Enable Remote Desktop on your PC

You can use Remote Desktop to connect to and control your PC from a remote device by using Windows App or the Microsoft Remote Desktop client. When you allow remote connections to your PC, you can use another device to connect to your PC and have access to all of your apps, files, and network resources as if you were sitting at your desk. If you only need to use your PC locally, there's no need to enable Remote Desktop. Enabling Remote Desktop opens a port on your PC, making it accessible to devices on your local network. Only enable Remote Desktop on trusted networks, such as your home network, and avoid enabling it on devices that require strict access controls. When Remote Desktop is enabled, members of the Administrators group and any users you specify can connect remotely. Make sure all accounts with remote access have strong, unique passwords to help protect your PC.

If you need to connect to your PC from outside of the network your PC is running on, you can use port forwarding or set up a VPN. To learn more, see Allow access to your PC from outside your PC's network.

Prerequisites

You must be a member of the Administrators group or have administrative privileges to change this system setting.

To connect to a remote PC, ensure the following requirements are met:

• The remote PC is powered on and connected to the network.
• Remote Desktop is enabled on the remote PC.
• You have network access to the remote PC (locally or via the Internet).
• Your user account is permitted to connect (the account is in the list of allowed users).
• Remote Desktop connections are allowed through the remote PC’s firewall.

Enable Remote Desktop

You can configure your PC for remote access with a few easy steps.

1. Select Start, select Settings, then select System.
2. Select Remote Desktop, toggle the option Enable Remote Desktop to On.
3. Select Confirm on the pop-up dialog box to enable Remote Desktop.

By default, the Make my PC discoverable on private networks to enable automatic connection from a remote device checkbox is checked.

You can also configure other user accounts to have remote access to your device by following these steps:

1. While in the Remote Desktop settings, select Select users that can remotely access this PC.

   In later releases of Windows and Windows Server, select Remote Desktop users.

2. Select Add, type the username, then select OK. More than one account can be added at a time.

Remote connect to a device

To open the Remote Desktop Connection app, follow these steps:

1. On your local PC, select Start, type Remote Desktop Connection and open the app.
2. In the Remote Desktop Connection window, enter the computer name or IP address of the remote PC you want to connect to.
3. Select Connect, provide the credentials, then select OK.

You can also connect to a device using the Windows App. To learn more, see Get started with Windows App to connect to devices and apps.

Why allow connections only with Network Level Authentication?

Network Level Authentication (NLA) adds an extra layer of security to Remote Desktop connections. With NLA enabled, users must authenticate themselves before a remote session is established, reducing the risk of unauthorized access and helping to protect your PC from malicious users and software. Enabling NLA is recommended for most environments, as it ensures only trusted users and devices can connect. However, if you need to connect from older devices or clients that don't support NLA, you might need to disable this option temporarily. For best security, keep NLA enabled whenever possible.

To learn more, see Configure NLA for RDS Connections.

See also

• Remote Desktop Services overview in Windows Server

• Troubleshoot Remote Desktop connections to an Azure virtual machine

• Troubleshoot authentication errors when you use RDP to connect to Azure VM