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Connect to a Windows device

Learn how to access a Windows computer over Meshnet remotely from any platform.

To log in to your Windows PC remotely over Meshnet, enable remote access on your PC and use a remote desktop app on the device you're connecting from.

Before you begin

Make sure that:

  • Both the Windows device you wish to access remotely (remote PC) and the device you're using to connect are linked over Meshnet.

  • Your remote PC is on.

  • Your remote PC runs a Pro edition of Windows 10 or 11.

To check your PC edition

  1. On your PC, select Start and open Settings.

  2. Go to System > About.

  3. Under Windows specifications, look for Edition.

    "Windows 10 Pro N" is displayed next to "Edition" in system settings

Set up your remote PC for access

Before you can connect to your remote PC, you'll need to enable Remote Desktop on it.

  1. Select Start and open Settings.

  2. Go to System > Remote Desktop

    Showing the Remote Desktop option

  3. Turn on the Remote Desktop toggle.

    Remote Desktop toggle is set to the "On" position

  4. Select Confirm when prompted.

  1. Select Start and open Settings.

    Settings highlighted

  2. Go to System and select Remote Desktop from the left sidebar.

    "Remote Desktop" option highlighted

  3. Turn on the Enable Remote Desktop toggle.

    Enable Remote Desktop toggle is set to the "Off" position

  4. Select Confirm when prompted.

    "Enable remote desktop?" dialog with the "Confirm" button highlighted.

Finding PC account credentials

You will be prompted to enter authentication details when attempting a remote connection to your Windows PC. The credentials you must enter depend on the type of Windows account the PC is using.

  • If you're using a Microsoft account, you can use either:

    • Your Microsoft account's email address and password. Example

      Email and password entered in the authentication dialog.

    • Your Windows account's username and Microsoft account's password. Example

      Username and password entered in the authentication dialog.

  • If you're using a local Windows account, you need to use the account's username and password.

Tip

To view your Windows account's username, run the following command in PowerShell:

Connect to your remote PC

For Windows-only connections, follow these steps on the device you're using to connect:

  1. In the NordVPN app, locate and copy the Nord name or Meshnet IP of the device you want to access.

    Copying the Nord name of the peer device from the NordVPN app.

  2. In the search box on the taskbar, type Remote Desktop Connection and click Remote Desktop Connection .

    "Remote Desktop Connection" search result is shown as best match

  3. In the dialog that opens, paste either the Nord name or Meshnet IP of the PC you want to access.

    Nord name is entered in the Remote Desktop Connection dialog

  4. Click Connect.

  5. Enter the following information, and then click OK:

    • Your remote PC account name

    • The password you use to log in to your remote PC

      Entering account credentials

      See the Finding PC account credentials section above for more details regarding correct credential usage.

  6. You may receive a warning indicating that the remote computer's identity cannot be verified. When connecting to a trusted computer, such as one on your Meshnet, click Yes to continue.

Tip

If you don't want to see this dialog in the future, select the Don't ask me again for connections to this computer checkbox.

You should now be able to securely access and control your PC remotely.

Install Remote Desktop on Android

To connect to your remote PC from Android, first install the Remote Desktop app, available for free from Google Play.

Add a remote PC connection

  1. In the NordVPN app, go to Products > Meshnet > Manage devices, tap the three-dot menu next to the device you want to access, and copy the device's Nord name or IP address.

    "Copy" options highlighted from the three-dot menu.

  2. Open the RD Client app that you installed earlier.

  3. From the bottom row, select Add > Add PC.

    Plus button and the Add PC option are highlighted

  4. Under PC name, paste the copied Nord name or Meshnet IP of the PC you want to access.

    Nord name of the remote PC highlighted.

  5. Under User account, select the Add user account option.

  6. In the Username and Password fields, enter your credentials for the remote computer to save for use with this connection, and tap Save. Example

    Remote account username and password entered

    See the Finding PC account credentials section above for more details regarding correct credential usage.

  7. In the upper-right corner, tap Save.

Access your remote PC

  1. From the main screen, select the saved connection that you added.

  2. You may receive a warning indicating that the digital certificate of the computer you're trying to access cannot be verified. If you don't want to see this dialog in the future, select the Never ask again for connections to this PC checkbox.

  3. Tap Connect.

    Connect button highlighted

You should now be able to securely access and control your PC remotely over Meshnet.

Install Windows App on iOS

To connect to the remote PC from iPhone/iPad, install the Windows App Mobile, available for free from the App Store.

Note

To install Windows App Mobile, your device must run iOS 17.0 or later.

Add a remote PC connection

  1. In the NordVPN app, go to Products > Meshnet > Manage devices and copy the Nord name or Meshnet IP of the device you want to access.

    Nord name and Meshnet IP of a Windows device highlighted.

  2. Launch the Windows app that you installed.

  3. In the upper-right corner, tap the plus (+) button and select PC.

  4. Tap PC name and paste the copied Nord name or Meshnet IP of the PC you want to access.

    Entering the Nord name

  5. Return to the previous menu and select Credentials > Add credentials.

  6. Enter the following information to save for use with this connection:

    • The remote PC account name

    • The remote PC account password

    • Optionally, tap Friendly name to give a nickname to the connection. Example

      Entering remote PC credentials

  7. Tap Save, return to the previous screen, and tap Save again.

The new connection will appear under Saved devices. Tap it whenever you want to initiate a remote session.

Newly added connection visible under "Saved devices".

Install Windows App on macOS

To connect to your remote PC from macOS, first install the Windows App, available for free from the Mac App Store.

Add a remote PC connection

  1. In the NordVPN app, locate and copy the Nord name or Meshnet IP of the device you want to access.

    Pointing to the "Copy device's IP address" option in the NordVPN app

  2. Open Windows app, click the plus (+) button, and select Add PC.

    The plus (+) button is highlighted and the "Add PC" option is selected.

  3. In the PC name box, paste the Nord name or Meshnet IP you copied earlier.

    Nord name entered in the "PC name" field.

  4. From the User account dropdown list, select Add credentials.

  5. In the Username and Password fields, enter your credentials for the remote computer to save for future connections, and click Add. Example

    Username and password fields filled in with the authentication details.

    See the Finding PC account credentials section above for more details regarding correct credential usage.

  6. Optionally, give a nickname to your connection in the Friendly name field.

    "Home PC" connection nickname entered in the "Friendly name" field

  7. Click Add to save changes.

Access your remote PC

  1. Under Saved PCs, double-click the new connection that you added.

    Newly added connection selected in the app.

  2. You may receive a warning indicating that the digital certificate of the computer you're trying to access cannot be verified. If you don't want to see this dialog in the future, click Show certificate and then select the Always trust checkbox.

  3. If you're connecting to a computer you trust, click Continue.

    "Continue" button highlighted.

You should now be able to remotely access and control your PC securely.

To connect to the remote PC from Linux, first install the Remmina remote desktop client on your Linux device.

Note

The instructions below use Ubuntu 24.04 LTS as an example.

Install Remmina on Linux

  1. Open Terminal.

  2. Update the package manager list of available packages by running the following command:

  3. Install Remmina by entering this command:

  1. Launch App Center.

  2. In the search bar, enter remmina and select the matching result.

  3. Click the Install button.

    Clicking "Install" in the App Center to install Remmina.

  4. If requested, enter the password of your Linux user account and click Authenticate.

Add a remote PC connection

  1. In the terminal, run the nordvpn meshnet peer list command and copy the Nord name of the device you want to access:

    Peer device's Nord name and Meshnet IP address are highlighted in the terminal window

  2. Launch the Remmina app that you installed earlier.

  3. Click the New connection profile button in the upper-left corner of the app window.

    New connection profile button highlighted

  4. In the Name field, type in a custom name to identify the connection.

  5. Make sure RDP — Remote Desktop Protocol is selected in the Protocol field.

  6. Under Basic, enter the following information to create a reusable connection:

    • In the Server field, paste the Nord name you copied earlier.

    • In the Username field, enter your remote PC account name.

    • In the Password field, enter the password you use to log in to your remote PC. Example

      Filling in the Server, Username, and Password fields

      See the Finding PC account credentials section above for more details regarding correct credential usage.

  7. Click Save.

Access your remote PC

  1. Double-click the new connection profile you've created.

    The newly connection profile is selected in the Remmina window

  2. Accept the certificate presented by the server to verify that you trust the computer you are trying to access.

You should now be able to securely access and control your PC remotely.

Alternative remote desktop tools

You can also use other remote access software like NoMachine or AnyDesk to establish a remote connection between your devices.

Using NoMachine

Once remote access is configured on the target PC, install the NoMachine app on both your remote and local devices.

Connect from Windows, macOS, or Linux using NoMachine

On your local machine:

  1. In the NordVPN app, locate and copy the Nord name or Meshnet IP address of the device you want to access.

    Copying the Nord name of the peer device from the NordVPN app.

  2. Launch NoMachine and select the Add button to create a new connection.

    Clicking the "Add" button in NoMachine.

  3. Fill in the following information and, in the upper-right corner, click Add:

    • In the Name field, enter a custom name to identify the connection.

    • In the Host field, paste the copied Nord name of the device you want to access. Example

      "Home PC" entered in the Name field and Nord name entered in the Host field.

  4. Double-click the newly created connection to initiate the remote connection.

  5. If a warning appears indicating that the host's authenticity cannot be confirmed, select OK to proceed.

  6. Enter your remote desktop credentials and select OK.

    • Username: your remote PC account name

    • Password: the password you use to log in to your remote PC Example

      Username and password fields filled in with the remote PC credentials.

      See the Finding PC account credentials section above for more details regarding correct credential usage.

You should now be able to securely access and control your PC remotely.

Connect from Android or iPhone/iPad using NoMachine

On your mobile device, perform the following steps to add a remote PC connection:

  1. In the NordVPN app, locate and copy the Nord name or Meshnet IP of the device you want to access.

  2. Open NoMachine and select the Add button in the upper-left corner to create a new connection.

    Tapping the "Add" button.

  3. Ensure that NX is selected as the protocol and tap Continue.

  4. In the Host field, enter either the Nord name or Meshnet IP of the computer you want to access, and then select Continue.

    The Meshnet IP address of the remote PC is entered in the Host field, which is highlighted

  5. Keep the default options for Authentication and Proxy.

  6. Optionally, in the Name field, provide a custom name for the connection and tap Done.

To access your remote PC:

  1. On the NoMachine main screen, double-tap the newly created connection to initiate the remote connection.

  2. If a warning appears indicating that the host's authenticity cannot be confirmed, select OK to proceed.

  3. Enter your remote desktop credentials and select OK.

    • Username: your remote PC account name

    • Password: the password you use to log in to your remote PC Example

      See the Finding PC account credentials section above for more details regarding correct credential usage.

You should now be able to securely access and control your PC remotely.

With these steps completed, you should now be connected to your remote Mac using NoMachine over Meshnet.

Using AnyDesk

Once remote access is configured on the target PC, install the AnyDesk app on both the PC and the device you're connecting from.

For this setup, you won't need remote PC account credentials. Instead, you can use either manual approval on the remote PC or set up a dedicated unattended access password.

Optional: Enable unattended access with AnyDesk

By default, AnyDesk needs manual approval for incoming connections. To bypass this, you can enable the app’s Unattended access feature:

  1. On the remote computer, launch AnyDesk you installed earlier.

  2. In the upper-right corner, click the Main Menu button and select Settings.

    Opening the Settings menu on the AnyDesk app

  3. From the menu on the left, under Security, select Access.

    Arrow pointing to the "Access" option under the "Security" section.

  4. Under Unattended access, click Set password.

  5. Enter and confirm a secure password that will be used for authentication, and then click Apply.

    Password entry fields filled in and the "Apply" button is highlighted.

After applying the changes, connect to the device without manual approval by following the platform-specific instructions below.

Connect from Windows, macOS, or Linux using AnyDesk

On your local machine:

  1. In the NordVPN app, locate and copy the Nord name or Meshnet IP address of the device you want to access.

    Copying the Nord name of the peer device from the NordVPN app.

  2. Launch AnyDesk you installed earlier.

  3. In the remote address field at the top, enter either the Nord name or the Meshnet IP address of the remote PC and click Connect.

    The Nord name of the remote PC and the "Connect" button are highlighted on the AnyDesk app

If you set up an unattended password on the remote PC:

  1. In the Authorization dialog that appears, enter the password you created for unattended access on the remote PC and click OK.

  2. Optionally, you can select the Log in automatically from now on checkbox to avoid entering the password again for subsequent connections.

    "Log in automatically from now on" option is selected and highlighted.

If you haven't set up an unattended password, wait for the user at the remote device to accept the connection request manually.

Connect from Android or iPhone/iPad using AnyDesk

On your mobile device:

  1. In the NordVPN app, locate and copy the Nord name or Meshnet IP of the device you want to access.

  2. Open AnyDesk you installed earlier.

  3. In the remote address field, paste either the Nord name or the Meshnet IP address of the remote PC and tap the arrow button to connect.

    Nord name of the remote PC and the arrow button are highlighted

If you set up an unattended password on the remote PC:

  1. In the Authorization dialog, enter the password you created for unattended access on the remote PC and tap OK.

  2. Optionally, you can select the Log in automatically from now on checkbox to avoid entering the password again for subsequent connections.

    The "Log in automatically from now on" option is selected.

If you haven't set up an unattended password, wait for the user at the remote device to accept the connection request manually.

With these steps completed, you should now be connected to your remote Mac using AnyDesk over Meshnet.

Checklist for a successful connection

If you encounter issues while attempting to connect, check that:

See also

PreviousHow to log in to your PC remotely over MeshnetNextConnect to a macOS device

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