That’s brilliant. Thank you to the folks at RealVNC and Raspberry Pi for this – what a great thing to do for free!

Just tried the new version. Much easier and faster. The previous version was so slow and awkward it was of little value so I tried it a few times and abandoned it as a waste of time. Now, with the upgrade, it actually has value. Great job!

Much as I hate to be a grump. This isn’t so much free as freemium, as far as I can’t tell. This smells a bit like free advertising for realvnc and I was frustrated that I had to dig further than this blog post to figure that out. Still, the free tier is probably sufficient for most users.

That’s awesome. I use VNC with pupils to access RPis on a school network – using both WiFi and direct LAN connection from laptops. We’re fortunate that speed has not been an issue for us. This capability will take projects to the next level. Many thanks, all of you RealVNC folks!

It is an awesome feature that I use daily with several of my RPis. No display, no keyboard etc. needed – still just one click on my Mac to see what they do and how they are. Really great for programming as I can work on my “normal machine” with no difference at all and easily switch from Mac2RPi and back in a millisecond. Great work, keep going.

después de leer bastante documentos sobre el vnc por fin pude conectarla raspberry, lo único que no me ha gustado es que ne la conexión de mi pc no deja ver bien la interfaz, es muy grande los iconos no he podido que quede ajustada a 1024×768

This is awesome! Keep up the good job guys, you rock!

Anyone already connected the VNC server to the cloudconnect?
After installing and going to the license tab, i do not get the option to sign in. Only a message “allready licensed” and the option to go to the website, do a repair or enter a new license key. Non of the options let me sign in with an account.
Help !

Can’t get it working. I am getting this from the client:
VNC Server is not licensed correctly.
Connections will be prohibited until a valid license kay is applied.

And looking the raspberry I see:
$ sudo systemctl status vncserver-x11-serviced.service
● vncserver-x11-serviced.service – VNC Server in Service Mode daemon
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/vncserver-x11-serviced.service; enabled)
Active: active (running) since ti 2017-02-14 14:49:37 EET; 2 days ago
Main PID: 506 (vncserver-x11-c)
CGroup: /system.slice/vncserver-x11-serviced.service
├─ 506 /usr/bin/vncserver-x11-core -service -pidFile /var/run/vncserver-x11-serviced.pid…
├─ 724 /usr/bin/vncagent service 18
├─ 995 /usr/bin/vncserverui service 19
└─1034 /usr/bin/vncserverui -statusicon 5

helmi 14 14:49:37 raspberry10 systemd[1]: Started VNC Server in Service Mode daemon.
helmi 14 14:49:38 raspberry10 vncserver-x11[506]: ServerManager: Server started
helmi 14 14:49:38 raspberry10 vncserver-x11[506]: ConsoleDisplay: Cannot find a running X server…vt1
helmi 14 14:49:38 raspberry10 vncserver-x11[506]: AgentInitCheck: agent comms failure
helmi 14 14:49:38 raspberry10 vncserver-x11[506]: ConsoleDisplay: Found running X server (pid=700)
helmi 17 10:16:23 raspberry10 vncserver-x11[506]: FeatureLicensing: No valid license installed.
helmi 17 10:16:57 raspberry10 vncserver-x11[506]: FeatureLicensing: No valid license installed.
helmi 17 10:18:23 raspberry10 systemd[1]: Started VNC Server in Service Mode daemon.
helmi 17 10:19:13 raspberry10 vncserver-x11[506]: FeatureLicensing: No valid license installed.
Hint: Some lines were ellipsized, use -l to show in full.
juha@raspberry10:~ $ ps -ef| grep vnc
root 506 1 0 09:56 ? 00:00:10 /usr/bin/vncserver-x11-core -service -pidFile /var/run/vncserver-x11-serviced.pid
root 724 1 0 09:56 ? 00:00:00 /usr/bin/vncagent service 18
pi 995 506 0 09:56 ? 00:00:00 /usr/bin/vncserverui service 19
pi 1034 995 0 09:56 ? 00:00:00 /usr/bin/vncserverui -statusicon 5

No idea where to get license.

can this be used over VPN without the cloud platform? i have been accessing my pi with VPN from anywhere in the world already. however, if this also offers performance improvementes over the earlier VNC then I would like to use it over my VPN. not that interested in the cloud that they offer

It works perfectly, and cloud connect is a feature I always wanted for my Pi’s. Encryption is a real plus. Even enabled the memory and CPU footprint is negligeable. All this for free! Big thanks to the Realvnc guys!

Does sound work with this version?

Just a thought, if it can be used with mobile data roaming, I think people should check there data plan costs and usage.

Within WIFI areas seems like a winner.

This post came along at just the right time, I was about to use a PI as a home security system and was starting to think about remote log in, port forwarding etc.

Installed the latest version last night, set up my security system and have been able to monitor it remotely. Found out my Python script had crashed and restarted it.

Just what I was looking for.

Just installed and it has removed or disabled rdesktop. As I was doing the install, I got this feedback:

“pi@ArtsRPi3-005:~ $ sudo apt-get install realvnc-vnc-server realvnc-vnc-viewer
Reading package lists… Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information… Done
realvnc-vnc-viewer is already the newest version.
Recommended packages:
cupsys
The following packages will be REMOVED:
tightvncserver
The following NEW packages will be installed:
realvnc-vnc-server
0 upgraded, 1 newly installed, 1 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 0 B/5,118 kB of archives.
After this operation, 26.9 MB of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n]
(Reading database … 140117 files and directories currently installed.)
Removing tightvncserver (1.3.9-6.5) …
Processing triggers for man-db (2.7.0.2-5) …
Selecting previously unselected package realvnc-vnc-server.
(Reading database … 140098 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack …/realvnc-vnc-server_5.3.2.22607_armhf.deb …
Unpacking realvnc-vnc-server (5.3.2.22607) …
Processing triggers for gconf2 (3.2.6-3) …
Processing triggers for hicolor-icon-theme (0.13-1) …
Processing triggers for man-db (2.7.0.2-5) …
Processing triggers for gnome-menus (3.13.3-6) …
Processing triggers for desktop-file-utils (0.22-1) …
Processing triggers for mime-support (3.58) …
Processing triggers for shared-mime-info (1.3-1) …
Setting up realvnc-vnc-server (5.3.2.22607) …
Updating /etc/pam.d/vncserver
Updating /etc/pam.conf… done
Looking for font path… not found.
Original config file “/etc/vnc/config.old” preserved

Installing Raspberry Pi license (VNC Personal)
Please note that this is only valid for non-commercial use on Raspberry Pi devices.
See https://www.realvnc.com/raspberrypi for further information.
License key has been successfully applied.

Installed systemd unit for VNC Server in Service Mode daemon
Start or stop the service with:
systemctl (start|stop) vncserver-x11-serviced.service
Mark or unmark the service to be started at boot time with:
systemctl (enable|disable) vncserver-x11-serviced.service

Installed systemd unit for VNC Server in Virtual Mode daemon
Start or stop the service with:
systemctl (start|stop) vncserver-virtuald.service
Mark or unmark the service to be started at boot time with:
systemctl (enable|disable) vncserver-virtuald.service

(gconftool-2:24067): GConf-WARNING **: Client failed to connect to the D-BUS daemon:
Unable to autolaunch a dbus-daemon without a $DISPLAY for X11
gconfd-2: no process found”

Now my rdesktop won’t work even on the same LAN.
Apparently, realvnc is incompatible with tightvnc which I believe is required for rdesktop.

Is that the case?

Thanks,

Art

Oops,
I meant to say

Now my rdesktop won’t work even on the same LAN.
Apparently, realvnc is incompatible with “tightvncserver” which I believe is required for rdesktop.

Is that the case?

Thanks,

Art

I never cease to be amazed. Almost every day there is something else to explore. RealVNC is easy to set up and quite functional through the cloud.

Thanks for the hard work!

fos

I’ve tried the cloud connect on my T-mobile data and it is a perpetual cycle of “attempting to reconnect” followed by a brief view of the Pi desktop followed by “attempting to reconnect”. I’ve lowered the resolution of the Pi to default 720X480 which slightly increased the amount of desktop that posted before losing connection. Is cloud connect not designed for mobile data? Or is there something else I am missing?

After running:

apt-get remove realvnc-vnc-server realvnc-vnc-viewer

and

apt install tightvncserver,

rdesktop now works again.

BTW, I am running up to the minute Raspbian Jessie on a Raspberry Pi 3B+

Let me know if there is any way to have both realvnc-vnc-server and tightvncserver running.

Thanks,

Art

We tested this great tool and we made a video of our test:
https://youtu.be/GhSVRFICSn4

Hi

I added the viewer on my mint desktop to /opt so it could be easily added to the menu, given /opt is for optional or additional software.

sudo cp VNC-Viewer-6.0.2-Linux-x64 /opt

It works nicely from the mint menu now.

Hope this helps other users,

Paul

USEFUL: I was going to install MOSH the alternate to SSH, but I have discovered that its easier to open VNC connect and open a terminal and so bypassing SSH with the dirty cow exploit and the secuity holes associated with MOSH, but also I can leave my terminal open on the PI and return anytime I like to finish the session, which is why I wanted to install MOSH.

Note: iOS needs a bit of tweeking on the iPhone 5S, found it hard to pan around the screen and to many gestures.
But VNC connect is one of my new top 5 for the Raspberry Pi.

Thanks! This is great!

Of course, the first naughty thing I did was try to install the upgraded RealVNC on the vitrualized x86 Raspbian PIXEL port, but RealVNC isn’t in the repositories for that. I didn’t really expect it to be there, since other very useful ARM/Pi-specific utilities such as raspi-config and the toolbar editor aren’t there, either.

I fully understand the effort required to support the x86 red-haired little bastard stepchild, and the desire to exclusively support the Pi hardware platform with this free version. I also enthusiastically applaud providing the ability to easily and securely access (when requested for support) the many Pii I have gotten into the hands of students and other educators all over the US.

It would be nice, though, for those of us in the educator space who need to do software development for classes on a laptop without an octoPi (TM Moi ;) of cables coming out of a Pi in our laps, strangling us while trying to get work done in transit.

It also eases the fears of fellow and fellowette passengers, aircrews, sky marshals, and TSA inspectors by not having said electronic octoPi (TM Moi ;) splayed out in a carry-on bag or on a tray table. It also aids in clearing the deck to allow eating inedible meals on the rare occasion they’re still offered on longer flights.

No, I don’t routinely work on an OctoPi (TM Moi ;) while driving … I hereby invoke the Bart Simpson Defense: “I didn’t do it. Nobody saw me do it. You can’t prove a thing. Don’t have a cow, man.” ;) There isn’t that much oncoming traffic in the wilds of Wyoming and Montana where I’m often wandering around these days, anyway, other than an occasional bison (buffalo), Bighorn sheep, or mountain goat … although they can all become quite testy when you bug them (aka wandering into their presence) … and then there are the bears and wolves! :D

Fantastic. Works well for me! One thing: they reeeeeally want you to use the cloud connection. Had to use google to find more info then click to yet another page to finally see the port used: 5900. So if you forward that on your router, it’s easy enough to connect from outside.

If you forward a different port on your router (but still to port 5900 on the RPi), know that the Viewer uses a single colon for port numbers relative to 5900 or double for absolute port numbers. E.g., either use “yourinternetaddress:10” or “yourinternetaddres::5910”.

Is there also a possibility to connect via the cloud to a virtual VNC (without knowing the ip)?

Usage example:
A Pi with a kiosk HDMI display. If you change something on it using the terminal, with it not being visible on the HDMI output.

I got the cloud connection and also a virtual vnc working, but not together. I also didn’t find how I could start a virtual VNC at boot.

are people managing to get past the rCaptcha on the VNC site ? The problem I have is that the page takes so long to load that the site either decies that it can’t load the rCaptcha, or that I am a Robot (no human would wait that long for a page to load).

The instructions are making no sense to me (coupled with incredibly poor performance from the VNC website and trouble getting past their rCaptcha).

The VNC Website directs you to go the R-Pi VNC Server Licensing, which directs you to the website, which directs you to the R-Pi VNC Server, which directs …. you get the idea.

This software has just bricked my SD Card.
The combination of trying to run the VNC Server and the browser to do the registration left it maxed out at 100%CPU from which it did not recover after an extended period of time. Eventually I simply had to remove the power. Following which it can no longer boot the card.

VNC Connect seems to be working correctly on my pi (yay!) but it doesn’t seem that there is a newer version of VNC Viewer for OS X that has the ability to login via VNC Connect. The screen looks nothing like the screenshot from the PC version :(

Could it be that it doesn’t work with the new kernel 4.9 now served by rpi-update? It worked before, and systemctl says it is running, but no vnc server shows up on any port with lsof -i -P. Consequently, the viewer says “connection refused” while trying to connect.

Having a freshly installed Pi, I cannot connect to the VNC server with anything at all (except the RealVNC Viewer). No other clients I used work with this server (including the MacOS bundled client “Screen Sharing”), spitting out authentication errors and whatnot.

What gives? Are there any other VNC clients that work with the RealVNC server, or only RealVNC Viewer works?

Got the new version involuntarily by executing ‘sudo rpi-update’. When it starts, it says it is not licensed and a subscription must be purchased. It is not clear that there is a free ‘home’ option. Only after clicking ‘purchase subscription’ then going to the website is it clear there is a free option.

After signing up for the free home version and signing in to VNC Server, it appears that it is ready for connections. However there is still a red X over the icon in the upper right. Restarting the pi shows the same thing. Tried signing in again, and still the message in the ‘Messages’ tab remains. But it looks like connections can be made because on the ‘Connections’ tab, it says, ‘No users are currently connected. Users will be identified as soon as they connect’. Tried connecting from my PC, but it will not connect.

I used to be able to connect to the Pi using Remmina Remote Desktop Client from my Ubuntu computer. Is that no longer the case? Must I use the ‘VNC Viewer App’?

Hi Mr Andy Clark,
Thank you for the blog post on RealVNC. Based on your information ,I have prepared a tutorial on controlling Raspberry pi .https://bkjaya.wordpress.com/2017/03/06/how-to-remotely-control-your-raspberry-pi-3-over-the-internet-using-a-realvnc-cloud-connection/

Installed Raspbian Jessie Lite.

Want to use raspberry pi as VPN proxy, headless.
Want to be able to SSH to raspberry pi.

But seems I cannot use free version of vnc connect,
if I understand right, it require VNC Server in Virtual Mode, and this is only available in Enterprise mode.
which is not free.

Very nice feature, indeed.

If I understand it correctly, the cloud connection still relies on the standard (real)VNC client on the remote (a.k.a. “not at home”) side.

Is it possible to connect the the VNC cloud sollution, using a standard web browser (e.g. Firefox) and standard https port (443) somehow?

Reason is, our firewall at work will allow outgoing connections to standard web http(s) ports 80 and 443 only.

I do a lot of work installing CCTV which requires us to port forward a customers router which is normally done at the time of the installation, however we they default their router or change ISP and get a new router the port forwarding needs to be redone which either needs a site visit or taking control of their desktop pc to access the router.
In some cases this isn’t a problem but by using a Rpi with VNC cloud setup we can send it to them in the post with instructions to plug it into their router and then we can port forward at our leisure, they can then post the pi back when we are done.

Hi,

can I connect to my Pi if it’s connected to Internet via 3G? My laptop (VNCViewer) is connected to separate network via WiFi. Thx