How To Use Remote Desktop Over Lan In Windows 10 11

In this guide, we will walk you through the process of connecting remotely to another PC on your LAN connection, using both the Windows Remote Desktop client and the Remote Desktop Connection program. Key for this guide:Host PC: The PC that you are going to connect to.Client PC: The PC that will connect to the Host PC.

Requirements for Remote Desktop

In order to connect and use RDP over LAN, or even Wi-Fi for that matter, you need to keep a few prerequisites in mind. First and foremost, remote connections should actually be enabled on your/host computer. Then you need to decide between a static or dynamic IP to connect to. We will talk more about how to do it both ways later in the article. There’ll be nuggets of info mentioned in between that are important to the overall procedure as well.

1. Enabling Your PC To Use Remote Desktop

Remote Desktop is disabled by default in Windows, so you need to turn it on first in order to proceed with the other steps.

2. Allowing Remote Desktop Through Windows Firewall (Optional)

After these steps are finished, the device will be ready to accept remote desktop connections. Rules will also be added to Windows 10’s built-in Microsoft Defender Firewall. However, if you’re using a third-party security solution, you might have to set up the rules by hand.

To allow remote connection through Firewall in Windows 11, Follow these steps:

2. Remote Desktop Connection

If you don’t want to download a new, dedicated app for remote connection, Windows includes a built-in remote desktop app as well. The built-in app is basic, but it provides all of the necessary features for a smooth connection. The steps outlined below will assist you in connecting to a remote desktop using the built-in app provided:

After all these steps, your connection will be successful, and you can now easily use your PC remotely over LAN. If you’re facing any issues with internal errors or a denied connection, our guides should be able to help you out.

Conclusion

The Windows Remote Desktop tool is a game-changer. Whether you’re connecting to a PC in the next room or across continents, the process is straightforward. Have you explored other remote features on Windows? Share your experiences or drop any questions in the comments below.

IP address: Pick any IP address that’s in the same group as your router’s address (default gateway), but make sure it’s not one that your router might give out automatically (DHCP range). You can check your DHCP range from your router’s admin page/portal. For instance, if your range is from 192.168.1.2 to 192.168.1.100, you will choose an IP that’s outside of that, such as 192.168.1.150.

Subnet mask: Use 255.255.255.0 as your subnet mask.Default Gateway: Enter the default gateway you just fetched earlier.DNS: For this, we recommend using Google’s DNS which is given below along with the other settings:

Preferred DNS: 8.8.8.8DNS Over HTTPS: Off Alternative DNS: 1.1.1.1DNS Over HTTPS: Off Verify that you’ve put all the correct numbers and click Save. This ends the server-side, aka host setup, for our remote desktop connection.

Client-Side Connection

Once you’ve set up the host computer, you’re ready to connect from the client side. To do this, you need the username of the account on the host PC, which can be seen from its Start menu. If the PC is password-protected, you will also need the password from the owner.

After the user has been identified, move on to the client-side computer where we will show you how to connect using the Microsoft Remote Desktop application as well as the Remote Desktop Connection app.

1. Microsoft Remote Desktop

The modern Microsoft RDP app does not come pre-installed in Windows, but it’s easily available for free. It’s more advanced and offers extra features missing from the native app that we’ll discuss next. For now:

2. Remote Desktop Connection

Conclusion

Remote Desktop will now be enabled on your computer.

Server-Side Connection

After enabling Remote Desktop on Windows, the only thing left to do is connect to the host. However, there are two ways to connect to the host machine: one is temporary and the other is permanent. We’ve outlined both methods below for your convenience and to avoid confusion. After you’ve chosen between the two, that will complete your server-side (host) connection.

Dynamic IP: Every device online is usually assigned a changing IP address each time it connects by default. While this can offer some security benefits, it might be challenging for those who need to regularly connect to the device remotely.Static IP: Some users opt for a static IP, ensuring their device has a consistent IP address that stays the same. This is handy for more frequent remote connections but might be considered less secure, especially for business-oriented tasks.

Temporary Connection (Dynamic IP)

For a one-time remote connection, you can use the PC’s current dynamic IP address. Here’s how:

Finding Your Current IP

To determine your current IP, you simply need to type out a command in CMD (Command Prompt) and Windows will return your IPv4 Address that is required to connect to the PC Remotely.

Permanent Connection (Static IP)

For establishing RDP connections regularly, you might want to use a static IP, but it requires some extra effort. Listed below are the pre-requisites and actual steps in order to get a static IP on your PC for RDP.

Default Gateway

Each device in a local network communicates through a router. To send or receive data outside of this local network, the device talks with the router using its IP address, known as the default gateway. This gateway routes the data to its intended destination outside of the local network, and it’s essential to setting up a static IP. You can find your network’s default gateway using the same steps as your IP address in the section above. Simply open Command Prompt, type ipconfig and press Enter. The gateway should be underneath your IP.