There is no Remote Desktop in Windows 10 Home. Since it was for home usage, Microsoft removed some features from Windows 10 home like group policy editor gpedit.msc and remote desktop RDP. According to Vinod Jeyachandra, CTO of Anunta Tech, in Microsoft Windows, Remote Desktop Services is a platform that lets users share desktop environments between one Windows computer and another. Remote Desktop Connection is built into Windows but also exists as a Windows 10 Universal app in the Microsoft Store. If you want to access and control a computer from a non-Windows device, Microsoft's RDC app is available for Mac, iOS, and Android. On Windows 10, the 'Remote Desktop' app is available through the Microsoft Store, and it's been designed to make it easier to connect and control other devices over the local network or internet. Home versions of Windows only have the remote desktop client for letting you connect to machines, but you need one of the pricier editions in order to connect to your PC. If you’re using Remote Desktop, getting it set up for access over the internet isn’t too difficult, but you will have to jump through a couple of hoops.
- Enable Remote Desktop Windows 10 Home Edition
- Microsoft Remote Desktop Download For Pc
- Microsoft Remote Desktop For Pc Download
Setting up a remote desktop allows you to access your computer wherever you are and control it as if you were directly in front of the keyboard. By using the built-in Remote Desktop Connection app in Windows 10, you can troubleshoot issues, access files, and so much more. Here’s how to set up a remote desktop in Windows 10 and how to remotely access another computer over the internet.
How to Set Up Remote Desktop Windows 10
To set up a remote desktop in Windows 10, go to Settings > System > Remote Desktop. Then turn on the slider for Enable Remote Desktop. Next, search Settings for Allow an app through Windows firewall and enable the Remote Desktop app for Private and Public.
Note: You can only run the Remote Desktop Connection app if you are using Windows 10 Professional or Enterprise. If you are using Windows 10 Home edition, check out our guide on how to use Quick Assist to remotely control a computer.
- Click the Windows Start button. This is the button with the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of your screen. Do this from the host computer (or the computer you will be trying to access remotely).
- Then click Settings. This is the gear-shaped icon just above the power button.
- Next, click System.
- Then click Remote Desktop in the left sidebar. You can find this by scrolling down. It is the icon that looks like greater than and less than signs pointing at each other.
- Next, click the slider next to Enable Remote Desktop. This will cause a new window to pop up.
- Then click Confirm. A pop-up box appears asking you if you would like to enable remote desktop. It also reminds you that doing so will allow you and other users in your User accounts to connect to the PC remotely. Then you will need to change your firewall settings in order to access another computer over the internet.
- Next, type firewall into the search bar of the Settings window. You can do this by clicking the search box that says Find a setting at the top of the left sidebar. Once you type firewall, you will see search results populated under the search bar.
- Then choose Allow an app through Windows firewall. If you don’t see this option, click Show All, and then select it from the list.
- Then click Change settings. Initially, the apps and the checkboxes beside them will be grey or disabled. Once you click Change settings, they will turn black and become enabled.
- Tick the Private and Publiccheckboxes to the right of Remote Desktop. Make sure both that the boxes under the Private and Public columns are checked.
- Finally, click OK.
Once you enable your remote desktop and allow the app to communicate through your firewall, you can access that computer over the internet. Here’s how:
How to Remotely Access Another Computer Over the Internet
There are two ways you can remotely access another computer over the internet – depending on whether you’re on the same network or not. If you are accessing another computer within the same network, you just need to know the PC name. If otherwise, you need to know your public IP and set up port forwarding.
How to Remotely Access Another Computer Over the Internet Within Your Network
To remotely access another computer within your network over the internet, open the Remote Desktop Connection app and enter that computer’s name, and your username and password.
- Click the magnifying glass icon in the bottom-left corner of your screen. Do this from the computer you want to access over the internet.
- Then type About into the search bar and click Open.
- Next, copy your computer’s name. You can find this next to Device name. You can either write this name down, or copy and paste it into a text document, an email, or any other method that you want.
Note: If this name is too complicated, you can click the Rename this PC button below. This lets you choose your own name for your PC.
- Then open the Windows search bar and type remote desktop connection. This is the magnifying glass icon in the bottom-left corner of your screen.Do this from the client computer or the computer that you will use to establish the remote connection.
- Next, click Open.
- Then click Show Options. You can see this in the bottom-left corner of the window.
- Next, enter the computer’s name. This is the name that you copied down in the previous steps.
- Also, enter the username. If this information is filled in already, make sure it is correct. You can find your username by going to Settings > Accounts. Then you will see your username under your profile image.
- Then click Connect.
Note: You can also change additional settings by clicking the Display, Local Resources, Experience, and Advanced tabs.
- Next, enter your computer’s password and click OK. This is the password that you use to sign in to the computer when you are on the lock screen.
Note: You might encounter a prompt asking you if you want to connect even if the identity of the remote computer cannot be identified. Just click on Yes.
- Finally, wait for the remote connection to be configured. After the step above, you will see a green progress bar. Wait for it to complete. Briefly, you will see a black window which turns to blue. Once the remote connection is successfully established, you will see a view of the computer you’re trying to access.

How to Remotely Access Another Computer Outside Your Network
- Open a web browser. Do this from the host computer or the computer you will be trying to access remotely.
- Then type what is my IP into the address bar.
- Next, copy the public IP address listed. Your public IP address will be a series of numbers separated by periods.
Note: Do not share your public IP address with anyone you don’t trust. They can use this information to hack your computer and steal your personal information, such as bank details.
- Then open TCP port 3389 on your router. If you don’t know how to do this, check out our step-by-step guide on how to port forward.
Note: You should also set a static IP address for the computer you are trying to access. If you want to know how to set a static IP address for your Windows 10 PC, check out our step-by-step guide here.
- Next, open the Remote Desktop Connection app. Do this from the client computer (or the one you will use to remotely control the host computer).
- Enter your public IP address in the Computer field. This will be the public IP address you copied down earlier.
- Then click Connect.
- Enter your credentials. On the Windows Security page, type in the username and password of your remote server.
- Click OK.
Note: You might encounter a prompt asking you if you want to connect even if the identity of the remote computer cannot be identified. Just click on Yes.
- Finally, wait for the remote connection to be configured. After the step above, you will see a green progress bar. Wait for it to complete. Briefly, you will see a black window which turns to blue. Once the remote connection is successfully established, you will see a view of the computer you’re trying to access.
If you’re looking for a less complicated way of accessing your computer remotely, check out our article on how to remotely control a Windows 10 or Mac computer.
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I’m frequently on the move and switch between devices. I could be working at home one day, at a hotel working, on site at a customer office with no internet, on a plane. I just never know. Part of my workflow is running some of my daily activities on an Azure VM. I can get to it from pretty much anywhere and it doesn’t matter what device I do or don’t have access to, I can always get to what I need and access the Microsoft network.
In order to access everything from our corporate network I have joined the computer using Azure Active Directory (Azure AD). Before I show you how to remote desktop to an Azure AD joined VM or computer, let me show the steps to join a computer to Azure AD. This requires the machine to be running Windows 10 version 1709 or later to connect to Azure AD but 1809 or later to remote desktop with Azure AD credentials. This can be a physical computer or a virtual machine.
Join a Computer to Azure Active Directory
First, launch the Windows Settings app and navigate to the Accounts section.
Using the left side navigation go to the Access work or school section and click Connect.
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On the resulting screen click the link at the bottom of the page labeled Join this device to Azure Active Directory.
Proceed through the wizard by entering your email address, authenticate with your company’s preferred method, and verify the domain information.
Upon completion the work or school access screen will now show that you are connected to your organizations Azure AD along with the account used to connect.
Remote Desktop to Azure AD Joined Computer
Unfortunately, at this time it isn’t quite as easy as “open up a new RDP connection, type in the computer, type my email, and connect”. If it were, this post wouldn’t be here. So let’s look at the steps we need to go through to get connected.
First, open remote desktop as if you were going to connect to any other computer. Type in the computer name or IP address and expand the the Show Options section. Next, click the Save As button to save the RDP file locally. I’m going to place mine on my desktop. At this point you can close the Remote Desktop Connection dialog. It isn’t needed anymore.
Next, open Notepad. Click File -> Open -> location your RDP file that was saved in the previous step. You’ll need to change the document type dropdown from Text Documents (.txt) to All Files (*).
Go to the very bottom of the list of parameters and add the following two lines:
enablecredsspsupport:i:0
authentication level:i:2 Apowersoft screen recorder pro portable.
Enable Remote Desktop Windows 10 Home Edition
Save the changes to the .rdp file. Note that your file may have more or fewer lines in it than mine.
Microsoft Remote Desktop Download For Pc

Microsoft Remote Desktop For Pc Download
Now you are ready to connect! Double click on the RDP file and fill in the dialog box.
For the user name field should be formatted as .AzureADemail@company.com
(Technically it only needs to be AzureADemail@company.com but there are some strange caching things that happen when the VM autolocks and you go to sign back in. Adding the dot slash (.) at the beginning will save you some headache of having to add AzureAD to the beginning of your user name each time you try to log in.)
There you have it! It’s a bit of a pain, but now you can RDP into a computer with your Azure AD credentials (aka, email address) to an Azure AD joined computer.
I use a free piece of software called Remote Desktop Manager for all my connections. You can’t make the necessary changes to a connection in there (that I can tell anyway), but you can create the RDP file using the instructions here then import that connection into the tool and it will work perfectly.
