin\MonoTouch, and then reconnect to the Mac build host. 


For other issues and more information on Xamarin troubleshooting: Connection Troubleshooting for a Xamarin.iOS Build Host