Connect Android to Windows PC using Microsoft Remote Desktop

Windows 11/10 OS for PC and Android OS for smartphones remain the preferred choices for many users. Both OSs are highly popular and continue to evolve with updates and enhancements. As their user, you have always vouched for greater integration between the two platforms, making data access easy.

Connect Android phone to Windows 11/10 PC

Wouldn’t it be a huge benefit if you can remote access your Windows PC with your Android device so that you have access to files and programs when you cannot physically be at the same place? One such application that helps you easily connect your Android device to Windows PC is Microsoft Remote Desktop for Android.

Features of Microsoft Remote Desktop for Android

This is a free application that is easily available for download as Google’s Playstore
Through this app, you can access remote resources through your Remote Desktop Gateway
It allows for a rich multi-touch experience with the remote desktop protocol (RDP) and RemoteFX supporting Windows gestures
It offers a secure connection to your data and applications with breakthrough Network Layer Authentication (NLA) technology
Simple management of all remote connections from the connection center
It supports High-quality video and sound streaming with improved compression and bandwidth usage
Support for Azure RemoteApp.

Using Microsoft Remote Desktop for Android

Setting up Remote Desktop for Android on your Windows 10 involves three easy workarounds.

Configuring your Android device like your smartphone/tablet
Configuring your Windows PC
Creating a remote desktop connection on your Android device

Let’s go through them one by one.

Configuring your Android device like your smartphone/tablet

To get started with Microsoft Remote Desktop on your Android device follow the below steps,

Go to Google Playstore on your Android device, download the Remote Desktop client and select “Accept”.

2. Now, you need to add a Remote Desktop connection or a remote resource. You use a connection to connect directly to a Windows PC and a remote resource to use a RemoteApp program, session-based desktop, or virtual desktop published on-premises.

However, you need to make sure that you have configured your Windows PC rightly for the Desktop addition to be successful. The next section details the same on how you can configure your Windows PC for remote access via your Android device.

Configuring your Windows PC

Configuring your Windows is required to add your desktop to your Android device successfully.

Before you try to connect your Windows PC from an Android device, the PC must be turned on and have a network connection. Remote Desktop must be enabled, network access to the remote computer (this could be through the Internet), and permission to connect.

For permission to connect, you must be on the list of users. Hence, always check the name of the computer you’re connecting to and to make sure Remote Desktop connections are allowed through its firewall.

Enabling Remote Desktop

The simplest way to allow access to your PC from a remote device is using the Remote Desktop options under Settings. Since this functionality was added later in the Windows 10, a separate downloadable app is also available, that provides similar functionality for earlier versions of Windows.

Just follow the following steps,

On the device, you want to connect to, select Start and then click the Settings icon on the left.
Select the System group followed by the Remote Desktop
Use the slider to enable Remote Desktop.
It is also recommended to keep the PC awake and discoverable to facilitate connections. Click Show settings to enable.
As needed, add users who can connect remotely by clicking Select users that can remotely access this PC. Members of the Administrators group automatically have access.

In case you have an earlier version of Windows 11/10 or Windows 8/7, then download and run the Microsoft Remote Desktop Assistant. This assistant updates your system settings to enable remote access, ensuring that your computer is awake for connections, and checks that your firewall allows Remote Desktop connections.

Creating a remote desktop connection on your Android device

To create a Remote Desktop connection:

In the Connection Center tap +, and then tap Desktop.
Enter the following information for the computer you want to connect to:

PC name – The name of the computer. This can be a Windows computer name, an Internet domain name, or an IP address. You can also append port information to the PC name (for example, MyDesktop:3389 or 0.0.1:3389).
User name – The username to use to access the remote PC. You can use the following formats: user_name, domain\user_name, or user_name@domain.com. You can also specify whether to prompt for a username and password.

Select Save, and you are good to proceed.

Once connected, and thanks to the touch capabilities of Windows, you can browse freely with touch gestures on the screen. Still, by opening up the settings menu from the top tab? You can drag the cursor with a swipe.