When it won’t connect
Find your symptom below. Almost every connection problem is one of these.
My iPhone can't find my Mac?
Check in order: ① both devices are on the same Wi-Fi (guest networks usually isolate devices — switch to the main network); ② on the iPhone, Settings → Privacy & Security → Local Network allows TouchNow; ③ on the Mac, System Settings → Network → Firewall allows "TouchNow" to accept incoming connections; ④ if your router has AP Isolation enabled, turn it off.
It connects at home but not when you’re out
When both are true, the pairing is usually too old. Connections on your own Wi-Fi and connections across networks run over two different channels, and an older pairing doesn’t carry what the cross-network one needs — the home path is unaffected, which is why one works and the other doesn’t.
If your iPhone has shown this message, that settles it:
This Mac’s pairing is too old to use for remote access. Tap “Pair New Mac” in the top right and pair it again.
Pairing again fixes it, and takes about two minutes. On the Mac, under Pairing & Security, delete the old entry first, then click Pair New Device for a fresh QR. On the iPhone, tap the scan icon in the top right — do not tap the Mac already in your list, because that connects with the old data and fails the same way. The steps are the same as steps 3 and 4 of First-time setup.
There is a short gap in between: after the old entry is deleted and before the new QR is scanned, this iPhone cannot reach your Mac at all, including at home. It comes back as soon as you finish, so do the steps in one go.
It says "Pairing verification failed"?
This means the Mac no longer recognizes the current pairing (usually because it was revoked or reset on the shared side). Generate a new pairing on the shared Mac (QR or encrypted pairing code) and pair once more.
It says "In use by another device"?
Only one device may control the Mac at a time. Connecting from another device you have paired takes over, and the original device's session ends — so you can rescue a stuck connection while you're away. If you don't want a device to be able to take over, revoke its pairing.
What happens when the connection drops?
The app retries automatically up to five times and shows progress; once Wi-Fi recovers it reconnects, and no input movement from the outage is lost. Going back to the Home Screen switches the stream into Picture in Picture (PiP) so playback continues, and the lock screen shows a live connection card (Live Activity); if PiP gets closed, reopening the app within five minutes reconnects automatically.