Raspberry Pi without Monitor & Router Active VNC in 5 Minutes Easily

This is a tutorial on how to use raspberry pi without monitor & Router ^ enable VNC SSH.
Raspbian OS comes with VNC & SSH disabled. So normally you need to connect Raspberry Pi with keyboard & Monitor for the setup after flashing Raspbian in SD card. Here in this post, I will share how to enable VNC SSH without Monitor & Router. Many tutorials on the web show to connect Raspberry Pi with Ethernet port of Router. But here I will do it without any Router.

raspberry-pi-4b-vnc

Raspberry Pi is a single-board computer that is also an IoT device. Using this you can use a Linux desktop and also do awesome IoT projects. Recently Raspberry Pi 4B introduced with dual 4K HDMI ports. Those who have a display with HDMI ports can easily set up & use Raspberry Pi 3B/4B.

But those who are laptop/notebook user, it is not possible to use HDMI ports for display. They need to use Virtual Network Computing (VNC) in order to remotely access Raspberry Pi in Desktop Mode or Secure Shell (SSH) for the command line.

Things you Need for raspberry pi without monitor

Download & Flash Raspbian OS

First we have to download and flash latest Raspbian Build to a class 10 SD card. Follow the post below to see flashing tutorial.

How to Install Raspbian OS in Raspberry Pi 3B / 4B

Enable SSH on Raspberry Pi 3B/4B

By default Raspbian comes with SSH Disabled. To enable it, first insert SD card to your desktop/laptop after flash complete.

SSH file boot raspbian os raspberry pi 3b 4b

In the boot partition create a blank file named “ssh” without any extension. This will enable SSH from first boot on Raspbian OS. After this remove the SD card and insert it on Raspberry Pi board.

Connect Raspberry Pi 3B/4B with Android Mobile

To use raspberry pi without monitor, after powering on Raspberry Pi, connect it with any Android Mobile via USB Data cable.

SSH vnc file boot raspbian os raspberry pi 3b 4b

After connecting with USB, Enable USB Tethering on your Android mobile.

USB tethering Android 9 pie

Then download Network Scanner App From Play Store.

Find Raspberry Pi 3B/4B IP Address

Now open the app and Scan External Network and specify IP as “192.168.42.1/24” and port 22.

network scanner android external network

After scanning complete one device will show. Just Copy that IP.

network scanner android external network
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Log in to Raspberry Pi via SSH

Now download Juice SSH app from play store and connect with the IP address found in network scanner to use raspberry pi without monitor.

Use the following username and password for login into Raspberry pi.

Username: pi
Password: raspberry

juice ssh login

Now run command “sudo raspi-config”.

Enable VNC on Raspberry Pi 3B/4B

To enable VNC, we have to do 3 settings inside raspi-config window.

sudo raspi config

First go to Boot Options and select the last option of Auto login with desktop.

sudo raspi config desktop auto login

Next, go to interfacing options and select VNC & enable it.

sudo raspi config desktop VNC

Lastly, we have to select display resolution. To do this, go to Advanced option from main menu and select Resolution option.

sudo raspi config desktop resolution

Depending upon your Laptop/Notebook Screen Resolution select resolution here. Here I am selecting 720p/1080p resolution as it is 16:9 aspect ratio.

sudo raspi config desktop resolution

After this you will be asked to reboot.

sudo raspi config desktop resolution

Connect Raspberry Pi 3B/4B with VNC Viewer

After Raspberry Pi finishes reboot, again enable USB Tethering on your Android mobile & open Network Scanner to find new IP Address of Raspberry Pi 3B/4B.

Then, Download VNC viewer from Play store.

vnc viewer android

Now connect VNC viewer with new IP address & same login credentials used before in SSH login.

raspberry pi 4b welcome wizard

Now your Raspberry Pi is ready to use in GUI mode. Just complete Welcome Wizard and connect to your mobile WiFi hotspots and Reboot.

raspberry pi 4b welcome wizard

You may also set a static IP Address manually in the network settings for your WiFi/ Ethernet port.

static IP settings raspberry 4b

This will set a fixed IP and you can log in & remotely access in future from laptop/notebook without scanning the network every time.

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