Personally, we have tried installing VNC as well as much other software that can provide remote GUI access to the Raspberry Pi, but we were quietly not satisfied with it. So here in this tutorial, we are going to install TeamViewer on Raspberry Pi within a minute.
Table of Contents
Why we don’t like VNC much?
The first thing is that the VNC server has to be started manually (at least in our case) with certain resolution parameters so that it can fit our screen every time. This is a tedious as well as a very time-consuming task, and we don’t like that.
Update: You can use “sudo raspi-config” or Raspberry Pi Configuration on GUI to allow VNC to start automatically at boot. But still it do not allow you to connect to your Pi from anywhere in the world unless you have a static IP and have port forwarding enabled. And for sure it is not a secure way to implement that. :)
Also, another drawback of the VNC is that you can’t use the host screen directly. That means a virtual instance is created and then it can be accessed via VNC. As soon as we close the VNC server all the instances are destroyed.
Also read: TeamViewer Alternatives: 10 Best Remote Desktop Software
Why we love TeamViewer?
First of all, we love to use the Raspberry Pi without a screen for our Internet of Things projects i.e. headless configuration. We usually have a laptop with us, and we certainly want the laptop’s display to work with Raspberry Pi.
But that is not simply possible. This is where TeamViewer comes in. You can set up unattended access as well as set TeamViewer to auto start on boot. Also, unlike VNC to remotely access the Raspberry Pi over the internet requires a public static IP address while TeamViewer just requires ID and Password for the access. So you won’t have to worry about getting a public static IP address which can cost you a few bucks.
We are searching for the tutorials on installing TeamViewer, and we found some, but unfortunately, we found none of them worked for us. This was because we were trying to install the version that was available for normal computer processor not ARM processors.
Luckily there is a beta version of TeamViewer that is specially designed to work with Raspberry Pi 2, 3 and 4. However, Raspberry Pi Zero, as well as version 1, are currently not supported.
Steps to Install TeamViewer on Raspberry Pi
First of all, make sure that your Raspberry Pi meets the following requirements
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- It has at least 35MB of disk space.
- You have Raspbian 8.0 Jessie with X-Server or Framebuffer VT.
Before starting here is what we have used in the tutorial:
- Raspberry Pi 2
- LG 24MP88HV-S
- TP-Link MR3020 WiFi Router
- TP-Link WN725N WiFi
- SanDisk 16GB Class 10 UHS-I Memory Card
- Raspbian Jessie(2017-04-10)
- First of all download the latest TeamViewer host from this link.
- Now transfer the deb file to your Raspberry Pi and open up the terminal.
- Install the deb file like we do on the Ubuntu. The command is “sudo dpkg -i filename.deb” or just simple use “apt install ./filename.deb” as instructed in TeamViewer manual.
- Let the process complete. Now there will be several unmet dependencies.
- To fix this first type “sudo apt-get update” and wait until all the packages details are downloaded.
- Now use “sudo apt-get -f install” to install all the dependencies or use “sudo apt-get -f upgrade” to install dependencies as well as upgrade other modules.
- You are good to go. By default, the TeamViewer will start at the boot, and you can also connect it using the headless mode.
- Type “teamviewer help” for more details.
After the installation here is something you can do:
If you Have a Display/Monitor and GUI Access
- You can simply open the TeamViewer from the menu -> Internet -> TeamViewer or if it’s already running then you can see the little TeamViewer logo in the top taskbar.
- Note down the ID and Password. Now you can connect to your Raspberry Pi from anywhere.
- From the settings menu, you can also set up unattended access and set a permanent password to access it.
For Headless Access
- Connect to your Raspberry Pi via SSH.
- To find out the id, you can type “teamviewer info” or to setup headless access you can type “sudo teamviewer setup”.
So that was very easy. We hope that you have enjoyed this tutorial and you were able to install TeamViewer successfully on your Raspberry Pi. If you encountered any problem while performing the installation, then do let us know using the comment section below.
Also, don’t forget to share it with your friends who are using or are interested in Raspberry Pi tutorials and Internet of Things.
I was searching all over the internet looking for a way to use Teamviewer with RaspBerry Pi – and I had given up because everything was so confusing or cost money. I then tired using the different VNC options and actually got it working but I could not see the web browser on the client. I finally came across your instructions, and I cannot express my gratitude enough on how much easier this was. I could not install it within a minute lol because it takes so long to install and update everything but it was extremely easy. Thank you for making this so much clearer.
You are welcome Jeff :D
How would I update TeamViewer on pi to the latest release?
Actually, I haven’t thought about it yet but will let you know if I find out. ?
Installation went smooth but teamviewer does not want to open any help would be great
Hello Lee,
To fix the problem, first of all, I will have to look what is causing the problem. Can you talk over skype? Here is my handle @boricha.mehul5
Hi Tried to contact you on skype mine is @studiotvc
thank you
Yeah, let’s chat & fix your problem
Hi @all,
I´ve installed teamviewer host. (everything is fine)
Now I would like to connect my computer to the raspberry pi.
When I open teamviewer on my computer an I enter the Partner ID (wich I´ve found on “teamviewer info”) I can´t connect to the raspberry because I don´t have the password.
Can you please tell me where I can get the password (headless access). Because I didn´t assigned a password.
Hello Robert,
As I mentioned in the article, to setup headless access use command “sudo teamviewer setup”. Let me know if you face any problem.
Hi Mehul,
thanks for your answer.
I don´t have the desktop version for my Pi and I have no monitor or a display for my Pi.
Sometimes, when I want to connect to my Pi, especially my IPhone, I have to enter a password.
“Please enter your partner´s password”
Is the massage of my IPhone.
My question is: Where can I find this password?
What can I do to connect to my Pi?
Yes, you can do that by connecting to your pi via terminal and setting up headless TeamViewer access. But I think that I have a little confusion understanding you. You can connect with me directly on skype @ boricha.mehul5
go to settings>security>enable Random password to 6 char , then it will be visible
I am using Raspbian stretched lite, installed TeamViewer successfully but only can connect when terminal is running. I made it to run chromium-browser in kiosk mode using openbox, but when browser is running I can’t connect to my raspberry pi.
First, Connect the Pi to a display and setup a static password to connect to the teamviewer. Then reboot and check teamviewer GUI is started when Pi boots. I think this will resolve your problem.
The problem is switching between the tty’s. I can connect it from tty2 but when I enter startx to start Openbox (tty1) to run my program I cannot connect to my pi. It shows online though.
Honestly, I don’t know why? I have to check it physically. :(
Just use wget to download file directly to rasppi if it is connected to the internet already
Surely can do that. :)
Hi mehul, I’ve downloaded teamviewer onto my raspberry pi but it won’t open. I use noobs so the icon shows on my desktop but when you double click it starts to load but the teamviewer box never pops up…. I’ve uninstalled and reinstalled but same thing… any ideas?
No Idea, Working fine here. Any error or something??
I might be having the same problem.
The program itself is installed and working, but most of the files are missing.
For example, the “teamviewer help” and “start” commands work, but anything with the daemon and repo just gives me the reply “file or directory not found”. The command is recognized and executed, but the required files are missing.
The icon is there as well, but the window doesn’t pop up.
Lastly, when I tried the ziplog command the only thing it did was write “file or directory not found” 7 times.
Hello Tobias,
We have updated the article. Please check now and let us know.
Also, when I used the “sudo apt-get -f install” – command it tried to remove the teamviewer package instead of downloading the required files.
Hello Tobias,
We have updated the article. Please check now and let us know.
Thank you very much for the above information. Teamviewer is a nice tool in addition to Logmein etc.
Hello Mehul. I have a different request. I want to setup Zorin OS as a virtual Machine and RPI3+ and RPI4 users (21 in all ) in my lab will access it remotely through TeamViewer or any other remote access tool that works. your article refers to downloading the HOST. Is there a client file that i can download unto each RPI? The host file will be downloaded and installed on the Zorin OS.
Hello Nanu,
Sorry but as of now, Teamviewer is only available to set up unattended access or host and not the other way around. Although you can keep checking https://www.teamviewer.com/en/download/raspberry-pi/ if the support is ever added.
Well, I followed this guide, and now sadly, although it installed, my Pi (v3) has slowed down to an absolute crawl to the point it is unusable. I think I now need instructions as to how to remove Teamviewer!
Hey Simon,
That is unfortunate. Can you please check htop and tell us what is causing this much load. Because in our case, TeamViewer was barely consuming any resources. We have tried it on Raspberry Pi 2 and it was running smoothly at the time of writing. Still, if you want to uninstall TeamViewer, you can remove it using apt-get and dpkg; just google “uninstall deb package”. Sorry for the trouble!
Hi. I need some help with opening teamviewer on my device. Gives me a core dumped error. Any ideas?
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