Screens Connect is a free utility that makes your Windows PC remotely accessible so that you can connect via Screens for iOS, Mac and Vision Pro.
Step 1: Run the installation programme.
Download the latest version of Screens Connect.
Open the downloaded file.
Click on Next.
Specify where Screens Connect files are to be installed.
Specify the start menu folder in which Screens Connect is listed.
Additional installation tasks
Add an exception to the Windows firewall: Enable this option to instruct the Windows firewall to allow incoming Screens connections.
Start Screens Connect on startup: Enable this option to ensure that your Windows PC is always accessible when you need to connect to Screens.
Install TightVNC: Screens requires a VNC server to be installed and running on your PC. If you have already installed a VNC server, you can deactivate this option. Otherwise, select this option to install TightVNC.
Click Install to start the installation process. (If you want to install TightVNC and/or freeSSHd, they will be installed as part of this process. See below for step-by-step instructions).
Install TightVNC
When the welcome window appears, click Next.
Read the software licence included with the application and activate the checkbox to accept the licence conditions.
Select the desired installation type: Typical, Custom or Full. For our purposes, the Typical option is sufficient.
Activate Register TightVNC server as system service.
Activate Configure system so that services can simulate Ctrl-Alt-Del.
Activate Add exception for TightVNC to Windows firewall.
Click on Install to start the installation process.
Important: Set passwords for remote access and the administrator interface as part of the installation process.
Click on Finish to finalise the process.
Once the installation is complete, start Screens Connect.
Step 2: Configuring Screens Connect
If you do not have a Screens Connect account, click on Create a Screens Connect account. Otherwise, click on the Login button to log in with an existing Screens Connect account.
General configuration
To prevent disconnections caused by the PC going into sleep mode to save power, activate Prevent computer from going into sleep mode.
Make sure that Start on startup is activated.
Secure connections
To enable secure connections (SSH), you must install an SSH server on your PC. Read this article to learn how to enable SSH on your Windows PC.
If you want to establish an encrypted connection to this PC, activate Use SSH tunnelling on port.
Leave the port at the industry-wide default value of 22.
Advanced configuration
If port mapping is not available on your router or you prefer to manage the port forwarding rules yourself, you can read this article to learn how to configure Screens Connect manually.
Step 3: Log in with your Screens Connect account in Screens
Your Screens Connect account connects your computers on which Screens Connect is installed to Screens. You must log in to the app with your account so that it can contact our Screens Connect server and retrieve the information required to connect to your computers remotely.
Step 4: Establishing and testing a connection
Once Screens Connect has been installed and set up, you can start Screens 5 and establish a connection with your computer. Before relying on remote access, we strongly recommend that you test your connection to ensure that everything is working as expected before leaving your PC unattended.
To test your remote connection
- switch off WLAN on your iPhone.
- if you are using a Mac, iPad or other device without mobile connectivity, connect it to your iPhone's personal hotspot to simulate a remote connection.
- open Screens 5.
- go to the Screens Connect section.
- if you are not yet logged in, please log in.
- select your PC to establish a connection.
If the connection is successful, your remote configuration is ready for use! Further details on establishing a connection can be found in this article.
Uninstalling Screens Connect for Windows
How to uninstall Screens Connect from your PC:
- right-click on the Screens Connect icon in the taskbar.
- select Exit.
- open the Windows Control Panel.
- click on Uninstall a programme.
- select Screens Connect. 6.
- click on Uninstall.
- carry out the same steps for TightVNC if you also want to uninstall it.