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Remote Desktop Access

During an event, you may want to manage several computers or displays spread across your venue. Instead of walking to each one, you can connect to them remotely from your own laptop. This guide explains how to set up a remote desktop connection for use during your event. The exact steps depend on the type of computer you want to access remotely.

This article will walk you through setting up a remote desktop connection so that one computer (called the client) can access and control other computers (called hosts). Once connected, you’ll be able to see each host’s screen and use your laptop’s keyboard and mouse to operate them just as if you were sitting in front of them.

Using this setup, you can manage multiple event devices, such as event displays using Raspberry Pis, from a single computer. The client connects to host computers allowing you to view and control their screens without needing to be physically near them or attach extra keyboards and mice.

If you plan to use Remote Desktop tools, we recommend setting up and testing this configuration several months before your event. Some steps may vary in complexity depending on your hardware.

Hardware Considerations

NOTE: If you are leveraging a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B or B+ in running a remote access server and your competition at the same time, you are very likely to encounter technical issues due to the insufficient computing power offered by these devices. Please consider upgrading to a Raspberry Pi 5, and if you have no choice but to use a Pi 3 Model B/B+, you will be required to facilitate your event without using a remote access server on said device.

The first question we have to ask ourselves is, what kind of computer processor does our host device have?

The two kinds of processor that you’re likely to run into are ARM and x86, and if you already know precisely which one applies to you, please skip to the next section.

If you are using any of the following devices:

  • Any Raspberry Pi
  • Apple Silicon Macs (M1, M2, M3 chipsets)
  • A Chromebook, tablet, or smartphone

You are almost certainly using an ARM processor.

Alternatively, if your computer is powered by:

  • Intel
  • AMD

You are using an x86 processor.

Determining the Processor Type

If you aren’t quite sure of the type of processor you have, you may find the following instructions useful.

If you’re running Windows:

  1. Select the Windows key and type “command prompt,” which will open a terminal. Then, paste this command into the terminal window

    echo %PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE%

    1. If the terminal then reads “ARM64”, you’re on ARM.
    2. Otherwise, if the terminal reads “AMD64” or “x86”, you’re on x86.

If you’re running Linux / Raspberry Pi OS:

  1. Open the terminal by searching for “terminal” in the search bar, or by clicking on the terminal icon. 

    Screenshot_1.png

  2. Then, paste the following line into the terminal window:

    “uname -m”

    1. If the terminal reads “arm64”, you’re on ARM.
    2. Otherwise, if the terminal reads “x86_64”, you’re on x86.

If you’re running MacOS:

  1. Navigate to Menu -> About this Mac -> Overview
    1. If you see M1/M2/M3 anywhere, you’re on ARM.
    2. Otherwise, you’re on x86.

Adding the Remote Desktop Tools

You may be wondering why it’s important to identify the processor. The reason is that your processor type determines which Remote Desktop tools are compatible with your system.

x86 Processor

If your host machine has an x86 processor, you’re in luck! Your machine is compatible with Chrome Remote Desktop, which is remarkably easy to set up and use. To do so, please follow the instructions below.

NOTE: You will need to download Google Chrome on the computer that you plan to use to remotely access your other computer, if you don’t have it already.

  1. Head to this link and sign into your Google account.

  2. Click the blue button in the bottom right corner of the “Set up remote access” panel - this will trigger a new download for an installer called “Chrome Remote Desktop Host.”  Then, run the installer once it’s downloaded. 

    Screenshot_2.png

  3. On your other computer with Google Chrome, head to this webpage and click the blue “Add to Chrome” button. Now, if you search for “Chrome Remote Desktop” in your computer’s search bar, it should appear.

    Screenshot_3.png

  4. Open the Chrome Remote Desktop app on your client device. If you’ve configured your devices correctly, you should see an orange indicator next to your host device like so:

    Screenshot_4.png

ARM Processor

If you are utilizing a Raspberry Pi for your event, the easiest way to obtain remote access to your device is to use the pre-installed Raspberry Pi Connect application!

  1. Click on the Raspberry Pi Connect logo in the upper right-hand corner of your screen - you’ll find it to the immediate left of the Bluetooth symbol.

    Screenshot_2 (1).png

  2. Click “Turn On Raspberry Pi Connect.” This will open the sign-in page, for which you will need a Raspberry Pi account. If you do not have one, click on “create one for free” - otherwise please click “Sign in with Raspberry Pi ID.” 

    Screenshot_3 (1).png

  3. After you’ve created your account and signed in, you will need to name your device.

    Screenshot_4.png

  4. For the final step, use another device to navigate to connect.raspberrypi.com/devices. Then, click “Connect via” and choose “Screen sharing” from the dropdown!
     

    Screenshot_6 (1).png


     

RealVNC Setup for Raspberry Pis

A more technically intensive process is required to install and configure RealVNC for your Raspberry Pi. If you wish to do so, please follow the steps below.

  1. Select the Raspberry button in the top-left corner, and then head to Preferences -> Raspberry Pi Configuration

    Screenshot_5.png
  2. Head over to the Interfaces tab and enable VNC. Then, restart your device.
  3. NOTE: this step is only necessary if you plan running your Pi in a headless configuration - in other words, without a display attached.

    1. Open your terminal and paste the following command:

      Sudo nano /boot/firmware/config.txt

    2. At the bottom of the config.txt file is a little section with an [all] heading. Please paste the following commands directly under this heading:

      hdmi_force_hotplug=1
      hdmi_group=2
      hdmi_mode=82

    3. Your config.txt file should now look like this:

      Screenshot_7.png

    4. Paste the following command, which installs the latest version of the RealVNC server, into your terminal:

      sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install realvnc-vnc-server

    5. Now we need to determine your RPi’s local IP address. 
      1. To do so, click on the Wi-Fi button in the top right corner, and then click Advanced Options -> Connection Information. 

      2. A window will then appear, and what we’re looking for is the IP address under the “IPv4” section. 

        Screenshot_8.png
      3. The local IP address shown above is only an example (192.168.1.223), and your IP address will likely be slightly different. Yours will probably also begin with 192.168.1 as that is how local IPs are often structured.

    6. Lastly, we will set up RealVNC Viewer on a different x86 device, for the sake of managing your RPi remotely. Please head to this link to download + install the Viewer, and then head over to File -> New Connection. Type into the address box the local IP we found in the previous step, and then hit connect. 

      Screenshot_9.png

The RealVNC Viewer can be used as a central hub to store all of the different IP addresses you may need. If you want to add another remote device, simply repeat the last two steps.