Can't remotely connect with hostname, but it works with IP

Question

I am tying to connect to Windows 10 machine from a macOS Sierra using Microsoft Remote Desktop. The Windows machine is behind a switch. Both machines run on a local network.

I can connect to it using IP, but I can't using hostname. I've got the hostname from 192.168.1.1 router DHCP table.

Error when trying to connect with hostname:

We couldn't connect to the remote PC because the PC can't be found. Please provide the fully-qualified name or the IP address of the remote PC, and then try again. Error code: 0x104.

What could be the reason and what should I do?

Solution 1

I recently just encountered and solved this exact error with Microsoft Remote Desktop Version 10.3.12 (1801) on both macOS High Sierra (10.13.6) and macOS Catalina (10.15.5). I was able to connect without issue if the IP address of the Windows machine was used, but would get Error Code: 0x104 if the hostname was attempted.

The solution that worked was appending ".local" to the end of the host name.

One thing to note is the iOS/iPadOS version of the app worked without any problems, and did not require anything added to the hostname.

Solution 2

Delete any custom DNS server(s) under System Preferences » Network » Advanced » DNS and use the local network's DNS to get it to resolve via hostname.

Comments

[Garr Godfrey]

are you sure the hostname resolves on the Mac? Perhaps it isn't set to use your router for dns.

[sanjihan]

Under Prefernces->Network->Advanced->DNS I have DNS server address 192.168.1.1. Shouldn't that do it?

[Garr Godfrey]

probably not. Your router probably understand internet DNS but not on your LAN. Mac and Windows use different protocols

[Lanny Bose]

This was my exact problem. You prevented (additional) hours of heads banging against walls. Thanks!!