Out of the plethora of services that Google has in store for its user base, its Chrome Remote Desktop App feels like an underrated treasure. This offering from the Silicon Valley giants allows you to control your PC via another device remotely.
It isn’t just limited to remotely accessing the browser; the second device could access every aspect of your computer.
Recently one of my coworkers was constantly getting bugged with the DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN Error in his Chrome browser. While I knew the fixes for this issue, explaining it via telephone turned out to be challenging.
This was when I thought of using Chrome’s Remote Desktop access. Upon setting it up on his PC, I could remotely control the host right from home and rectify the underlying issue without fuss using my mobile Phone.
Well, this is just one of the many use-case scenarios where it came in handy; there could be countless others as well. Let’s now check how to set up and use this remote desktop service.
Before getting started, ensure you’re signed in with the same Google account on chrome computer and android/iPhone. This will streamline the process and make it easier to set up.
Set up Chrome Remote Access on the Computer
First and foremost, you will have to set up Chrome Remote Access. It would be best if you did so on the PC acting as a host; in other words, you would remotely control that.
Here are the steps for setting up chrome remote desktop access on the computer:
- Head over to remotedesktop.google.com/access website via the Chrome browser.
- Click on the icon button under the Remote Access section.
It shall take you to the Chrome Web Store. - Click on to install the Chrome Remote Desktop Extension.
- Click on the button.
Chrome shall launch the MSI Host setup and perform the required installation in the background.
- Type in to enter a name for your computer PC, and click on .
- You will now have to choose a PIN of six digits or more and hit .
Make sure to create a strong password consisting of alphanumeric strings and reconfirm the same PIN.
- You shall now see your online device with the Online status for the newly configured chrome remote desktop computer.
Access your PC remotely from the Phone
Now that the initial setup is complete let’s proceed with the instructions to control your PC via the second device, which in this case, is a smartphone. However, the below steps shall also work out in case your second device is a PC.
Here are the steps to access and control the PC from a mobile phone:
- Head to the Play Store and download the Chrome Remote Desktop app onto your Android device.
iPhone users could download it from the App Store. - Install and launch the Chrome Remote Desktop app.
- If required, sign in with the same Google account configured with a chrome computer.
You shall see your laptop’s name under the My Computers section.
- Tap on the online computer device.
- Enter the PIN that you had set up in the earlier section.
If it’s on your PC and device, you may also checkmark the Don’t ask for a PIN again box. - Hit the button, and the connection shall be established within a few seconds.
You may now directly control your host from this second device (in this case, a smartphone).
Furthermore, an overlay menu will notify you of the connection on your desktop. As and when you need to stop this connection, click on the button.
Bottom Line: Remote Desktop using Mobile
So this was all from this guide on how to set up the Google Chrome Remote Desktop app. In these testing times, when work from home has become the new normal, remotely accessing the work setup directly from home is a boon for the end-users.
While there are other apps in this domain, their setup might be a little bit complicated, especially for non-tech enthusiasts.
On the other hand, this app from Google has wholly streamlined the remote setup process. What are your views on the same? Do let us know in the comments section below.
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