Remote Desktop to your office workstation (staff, faculty, grads)

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Service Details
Who can use this service: Support for this service:

Undergrads:

If you are an undergraduate trying to log into a lab machine, please see Remote Computing Lab Access.

Staff, Faculty, Grads:

These instructions will work for on-campus machines that are connected directly to the network with a wired (Ethernet) connection and an assigned IP address. If you do not have an assigned IP address and want to remote into your workstation, please fill out the IP Request Form.

In order for these instructions to work you must be connected to the Campus VPN and be in the Remote Desktop Users group on the machine you are accessing. 

Windows-Nexus | Windows-NOT-Nexus | Mac | Troubleshooting

Windows-Nexus

  • From the Start menu search "Remote Desktop Connection."
  • Click "Show Options" and enter the following credentials when prompted:
    • Computer: YourMachineName
    • User name: nexus\yourWatIAMuserid
  • Click "Connect."

Windows-NOT-Nexus

If your workstation is Windows:

Mac does not come with built-in remote desktop software suitable for accessing Windows machines. You will need to download a remote desktop client from the App Store in order to access a Windows workstation. We recommend you try the latest version of Microsoft Remote Desktop, since it is developed by Microsoft and is most reliable to function with Windows.  Once you've done that, the important information is:

  • Confirm you are connected to the Campus VPN.
  • Enter your registered hostname as "hostname.uwaterloo.ca"
  • Use "Nexus\userid" if it's a Nexus machine, or "machine name\account name" if it isn't.
  • Use your WatIAM password.

Mac

If your workstation is a Mac (and we're assuming not Nexus domain joined):

  • On your workstation:
    • Go to Menu > System Preferences > Sharing
    • Select "Remote Management."
    • Select your on-campus workstation from the dropdown.
    • Select "Screen sharing." Choose a user account on your workstation that you want to be able to share the screen.
    • Notice the VNC address on the right of the dialogue. It should look like vnc://hostname.uwaterloo.ca.
    • Save your settings.
  • On the other device:
    • Open Safari.
    • Type the VNC address from the above step.
    • When prompted, enter the account name from your workstation and the password associated with it.
  • To close the session:
    • The session can be closed from either side.
    • Click the icon that looks like two windows overlapping and select "Disconnect."

Tips if the connection doesn't work:

  • Check to make sure you are correctly added to the Remote Desktop Users group on the target machine.
  • Verify that the machine name is correct.
  • Try the fully qualified domain names, one at a time:
    • machinename.uwaterloo.ca
    • machinename.nexus.uwaterloo.ca

Issues or Concerns?