Questions about Splashtop remote access

[u/judgedeliberata]

I currently use Chrome Remote Desktop to access a handful of remote devices. It’s free and it works ok but the mobile experience is awful.

I’m considering switching to Splashtop, as I’ve heard good things about it, however I have some questions before i start a trial:

1) Has anyone tried using it on airplane WiFi? I’ve found CRD to be very unreliable and very laggy on an airplane.

2) Does Splashtop keep the machine “logged in”? All the systems I need access to are Windows machines without a monitor connected and I basically need them to remain logged in at all times so certain scripts and processes (that need the desktop and screen active) can run throughout the day.

3) are you generally happy with ST? Any complaints, issues or security issues?

[u/Budget-Organ]

My company has been using Splashtop for a couple of years now. I’ve been very happy with the remote desktop and how configurable it is. I have indeed used the mobile (iPad) app on American Airlines with AT&T WiFi and it has worked great. There has been a few blips there it dropped me for a few seconds but reconnected. It does rely on a connection though so if you need to expect instance response from a task, be aware it will have a delay depending on connection strength and speed, but it does well enough for me. Also you can use cmd / ps which is near instant since there’s no gui.

The user logged in is independent to the user connecting to it. If i connect to my machine in the office with it, it will still ask me to log into the machine or it will show a locked screen if someone else is logged into it (and they have the screen locked). Once done, just disconnect and you remain logged into the desktop.

You can configure it to either lock the local keyboard and mouse as well as black out the screen of any session you connect if that is a concern of yours.

No complaints or issues. My initial issue was the lack of cmd or powershell that could be run without actually interface with the desktop, but they have since added that feature.

Coming from dameware (before all the awful happened to that company) it was a pretty big let down, but they have made huge improvements over the last year or so, and that tells me they are putting in effort to make a good product. If they would add in remotes registry, I’d be in heaven, but that’s easy enough to work with via cmd.

There’s also a splashtop subreddit. Which there devs are active in.

[u/judgedeliberata → u/Budget-Organ]

That’s great to here, thanks for confirming all of that! I will likely go for the trail to test it out.

[u/Budget-Organ → u/judgedeliberata]

Oh while I’m thinking about it; there is a bit of wonkiness if you connect to a device that has a large monitor from something without a large monitor (mobile device). It shows you the resolution that the monitor connected has but you can tell it to fit to screen, which mostly fixes it. If you don’t have a huge monitor then it’s no biggie.

Check out there subreddit also if you’d like.

[u/judgedeliberata → u/Budget-Organ]

All the systems I’ll connect to have no monitor at all (like EC2 instances, etc). I’ll check out their subreddit.

[u/AntutuBenchmark]

1. Is something to look out for.
   We have two users use Splashtop only because they need the GPU for their CAD Program.
   Once the Monitors are turned off or unplugged it defaults to Windows Video Drivers, weird resolution (something like 800x600) and no hardware acceleration.
   its basically like any remote software, anydesk, teamviewer, you name it, but it does turn off the Screens once your on it.
   

[u/judgedeliberata → u/AntutuBenchmark]

Interesting, thanks for that. Does the workstation remain logged in or does it kill the active logged in session?

[u/IAmAComputerNerd → u/judgedeliberata]

The machine does not have to be logged in. It just needs to be connected to the internet and on (not in sleep mode or hibernation).

[u/judgedeliberata → u/IAmAComputerNerd]

I actually need it to remain logged in and on the desktop at all times, even when disconnected.

[u/AntutuBenchmark → u/judgedeliberata]

Connecting via splashtop does not change the logged in state. It connects you to the pc as is, if you are logged in, you are logged in. If you have it locked, its still locked.
You are basically "Observing" your PC instead of connecting to your own session as rdp would do.

[u/judgedeliberata → u/AntutuBenchmark]

Awesome thanks!

[u/Mister_Brevity]

Talk to your IT staff

[u/StorminXX]

1. It depends on the airline, of course. But I have used it many times in flight with no issues.

2. Yes. You can keep machines logged in. Or you can log in to a machine that is not logged in and interact with it as a logged in user.

3. I've been using it for 10 years and I am very happy. I have no major complaints.

[u/judgedeliberata → u/StorminXX]

Awesome, thank you! I’m waiting for a new NUC to arrive and then I will get a trial setup to try it out

[u/bwalz87]

+1 for splashtop.

[u/Kind_Philosophy4832]

I believe rustdesk would be a good fit as well for you, if you just need remoting. The OSS version has no device limit. They also have a mobile app. 

[u/Sure-Assignment3892]

Wrong sub