Raspberry Pi: Set up remote access to the desktop
In this practical tip, we explain how to set up remote access to the desktop of your Raspberry Pi. In the rarest of cases, however, a Raspberry Pi is connected to a monitor and a keyboard. We explain below how you can set up your Raspberry Pi for remote access and thus access the desktop.
Set up remote access to Raspberry Pi
In order to operate the Raspberry Pi remotely, it must first be configured for it. Below we show this using the example of a Raspberry Pi with the Raspbian operating system. The process is similar for other operating systems.
- First you have to open the console of your Raspberry Pi. To do this, connect a monitor and keyboard directly to your Raspberry Pi. The console can also be accessed via a previously established SSH connection.
- Now enter the command "sudo apt-get install xrdp" in the console and execute it. Now the server for the remote desktop is installed. No further settings are necessary.
- Afterwards you have to find out the IP address of your Raspberry Pi in your network. To do this, enter the "ifconfig" command in the console and execute it.
- Depending on whether your Raspberry is connected via Ethernet or WLAN, look in the column eth0 or wlan0. Make a note of the IP address shown under "inet addr".
Remote access to Raspberry Pi desktop with remote desktop
The Raspberry Pi is configured for a remote desktop connection. Now we show you how to access the Raspberry Pi from your PC. In the example shown, we are working with the Windows 8.1 operating system. The remote desktop connection is also available in other versions of Windows.
- First, open the remote desktop connection available with Windows. In the field that now opens, enter the IP address described in the previous chapter and click on Connect.
- This is followed by a Windows warning message that the identity of the target computer cannot be verified. This problem occurs when the target computer, in our case the Raspberry Pi, does not run with a Windows operating system. Therefore, you can click "Yes" here.
- Now the login window for the Raspberry Pi opens. Here you enter your login data that you use for your Raspberry Pi. With a click on "OK" the desktop connection is successfully established.
A Raspberry Pi 2 with Raspbian operating system and a laptop with Windows 8.1 were used for the example. We have summarized which operating systems run on the Raspberry Pi 2 in another article.