AnyDesk offers secure and dependable remote access, ensuring you can support your end users effortlessly, no matter where they are or what time it is.
Note: AnyDesk is available for Expert, Master, and Enterprise plans.
Note: AnyDesk is available for Growth, Power, and Superpower plans.
Configure AnyDesk settings
You can set AnyDesk as your default remote access software and configure remote connections to be either 'Unattended' or 'Attended', depending on your preference for connection confirmation.
To configure your AnyDesk settings:
1. Go to Admin > Monitoring and automation > Remote access settings.
The Remote access settings page appears.
2. From the AnyDesk tab, you can:
Set AnyDesk as default
When set as default, AnyDesk will be installed on all existing and future installed agents.
Note: AnyDesk can still be used without setting it as default — it will simply install on target agents when remote access is first initiated on them.
Set the remote access type
'Unattended' access is the default setting for remote connections, meaning you can connect to a device without needing someone on the other end to accept the connection request.
You can change this setting to 'Attended', which requires end users to manually confirm the connection request.
Note: The remote access type for servers is set as 'Unattended' and cannot be changed.
First time?
Install AnyDesk on your device
When starting your first remote session with AnyDesk, you'll be prompted to download and install the AnyDesk custom client on your device. Click Download AnyDesk
Once installed, you'll be able to remote into your end-user devices via AnyDesk.
Note: Atera's custom AnyDesk client must be installed on your device to enable remote access — even if you've installed a generic version of AnyDesk in the past.
For information on supported operating systems, see this AnyDesk article
Install AnyDesk on end-user devices
AnyDesk will be automatically installed on end-user devices when you initiate your first remote session on a device, or 24 hours after installing the Atera agent on a device (if AnyDesk is your default remote access software).
Note:
- If you're connecting to the target device for the first time, please wait a few seconds for AnyDesk to install on that device.
- When connecting to newer Mac devices that use the M1 processor, you'll need to instruct your end users to manually install AnyDesk from the popup window that appears after initiating a first-time connection with them.
AnyDesk for Linux
AnyDesk supports Linux devices with monitors and Linux VMs with virtual monitors for seamless remote access.
Note:
- AnyDesk access for Linux devices is available to Expert, Master, and Enterprise plans.
- AnyDesk access for Linux devices is available to Growth, Power, and Superpower plans.
- Remote management > Remote connection > Server permission is required to connect to Linux devices using AnyDesk. For more information on configuring technician permissions, see Roles and permissions
- AnyDesk installation via Atera is not supported on Linux devices with ARM64 architecture.
- You can remotely access Linux devices from Windows or Mac, but not from Linux.
- AnyDesk remote access isn’t supported for CentOS and Red Hat distributions.
Connect with AnyDesk
You can use AnyDesk on your Windows or Mac device to connect to Windows, Mac, and Linux devices.
Note:
- If this is your first time connecting via AnyDesk, you'll be prompted to download AnyDesk (Atera's custom version) on your device.
- You need at least one of the following permissions to use AnyDesk remote access:
- Full admin access
-
Remote management > Remote connection
For more information, see Roles and permissions
To connect to a device via AnyDesk:
1. From Devices (on the sidebar), click Connect (in the Remote access column) on the device.
Note: If AnyDesk isn't your default remote access tool, select it via the Connect dropdown.
2. The AnyDesk Connection window appears.
3. Click Copy & open AnyDesk to copy the session password and access the authorization screen.
Note: The AnyDesk session password is necessary for a secure AnyDesk connection.
The Authorization window appears.
4. Paste the password into the field. Then click OK.
The remote connection is initiated, and the AnyDesk session screen appears.
The session toolbar, at the top of the screen, displays available features and actions such as file transfer, screenshots, chat, and more.
Note: You can access AnyDesk support articles, at any time, by clicking About AnyDesk from the hamburger menu icon ().
Disable AnyDesk
If you no longer wish to use AnyDesk remote access, you can easily disable and uninstall it from your agents.
Note:
- For online agents, uninstallation will occur within one hour of disabling AnyDesk.
- For offline agents, the command will run after the agent appears online in the Atera Dashboard. The uninstall command will remain in the queue of offline agents for 30 days.
To disable and uninstall Anydesk from your devices:
1. Go to Admin > Monitoring and automation > Remote access settings.
The Remote access settings page appears.
2. From the AnyDesk tab, click the Enabled dropdown. Then click Disable. A confirmation message appears.
3. Click Disable and uninstall. The uninstall command is sent to associated devices.
Troubleshoot
Disconnected from AnyDesk network
If the client cannot connect to the AnyDesk server, this message will be displayed. To ensure connectivity in Cloud versions of AnyDesk, please verify that the host device has an active internet connection and that all device and network-level security solutions are configured to allow access to our servers. For additional details, refer to the "Firewall" section.
For On-Premises versions of AnyDesk, please verify that the host device can establish a connection with your On-Premises server.
Another possible problem may arise from an incorrectly configured system time on the host device, which can cause certificate validation issues. In such cases, we strongly recommend synchronizing the system time using an online time server.
To rectify any system clock issues, we recommend executing the provided script as a .bat file within the Atera platform. For further information, we encourage you to refer to our comprehensive article on executing scripts.
:: resync time
net stop w32time
w32tm /config /syncfromflags:manual /manualpeerlist:"time.windows.com"
net start w32time
w32tm /config /update
w32tm /resync /rediscover
Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP)
If you've enabled ESET, this may block Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) connections by default. You can customize the ESET installer configuration to allow for RDP connections. Learn more
Troubleshoot AnyDesk on macOS
Security permissions for Screen Recording and Accessibility may need to be granted by the end user on their macOS device before remote connection can be established.
This can be done by navigating to System Preferences > Security & Privacy on the macOS device, clicking the lock on the bottom-left of the window to allow changes, and then granting security permissions to AnyDesk in both the Screen Recording and Accessibility sections.
See this article for more information on enabling security permissions for AnyDesk on macOS devices.
Troubleshoot AnyDesk for Linux
Remote-Display/Desktop Server (RDS) not supported
If you run into "display_server_not_supported" or "desk_rt_ipc_error," it indicates the remote display server, such as Wayland, isn't supported. To fix this, you can switch to the X11 display server on the end-user's device. Just make sure the user is logged out before making the switch.
To configure the GDM (GNOME Display Manager) settings and enable X11:
1. Open the GDM configuration file by running the following command in the terminal:
sudo vim /etc/gdm3/custom.conf
2. Update the configuration file by uncommenting or adding the following lines under the [daemon] section:
WaylandEnable = false
AutomaticLoginEnable = true
#replace 'USERNAME' with your actual username
AutomaticLogin = $USERNAME
The configuration should look like this:
sudo vim /etc/gdm3/custom.conf
#GDM configuration storage
#
#See /usr/share/gdm/gdm.schemas for a list of available options.
[daemon]
#Uncomment the line below to force the login screen to use Xorg
WaylandEnable=false
#Enabling automatic login
AutomaticLoginEnable = true
AutomaticLogin = $USERNAME
#Enabling timed login
#TimedLoginEnable = true
#TimedLogin = user1
#TimedLoginDelay = 10
[security]
[xdmcp]
[chooser]
[debug]
#Uncomment the line below to turn on debugging
#More verbose logs
#Additionally lets the X server dump core if it crashes
#Enable = true
3. Reboot your Ubuntu 22.04.
4. To apply the new settings, run the following commands in the terminal to restart the GDM service.
systemctl start gdm
systemctl set-default graphical.target
These steps should switch your display server to X11 and adjust GDM to your specified configurations.
