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Unattended access

Free unattended remote access for your own PCs

Unattended remote access lets you connect to your own computer when nobody is there to click Allow. RemoteAccessApp includes free unattended remote access for up to 5 PCs, on Windows 10 and 11 and on Linux, with no port forwarding, no VPN and no card.

Setting it up takes about 10 minutes: install RemoteAccessApp on the PC, switch on unattended access there, and connect from your other PC, a web browser or your phone. Only the consoles and browsers that PC trusts get in without a click.

Download freeCreate a free account
  • Free for up to 5 PCs
  • Set up in about 10 minutes
  • No port forwarding

What is unattended access?

Remote access comes in two kinds, and RemoteAccessApp does both.

  • Attended access

    Someone at the PC accepts each connection. It's the right choice when you're helping a person who's sitting at their PC, and it's how every RemoteAccessApp PC starts out.
    Remote support

  • Unattended access

    The PC lets chosen consoles in without anyone clicking Allow. It's for your own PCs: a home PC you reach from work, an office PC over the weekend, or a machine in another room.
    Attended vs unattended

Reach your PCs when nobody's there

Normally, every RemoteAccessApp session starts with a prompt on the PC, and someone there has to click Allow. That's exactly right when you're helping a person, but it doesn't work when the PC is in an empty office, a spare room or a server cupboard. If it's your work PC, read how to reach your office PC from home, the right way, starting with what to ask IT first.

With unattended access turned on, a PC lets the consoles and browsers it trusts connect straight away. You can open it from the RemoteAccessApp Console on your Windows PC or from a browser on your phone, run a command, check on a download or grab a document, all without anyone at the other end. While it's on, your Consoles can also show a small, low-resolution preview of that PC's screen, so you can see what it's doing before you connect.

It's part of the free plan of our remote desktop software for Windows and Linux, for up to 5 PCs with 3 open at once. RemoteAccessApp is meant for PCs you own or have permission to access, so use unattended access on your own machines, or on someone else's only with their clear agreement. It comes down to your devices, your control: the PC, not our server, decides who gets in without a click.

How to set up unattended access

  1. Step 1: Install RemoteAccessApp on the PC

    On the PC you want to reach, run the free installer from the download page. It installs without administrator rights. Choose Set up this PC and sign in, or type the 6-digit code from Add a PC on your dashboard, and leave Start RemoteAccessApp with Windows ticked.

  2. Step 2: Turn on two-step verification

    On the website, open Security on your dashboard and turn on two-factor authentication with an authenticator app (in the app it's under Settings, then Account). It's free. Your account opens your PCs, so protect it.

  3. Step 3: Switch on unattended access at the PC

    Right-click the RemoteAccessApp icon in the PC's taskbar tray and choose Unattended access. It can only be switched on there, by someone at the PC.

  4. Step 4: Connect from anywhere

    Open the PC from the RemoteAccessApp Console on another Windows PC, or sign in at remoteaccessapp.com in any browser, including on your phone. Signed in to the account that owns the PC, you go straight in. Anyone else is asked at the PC, where they can be allowed with the box to connect without asking next time ticked.

The PC has to be on, online and signed in to Windows to be reached, so set it not to sleep while it's plugged in. Some firmware settings matter too: the guide to setting up remote access on an MSI PC covers ones like Restore after AC Power Loss and ErP Ready. For every detail, including how to review the trusted list later, follow how to set up unattended access safely.

What you need

  • The PC you want to reach: Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit, Home or Pro), or a 64-bit Linux desktop on X11 or Wayland.
  • RemoteAccessApp installed on that PC and added to your free account. Installing on Windows needs no administrator rights.
  • A few minutes at that PC once, because unattended access can only be switched on there.
  • Something to connect from: the RemoteAccessApp Console on another Windows or Linux PC, or any web browser, including on a Mac or a phone.
  • The PC on, online and signed in while you need it. A PC that's asleep or shut down shows as offline.

Unattended access on Linux

The Linux Agent follows the same rules as Windows: unattended access is switched on at the PC (in the Agent's window), only trusted consoles get in without a click, and the banner shows during every session. On Wayland, the desktop asks once at the PC to approve screen sharing, and remembers that choice. If a Linux PC's screen locks, you can unlock it during the session with that user's password. Step by step: unattended access on a Linux PC.

What you can do on an unattended PC

  • Use it like you're there

    Screen, mouse and keyboard, live, from the Console or a browser.
    Remote desktop

  • Run commands

    PowerShell or Command Prompt on the PC, or one command on several PCs at once, from the Windows app.
    Remote console access

  • Check on Windows

    Processes, services, sign-in sessions and the Event Log, side by side for several PCs.
    Windows tools

Those are the everyday jobs. The full list of RemoteAccessApp features covers the rest, from chat to the SSH terminal, with what's free and what comes with Pro.

Ways to reach a PC when nobody's there

There's more than one way to get unattended remote access. Here's how the common approaches compare.

A remote access app with a relay (RemoteAccessApp)

An Agent on the PC connects out to a relay, and your console or browser meets it there. Nothing is opened on your router, it works on Windows Home editions and Linux, and you can connect from a phone. The trade-off: the PC has to be on, online and signed in, with the Agent running.

The Remote Desktop feature built into Windows

It only accepts connections on Pro, Enterprise and Education editions. To reach it from outside your network you need port forwarding or a VPN, and remote desktop ports open to the internet are a common target for attacks. It suits a company network that's already set up for it.

A VPN to your home or office

A VPN puts your device on the PC's network. It's powerful, but you run and secure the VPN yourself, and you still need something to see the PC's screen once you're in.

For most people reaching their own PCs, the app is the simplest and safest choice. More in remote desktop without port forwarding and how to choose remote desktop software.

Free unattended access, and what Pro adds

Free

$0, no card needed
  • Unattended access on up to 5 PCs, plus 5 saved hosts
  • 3 PCs open at once, with no session time limit
  • Screen, mouse and keyboard from the Windows Console or any browser
  • A remote command prompt and Windows tools
  • Chat, with pictures and files as attachments
  • File transfer and clipboard sync
  • Two-step verification and trusted networks
  • Personal and work use, no card needed

Pro

US$4.99 a month
  • Unlimited PCs, saved hosts and open sessions
  • Screenshots and Bedtime
  • The PC's sound and every monitor
  • Saved passwords synced, end-to-end encrypted
  • Teams, with roles and per-PC permissions
  • Scripts, restarts, Windows updates and apps on many PCs at once, now or on a schedule
  • The MCP Desktop Connection for AI assistants

Everything in the free plan stays free, and unattended access is in it. Pro is for when you need more PCs, every monitor or sound, and your first payment has a 30-day money-back guarantee. Compare Free and Pro.

Is unattended remote access safe?

It's built so that the PC, not our server, decides who gets in without a click, and you can take that back at any time.

  • The switch is on the PC

    Unattended access can only be turned on at the PC itself. If someone is connected at the time, a protected prompt asks the person there to confirm, so a remote session can't switch it on by itself.

  • Only consoles the PC trusts

    A console or browser gets in without a click only after someone at the PC allowed it once, or when it's signed in to the account that owns the PC. Everyone else is asked first.

  • Your account, your choice

    Your own account gets straight in while Let my own account in without asking is on at the PC. Turn it off there and every console is asked. Protect the account with two-step verification.

  • The PC keeps its own list

    The trusted list lives only on that PC, protected for its Windows user, with each console remembered by its certificate fingerprint. It's never stored on our server.

  • Revoke in one click

    Removing a console or browser from the PC's list takes effect at once: if it's connected, it's disconnected. Switching unattended access off puts everyone back to asking first.

  • The banner still shows

    Unattended or not, every session shows the banner on the PC, and remote control can be switched off or RemoteAccessApp quit at any time.

Keep it locked down

  • Use a strong account password and two-step verification. Your account is what lists your PCs, so protect it with an authenticator app. See how RemoteAccessApp is secured.
  • Trust only your own consoles. If a prompt names a console you don't recognize, click Don't allow.
  • Review the list now and then. Right-click the tray icon, choose Trusted consoles and browsers, and remove any you no longer use.
  • Limit where your account can be used from. Trusted networks let you restrict your account and PCs to IP ranges you choose.
  • Add a connection password if you want one more check. It's set at the PC, and anyone connecting has to type it first.
  • Turn it off when you don't need it. Switching unattended access off only tightens access: everyone is asked first again.

Using a browser?

You can also open your PCs from a web browser, under the same consent rules. The connection is encrypted, but not end to end: our website decodes the picture in memory so your browser can show it. Use the Console on Windows when that matters. More in access your PC from a browser.

If unattended access doesn't connect

  • The PC still asks someone to click Allow. Check you're signed in to the account that owns the PC, that Let my own account in without asking is on there and your console or browser wasn't removed, and that the PC's app is up to date. Or have someone at the PC click Allow once with the box to connect without asking next time ticked.
  • Everyone is asked again. Unattended access was switched off. Switching off remote control at the PC switches it off too, so tick both again at the PC.
  • The PC shows as offline. It's asleep, shut down, offline or not signed in. After a restart, someone has to sign in at the PC before it's back. See wake a sleeping PC remotely.
  • The Windows lock screen is showing. Remote tools can't unlock it, so don't lock a Windows PC you'll need while nobody is there. Remote PC login explains how to keep it ready.
  • The connection keeps dropping. Sessions reconnect by themselves. If drops keep happening, see remote desktop keeps disconnecting.

Still stuck? The RemoteAccessApp FAQ has short answers on how unattended access works and whether you can reach a PC after it restarts or locks.

Questions, answered

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