# Parallels Access — Remote access to your computer

> Remote access to Windows and Mac computers and applications from mobile devices. (iPhone/iPad app by Parallels International GmbH.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/parallels-access/id655527928 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Parallels International GmbH](https://appshunter.io/developer/295531453)
- Category: Business, Productivity
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 4.50/5 from 2,260 App Store ratings · 55 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 13.0 · 69 MB
- Languages: American English, Dutch, French (France), German (Germany), Italian, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Chinese (Simplified, China) and 2 more
- Released: 2013-08-28
- Data updated: 2026-06-10
- Monetization: subscription
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/parallels-access/id655527928/reviews.md

## What is Parallels Access?

Parallels Access is the fastest, simplest, and most reliable way to remotely access all your Windows and Mac applications and files from your iPhone or iPad. From accessing a single file that you forgot on your home computer to editing a complex document, Parallels Access gives you the peace of mind of knowing that you will be effective anytime and anywhere with just your mobile device.
 
“There are a bunch of programs that claim to do this, but I have found that Parallels Access does it most smoothly and best of all of them... and I can recommend it."
—Walt Mossberg, co-founder Re/Code

“Parallels Access is a must-have for iPad owners that need to control apps on their desktop PC.”
– Jason Parker, CNET

“Parallels Access can help free you up so that the iPad is the only computer you take on the road.”
– Ed Baig, USA Today
 
================
Leave the laptop behind when you are on the move. Or on the couch.
Our unique “Applification™” technology lets you use all of your desktop applications as if they were native apps for your iPhone or iPad.
 
24/7 access to your desktop. The unanticipated happens all the time.  
One simple tap and you are securely connected to your computer. Quickly navigate thru the hard drive to find the document or photo you need using our file browser; and copy or open it with just a tap.
 
Edit content easily - No more finger gymnastics.
Precise selection, copying, and pasting of text. Tapping a small, almost invisible desktop button or dragging a picture with natural one-finger lock is a breeze – our Lock’n’Go Magnifying Glass is a marvel of innovation.
 
All your desktop applications are just a tap away.
Start applications or switch between them with just a tap. Plus a complete desktop keyboard to help you take full advantage of those desktop apps.
 
Don’t stress your eyes. In fact, don’t stress at all!
See your applications using the full screen of your mobile device. Have peace of mind knowing that Parallel Access will reliably connect you to your desktop when you need it. Even on slow 3G networks.

Stay effective with the fastest, simplest, and most reliable remote access technology.
You are connected to your desktop. And you are fast and effective. Reliably.
 
================
SUBSCRIPTIONS/NOTES:
Subscribe annually for $19.99 or monthly for $2.99 to get unlimited use of Parallels Access for up to 5 computers.
Payment will be charged to iTunes account at confirmation of purchase.
Subscriptions automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off no later than 24 hours before the end of the current period.
Subscriptions and auto-renewal can be managed/turned off in the iTunes account settings.
Any unused portion of a free trial period is forfeited as soon as a subscription is purchased.

Terms of Use: http://www.parallels.com/about/legal/terms/
Privacy Policy: http://www.parallels.com/about/legal/privacy/
 
For business use, please use Parallels Access for Business, which offers the ability to centrally manage multiple user accounts and grant and revoke access to company-owned computers. (www.parallels.com/products/access/business)
 
Parallels Access requires the installation of the free Parallels Access Agent on your Mac (OS X 10.9 or higher) or PC (Windows 7 or Windows 8). Just follow the instructions in Parallels Access on your iPhone or iPad to download the Agent and install it on your computer. Parallels Access is compatible with iPad 2 and later, including iPad mini, and with iPhone 4S and later.

## Key features

- Remote access to Windows and Mac computers
- Access files and applications
- Use desktop apps on mobile devices
- Precise text selection and editing
- Full desktop keyboard
- Reliable connection on slow networks

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**Subscriptions**

| Subscription | Price | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Parallels Access Service Plan for Multiple Computers | $9.99 | per month |
| Parallels Access Service Plan for Multiple Computers | $2.99 | per month |
| Parallels Access Service Plan for Multiple Computers | $19.99 | per year |
| Parallels Access Service Plan for Multiple Computers | $79.99 | per year |
| Parallels Access Service Plan for Multiple Computers | $2.99 | per month |
| Parallels Access Service Plan for Multiple Computers | $19.99 | per year |
| Parallels Access Service Plan for Multiple Computers | $2.99 | per month |
| Parallels Access Service Plan for Multiple Computers | $19.99 | per year |
| Plan for Multiple Computers | $19.99 | per year |
| Plan for Multiple Computers | $2.99 | per month |


## What do users think of Parallels Access?

Overall sentiment: neutral

**Pros**

- 🚀 Incredibly useful for remote access
- 👍 Convenient and effective
- 🔒 Reliable and secure
- 💡 Supports iPad Pro magic keyboard

**Cons**

- 🐛 Connectivity issues and unreliable
- 🔍 Limited functionality (no click/drag, missing keys)
- 🔍 Doesn't support multiple displays well
- 🔍 Performance issues, especially on M1 Macs

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Frequent disconnections and login issues
- Remote computer gets locked out
- Compatibility problems with newer OS versions
- Pasting issues and unresponsive mouse

**Most requested features**

- Add click and drag functionality
- Improve support for multiple displays
- Optimize performance for M1 Macs
- Expand iPad Pro screen usage

## Recent user reviews (10 of 55)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/parallels-access/id655527928/reviews.md

### 4/5 — Incredibly Useful App

*2023-12-27*

This app is incredible to me because I live off-grid in a house where I can only get 2 bars of LTE and I can still access my Mac mini from miles away, nearly seamlessly. 

It has some glitches from time to time, like failing to wake up my computer, but they can often be fixed by deleting and reinstalling the app. 

One major thing I think the app is missing is the ability to click and drag content around on screen. You can’t resize windows, drag & drop files, or effectively utilize creative software without the ability to click and drag 🤕

Another thing that would be nice to have is an onscreen return key in the “additional keys” bar. It seems like when I use parallels on my iPhone/ipad without a keyboard, that’s the one key I need to open the software keyboard for the most. 

Incredible job on the app, it’s well worth the money. I can get by without a laptop because I can use this so well on my iPad Pro. 👏

### 2/5 — Great, but only works once per power cycle

*2023-12-21*

It’s really impressive what the Parallels team has done as far as being able to connect to your desktop and use it from your mobile device over a bad cell connection.

That said, I have recently had an issue where I can only connect remotely to my mac mini one time, and if the connection times out or I leave the app or etc long enough for my computer to fall asleep after accessing it, the app can no longer be used to access my computer until i physically travel miles to my computer to turn it off and on again.

I didn’t have this issue before, and I get a very vague message on my iPad saying to “configure the computer to wake remotely.” I checked in the Mac app, and there is no indication that any setting is wrong or has even been changed since before I started seeing this issue. The message that shows on iPad has a “learn more” button that takes you to the support page, where there is no documentation or specific article about this.

It’s really frustrating that this happens now, because if I’m trying to access my computer remotely, having to go physically restart it every time completely defeats the purpose of paying for remote access in the first place.

Please fix this issue. I really depend on this app.

### 4/5 — nearly perfect

*2023-08-16*

Parallels is an awesome way for me to access my desktop on the go. My iPad is my main computer on-the-go, but every now and again, I need to accomplish one little task on my computer while I’m out. 

Unfortunately, in my work as an artist/game designer, I often find myself struggling to “paint” anything because this app does not support clicking and dragging. If I want to edit a level in my game engine for instance, this means drawing one tile at a time instead of using more fluid motions. 

If the devs could make it possible to use clicking and dragging interactions through parallels, this would be a 5 star app. Strongly recommend for 90% of workflows.

### 1/5 — Useless if you have more than 1 display.

*2023-07-12*

It only supports the primary display. If you have multiple displays, it’s supposed to aggregate open apps/windows on the primary display, but it doesn’t. Even if you force close apps remotely and reopen them, they open on other displays. But it gets worse, you can’t even access a parallels virtual machine (which might be running on 1 display). Mine, for example, always loads on the 2nd display. I guess if you run 1 display, it’s fine. In 2023, most of us don’t, so it’s an exercise in frustration. Who wants to physically unplug the other displays when they’re rushing out of their home or office? That’s the whole point of Remote Desktop.  In the boards, Parallels advises users to just use the web portal.  If you do that, though, you need to delete this app or it will load instead.   In terms of user experience, web portals are just plain terrible on iOS b.c of browser limitations.   They really need to fix this issue that’s been active in the parallels community for years.  They have a great dev team (parallels desktop is incredible), so it’s just not a priority.

### 1/5 — Product Unusable And Support Is Awful

*2023-02-14*

I have a Mac Mini (M1) running Ventura, and am trying to access it from an iPad 11” (4th Gen).  The Mac is a new home installed system that was used to replace a Mac-In-The-Cloud VM that could not be upgraded beyond Carolina due to the cloud provider’s configuration.  So I bought the new machine, and hosted it myself.  Set it up, and can access it with a keyboard and monitor perfectly.  Installed the Parallels Access configuration, and have regretted it ever since.  Every few moments, it freezes with the message ‘Pasting from “computer name”’, and will not release until I press cancel.  About 70% of the time, the screen stops responding to mouse clicks, and I am forced to exit the session, and log back in.  This gives me about 5-10 minutes of use at a time.  And there does not appear to be any way to configure it to stop trying to paste from my remote machine.  I tried to contact support, but they make it very difficult to actually ask them anything, only read their FAQ, which by the way is only a glowing review about how awesome their program works.  Very annoying when their program is not working awesome, and simply adds to the frustration.  My best suggestion is to skip this program, and go with one of the other Remote Desktop solutions on the market… This one is not worth the money, and their support is even worse.

### 5/5 — A Really Great Option for Remote Access

*2022-08-27, version 7.0.2*

There are many remote access options but this is the best I’ve tried. Very slick, not perfect, but a great addition I’ve come to count on.

I was quite worried when this was made part of Corel, but I have not seen any issues with stability or updates.

### 5/5 — An important tool for getting real work done on an iPad

*2022-07-24, version 7.0.2*

I’ve used Parallels Access for years and when I am working remotely I will sometimes use it for 3-4 hours a day, controlling my iMac at work remotely through the iPad. I can say with 100% surity, after examining all the other options for controlling a Mac or PC through an iPad, that this is the best. BUT, it’s not perfect. My main beefs with the control system is that, on a Mac at least, certain keys cannot be typed through the controlled computer, because the developers ignore the tickets I open when I ask them to fix these small but frustrating control issues. The following keys cannot be typed (they get ignored when typed on a Bluetooth keyboard or Apple Smart Keyboard while controlling a Mac): *, ~ (shift + `), and +, though there might have bee a few more. 

So Parallels, fix this frustrating usage issue and I’ll give you a 5 star rating!

### 5/5 — Parallels works great

*2022-07-14, version 7.0.2*

I use Parallels because it is reliable and effective.

### 1/5 — Unreliable Use

*2022-07-05, version 7.0.2*

This app worked great when I started to use it years ago. Lately very chancy to connect with computer. Always need to restart computer or have somewhat else to do it. Finally just bought a new Windows computer to make connections. Still would love to use iPhone or tablet to connect on the go.

### 1/5 — Dismal

*2022-06-20, version 7.0.2*

do not pay money for this app this performance is so disappointing the remote access on my local Netwerk gave me low resolution extremely low frame rate very disappointing and basically not worth your time. I don’t know what they did to make it so below mediocre but as far as I can tell this app is a cash gram they don’t care about making an actually useful and well performing VNC Viewer. Especially true when you take into account that Google makes their own remote desktop application which is entirely free and performs the best out of any that I’ve tried to go for the free option not this load of dung

**Developer response:** Hello,
Our Support Team would need additional details to help to get this fixed.
Please contact us at scs@parallels.com
 
Thanks,
Parallels Team

## Frequently asked questions about Parallels Access

### What does Parallels Access do?

Parallels Access allows you to remotely access all your Windows and Mac applications and files from your iPhone or iPad. It enables you to use your desktop applications as if they were native to your mobile device, edit content, and manage files securely.

### What are the key features of Parallels Access?

Key features include remote access to your entire desktop, the ability to use desktop applications on your mobile device with its 'Applification™' technology, precise text selection and editing with a magnifying glass, a full desktop keyboard, and reliable connectivity even on slow networks.

### How much does Parallels Access cost?

Parallels Access offers subscription plans. You can subscribe annually for $19.99 or monthly for $2.99, which grants unlimited use for up to 5 computers. Payment is charged to your iTunes account, and subscriptions automatically renew unless turned off.

### What devices is Parallels Access compatible with?

The application is designed for remote access from your iPhone or iPad to your Windows or Mac computers. It allows you to connect to your desktop from these mobile devices.

### What are common use cases for Parallels Access?

Common use cases include accessing a forgotten file on your home computer, editing complex documents while on the go, using specific desktop applications that are not available on mobile, or leaving your laptop behind when traveling by relying on your mobile device for access.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 7.0.8 — 2023-09-27

This update for Parallels Access addresses overall stability and performance issues.

### 7.0.2 — 2022-02-24

This update for Parallels Access addresses overall stability and performance issues.

### 7.0.1 — 2022-02-02

Parallels Access 7.0.1 introduces several bug fixes and other enhancements:
•	Resolves an issue with sharing files via Parallels Access installed on a mobile device.
•	Improves remote screen rendering on mobile devices.
•	Corrects several localization issues.
•	Fixes several crashes.

### 7.0.0 — 2021-12-16

- Easier sign-in to Parallels Access due to the support for autofilling passwords from the Keychain.
- Improved connection security due to 2-step verification support. You can set up 2-step verification in your Parallels account and then enter confirmation codes when adding new devices for remote access.
- Improved stability on the iOS 13 devices.
- Secure and convenient authentication due to the support for autofilling verification codes generated in iOS 15.
- Improved performance due to the completely revamped graphics engine that uses Apple Metal.
- Several bugs and crashes have been fixed.

### 6.5.3 — 2021-09-29

This update for Parallels Access addresses overall stability and performance issues.

## Apps similar to Parallels Access

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| [Windows App Mobile](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/windows-app-mobile/id714464092) | 4.1 (7,525) | Free | Business |
| [Splashtop Personal](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/splashtop-personal/id382509315) | 4.7 (4,021) | Free | Business |
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## More apps by Parallels International GmbH

- [Parallels Client (legacy)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/parallels-client-legacy/id401103105)
- [Parallels Client](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/parallels-client/id1129911695)

All apps by Parallels International GmbH: https://appshunter.io/developer/295531453

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-10.*