How to Use Remote Desktop on the Raspberry Pi with VNC

Accessing the Raspberry Pi device remotely is a common task that every user needs since it allows them to control the Raspberry Pi desktop on another system. It is beneficial for those users who have purchased the device but they don’t have any other peripheral devices like a keyboard, mouse, or screen. VNC is an application that makes it possible for Raspberry Pi users to access the desktop remotely and is pre-installed in the Raspberry Pi system.

In this guide, we will explain the procedure of connecting with the Raspberry Pi desktop remotely with VNC.

How to Use Remote Desktop to Raspberry Pi with VNC

To use a remote desktop to Raspberry Pi with VNC, follow the below-given steps:

Step 1: First, enable the VNC service on the Raspberry Pi desktop from “raspi-config” tool that can be opened from the following command:

Step 2: The following window will appear on your terminal, choose the Interface Options using the down arrow key from keyboard and hit Enter:

Step 3: Next, choose VNC and hit Enter Key:

Step 4: Select Yes and press Enter to continue:

The notification will appear on your screen “The VNC server is enabled” click on OK:

Step 5: Install the VNC from the official website on your Windows or Mac system.

Step 6: Launch the VNC from the search bar of your device. In my case, I am accessing the remote desktop to Raspberry Pi with the VNC on the Windows system.

Step 7: Enter the Raspberry Pi IP address in the section next to VNC Connect and that to find the IP, use the “hostname -I” command.

Step 8: Enter the password of the remote device to access it.

Note: You can also sign in to VNC with your email ID and password on both devices (Raspberry Pi and PC). After that, you can use the hostname that appears on the Raspberry Pi VNC server. Users will be able to access the Raspberry pi device from any location through this method.

In my case, I am using raspberry (3) for accessing the Raspberry Pi desktop remotely.

The VNC session should start and you should see the desktop of your Raspberry Pi:

Creating Multiple Sessions on VNC

You can also create multiple sessions on VNC by running the vncserver command in the Raspberry Pi terminal.

Then use the address to enter the Raspberry Pi system remotely from another session. Creating the sessions will help multiple users use the system at a time.

Bottom Line

With VNC, you can easily access Raspberry Pi since it’s already installed in the system. You only need to enable VNC service on Raspberry Pi, install VNC on another system, and use the Raspberry Pi IP address to access the device. To remotely access the device from another location, you must sign in with VNC on both systems with the same account. After setting up the account you will be able to use the Raspberry pi system remotely. You can also use vncserver command to create separate Raspberry Pi sessions for the users, allowing them to use the device at the same time.