Can you remote desktop to a computer that is turned off?

Even if you conscientiously save your data to the cloud, there always comes a time when youre away from your home or office and need to edit a file thats stuck on that computer. Or youll be sitting in a hotel room and have to run a program on your home PC. Maybe youre out and about and want to run a desktop app on your phone.

Thats where remote desktop tools come in. Once configured, these programs allow you to securely connect to a computer from another device. Youll be able to fully control your computer from any location, and itll almost be like actually sitting down to the real machine from afar. Just a decade ago, youd need a degree in computing to wrap your head around the ins and outs of remote desktop programs. Now, as well demonstrate, you can manage these tools with just a few clicks or taps.

Apple and Microsoft tools

Apple and Microsoft both have their own remote desktop tools. Depending on what you want to do, though, these options shouldnt necessarily be your first choice. For example, Apple sells a fully fledged Remote Desktop program for a hefty $79.99, but its really aimed at information technology professionals and network managers. If youre a home user connecting to one Mac from another, opt for the simpler Screen Sharing option insteadit wont cost you anything.

To set it up, go to System Preferences, then click Sharing and tick the Screen Sharing button. Once youve set this up, you can access your original Mac from any other macOS machine thats signed into the same iCloud account. Just open Finder and go to the Shared section of the sidebar. Find your home computer in this section, click it, and choose Share Screen.

While Screen Sharing works great for Mac devices, it complicates the process of accessing your Apple computer from any other operating system. While you can hook up to macOS from Windows and other devices using this method, it will require some advanced network tweakingand isnt really worth the hassle. Instead, consider using a third-party remote desktop tool instead. Well get to those.

Microsoft makes its own Remote Desktop tool free for both Windows and macOS, but theres a caveat: You can only connect to a Windows machine running a Professional or Enterprise version of Windows. You tend to find these systems on office devices, not personal ones, which will count out most home users. Of course, if you have installed one of these pricier versions of Windows, you can use the Remote Desktop Connection program to configure access. Otherwise, wed recommend using a third-party option.

Third-party tools: Google Chrome and TeamViewer

While Apple and Microsoft offer pricy remote tools aimed at IT professionals, anyone can use the free remote-access option Google built into Chrome. You gain access through your Google account, and the tool employs the same syncing technology that keeps your passwords and login information available in Chrome on multiple platforms. You can get Googles remote tool for your browser, as an Android app, and even for iOS and iPadOS devices.

Connecting to a computer only takes a few clicks or taps. Open the web app on the computer you want to access remotely, and click Remote Access in the top right on the first screen. That will take you to a page that says Set up remote access. Click Turn on, then give your computer a name and a PIN (youll need that to access it).

Next, turn to the device from which you plan to access your original computer. If youre on a different computer, launch the web app, and your original machine will appear under the My Computers listing. Click on it, enter the PIN you set earlier, and youll be up and running. The remote machine will open a remote access window, within which you will see your original computers desktop screen and be able to interact with it via the remote mouse and keyboard. Youll also see options to perform tasks such as creating a new window, changing the size of the desktop, and sending a Print Screen command to copy the screen. You can access these options from the icon at the very top left of the remote access window: click it to open a drop-down menu.

If youre on a phone or tablet, youll use a similar process to gain access to your original machine. When you fire up the Chrome Remote Desktop app for Android or iOS, youll see a list of computers where remote access has been enabled. Tap on any of them to enter the PIN and connect. Drag down from the top of the screen to access mouse and keyboard controls.

Another free and easy option is TeamViewer, though business use requires a paid license (from $660 a year). First, download the app onto the computer youll want to connect to. Then open it and choose the option marked Installation to access this computer remotely (the other option is for accessing the computer while somebody else is using it). TeamViewer will guide you through the process of setting your computer up for unattended access, which basically involves giving it a name and a password. Your linked computers connect to each other through a TeamViewer account, which is free to set up and lets you see your devices wherever you sign in.

Next, install TeamViewer on the devices you want to connect from. This time, youll want to connect rather than set up unattended access. As soon as you sign in with the credentials you just created, the original computer should appear. You can connect by entering the password youve already set up. Along the top of the connection window, youll see all the controls youre going to need, including options for transferring files between computers and setting the screen resolution and quality. Youre essentially live-streaming your desktop, so reducing the quality a little might lead to a smoother experience.

File-syncing services

If you only need access to your files rather than to the whole computer, you can opt for a much easier setup. Several programs will happily sit on your main computer and upload your key files to the cloud, as well as letting you download those files to any other device.

Windows makes its built-in OneDrive available for macOS, Android, and iOS. Initially, OneDrive gives 5GB of free space for your files, but you can get more by paying extra. The cheapest upgrade level is $1.99 a month for 50GB of space, and it goes up from there.

Apple bakes iCloud into macOS and iOS and also offers a basic client for Windows (at the moment, no Android app is available). Users get 5GB of space for free, and upgrades start at $0.99 a month for 50GB of data. Recent updates to iCloud mean you can now use it to sync and back up any files youd like.

Dropbox saw the potential of file syncing before either Apple or Microsoft, and it offers client apps for all the major desktop and mobile platforms. You only get 2GB of space for free, though. If youre going to need more than that, then youll need to fork over $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year.

Finally, Google Drive is available on Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. While it focuses mainly on document editing in the cloud, its also a perfectly functional file-syncing service. Youll get 15GB of space in the cloud (spread across all your Google products) for free, and upgrades start from $1.99 a month for 100GB.

All of these services work in a similar way: You install them on your computers, phones, and/or tablets, and then you choose which folders to sync to the cloud. Make changes on your devices to instantly update the online copies of those files. Even if you havent installed the apps on a computer, youll still be able to access your files through any web browser window.

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