How it works
Your programs keep running on the home PC. RemoteAccessApp on that PC connects out to your account, and whatever you're holding shows its screen and sends your keyboard and mouse, through RemoteAccessApp's servers. Nothing changes on the router at home, and the laptop doesn't need to be powerful: a long render, a big build or a heavy data model keeps going at home while the laptop just shows it.
Set up the home PC once
Step 1: Install it and add the PC to your account
On a Windows 10 or 11 PC, run the free installer and choose Set up this PC for remote access. It installs just for you, without administrator rights. Sign in when asked, or type a 6-digit setup code from Add a PC. On a Linux PC, install the package, open RemoteAccessApp Agent and choose Set up this computer. See installing RemoteAccessApp on Linux.
Step 2: Make it start by itself
Leave Start RemoteAccessApp with Windows ticked, or Start when I sign in on Linux, so it's running whenever you're signed in.
Step 3: Give your account a second lock
Your account opens your PC. On the website, open Dashboard, then Security, and turn on Two-factor authentication.
Step 4: Turn on unattended access at the PC
On Windows, right-click the RemoteAccessApp icon next to the clock and choose Unattended access. On Linux, open RemoteAccessApp Agent and turn on Unattended access under What's allowed. It can only be switched on at the PC itself. After that, when you're signed in to your own account, in the app or on the website, the PC opens straight away with nobody at home clicking Allow. More in how to set up unattended access.
On a Linux desktop running Wayland, connect once before you leave: the desktop asks at the PC to share the screen. Turn on Allow Remote Interaction, keep Remember This Selection ticked and click Share.
Then test it while you're still at home: take your phone off the home Wi-Fi, sign in at remoteaccessapp.com on mobile data and open the PC. If it works there, it will work from campus.
What the banner on the home PC means
Unattended access doesn't make you invisible. Whenever you're connected, the home PC says so. On Windows it's a Remote session active notice in the bottom-right corner, with a chat button and an End session button. On Linux it's a banner with End. Anything you open shows on the home monitor too.
Tell the people you live with what it means: it's you, working from class. Then nobody worries when it appears, and they know that pressing End disconnects you.
Getting in from wherever you are
- Your own laptop, on Windows or Linux. Install RemoteAccessApp, sign in, and click the home PC on the Devices page. Sessions in the app are end-to-end encrypted.
- A Mac, a Chromebook or a computer you can't install on. Sign in at remoteaccessapp.com and open the home PC in a browser tab. There's no Mac app: on a Mac, the browser is the way in. See from a Chromebook and browser or app.
- Your phone. The same website, with touch controls, for a quick look at a file between classes. See control your PC from a phone.
- A library or lab computer, if its rules allow it. Use a private window, don't tick Remember this browser, and sign out and close the window when you're done.
On campus Wi-Fi
A campus network built for browsing is usually all RemoteAccessApp needs, because the home PC and your laptop both connect out. If the network shows a sign-in or terms page first, finish that. The app makes its own connections, which some networks don't allow even when websites load; the browser works wherever remoteaccessapp.com opens.
If the website doesn't open at all, the network is blocking it, and that's the network's decision. Don't try to get around it. Every school and university sets its own network rules, so read them before you rely on remote access there. The hotel and campus Wi-Fi guide has the full checklist.
Making it pleasant to work on
- Smoothness. In the app, pick the frame rate in the session's Display menu: 15 or 30 frames per second on the free plan, and 45 or 60 with Pro.Pro In a browser, choose Saves data, Balanced or Sharpest. Sharpest makes small text in documents and code easier to read on a good connection.
- Monitors. The free plan shows the home PC's main screen.Pro Pro lets you switch between all its monitors or see them at once. See multi-monitor remote desktop.
- Sound.Pro With Pro you can hear the PC, for a recorded lecture or a video you're editing. In a browser, turn on Hear the PC's sound in Session settings; it's off each time a session opens.
- Copy and paste.Clipboard sync lets you copy on one side and paste on the other.
- Files.In the app, drop files on the session to send them to the home PC's Downloads folder, or use Browse files to open its folders and download what you need. In a browser, Clipboard and files, then Files, sends files to the PC and gets them from its folders, up to 2 GB at a time; use the app for bigger ones. More in sending large files between your PCs.
- Keyboard. Most keys go straight to the PC. The ones your own computer keeps for itself, like the Windows key or Alt+Tab, are under the app's Send keys button and the browser's Shortcuts menu. See remote desktop keyboard shortcuts.
Keep the home PC awake and reachable
A PC that's asleep, switched off or signed out can't be reached. On Windows, set it not to sleep while it's plugged in, and stay signed in: no remote tool can get past the Windows sign-in or lock screen. So after a restart, for example for updates, someone at home has to sign in before you can connect, so don't lock the PC from a session.
On Linux, the Agent keeps the PC awake while you're connected, and you can unlock a locked screen with your Linux password. Turn off automatic suspend so it's there when you connect, and see Available after a restart in the Linux unattended access guide. If the PC goes to sleep anyway and another PC at home stays on, Wake up may bring it back.
The honest part
- Check your software licences. Some licences, student ones included, say where and how the software may be used. Make sure using it remotely on your own PC is allowed.
- Follow your school's rules for its network, its lab and library computers, and your student account.
- Not in exams or assessments unless the rules say you may. If you're not sure, ask before, not after.
- Save as you go. Your work lives on the home PC, so a power cut or an update restart at home can cost you anything unsaved, and you may not get back in until someone signs in. Short network drops are fine: the session picks up again and your programs keep running at home. Keep a backup of anything that matters.
What it costs
For most students, nothing. The free plan covers up to 5 PCs and 5 saved hosts, with 3 open at once, with no card and no session time limit. That's your home PC with room to spare, and what's in the free plan stays free. Pro, a paid plan, adds the extras marked Pro above and removes the limits. Other posts on the RemoteAccessApp blog cover things like keeping your remote access safe and reaching an office PC from home.
Do it before you need it