Raspberry Pi is one of the best and inexpensive single-board computers out there. If you are a tech hobbyist, then it opens the door for nearly everything from building a smart speaker to creating your personal VPN server. That said, you need a separate monitor to set up the Raspberry Pi, which adds to the overall cost. However, there is a nifty way to use your Windows laptop as a monitor for Raspberry Pi. In this tutorial, we have explained the steps to connect Raspberry Pi to a Windows laptop in simple terms. On that note, let’s go ahead and learn how to connect Raspberry Pi to a laptop display.
In this guide, I am using Raspberry Pi 4 Model B to demonstrate all the steps. However, if you have an old Raspberry Pi, there is nothing to worry about. I have mentioned separate steps for old boards too. You can click on the table below and jump to the relevant section right away.
- Requirements
- Downloads
- Flash Raspbian OS on Raspberry Pi
- Connect Raspeberry Pi to Windows Laptop Display
- Fix “Cannot currently show the desktop” Error
Requirements
First off, to use a Windows laptop as a monitor for Raspberry Pi, you need an ethernet cable. You can then connect the Raspberry Pi to your Windows 10 laptop directly or to your router. I would recommend connecting to the laptop directly for a faster connection.
You need to download Raspbian OS from here. I suggest downloading “Raspberry Pi OS with desktop and recommended software” on the web page that opens. It will have all the required packages, utilities, and dependencies.
After that, download balenaEtcher (Free) to flash Raspbian OS onto the SD card.
Once you have downloaded Raspbian OS, extract the ZIP file. You will get an IMG file.
Next, install balenaEtcher and open it. Select the extracted image and choose the SD card under the “Select target” option. After that, click on “Flash“.
Use the ethernet cable and connect the Raspberry Pi to your Windows laptop. After that, connect the Raspberry Pi to a power source using a USB Type-C cable. You can also use your laptop’s USB port as a power source.
Next, install Putty and open it. You don’t need to change any default settings. Just enter raspberrypi.local in the Host Name field. And make sure “SSH” is selected as the Connection type. Finally, click on “Open” at the bottom.
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade -y
Under Interface options, move to “VNC” and hit enter.
Then, a prompt will appear, click on “Continue”. On the next window, enter your RPi’s credentials, username: pi and password: raspberry. Now, click on “OK”.
If you get the “Cannot currently show the desktop” error while trying to connect your Raspberry Pi to a laptop display, there is nothing to worry about. Follow the steps below to fix the issue.
Close all the windows and fire up Putty. Follow the same steps as above and connect to Raspberry Pi’s console once again. To explain briefly, enter raspberrypi.local as the Host Name, select “SSH” and click on “Open”.
Finally, open VNC Viewer, and this time, you will be able to connect to Raspberry Pi’s desktop environment without any issues. If the “Cannot currently show the desktop” error persists, keep changing the resolution and check which one works for you. That’s it.
