Last Updated on April 24, 2026
Whether you are working from home and need to access your office PC, or you simply want to manage a desktop in another room, knowing how to connect to another computer is an essential skill. While there is plenty of third-party remote desktop software available, Windows has a powerful, built-in utility called Remote Desktop Connection (RDP).
Remote Desktop Connection allows you to connect to and control another Windows PC over your local network or over the internet. When connected, you see the remote computer’s screen on your monitor and can use your own mouse and keyboard to control it exactly as if you were sitting right in front of it.
In this guide, we will show you how to launch Remote Desktop on modern operating systems like Windows 10 and Windows 11, how to configure your settings, and how to troubleshoot common connection errors.
Connecting over a Local Network vs. The Internet
Before you launch the app, you need to know how you are connecting to the remote machine.
Connecting on the Same Network (LAN)
If both computers are on the same Wi-Fi or wired network (like in your house or your office building), connecting is incredibly simple. All you need to know is the target computer’s name or its local IP address. Setting a static IP address for the target computer makes this process smoother, as the IP address will never change.
Connecting over the Internet
Connecting to a computer from outside its local network is a bit more complex. Because you cannot use a simple local computer name, you will need the remote network’s Public IP address.
Furthermore, you will need to configure Port Forwarding on the remote network’s router to map incoming RDP traffic (Port 3389) to the private IP address of the target PC. (Note: For security reasons, exposing RDP directly to the internet is no longer recommended. Using a VPN to securely tunnel into the remote network before launching RDP is the safest method).
On a side note, if you are looking for a way to remotely connect to Windows Home edition computers over the network to provide support then you might want to check out Windows Quick Support.
How to Open Remote Desktop Connection
Gone are the days of digging through the “Accessories” folders in older versions of Windows. If you are using Windows 10 or Windows 11, launching the app takes only a few seconds:
- Click the Start Menu (or press the Windows key).
- Type Remote Desktop Connection into the search bar.
- Hit Enter or click the app to open it.
- Click Show Options in the bottom left corner to reveal the advanced settings.
You will be presented with a screen that looks like this:
Configuring Your Remote Desktop Settings
The RDP client has several tabs that let you customize your remote session. Here is a breakdown of what each one does:
- General: This is the most important tab. Here, you enter the computer name or IP address you want to connect to, along with the username. You can also save these settings as an .rdp file so you don’t have to retype them next time.
- Display: Choose the screen resolution and color depth for your remote session. If you have a multi-monitor setup, you can check the box to use all your monitors for the remote session.
- Local Resources: This tab dictates what hardware is shared between the two PCs. You can choose to play the remote computer’s audio through your local speakers, pass through Windows keyboard shortcuts, and share your local printers or hard drives with the remote PC.
- Experience: This tab optimizes performance based on your internet speed. If your connection is slow, you can uncheck visual features (like desktop backgrounds, menu animations, and window dragging) to make the remote mouse feel much more responsive.
- Advanced: Contains server authentication settings to ensure you are connecting to a trusted PC, as well as options to configure Remote Desktop Gateways for enterprise networks.
