How to set up remote access on an MSI 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. In MSI Center, pick a mode that doesn't put the PC to sleep. On Acer Nitro and Predator PCs, NitroSense or PredatorSense manage the power plan instead; see remote access on an Acer PC.

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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. Some makers add their own walk-away lock, such as HP Auto Lock and Awake; see set up 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.

Press Del repeatedly at startup to open the BIOS. Disable ErP Ready (called EuP 2013 on some boards), then under Wake Up Event Setup enable Resume By PCI-E Device; on laptops it's Resume By PCI-E/Networking Device. MSI also recommends updating the network driver, turning off Fast startup and enabling Magic Packet. ASUS and Lenovo desktops have a similar ErP setting; see remote access on an ASUS PC and remote access on a Lenovo PC.

MSI notes that some laptops with Modern Standby don't support waking from the network.

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, Settings > Advanced > Power Management Setup > Restore after AC Power Loss. Set it to Power On for a PC you reach remotely. Other motherboard makers name it differently; remote access on a custom-built or gaming PC lists them.

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

• MSI Center LAN Manager: on MSI desktops, its Priority panel sets each app's bandwidth priority and can block an app. Make sure RemoteAccessApp isn't blocked or set to low priority.
• Killer networking: some MSI laptops have Killer adapters and software with app priorities. Check RemoteAccessApp isn't held back there. Some Dell models, such as Alienware and the G series, ship with Killer software as well; see remote access on a Dell PC.
• 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.