Mac Screen Sharing slow from Windows: what to try first, and what to change

Lower the Mac display resolution, or shrink the viewer window. Fewer pixels to send is the quickest change you can make.

Use a wired Ethernet connection on the Mac and the Windows PC instead of Wi-Fi when you can, and keep both on the same network.

Close heavy apps on the Mac while you are connected, and check that the Mac is not busy with something like a backup or an update.

If these fix it, you do not need to change anything else.

Apple's Remote Desktop guide says that for non-Apple VNC viewers, you turn on 'VNC viewers may control screen with password'. Apple also warns that third-party viewers may not encrypt keystrokes.

Apple's high-performance Screen Sharing mode is for connections between Apple silicon Macs running macOS Sonoma 14 or later. A Windows PC cannot use it, so a Windows connection stays on the standard VNC path.

That does not prove VNC is the reason for the slowness on your network. It does mean Windows has no faster mode to switch on.

macOS has no built-in RDP server, so Windows Remote Desktop Connection (mstsc) cannot reach a Mac by default. RDPyon adds one: you install it on the Mac, and connect from Windows with mstsc. Nothing is installed on Windows.

We have not benchmarked it against Screen Sharing, and we cannot promise it will be faster on your network. What changes is the protocol and the client: RDP instead of VNC, and the built-in Windows tool instead of a VNC viewer. If you are going to test it, the free trial lets you compare on your own setup.

RDPyon needs macOS 12.3 or later. The Mac must be logged in, and you cannot connect at the login window right after a restart or log out.

One viewer and one display at a time. Mac audio forwarding needs macOS 13 or later. Copying text and images works; copying files is not guaranteed yet.