Attended vs unattended remote access: what's the difference?

Both kinds give you the PC's screen, mouse and keyboard. What changes is who has to say yes, and when.

This is how every PC with RemoteAccessApp starts. When you connect, the PC shows a prompt titled Allow remote access? It says who wants to connect, whether from the Console or a browser, and that they'll be able to see the screen and control the PC. You see nothing until the person there clicks Allow, and if nobody answers within 45 seconds, the answer is no.

While you're connected, a Remote session active banner stays on their screen with a chat button. They can switch off remote control at any time, which makes your session view-only, or quit RemoteAccessApp to end it. There's a fuller tour of what the person at the PC sees when you connect.

Attended access is the right choice for remote support: a relative who's stuck, a customer with a problem, or a coworker who needs a hand. See remote support and how to help a family member with their computer. If their PC isn't in an account at all, you can still help them with a one-time code: they read you the 8-digit code, you type it in, and they click Allow.

Longer jobs you do together work the same way, such as helping family move to a new Windows 11 PC or making a parent's PC easier to see with bigger text and Magnifier. They stay at the PC, click Allow, and watch each change as you make it.

Unattended access is for PCs you own, or look after with the agreement of the people who use them, when nobody will be there to click Allow. It's switched on at the PC itself: right-click the RemoteAccessApp icon in the taskbar tray and choose Unattended access. You can ask for it from the Console, but someone at the PC still has to agree there.

Even with it on, the PC lets in only the consoles and browsers it trusts:

• A console someone at the PC allowed once with Let this console connect without asking next time ticked.
• A browser the person at the PC chose to remember, for anything from 1 hour to until they turn it off.
• Your own Console or browser, signed in to the account that owns the PC, while Let my own account in without asking is on at the PC (it is unless someone turns it off), and as long as nobody at the PC removed that console or browser.

The banner still shows during every unattended session, and anyone at the PC can switch off remote control or quit at any time. There's more on the free unattended remote access page.

• Helping someone who's at their PC right now: attended. They stay in charge, and there's nothing to set up beyond the install.
• Reaching your own PC while you're away: unattended, with two-step verification protecting your account.
• Looking after a relative's PC often: start with attended. If they'd rather not click Allow each time, they can switch on unattended access on their PC. It's their choice to make.
• PCs at work: attended for PCs people are using; unattended only for PCs you're responsible for, with the agreement of the people who use them.

Still not sure? Attended or unattended: which do you need? walks through five everyday situations and the kind of access that suits each one.

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   Step 1: Install RemoteAccessApp on the PC

   Download the free installer from the download page and run it on the PC you want to reach. It installs just for you, without administrator rights.

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   Step 2: Add the PC to your account

   Choose Set up this PC and sign in, or type the 6-digit setup code from Add a PC on your dashboard. The PC is now ready for attended access: each connection needs someone there to click Allow.

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   Step 3: Connect with someone at the PC

   Open the PC from the RemoteAccessApp Console on another Windows PC, or from remoteaccessapp.com in any browser. The person at the PC clicks Allow, and the session starts.

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   Step 4: Switch on unattended access, if you want it

   At the PC, right-click the RemoteAccessApp icon in the taskbar tray and choose Unattended access. Your own consoles and browsers, signed in to the account that owns the PC, then get straight in. Anyone else is asked, or allowed once with the box to connect without asking ticked.

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   Step 5: Switch it off whenever you like

   Untick Unattended access in the same menu and every connection needs Allow again. Turning it off never needs confirming, because it only makes access stricter.

Step-by-step detail, including how to tidy up the trusted list later, is in how to set up unattended access safely.

• Only let people you know connect. Genuine companies don't call out of the blue about viruses, refunds or your bank. If an unexpected caller asks you to install a remote access app, hang up.
• Turn on two-step verification for your account. Your account opens your PCs, so protect it. It's free.
• Review the trusted list now and then. At the PC, right-click the tray icon, choose Trusted consoles and browsers, and remove any you don't use. A removed console is disconnected at once.
• Add a connection password if you want one more check. Anyone connecting to that PC, from the app or a browser, has to type it first. It's set at the PC, and our servers never see it.

Have a question this guide doesn't answer? The RemoteAccessApp FAQ covers the free plan, security and when the person at the PC has to allow a connection.