{"id":486,"date":"2024-09-20T06:06:37","date_gmt":"2024-09-20T06:06:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.hostinger.io\/support\/2024\/09\/20\/9901438-how-to-use-the-ubuntu-24-04-template-with-desktop-on-vps\/"},"modified":"2026-06-08T14:46:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T14:46:31","slug":"9901438-how-to-set-up-ubuntu-remote-desktop-hostinger-vps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/support\/9901438-how-to-set-up-ubuntu-remote-desktop-hostinger-vps\/","title":{"rendered":"How to set up an Ubuntu 24.04 remote desktop on Hostinger VPS"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>An <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/support\/1583571-what-are-the-available-operating-systems-for-vps-at-hostinger\">Ubuntu 24.04<\/a> template with a graphical desktop environment allows you to manage your Hostinger Virtual Private Server (VPS) using a lightweight XFCE visual interface rather than a command-line terminal. This guide covers how to install the template and configure your connection using two different remote desktop options.<\/p><h2 id=\"h-before-you-start\">Before you start<\/h2><p>To successfully perform this installation, ensure you meet the following requirements:<\/p><ul>\n<li>A Hostinger <strong>KVM 2<\/strong> or greater <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/vps\/ubuntu-hosting\">Ubuntu VPS plan<\/a>. Due to the requirements for a graphical desktop environment to run smoothly, this template is not supported on KVM 1 plans.<\/li>\n<li>If you already have another OS template installed, back up any important files via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/support\/8868611-how-to-connect-to-vps-using-sftp-at-hostinger\/\">SFTP<\/a> before proceeding. Changing your operating system <strong>permanently deletes<\/strong> all data currently stored on the server.<\/li>\n<\/ul><h2 id=\"h-step-1-install-the-ubuntu-24-04-template\">Step 1 &ndash; Install the Ubuntu 24.04 template<\/h2><ol>\n<li>Log in to hPanel and go to the <a class=\"intercom-content-link\" href=\"https:\/\/hpanel.hostinger.com\/servers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">VPS section<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Select the server you want to manage.<\/li>\n<li>On the left sidebar, navigate to OS &amp; Panel <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">&rarr;<\/span> <strong>Operating System<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Scroll to the Change your Operating System section and select the Application tab.<\/li>\n<li>Search for &ldquo;Desktop&rdquo; and select Ubuntu 24.04 with Remote Desktop.<\/li>\n<li>Click Change OS.<br>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/55\/2024\/09\/ce446995-cd0a-487e-83f3-c23f919d720c.jpg\" alt=\"VPS OS change screen with Ubuntu 24.04 with Remote Desktop selected in Application tab\" width=\"702\" height=\"426\" data-media-id=\"2352\"><\/li>\n<\/ol><h2 id=\"h-step-2-connect-to-your-remote-desktop\">Step 2 &ndash; Connect to your remote desktop<\/h2><p>Select one of the following configuration options based on your preferred remote access protocol and your device operating system.<\/p><h3 id=\"connect-via-vnc\">Option 1 &ndash; Connect via VNC<\/h3><p>The Virtual Network Computing (VNC) method provides a direct graphical connection to your VPS interface using a custom client.<\/p><h4>Windows<\/h4><ol>\n<li>Download and install VNC Viewer from the official <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realvnc.com\/download\/viewer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">RealVNC website<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Launch VNC Viewer.<\/li>\n<li>In the address bar, enter the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/support\/5139756-how-to-find-your-vps-ip-address\">IP address of your VPS<\/a> followed by port <code>5900<\/code> (for example, <code>192.0.2.1:5900<\/code>).<\/li>\n<li>When prompted, enter your panel password as the VNC password.<\/li>\n<li>Click <strong>Connect<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol><h4>Linux<\/h4><ol>\n<li>Install VNC Viewer using your distribution&rsquo;s package manager or official <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realvnc.com\/en\/connect\/download\/viewer\/linux\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">RealVNC packages<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Open a terminal and run the <code>vncviewer<\/code> command.<\/li>\n<li>Enter your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/support\/5139756-how-to-find-your-vps-ip-address\">VPS IP address<\/a> and port <code>5900<\/code>.<\/li>\n<li>Provide your panel password to authenticate.<\/li>\n<\/ol><h4>macOS<\/h4><ol>\n<li>Open <strong>Finder<\/strong>, click <strong>Go<\/strong> in the top menu, and select <strong>Connect to Server<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Enter your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/support\/5139756-how-to-find-your-vps-ip-address\">VPS IP address<\/a> and port <code>5900<\/code>.<\/li>\n<\/ol><p>Alternatively, install a custom client like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realvnc.com\/en\/connect\/download\/viewer\/macos\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">RealVNC Viewer for macOS<\/a> and follow the Windows setup steps.<\/p><h3 id=\"connect-via-xrdp\">Option 2 &ndash; Connect via XRDP<\/h3><p>The XRDP method utilizes the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), allowing you to log into your environment securely.<\/p><h4>Windows<\/h4><ol>\n<li>Open the default Remote Desktop Connection application.<br>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/55\/2024\/09\/11aa09cd-ee5b-4214-9702-82fb741bb36c.jpg\" alt=\"Windows search showing Remote Desktop Connection app as best match\" width=\"700\" height=\"468\" data-media-id=\"2355\"><\/li>\n<li>In the Computer field, enter your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/support\/5139756-how-to-find-your-vps-ip-address\">VPS IP address<\/a> and click <strong>Connect<\/strong>.<br>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/55\/2024\/09\/26d18c71-809f-451e-a6eb-25fa33bab9ea.jpg\" alt=\"Remote Desktop Connection window with IP address entered in Computer field\" width=\"465\" height=\"277\" data-media-id=\"2357\"><\/li>\n<li>If a certificate warning appears, click <strong>Yes<\/strong> to proceed.<br>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/55\/2024\/09\/78ff4f0d-4ddb-40c4-a4cf-91e5591b7efd.jpg\" alt=\"Remote Desktop Connection warning about an unverified remote computer certificate\" width=\"469\" height=\"539\" data-media-id=\"2358\"><\/li>\n<li>On the login screen, enter <code>root<\/code> as the username and your VPS root password.<br>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/55\/2024\/09\/845c2e69-6531-4f77-8751-924f9d92d133.jpg\" alt=\"xrdp login window with Session set to Xorg, username and password fields, and OK button\" width=\"467\" height=\"515\" data-media-id=\"2359\"><\/li>\n<\/ol><h4>Linux<\/h4><ol>\n<li>Install an RDP client such as <a class=\"intercom-content-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.freerdp.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">FreeRDP<\/a> or <a class=\"intercom-content-link\" href=\"https:\/\/remmina.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Remmina<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Open the client and create a new connection profile.<\/li>\n<li>Enter your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/support\/5139756-how-to-find-your-vps-ip-address\">VPS IP address<\/a>, set the username to <code>root<\/code>, and input your root password.<\/li>\n<li>Connect to establish the remote desktop session.<\/li>\n<\/ol><h4>macOS<\/h4><ol>\n<li>Download and open the <a class=\"intercom-content-link\" href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/us\/app\/windows-app\/id1295203466?mt=12\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Windows App<\/a> (formerly Microsoft Remote Desktop) from the App Store.<\/li>\n<li>Click Add PC or the + icon.<br>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/55\/2024\/09\/328ce98d-6733-4451-b9d9-a28cc7fe4ae9.jpg\" alt=\"Devices page with the plus button highlighted in the top-right corner\" width=\"801\" height=\"492\" data-media-id=\"2360\"><br>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/55\/2024\/09\/2a5cd4bf-dc23-4a4c-8249-14a1819e4646.jpg\" alt=\"VPS menu showing Add PC option selected\" data-media-id=\"2361\"><\/li>\n<li>In the PC name field, enter your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/support\/5139756-how-to-find-your-vps-ip-address\">VPS IP address<\/a> and click <strong>Add<\/strong>.<br>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/55\/2024\/09\/9c73e7a0-0d57-4207-9c98-addedafdb7af.jpg\" alt=\"Remote Desktop add PC dialog with PC name IP field selected and filled with 22.222.222.222\" width=\"530\" height=\"608\" data-media-id=\"2362\"><\/li>\n<li>Double-click the newly added connection.<\/li>\n<li>Enter <code>root<\/code> as the username and your root password.<br>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/55\/2024\/09\/f2a60355-ecbc-451a-a382-d9a00f99534f.jpg\" alt=\"VPS add credentials dialog with password field selected and username root\" width=\"536\" height=\"281\" data-media-id=\"2363\"><\/li>\n<li>Click Continue if prompted to bypass the certificate warning.<br>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/55\/2024\/09\/73d95ecf-727e-45fe-b672-52930b25ebe5.jpg\" alt=\"VPS RDP certificate warning dialog with Continue button highlighted\" width=\"542\" height=\"150\" data-media-id=\"2364\"><\/li>\n<\/ol><p>&#8203;<\/p><p>You are now ready to access and manage your graphical Ubuntu 24.04 environment on your Hostinger VPS&#8203;.<\/p><div class=\"intercom-container intercom-align-center\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"\/support\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/55\/2024\/09\/7d7dab51-9b2b-44eb-a34b-42949a5ead97.jpg\" alt=\"Ubuntu VPS desktop with mouse wallpaper and desktop icons on the left, dock centered at the bottom\" width=\"715\" height=\"449\" data-media-id=\"2365\"><\/div><p><strong>NOTES<\/strong><\/p><ul>\n<li>The default login password for both VNC and XRDP connections corresponds to your VPS root password. You can reset this password at any time via hPanel.<\/li>\n<li>Graphic applications are generally designed to run under regular user accounts. Running them as the root user may lead to performance issues or permission conflicts.<\/li>\n<li>The Ubuntu 22.04 operating system template is only available for existing installations that already use it. All new remote desktop installations must use the Ubuntu 24.04 template.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Install and configure an Ubuntu 24.04 remote desktop environment using VNC or RDP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":581,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"include_on_kodee":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[206],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vps-os-and-templates"],"hreflangs":[{"locale":"en-US","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/support\/9901438-how-to-use-the-ubuntu-24-04-template-with-desktop-on-vps\/","default":1}],"include_on_kodee":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/581"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=486"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11228,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486\/revisions\/11228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/support\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}