Connecting to a device running Windows or Mac?
Setting up your account
The video below shows you how to get started:
To subscribe to VNC Connect, see How do I subscribe to RealVNC Connect?
On the device you want to control
Note: If you have a Raspberry Pi running Raspberry Pi OS (previously called Raspbian), RealVNC Connect is pre-installed and pre-licensed so all you have to do is follow these instructions to enable it. You do not need to read this section.
- Download the RealVNC Connect setup app.
- Extract the installer in your Downloads folder using your system's file manager, and run it by double-clicking the RealVNC Connect installer application icon.
- Click the Install RealVNC Server button and follow the on-screen instructions, entering your sudo/root password when prompted.
- When the RealVNC Server Licensing Wizard appears, apply your subscription to RealVNC Server by signing in using your RealVNC account credentials.
If you have a subscription that includes offline licensing, you can register offline using your license key, available from the Deployment page of your RealVNC account.
More advanced instructions for getting started on Linux can be found here: Scripting Deployment and Start-up on Linux.
On the device you want to control from
- Download the RealVNC Connect setup app.
- Extract the installer in your Downloads folder using your system's file manager, and run it by double-clicking the RealVNC Connect installer application icon.
- Click the Install RealVNC Viewer button and follow the on-screen instructions, entering your sudo/root password when prompted.
- Sign in using your RealVNC account credentials. You should see the remote computer appear in your team:
Connecting for the first time
In RealVNC Viewer, double click or tap on the remote computer that you want to connect to.
As part of the first connection to a RealVNC Server, RealVNC Viewer will show you a Identity Check screen that you can use to verify you are connecting to the right computer.
You can check the displayed Catchphrase and Signature against the values shown in RealVNC Server.
RealVNC Viewer will store the identity which it will automatically check against for future connections to that computer to ensure they match. If they don't, RealVNC Viewer will display a warning to alert you before it makes the connection.
Authenticating
System Authentication is the default method of authentication to RealVNC Server. This means you will need to use the username and password of an account on the remote computer. For more information, see What username and password do I enter when I'm trying to connect to RealVNC Server?
Important note on Permissions
You need to ensure that the users you want to be able to connect remotely have been given permission (by default, only members of the Administrators group are able to connect). To add other users, see Managing users and session permissions for RealVNC Server. Failure to do this may result in not being able to connect to your computer remotely.
Using a Home or Lite plan?
VNC Password is the only method of authentication available for Home and Lite plans. This is a unique password that you configure when licensing RealVNC Server. For more information, see Setting up VNC Password.
Further information
Inviting people to your Team
To allow others to access your computers remotely, see How do I invite people in to my team to share remote access?
Comments
Article is closed for comments.