How to set up remote access on a custom-built or gaming PC

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   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.

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   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.

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   Step 3: Keep the PC awake

   In Settings > System > Power & battery, set the screen and sleep times to Never when plugged in. If your RGB or tuning software has its own power modes, pick one that doesn't sleep.

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   Step 4: Stop it locking itself

   Turn off anything that locks the PC on its own while you're away, such as Windows' Dynamic lock. RemoteAccessApp can't unlock the lock screen. On a prebuilt PC, the maker may add its own walk-away lock, such as HP Auto Lock and Awake; see remote access on an HP PC.

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   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.

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   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.

• ASUS: Del at startup, Advanced > APM Configuration > Power On By PCI-E: Enabled, and ErP: Disabled. For ASUS laptops and prebuilt desktops, see remote access on an ASUS PC.
• MSI: Del at startup, disable ErP Ready (EuP 2013 on some boards), then Wake Up Event Setup > Resume By PCI-E Device: Enabled.
• Gigabyte: Del at startup, Platform Power > Wake on LAN: Enabled. Gigabyte's manuals note that with ErP enabled, wake on LAN stops working.
• ASRock: F2 or Del at startup, PCIE Devices Power On: Enabled, and Deep Sleep: Disabled (names can differ by board).

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.

In Device Manager, open your wired network adapter's Properties > Power Management and tick Allow this device to wake the computer and Only allow a magic packet to wake the computer. The Advanced tab may also have Wake on Magic Packet; the names depend on the adapter's driver.

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.

A laptop or tablet without its own Ethernet port works differently; remote access on a Microsoft Surface shows how a Surface wakes through a dock.

• ASUS: Restore AC Power Loss (Power Off, Power On or Last State).
• MSI: Restore after AC Power Loss.
• Gigabyte: AC BACK (Memory, Always On or Always Off).
• ASRock: Restore on AC/Power Loss.
• Prebuilt desktops have their own names for it, such as After Power Loss on Lenovo ThinkCentre desktops; see remote access on a Lenovo PC.

• Network tuning tools such as Killer software or a motherboard's LAN manager can set app priorities or block apps. Make sure RemoteAccessApp isn't blocked or held back. Some prebuilt gaming PCs from Acer and Dell ship with Killer software too; see remote access on an Acer PC and remote access on a Dell PC.
• When power comes back, Windows still needs someone to sign in before RemoteAccessApp is online. Keeping a PC reachable after a restart.

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.