Accessing your Raspberry Pi remotely is easy with a few simple steps.

Learn how to connect to your Raspberry Pi from outside your network using SSH and VNC protocols. …


Updated August 29, 2023

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Learn how to connect to your Raspberry Pi from outside your network using SSH and VNC protocols.

Connecting to Your Raspberry Pi Remotely

To connect to your Raspberry Pi remotely, you can use either the Secure Shell (SSH) or Virtual Network Computing (VNC) protocols. Both methods allow you to control and interact with your Raspberry Pi as if you were sitting right in front of it, even when it’s located on a different network.

Setting Up SSH

SSH is the most secure and common method for connecting remotely to your Raspberry Pi. To get started, follow these steps:

  1. First, ensure that your Raspberry Pi has an internet connection by plugging it into your router with an Ethernet cable or by enabling Wi-Fi and connecting to a network.
  2. Open the terminal on your Raspberry Pi and type ifconfig to get the IP address of your device. Look for the “inet” value under the “wlan0” section (for wireless connections) or “eth0” section (for wired connections).
  3. On your local computer, open a terminal or command prompt and type ssh pi@<IP_ADDRESS>, replacing <IP_ADDRESS> with the IP address of your Raspberry Pi. For example: ssh pi@192.168.1.10.
  4. When prompted for a password, enter “raspberry”. This is the default password for the “pi” user on Raspbian-based systems.
  5. If this is your first time connecting to your Pi with SSH, you may see a message about the authenticity of the host. Type “yes” and press Enter to continue.

Now, you should be connected to your Raspberry Pi via SSH! You can run commands and use it just as if you were sitting in front of it. To exit the SSH session, type exit or press Ctrl+D.

Setting Up VNC

VNC is a graphical remote access protocol that allows you to see and control your Raspberry Pi’s display as if you were using a monitor and keyboard. Here are the steps to set up VNC:

  1. First, ensure that your Raspberry Pi has an internet connection by plugging it into your router with an Ethernet cable or by enabling Wi-Fi and connecting to a network.
  2. Open the terminal on your Raspberry Pi and run sudo raspi-config, then navigate to “Interfacing Options” and enable VNC. Reboot your Pi when prompted.
  3. On your local computer, download and install a VNC viewer if you haven’t already. Some popular options include TightVNC (Windows), RealVNC (Windows/macOS/Linux), or Remmina (Linux).
  4. Find the IP address of your Raspberry Pi by running ifconfig on the device, as described in the SSH setup steps above.
  5. Open your VNC viewer and enter the IP address and port 59001 (default for VNC) to connect. For example: <IP_ADDRESS>:5901.
  6. You may be prompted to enter a password. If this is your first time connecting, the default password is “raspberry”. You can change it later in the Raspberry Pi Configuration tool.

Now, you should see and interact with your Raspberry Pi’s display through VNC! To disconnect, simply close the VNC window.

Conclusion

Connecting to your Raspberry Pi remotely is a powerful feature that allows you to access it from anywhere with an internet connection. Both SSH and VNC have their advantages depending on your needs - use SSH for command line access and VNC for graphical display control. With these methods, you can manage your Raspberry Pi even when you’re not physically nearby!