Resurrecting iChat Audio and Video Conferencing
4 hours ago
- Add '157.230.2.213 configuration.apple.com' to /etc/hosts on old Macs running Leopard or Snow Leopard to enable iChat audio/video calls.
- The solution works because it bypasses Apple's defunct SNATMAP server by redirecting configuration.apple.com to a new server that responds with a working SNATMAP server address.
- iChat uses HTTP to fetch SNATMAP server location, then UDP to discover public IP/port; the original server no longer responds, causing calls to fail.
- The author reverse-engineered the SNATMAP protocol with LLM assistance and implemented a simple UDP server in Python.
- Users can self-host the server or use the provided public server; the setup includes a web server serving snatmap.txt and a UDP server on port 5678.
- Testing was done with a lab 'Internet' using two NAT routers and Macs, confirming the fix works across NAT.
- Modern USB webcams like Logitech C920 work with iChat on Leopard without needing an iSight.