Remote-control a device via relay

NetLock RMM does not use VNC or RDP for remote control. Instead it streams the target device's screen over its own protocol with H.264 as the default encoding and JPEG polling as a fallback. This guide shows how to open a relay-mediated remote-control session from the device detail view.

Before you start

• The target device is online in the Devices list.
• Required permission: devices_enabled plus the role flag that gates remote control in your deployment (typically exposed alongside the Remote Control action on the device detail view).

Steps

1. Open Devices from the navigation and find the target device.
2. Select the device to open its detail view.
3. Click Remote Control to open the Remote Control window.
4. In the connection-mode dropdown, pick Relay (Recommended - faster). This is the default for any device whose Relay App is online.
5. Start the session. The window negotiates with the Relay App and connects to the target's screen.

The relay path prefers H.264, which is hardware-accelerated on the device's GPU where available with a software encoder fallback. If the relay's single H.264 slot is already occupied by another session, the path auto-falls-back to JPEG polling for this session. If the Relay Connection cannot be reached at all, the Console falls back further to SignalR (Legacy - fallback) — always JPEG-polled and slower, but it still works for emergencies.

Note: There is no VNC, RDP, or third-party remote-desktop protocol in the stack. The stream is NetLock RMM's own protocol end to end.

Verify it worked

• The Remote Control window shows the device's desktop and responds to mouse and keyboard input.
• The session appears in Relay Server (at /relay_server) as an Active row for the target device and the remote-control port, with Connections greater than zero for the duration of the session.
• When you close the window, the relay row transitions through Disconnecting and returns to Ready to connect (if persistent) or disappears (if temporary).

Troubleshooting

• Session connects but video is slow / blocky. The relay's H.264 slot may already be taken, forcing this session to JPEG polling. Close the other relay-mediated remote-control session on the same relay, or accept the reduced framerate.
• Relay session shows Device offline in the Relay Server list. The Relay App is not currently registered. Check the Relay App service on the device network and its API key.
• Input reaches the device but the screen is black. Some idle devices skip frame generation. Move the mouse, wake the display locally, or check whether the session is restricted to a specific monitor.

Related

• Chapter 3.5 — Remote control and remote shell — the connection-mode picker, H.264 / JPEG trade-offs, and fallback chain.
• Chapter 9.2 — Relay Server — persistent and temporary relay sessions, lifecycle states, and how the Relay App registers.
• Appendix A.7 — Remote screen control — default behaviour, authentication, and deployment-wide settings.