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How to Enable RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) on Windows 10

With remote desktop enabled, you can remote into Windows 10 from anywhere and almost any device. Follow the below steps to enable RDP on Windows 10.

The Remote Desktop feature in Windows has been there for a long time and is very helpful when you want to access the system, transfer files, or provide some sort of PC Support remotely. For example, from time to time, I use the RDP to access my home computer from my work computer and even from the Android mobile.

The best thing is that with a single toggle, you can enable the Remote Desktop feature and allow remote connections to your Windows 10 system without using any third party software whatsoever.

So, without further ado, here’s how you can enable the RDP feature in Windows.

Note: RDP is limited in Windows 10 Home edition. i.e, you can remote into other machines but you cannot make others connect to your machine. Simply put, due to restrictions Windows 10 Home cannot act as an RDP server. There are workarounds but that is for another article.

Steps to Enable RDP on Windows 10

In older versions of Windows, you need to go through different menus and windows to enable the feature. However, in Windows 10 Microsoft made the process a bit more easy, understandable, and configurable. Just follow the steps and you will be good.

1. First, open the PC Settings app. You can do that by press the Win + I keyboard shortcut or by clicking on the “All Settings” button in the Notification Center.

2. After opening the PC Settings app, go to “System → Remote Desktop”. On this page, toggle the “Enable Remote Desktop” switch to ON position.

Enable rdp windows 10 - toggle switch

3. In the confirmation window, click on the “Confirm” button.

Enable rdp windows 10 - click confirm button

That is it. You’ve enabled the Remote Desktop feature. By default, your PC will only be visible in the Local Network. This is particularly useful when you want to access local machines like Media Centers.

To provide additional security, the connection is password protected. So, if you want to remote into the machine, you need to provide the username and password of your user account. If you don’t want to go through the authentication process, click on the “Advanced Settings” link and uncheck the “Requires Authentication” checkbox on the next page. However, removing authentication is not recommended.

Remote Desktop Over the Internet

For security reasons, the default configuration of Remote Desktop only allows remoting from local computers. If you travel a lot or like to access your home computer from work, you have to further configure your machine to remote over the internet.

To make this work, you need to have a static IP address and might even need to set up port forwarding in your router. If not, you cannot remote to your Windows 10 computer over the internet. If you have a static IP address, it is very easy to configure the machine. Just follow this Microsoft doc page and you will configure your system in no time.

That is all. It is that simple to enable RDP on Windows 10. If you are stuck or need some help, comment below and I will try to help as much as possible. If you like this article, do check out how to use your Android phone as a mouse pad in Windows 10.

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