Windows 11 Home Ed cannot connect to projector and RDC

I just realized the Windows 11 Home edition trap.

1. Cannot connect to a projector because the the display option is limited to PC screen only, no duplicate. No problem with Win 11 Pro.
2. Cannot do a Remote Desktop. No problem with Win 11 Pro.

So, if you re a professional, or office worker whose laptop connects to projector for presentation, or connects to RDC, Windows 11 Home Ed is NOT your OS.

Crap.

The EULA for home would prevent you using it professionally.

I have upgraded to Windows 11 Pro via Microsoft Store. No issue or problems during upgrade.

Still cannot connect to projector.

I used another Acer laptop and it connects without a hitch.

Any thing else to connect my new Win 11 Pro?

minardski said:

I just realized the Windows 11 Home edition trap.

1. Cannot connect to a projector because the the display option is limited to PC screen only, no duplicate. No problem with Win 11 Pro.
2. Cannot do a Remote Desktop. No problem with Win 11 Pro.

So, if you re a professional, or office worker whose laptop connects to projector for presentation, or connects to RDC, Windows 11 Home Ed is NOT your OS.

Crap.

Click to expand...

If all premium features were in Home, there would be no point in having a Pro version, so your expectations are "crap", not the software restrictions of Home.

Home Users rarely need to use a projector, and there are loads of 3rd party tools that will allow Remote Desktop access.

In the end, you get what you pay for.

Rollback_Jockey said:

The EULA for home would prevent you using it professionally.

Click to expand...

Nonsense - there is no such restriction.

The EULA is identical whether using Home or Pro.

The name just means the Home version is targeted at (Quelle Surprise) Home users.

My laptop has Windows Home edition on it, and it has no problems linking to a projector using duplicate. It may surprise some on here to know that Home edition users often project films and videos using projectors linked to their PCs.

John

Well until now, I cannot connect. I upgraded from Home to Pro via Microsoft Store.

The other Windows 11 Pro Acer has no problem at all connecting to projector.

The only difference is that the other Acer laptop was installed original Win 11 Pro, and mine is upgraded.

I have another Asus Home edition, also cannot connect to MRDC and projector.

Any options to connect??

A projector is effectively just like a second monitor and Home edition has no limitation of connecting to such a device. However, you will want to make sure that you have the proper display driver to support this. If you are using a generic driver from Intel, Nvidia, etc. I would suggest obtaining the latest driver available directly from the system maker.

Rollback_Jockey said:

The EULA for home would prevent you using it professionally.

Click to expand...

No, it does not.

Not being able to connect to the projector or use RDP client has nothing to do with the edition being Home or Pro. There is something else wrong. Windows 11 Home has no built-in RDP server, but there is a workaround for that.

minardski said:

I just realized the Windows 11 Home edition trap.

1. Cannot connect to a projector because the the display option is limited to PC screen only, no duplicate. No problem with Win 11 Pro.

Click to expand...

It's nor a Home vs Pro trap, its a hardware trap. To connect to a projector or a wireless display the PC's display hardware/driver and the WiFi must all support Miracast. Check here:

Whether you can Extend/Duplicate the display is also video hardware/driver dependent.

minardski said:

2. Cannot do a Remote Desktop. No problem with Win 11 Pro.

Click to expand...

Home most certainly can make an RDP connection to another PC. What Home cannot do is be an RDP server so that other PCs can connect to it, for that you need Pro.

this is my laptop specs.

I still cannot connect to projector. NO signal.

But the other laptop can connect quickly. The only difference is the other laptop is preinstalled with windows professional, while mine was upgraded thru Microsoft Store from Win 11 Home to Win 11 Pro.

Any suggestion how i can connect to projector after upgrade?

How are you trying to connect to the projector? Is it physically connected to an HDMI port or is it over a network?

What do you mean by projector? Are you talking about a wired connection or wireless?

For wired you select Project and select how you want the display to be used. I had no problem using any of my laptops to project to an Epson EX7240 digital projector using an HDMI cable.





If you are talking about wireless then select Cast and select the device to cast to. For example, I use my laptops to cast to a TV. However, both the computer and device must both support Miracast for this to work.

There is also the wireless display option:

NavyLCDR said:

There is also the wireless display option:

View attachment 79740

Click to expand...

That merely connects to Cast. Wouldn't it be just easier to select Cast directly? You can do that by clicking the WiFi icon in the notification area. Note if Cast and Project aren't there you can add them.

I connect by USB, no provision for HDMI on the projector.

Other laptops with pre-installed Win 11 Pro always have no problem connecting to the projector.,

I have upgraded Windows 11 Pro to 23H2.

The Radeon graphics driver is also updated.

I wonder if there might be a problem with your USB driver in the laptop. Here's a couple of suggestions you might try, if you haven't already (it says windows 10, but should be the same in windows 11):
Another possibility is to use a VGA connector, if you have a suitable port on your laptop.

It is possible that the laptop's hardware/software doesn't support video over USB.