Have you always wanted to quickly check something on your PC while you are absent? Or maybe take this file that you forgot to transfer to your phone? Here is what I use to transparently access my Windows PC from my Android phone, no matter where I am.
How I use Chrome Remote Desktop for remote access
Chrome Remote Desktop offers an elegant and easy way to access my Windows PC from my Android smartphone. All I have to do is open the Chrome Remote Desktop application on my phone, and this shows me a list of all connected devices – which, in my case, is my Windows desk. With a single tap, I am connected to my Windows PC.
The interface is clean and intuitive, with an optional options that offers quick and easy access to all essential features without cluttering the screen. One aspect that I particularly appreciate is how the options can be pinned or not registered – I generally keep it not to maximize real estate on the screen, especially when I work on the relatively small screen of My phone.
Here is a quick overview of key features to give you an idea of what is possible:
Touch input: trackpad or touch screen
Once you have remote access to your Windows PC, you can technically use the display of your phone as a touch screen, AKA Direct Touch (default option) to control your Windows PC, or you can transform it into trackpad.
If you decide to use Direct Touch, any place where you press the screen of your phone is click. So if you press an application icon, it will start the application icon. Even if the icons and the interface elements are very low, the tactile precision is surprisingly good. I have almost always been able to hit the right icon or application the first time.
That said, the filling of a complete office interface in a 6 -inch display will make icons difficult to click and a text difficult to read. Fortunately, you can easily pinch to zoom and get out of the desk to get a clear view of what’s going on.
In addition, you can also transform the screen into trackpad. In this way, you drag your finger on the screen to move the cursor, which you can then use to click on the icons and the interface elements. It works exactly like a laptop trackpad where you can press and maintain to select something, and use the scrolling of two-deigts.
Related
How to use your Android phone as bluetooth or keyboard mouse
You can use your Android phone as keyboard or mouse without installing software on your computer.
Keyboard integration
You can trigger the keyboard functionality from the options. It allows you to use the virtual keyboard of your phone to type directly in any application on your PC.
You can also press the three -point button to enter the advanced menu. From there, you can trigger keyboard shortcuts on a system scale like CTRL + Alt + DEL simply by pressing the specific buttons. You can also configure the key mapping and keyboard shortcuts.
Advanced parameters
Here is a quick overview of the three -point advanced menu settings:
-
Selection of video codec (AV1, VP8, VP9) to optimize performance according to your connection
-
Full -resolution color coding
-
Fluid scrolling for better navigation
-
Image frequency control of 15 frames per second at 60fps (I generally stick to 30 IPS for the better balance between reactivity and performance)
-
System key commands for administrative tasks (as discussed in the previous section)
-
Option to download and download files between devices
-
Synchronization of clipboard between devices
According to my experience, the default AV1 codec works better for most situations, but I sometimes go to VP8 during a slower connection. I also found that deactivating high quality color mode reduces offset without having a significant impact on usability.
How to configure it
Among all the different remote access tools I used, Chrome Remote Desktop is probably the simplest and fastest to configure. On your Windows PC, open Google Chrome and go to The remote access website. and press the download button (arrow pointing down). This will download the Chromemotédesktophost configuration file.
Remember to use Google Chrome for a transparent experience – and not a chrome -based browser like Edge or Brave. I learned that hard after troubleshooting connection problems with other browsers.
Once downloaded, run the configuration file to install the host. Once the installation is complete, go back to the Chrome browser window and update it. You should now see an option asking you to configure remote access. Click Activate> Choose a name for your PC> Define a pin and that’s it! You have succeeded and configured Chrome Remote Desktop on your Windows PC.
Now on your Android device, visit the Google Play Store and download the BURAND Résiot Chrome App. Open the application and make sure you are connected using the same Google account as in your Google Chrome browser on your Windows PC.
You should see a list of all devices accessible remotely linked to your account. Choose your Windows device from the list, enter the corresponding pin and in a few seconds, you should have remote access to your Windows PC from your Android phone.
Why do I use Chrome Remote Desktop
I settled on Chrome Remote Desktop for several reasons. It is completely free to use, covers all the essential features that you expect from remote access software, and it is super easy to configure. As I just demonstrated, it takes just over five minutes to put it into service on your Windows PC and your Android smartphone.
In addition, it is exceptionally light and does not impose the CPU or the RAM. This means that you can potentially activate an Android phone with low specification to access your Windows PC when you travel and you need to access a file or run a program. It works exceptionally well if you have an Android tablet and want to transform it into a Windows tablet.
Related
Use Android and Windows? Combine them with these 4 nice tools
Stop changing screens!
My problems with other alternatives
I tried other remote access solutions, but each has its drawbacks. Team belly Works, but I found it late with significant performance problems. Anydesk is another excellent option, but its latest version, at the time of writing, is super buggy and disconnects at random in the middle of a connection.
Rust is probably the best alternative if you are looking for an open source solution and focused on the confidentiality you can control. However, it is not available in the Play Store – you will need F -Droid, and configure it can be complicated compared to Chrome Remote Desktop.
Chrome Remote Desktop has become my essential solution to access my Windows PC from my Android phone. It is secure, reliable and offers all the features I need without unnecessary complexity.
