Remote access to your PC from hotel, campus and public Wi-Fi

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   Step 1: Set up the home PC

   Install RemoteAccessApp from the download page, choose Set up this PC and sign in. Leave Start RemoteAccessApp with Windows ticked, so it's back after a restart.

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   Step 2: Keep it awake and signed in

   In Windows Settings, under System and then Power, set the PC not to sleep while it's plugged in. Stay signed in to Windows: remote tools can't get past the sign-in or lock screen, so a PC that restarts while you're away needs someone to sign in. If another PC at home stays on, set up Wake-on-LAN as a backup.

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   Step 3: Turn on two-step verification

   On the website, open Dashboard, then Security, and turn on Two-factor authentication with an authenticator app. Save the backup codes somewhere you'll have with you, in case you lose your phone on the trip.

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   Step 4: Turn on unattended access

   At the home PC, right-click the RemoteAccessApp icon in the taskbar tray and choose Unattended access. Your own browsers and consoles then go straight in with nobody at home to click Allow.

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   Step 5: Test it from outside

   Turn off Wi-Fi on your phone, sign in at remoteaccessapp.com on mobile data and open the home PC. If it works there, it will work on the road.

The night before a trip, run through this checklist to make sure you can get back into your PC: it covers sleep settings, a test on mobile data and what happens if the PC restarts while you're away.

• Get online first. Many hotel and campus networks show a sign-in or terms page before anything else works. Open any website and finish that page, then sign in to RemoteAccessApp.
• The browser is the easy way in. It works wherever remoteaccessapp.com opens, on your laptop, a tablet or your phone. See access your PC from a browser. It's also how you can access your home PC from a work laptop without installing anything on it.
• The Windows app makes its own connections, which some strict networks block even when websites load. If the app can't reach RemoteAccessApp but the website opens, use the browser.
• Pick a lighter picture on busy Wi-Fi. In a browser, choose Saves data or Balanced. Hotel Wi-Fi is often shared by a whole building in the evening.
• If the network won't play, try your phone's hotspot. Mobile data works too; see remote access on 4G/5G.

• Sessions are encrypted on any network, and sessions in the Windows app are end-to-end encrypted.
• Never sign in on a hotel lobby or library computer you don't trust. If you must use a shared computer, use a private window, don't tick Remember this browser, and sign out when you're done. The help page on trusted browsers, consoles and networks explains what remembering a browser does.
• Only sign in at remoteaccessapp.com. Check the address before you type your password.
• Lock your own laptop when you step away: whatever your home PC shows is on its screen too.

Every network has its own rules, and some don't allow remote access. Check them, and if they say no, use your phone's mobile data instead. RemoteAccessApp doesn't try to hide: a browser session is an ordinary website visit, and the app is an ordinary program. Students can find more on campus Wi-Fi, the free plan and the rules to check in use your home PC for uni from any laptop.

If the website doesn't open at all, the network is blocking it, and there's nothing to change on your side. You can check from the server status page whether RemoteAccessApp is reachable from where you are.