There are a lot of tutorials out there explaining how to remote into a Raspberry Pi. Unfortunately a lot of them ignore that this functionality comes baked into even the slimmed downed version of Raspbian. Worse still a lot of them just plain do not work! This article demonstrates how to actually remote into Raspian from Windows and you do not need to write a single line of code as everything can be done through the UI. That is of course assuming you are not a masochist and actually installed the UI.

(FYI these instructions are for connecting over the same network)

Virtual Network Computing

You will gain remote access and control of the Pi using technology called VNC. In computing, Virtual Network Computing is a graphical desktop-sharing system that uses the Remote Frame Buffer protocol to remotely control another computer.

To do this you will need to install a VNC viewer software on your Windows 10 PC. Microsoft’s own Remote Desktop Connection software can be a bit temperamental so it is recommended you use the free and very light software “VNC Viewer”. You will not need to install a VNC Server on the Pi as it is already preinstalled.

Setting up the Windows PC

VNC Viewer can be downloaded for free from RealVNC at the following link, or you can search for it in your web browser of choice if you would prefer. Once you have it installed you will need to set up the Pi to receive VNC connections.

Setting up the Pi

To enable the VNC connections follow these steps.

On the Pi go to the Application Menu, the Raspberry Icon to the top left of Home screen.

Preferences > Raspberry Pi Configuration > Interfaces > then enable the VNC option.

Next you will need to enable the VNC Server to display in the Application Menu which you can do by follow these steps.

From Preferences in the Application Menu go:

Preferences > Main Menu Editor > Other > then enable VNC Server.

Then click okay to apply the setting.

Now when you go to the Application Menu (Raspberry Icon on Home screen) you will be able to access the VNC Server application via the category “Other”.

Remoting into the Pi from Windows

After opening the application you should see under “Connectivity” the IP address that can be used for other computers on the same network to connect to the Raspberry Pi. (If an IP address is not displayed make sure your WiFi is on)

Jump over to your Windows 10 PC and open the VNC Viewer app.

Type the IP address displayed by the VNC Server into the Address bar.

When prompted enter the username and password you use to access the Raspberry Pi (possibly pi and raspberry). You should now have remote access to the Pi.

The best part is on reboot the VNC Server should start automatically.

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