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I've tried looking up an answer, but all the "tutorials" are non-specific in the one area I don't understand.
What I want to do is be able to use my Microsoft Surface tablet from anywhere I have internet, and use it to control my Windows 8 PC. That does seem to be the purpose of the Remote Desktop app, correct? Now, I have enabled Remote desktop connections in the system settings, and have the app installed on my surface, and they are both using the same Live ID, but the next step listed is just 'Type the computer's name or IP address' and none of those tutorials explain how I know exactly what either of those things is. I've tried entering the name I gave the computer, which was also listed on the window that I got to the Remote Connection settings from, but nothing happened, and to be honest I don't know why it would. There are a huge number of computers on the internet and I didn't see anything that would prevent me from sharing a name with some other device. On the other hand, rather than too many results the app can't find any.
I then figured I'd try an IP address, but for some reason whatismyip.com said it didn't know. This is probably something set on the router, and possibly the reason that the previous attempt didn't work, but I don't have control of the router so if that's the case then I'd need an alternate solution.
I'll also accept some other software that would make this easier, say by just logging in from both devices and selecting from a list, but I have to be able to control it from a Windows RT device (I don't need to go the other direction, and I don't think that's supported anyway). Feel free to just suggest something even if you don't know it'll get around the problem, it's not necessarily reproducible on your system so the only way to know is for me to try it out.
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Answer accepted by question author
Have you seen this page?
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/remote-desktop-connection-frequently-asked-questions
It has some solutions for Remote Desktop connection problems. You do want to enter the PC's name or the IP address.
To find your PC's IP address - Open the Search charm and type cmd. Tap Command Prompt from the search results. At the prompt, type ipconfig, and then press ENTER. Find your network connection and write down the default gateway address.
Hope this helps,
Kate
Not sure why the "default gateway" came up, that is completely irrelevant. The important value is IP Address as this is the PC you are running IPConfig on, the default gateway is the address the PC goes to to connect to anything that is not on your local network and is normally your routers internal address.
The 1st thing you need to resolve is why you cannot RDP on to the PC from Surface when you are on the same network and to be honest at the moment there have been lots of reports on this being very unreliable. I for example can get to my home server by name as well as my Windows 7 PC but my server fails to connect if I use the IP address and the Win 8 PC will not connect at all (work in progress). Until you can connect internally there is no chance of doing it externally.
The fact is the only address visible externally should be your routers WAN (ADSL, Cable, ?) address. If you could directly connect to internal addresses they would have to be registered public addresses which is unlikely for a home network. It also gets complicated because the WAN address of the router could change and if that happens while you are away from the house how do you know what it is when you want to connect, also your PCs address can change as well. Both of these issues can be catered for but only if you can program the router.
I don't know if these external services require installation of programs but I suspect they do which is going to make the Surface a problem. At least one is free for domestic use so you could give it a try. These use a different system to RDP so the connection issues may resolve.
I thought that might happen, though it's somewhat possible that is already configured. Unlikely, but possible. It also does not work when both are on the same network any better than when they aren't.
As for those alternate services, can they be accessed from Windows RT? Slightly less importantly, how much do they cost?
Using the address listed as Default Gateway didn't get me any better results than just using the name, it just took longer. Do I need to use both or something?
In order to run this from outside your home network you need control of the router as settings need to be changed on it.
The Microsoft Account being the same is not relevant to getting a connection inside your home network you should just need the name. Right Click My Computer, select Properties and the computer name is listed.
However when you connect to your PC from outside the network you can't connect directly to the PC. Instead you have to connect to the external IP address of the router and configure the router to allow RDP inbound and point it to the IP address of the PC. As the external address may change and you say you don't have control of the router this can't be done.
The other option may be to subscribe to a 3rd party service such as logmein or gotomypc. This may also get round the limitation that your PC has to be Windows 8 Pro.
