If you want to access your computer via your phone from anywhere, you can try a remote desktop app. However, if you don’t want to perform complex tasks and just want a way to control your cursor and keyboard via your phone, Google’s Chrome Remote Desktop app may be a perfect fit. So, let’s check out this app and what you can do with it.
What Is Chrome Remote Desktop?
Chrome Remote Desktop is a quick and easy way to access your PC via an Android device. Unlike most screen sharing and remote desktop apps, Chrome Remote Desktop takes minimal effort to set up. However, the caveat is that you can’t control your PC using advanced tools like you can with a dedicated app.
You’ll also need to install Chrome or the Remote Desktop app on both devices for it to work.
How to Set Up and Use Chrome Remote Desktop
To get started, head over to the Google Chrome Remote Desktop website and click the download button. This will open a window to download the Chrome Remote Desktop extension; go ahead and grab it.
Once done, go back to the Chrome Remote Desktop website. The download icon should have turned into a button reading Turn on, so go ahead and click it.
It’ll ask you to name your PC, so give it a descriptive name so you know which PC you’ll be accessing. By default, it will pick the name you gave your PC during setup, so if you can remember what each of your devices is called, feel free to keep that.
You’ll also need to set up a PIN of at least six digits. This will prevent unwanted users from sneaking onto your computer, so be sure to remember it.
If you want to access this PC from another PC, simply repeat the above steps on the other computer. If you want to control it via your phone, download the Chrome Remote Desktop app for Android or iOS. No setup is required on your mobile phone; just log in.
When you want to access another PC, either visit the Chrome Remote Desktop website on your PC or open the app on your phone. Click or tap on the device you want to access (using those descriptive names you set earlier), then enter your set PIN. You should now gain access to your device.
From here, you can navigate, click on things, and type using the app. Once you’re ready to leave, click on the arrow on the right and select Disconnect on the PC, or click the three dots at the top right and select Disconnect on your phone.
When you’re connected to a device, the target will show a pop-up stating that someone is connected to it. This box has a Stop Sharing button on it, so you can also use that if you’ve left a session running by accident.
Now that you’ve got Chrome Remote Desktop set up, you can put it to good use. I think Google’s intent with this service is to make it easier to help people remotely, and it works great for that. Personally, I like using my phone as a “remote” for my PC.
Despite its name, Chrome Remote Desktop goes further than Chrome; you can access your entire PC with it. Whenever I’m out and about and want to get something done on my PC (like downloading a file before I get home), I can just bring my phone out and access it from wherever. As such, even if you never intend to use it for support purposes, Chrome Remote Desktop is a great tool to have around.
Advanced Tips on Using Chrome Remote Desktop
Now that you’re connecting to your devices using Chrome Remote Desktop, it’s time for some advanced tricks.
How to Navigate a Multi-Monitor Setup
If you connect to a computer with multiple monitors, you’ll see something different depending on how you connect to it. If you use your PC, you should see every monitor at once, and if you used your phone, you should be focused on only one monitor.
While this may work fine for you, there are ways to tweak which monitors you see. On a desktop, click the arrow on the right then scroll down to Displays. Click on the drop-down box and select the monitor you want to focus on or pick Show all displays to view everything.
On mobile, look at the icons at the top of the display. Tapping the two monitor icon will show everything while tapping the single monitor icon will cycle between all of your monitors.
How to Use Print Screen or Ctrl + Alt + Del
If you want to press the Print Screen or Ctrl + Alt + Del keys, you can do so quickly through the settings menu. If you’re on a PC, tap the arrow on the right, and if you’re on mobile, tap the three dots. Scroll down and tap Press Ctrl + Alt + Del or Press PrtScr to perform those actions.
How to Set Up Custom Keybinds
You can set up custom keybinds with Chrome Remote Desktop, but it’s a little tricky. Open the settings menu as you did above, then select Configure key mappings. Here, you can assign keys on your keyboard to become a custom keybind, and then set what key is pressed on the target computer.
Unfortunately, you can’t just type in what keys you want; you need to use KeyboardEvent code values. For instance, in the above example, if I wanted the Q key on the connecting PC to open the Windows key on the target device, I set the From key to “KeyQ” and the To key to “MetaLeft”.
While Chrome Remote Desktop isn’t the most powerful remote desktop app out there, it’s definitely the easiest to get set up. As such, the next time you want to tweak something on your PC but only have your phone on hand, give Chrome Remote Desktop a spin.
