Fixed: Chrome Remote Desktop Greyed Out

Chrome Remote Desktop greyed out

“I can access my remote computer easily with no problems for several days. Then I can't access it at all. It is still showing as a device but is greyed out. The only solution I have found is to get someone to switch my remote computer off and then on again. Now we are all working from home this is not possible so how do I stop this from happening? Any help is greatly appreciated.”

How to fix Chrome Remote Desktop greyed out

Here in this part, we’ll introduce five ways to fix Chrome Remote Desktop greyed out when trying to chrome into a remote computer. You can try them out one by one.

Solution 1. Disable the PIN feature

 Step 1. Go to https://remotedesktop.google.com/access, click VIEW/EDIT under This device.

Step 2. Click DELETE ALL. This will remove all saved devices which can access the computer without a PIN.

Step 3. Now navigate back to the remote desktop application and click Share under the Remote Assistance.

Step 4. Now, a new window will pop up consisting of the PIN code which will be used to connect to other devices. Enter the code and see if CRD works properly.

Solution 2. Uninstall and reinstall Chrome Remote Desktop Host

Step 1. Press Win + R to open the run dialog box, type in "control panel" and then click OK.

Step 2. Click Programs.

Step 3. Click Programs and Features.

Step 4. Select Chrome Remote Desktop Host from the list of installed apps, and then click Uninstall.

Step 5. Once uninstalled, go to Google Chrome and reinstall Chrome Remote Desktop.

Solution 3. Uninstall and reinstall Google Chrome

Step 1. Open Programs and Features, find Google Chrome, and then click Uninstall.

Step 2. Once uninstalled, reinstall Google Chrome and also reinstall Chrome Remote Desktop.

Solution 4. Remove and re-add Chrome Remote Desktop extension

Step 1. Expand Extensions in the upper-right corner of the Chrome browser and click Manage extensions below.

Step 2. In the main interface of Extensions, find Chrome Remote Desktop and click Remove.

Step 3. In the pop-up window, click Remove to confirm your removal.  

Step 4. Then re-add Chrome Remote Desktop extension again.

Solution 5. Disable VPN

According to some users’ feedback, sometimes, the use of a VPN with Chrome Remote Desktop causes Chrome Remote Desktop get started greyed out. Therefore if you are using VPN, it is recommended that you disable it first, and then try to use Chrome Remote Desktop.

AnyViewer: Free & stable remote desktop software

Hopefully, the above solutions get you rid of Chrome Remote Desktop computer greyed out, if not, we still have some other methods to get rid of this problem. For example, you can use another free and easy remote desktop software AnyViewer. AnyViewer is quite stable, you’ll never encounter any “greyed out” problem with it. Next, let’s see how to get started with AnyViewer.

Step 1. Download, install, and launch AnyViewer on both computers.

Step 2. Go to Log in, and then click Sign up. (If you already have signed up on its official website, you can log in directly.)

Step 3. Fill in the signup information.

Step 4. Then you can see you successfully logged in to AnyViewer. Your device will automatically be assigned to the account you've logged in to.

Step 5. Log in to the same AnyViewer account on the two devices, then click One-click control to achieve unattended remote access.

Conclusion

If sometimes, Chrome Remote Desktop greyed out, you can easily fix it with the aforementioned methods and get it back to normal working mode. Also, you could try another free and stable remote desktop software, like AnyViewer we mentioned above, which could bring you a more smooth and comfortable remote access experience.