Understanding the difference between a host and a client
To begin with, you need to understand the difference between the two main actors of a remote control session: the host and the client.
The host is the remote computer that you want to access from wherever you are. It is called a 'host', because it hosts a tiny app that is responsible for establishing a secure channel between the remote computer and the one that you want to connect from; presumably the computer right in front of you.
The client is the PC, Mac, iOS, or Android device that you use to connect to your remote host. Basically, it is the device that you're sitting in front of. In LogMeIn Pro and LogMeIn Central, virtually any computer with Internet access can act as a client. It does not matter where you are in the world; as long as you have a computer that's connected to the Internet, you can access a remote host - provided that the host is also connected to the Internet. To access your hosts, do the following:
- From a PC or Mac, use the Client desktop app or log in to LogMeIn.com
- From iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, use the client app that you can download from the App Store
- From an Android device, use the client app that you can download from Google Play
Here's an example: You go on a trip with friends and you suddenly remember that you forgot to send a report from your office computer to your boss. Happens to the best of us, right? Now, being a person who can't live without gadgets, you have your laptop with you and decide to use that to access your office computer. In this case, your laptop acts as the client: you go to LogMeIn.com and sign in to your LogMeIn account. That's where you see all your remote hosts, including your office computer. In your LogMeIn account, select your office computer and start a remote control session. During remote control, you can use your computer in the office as if you were sitting in front of it. That's it. Report sent, humanity saved.
Before you start
- Physically go to computer that you want to access.
- At LogMeIn.com, sign in to your LogMeIn account.
- In the top-left corner, Add the computer to your account.
This will download and install - also known as 'deploy' - the host application to the computer, making it remotely accessible later on.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Wait. Did you just use the remote computer as a 'client'? Isn't the remote computer the 'host'?
- Well, yes, but no. The computer you want to access is always the host, but any computer with Internet access can act as a client, even the host. Theoretically, you can use the host as a client to access the host. But that wouldn't make much sense, since you would remote control the computer that you're already sitting in front of. The important thing is that the host is always a remote computer that you want to access and it must have a host application installed. The client can be any (other) computer where you sign in to your LogMeIn account. From there, you can access your remote host. The only time it makes sense to log in to your LogMeIn account on the host is when you install - or deploy - the host software to that specific computer.
- Are there any software or hardware requirements for the host and the client?
- Yes.
- All my hosts suddenly disappeared from the client. What now?
- There's probably an issue with your subscription. Please contact us by selecting the Contact Support option on the right of this article.
About 'client' passwords
Now that you understand the difference between a host and a client, let's see how to log in to these computers.
- Go to LogMeIn.com and sign in to your LogMeIn account.
Remember: This is you LogMeIn account we are talking about. Your need your email address and password that you used to create your LogMeIn account. It has nothing to do with the password that you use to log in to a computer.
- Use a standalone Client app for Windows or for Mac to access your LogMeIn account.
The difference between the two methods is that the first is web-based, that is, you only need a browser to access your LogMeIn account. The other one needs you to install yet another app to sign in to your LogMeIn account, but in return, it provides a very clean layout of your account and you can also install this app on iOS and Android devices. Notice that a clean layout also means reduced functionality, but for remote control or file manager operations, it will do just fine.
About host passwords
The host password is the one that you use to log in to your remote host while sitting in front of that computer. Imagine that you are sitting at your office computer. Typically, you would make sure your user name is correct and type your office computer password to sign in. Now, this is exactly what you have to do when you use LogMeIn to access a remote computer. In your LogMeIn account, you can select the host you want to connect to and LogMeIn will ask you for your computer user name and password. Again, this is no longer your LogMeIn account password we are talking about; you have already used that to list your available remote hosts. What you need are your very own credentials to access your remote computer.
Say, you have a Windows computer in your office. When you turn it on, you have to sign in to your computer with your Windows credentials. Now, those are the credentials that you have to enter when you try to access your office computer from your LogMeIn account. Notice that when your office computer is on a network, your user name also includes the network's name. For example, if your user name is jsmith and the computer is on a network, called mycompany, then your full user name is mycompany\jsmith. There's a really good article that describes how to retrieve your Windows user name whether your device is on a network or not.
Layout of the client
Depending on which client you use to access your remote host computers, you have the following experience:
- On the LogMeIn.com website
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- In the Client app
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- On iOS
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- On Android
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