How to set up remote access on an ASUS PC

1. 1

   Step 1: Install RemoteAccessApp on the PC

   Run the free installer from the download page. It installs without administrator rights. If Windows shows a SmartScreen warning, here's what to do.

2. 2

   Step 2: Choose Set up this PC

   Sign in, or type the 6-digit setup code from Add a PC on your dashboard. Leave Start RemoteAccessApp with Windows ticked so it's running whenever someone is signed in.

3. 3

   Step 3: Keep the PC awake

   In Settings > System > Power & battery, set the screen and sleep times to Never when plugged in. MyASUS's Battery Care Mode only limits charging, so it's fine on a laptop that stays plugged in. Lenovo Vantage's charge settings work the same way; see remote access on a Lenovo ThinkPad or PC.

4. 4

   Step 4: Stop it locking itself

   MyASUS's AdaptiveLock (presence detection, or Walk-Away Lock) locks the PC when you leave. RemoteAccessApp can't unlock the lock screen, so turn it off in MyASUS on a PC you'll reach remotely. Dell and HP have similar walk-away locks; see set up remote access on a Dell PC and remote access on an HP PC. If you use TaskFirst to prioritize network traffic, make sure RemoteAccessApp isn't held back.

5. 5

   Step 5: Turn on unattended access if nobody will be there

   Right-click the RemoteAccessApp icon in the taskbar tray and choose Unattended access. It can only be switched on at the PC itself. How to do it safely.

6. 6

   Step 6: Test it from another device

   Sign in to the RemoteAccessApp Console on another PC, or at remoteaccessapp.com in any browser, including your phone, and open the PC.

Desktops and motherboards: press Del at startup (F7 switches to Advanced Mode), then Advanced > APM Configuration and set Power On By PCI-E to Enabled. On ASUS commercial desktops, all-in-ones and mini PCs, also set ErP to Disabled there. Building your own PC around another maker's board? Remote access on a custom-built or gaming PC has their setting names.

Laptops: hold F2 and press the power button, then Advanced > Network Stack Configuration and enable Network Stack. ASUS notes that some laptops don't support waking from shutdown, and if the option is missing, the laptop has no Wake-on-LAN. If F2 doesn't open the BIOS, Windows can open the firmware settings for you, as setting up remote access on an Acer PC shows. A Microsoft Surface has its own limits: it wakes from the network only through a wired adapter or dock (remote access on a Microsoft Surface).

ASUS also says to turn off Fast startup and tick Allow this device to wake the computer for the network adapter. Windows only wakes a PC with Wake-on-LAN from sleep, or from hibernate you chose yourself. With Fast startup on, which is the default, Microsoft says network adapters aren't armed for Wake-on-LAN from shutdown, so to wake a PC that's shut down, turn off Fast startup (Control Panel > Power Options > Choose what the power buttons do) and turn Wake-on-LAN on in the firmware.

Once the PC can wake from the network, press Wake up on the PC's tile in the Console or on the website: another of your PCs that's online on the same network, with an up-to-date RemoteAccessApp, sends it the wake-up packet. With no other PC of yours on that network, the packet has to come from another device there, such as a router with a wake feature. Once the PC is awake and signed in, it shows as online in RemoteAccessApp.

In the BIOS, Advanced > APM Configuration > Restore AC Power Loss: Power Off, Power On or Last State. Choose Power On or Last State for a PC you reach remotely.

When it starts, Windows still needs someone to sign in before RemoteAccessApp is online. Keeping a PC reachable after a restart.

• If an antivirus trial came with the PC and its firewall asks about RemoteAccessApp, allow it, or add it to the allowed apps.
• Windows SmartScreen may warn the first time you run a new download. What to do.

RemoteAccessApp reaches a PC that's on, online and signed in to Windows, with the app running. If yours shows as offline, check it hasn't gone to sleep, restarted for updates, or lost its network. The can't connect to a PC help article walks through the rest.