At home, Tetherly connects your phone and Mac over your Wi-Fi. When you leave, the Wi-Fi no longer connects them. Tailscale fixes that by putting your own devices on a private network that works across the internet, so your phone can reach your Mac from a café, the office or mobile data.
Why Tailscale
- No port forwarding. You don't open ports on your router or expose your Mac to the internet.
- Your own private network. Only devices signed in to your Tailscale network, called a tailnet, can reach each other.
- Tetherly's protection still applies. Your phone must still be paired with your Mac, and every connection is still checked with mutual TLS.
Tailscale is a separate service with its own account and terms. Tetherly itself still needs no account.
Set it up
- Install Tailscale on your Mac and on your phone or tablet from Tailscale's downloads page, and follow its setup prompts.
- Sign in to the same tailnet on both devices. Check that both show as connected in Tailscale.
- Pair before you leave. With Tailscale on, pair your phone with your Mac as usual. If you paired earlier, connect once while Tailscale is on so Tetherly can remember the Mac's Tailscale address.
- Try it away from home. Leave the Mac awake with Tetherly allowing connections. Switch your phone to mobile data, keep Tailscale connected, and tap Connect.
Tips
- Mac not found? Copy the Mac's Tailscale address, which starts with 100., and enter it in Tetherly's address field.
- Managed tailnet? Its access rules must let your phone reach the Mac on TCP port 47800.
- Feels slow? Relayed Tailscale connections add delay. A stronger connection on both ends helps.
- Keep the Mac awake. Tetherly can't wake a sleeping Mac remotely.
The full walkthrough is in the connection guide.