Remote Access to Your Office (or Lab) Computer

One of the handiest features of Lehigh's network is the ability to access resources on it from elsewhere over the internet, including being able to connect to your computer's desktop from your home computer or mobile device.  

Setting this up is a multi-step process, but pretty logical.  There are seven basic steps to make that happen that differ slightly depending on the operating system on your Lehigh computer and the remote device from which you're trying to connect.  Note that it's fairly easy, using free tools, to connect to a to a PC from another PC, a Mac, an iOS device, or an Android device, and one can connect to a Mac from another Mac, but connecting to Macs from PCs, iOS, or Android requires third-party tools that these instructions don't cover.

Follow the links under each step to the appropriate instructions for your system.

Part 1:  On your Lehigh (on-campus) computer (one-time):

1. Enable the remote desktop capability on the Lehigh (on-campus) computer.

   1. Instructions:  Configure Windows 10 or Windows 11 for Remote Desktop Access, macOS for Remote Management 

2. Find the network address (IP address) or network name of your Lehigh computer.

   1. Find your office system's current IP address.  If it's not registered in LUnet (see next step), it will be dynamically assigned and could change.

      1. Instructions:  Find your IP address on Windows, macOS.

   2. (optional) Request a permanent network name (a.k.a a 'LUnet' entry at Lehigh) for your Lehigh computer, like "SmithDesk.dept.lehigh.edu" from your Computing Consultant via https://www.lehigh.edu/help, to lock in stable IP address.
3. Make sure your Lehigh computer stays _on_ and _awake_ while you're away from the office (or lab).
   1. Instructions:  Set computer Power Settings in Windows 10, "Energy Saver" settings in macOS.
   2. Setup you computer to restart after a power outage.  If you are uncertain how to do this, submit a request for your Computing Consultant for assistance with this.  

Part 2:  On your remote device (it's good to test this on-campus before leaving . . .):

1. If you're Off-Campus, set up the VPN client software on your remote device, and configure it to connect to the Lehigh network from your off-campus location.

   1. Instructions:  Install the VPN client software for macOS and Windows, iOS, Android.

2. If you're On-Campus, and using the wireless network, make sure you're connected to the 'lehigh' network, and not 'lehigh-guest'

3. Configure the Remote Desktop or Screen Sharing software on your remote device to connect to your Lehigh computer's desktop.

   1. Connect to a Windows PC with Remote Desktop:  Install Remote Desktop Connection (if you don't already have it) and run it to connect to a Windows-based Lehigh computer from your: 

      1. Windows 10, MacOS, iOS, or Android device.  Note that this will require Duo authentication.

   2. Connect to a Mac from another Mac:  Connect to a Lehigh Mac from a remote macOS device using 'Screen Sharing'.