Well, you see, I got this problem with my Ubuntu laptops, and it’s been driving me crazy. I had two of them, and I wanted to connect one to the other using VNC. Now, I’ve always used this Vino VNC server, it works fine, but after I did the upgrade to 22.04, things got all messed up. One laptop can’t connect to the other, and I was just sittin’ there scratching my head, wondering what went wrong.
Turns out, this new version of Ubuntu came with something called Wayland, and let me tell you, that thing’s a real pain. Wayland don’t like any VNC software workin’ properly, and that’s what caused all the trouble. So, I spent a good while figuring out how to fix it. Now, I can connect to the other laptop again, but it wasn’t easy. This is the story of how I managed to get it done, and maybe it’ll help some of y’all too if you’re runnin’ into the same mess.
First thing I learned, and I’m telling you, it’s important, is that Ubuntu 22.04 actually came with something called the “Legacy VNC Protocol” option. This option allows you to use old-style VNC servers and clients without all that fancy Wayland mess getting in the way. But here’s the kicker: in Ubuntu 24.04, they don’t make it easy to enable this Legacy VNC Protocol by default. You gotta know what you’re doin’.
So, after some fiddlin’, I figured out how to enable the Legacy VNC Protocol. Let me tell you, it’s not too complicated once you know where to look. You can go into the settings of your Vino VNC server, and there’s a checkbox for enabling this legacy option. You just need to tick that box, and you’re halfway there. But, here’s the thing, you also gotta make sure that “Require a password” is checked, and you have a password set up. And don’t forget about that little workaround where you need to use a blank keyring if you don’t want the password prompt to mess up your connection.
Once you’ve got that part sorted, you should be good to go. But there’s still one more step, which is turning on the “Remote Control” option. Without this, you won’t be able to control the remote laptop even if you can connect to it. Now, I’m not real tech-savvy, but this made sense to me, so I’ll pass it along to you.
Now, if you’re trying to do this on a fresh install of Ubuntu 24.04, well, there ain’t no default way to enable the Legacy VNC Protocol. You’re gonna have to dig a little deeper. But don’t worry, it’s not impossible. I’ve heard some folks use TightVNC as a workaround for this, though that means you gotta install third-party software. If you’re not keen on that, the good news is you can still make it work by manually tweaking the settings to enable the Legacy VNC Protocol.
Now, to sum things up for you, if you’re dealing with Ubuntu 22.04 and you can’t seem to get your VNC working, just go ahead and enable that Legacy VNC Protocol option in your settings. It’ll save you a lot of hassle. And if you’re on 24.04, you might need to do some extra work, but it ain’t nothing you can’t handle. Just make sure your password is set, and remote control is turned on, and you’ll be able to connect and control that other laptop like a pro.
In the end, don’t let this Wayland nonsense get you down. I know it can be frustrating, but with a little bit of patience, you’ll get your VNC running just fine. Hope this helps somebody out there who’s got the same problem as I did. Good luck, and happy computin’!
Tags：[Ubuntu, VNC, Legacy VNC Protocol, Wayland, Vino, TightVNC, Remote Desktop, Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 24.04, Troubleshooting, VNC Server, SSH Tunnel]
