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Microsoft Remote Desktop App Lets You Access Your PC Remotely

by Fox Van Allen on October 18, 2013

Microsoft Remote DesktopWindows 8.1 was released the other day, and sure – that news was pretty exciting for PC owners. But that’s not the only newsworthy product Microsoft has up its sleeve for this week. Today Microsoft announced the launch of Microsoft Remote Desktop, its own iOS and Android app that lets you connect to and use a Windows 8.1 Pro PC right from your smartphone.

Unfortunately, the procedure to actually use Remote Desktop is needlessly complex. You’ll need to configure your PC’s Control Panel to allow remote connections, and then you’ll need to type “ipconfig” in the command prompt to get your computer’s IP address. One would hope that an official Microsoft product would be a bit more frictionless, but as we've seen in the past, official Microsoft apps for iOS and Android tend to disappoint.

While it’s great that the Microsoft Remote Desktop app is free, you can only use it with the more expensive (and unpopular) Windows 8.1 Pro operating system. That said, you’re probably better off with a third-party remote access solution like the popular Splashtop app. It’s not free to use, but it is compatible with non-Pro versions of Windows 8.

Microsoft Remote Desktop is a free download from the Apple App Store (iOS) and Google Play (Android). Pricing for the Splashtop app varies depending on your exact needs; visit the Splashtop app download page for more details.


Topics

Productivity, News, Phones and Mobile, Mobile Apps, Android Apps, iPhone/iPad Apps, Operating Systems, Blog


Discussion loading

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From ben on October 19, 2013 :: 7:33 pm


But how can I use this remote desktop connection? i am confused.

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From chris flynn on June 26, 2015 :: 10:26 am


excellent article admin, it’s really helpful for me thanks for sharing

Reply

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From corporate on September 13, 2015 :: 2:23 pm


Really after using that app I love to work on pc more & more.As due to smooth Pc Working as well as
amazing desktop background.

Thanks for sharing that great info.

Reply

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From Manish on January 16, 2016 :: 12:53 pm


I installed windows 10 and tried it. But, its not working properly? What may be the reason?? Please help.

Reply

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From samir on June 29, 2016 :: 12:11 pm


thanks for sharing this amazing post with all of us.i have tried the method from the article it worked for me.

Reply

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From Ewan on August 14, 2016 :: 7:21 pm


The news is a bit old but the remote desktop app is really great, I just want to tell that it’s a bit slower than teamviewer, MS should enhance its speed. Thankyou

Reply

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