Blog Post
RDP on Raspberry Pi
David Grider • Nov 21, 2021
It's actually surprisingly simple to get a Raspberry Pi to talk to Remote Desktop Connection via the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) on Windows 10.
First off, do an update/upgrade.
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
Next, install xrdp, which does all sorts of magical software stuff to allow a RDP connection. It works out of the box (your mileage may vary), at least on Windows 10 and a Raspberry Pi 3b running Raspberry Pi OS.
sudo apt-get install xrdp
Word of warning: unlike most installs, this one is pretty involved and dumps a LOT of stuff to your terminal and takes a couple minutes. Below is only about a third of the install process.
Once it's done, load up Remote Desktop Connection. At this point, you should know what your RPi's IP address is, but if for some bizarre reason you don't, use
Anyway, use the IP address in the Computer field, and click Connect. You can ignore the User name field, because you'll get a login window.
hostname -I
and that'll tell you.Anyway, use the IP address in the Computer field, and click Connect. You can ignore the User name field, because you'll get a login window.
You can leave the session as Xorg (I'm unsure what happens when you change it) and the rest of the login is the same as your regular RPi login. Click OK and the screen changes from the ugly 90's window to the standard, modernish view. You may now click around to your hearts content knowing that you don't have to deal with plugging in a whole KVM setup.
As usual, this comes with the standard disclaimer: if it doesn't work for you, don't yell at me. I'm just the messenger.