3 ways to use your laptop as a keyboard for your desktop PC

Whether your desktop keyboard is broken or you just want to streamline typing across multiple machines, a reliable laptop can serve as a complete external keyboard for your desktop PC. No hardware modifications are required. With a few free apps and a quick setup, you'll be typing on your PC from your laptop.

Note : If you cannot access the PC desktop keyboard, you can use the Windows On-Screen Keyboard or Touch Keyboard to set up the methods below.

1. Using network KVM application

Network KVM (Keyboard, Video, Mouse) software will share your device's peripherals like keyboard and mouse with other computers on the network. This will allow you to seamlessly use both your touchpad and keyboard between your devices. Mouse without Borders is a great free tool for this purpose.

After the initial setup, you will be able to move your mouse cursor between your laptop and PC. Your keyboard will input data on whichever device has the cursor in focus.

Here's how to set it up:

Install Mouse without Borders on both your laptop and desktop. First, launch the application on your desktop and select No when prompted to confirm the setup to display the security code and computer name.

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Now, launch the application on your laptop and select Yes when prompted to get the fields to enter the security code and computer name. Enter the security code and computer name you see on your desktop and click Link .

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Once connected, you just need to move the mouse to the corner of the laptop screen and it will appear on the PC screen and allow you to use the keyboard. In the application interface, you should also adjust the position of the laptop and desktop, because the cursor can only jump to the PC from one side of the screen.

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In addition to using keyboard and mouse, the application also allows you to copy/paste data from one device to another, including files under 100MB.

2. Use USB virtualization application

USB virtualization programs virtualize all USB-based devices and allow you to connect them to your PC over the Internet . Since most laptops use the HID protocol for keyboards, you can virtualize it as a USB device for use with your PC. Your PC will see it as a physical USB keyboard attached, so it will treat your laptop as a keyboard.

However, your keyboard will not work on your laptop either as it is essentially unplugged and attached to the virtual PC. I will be using Free Virtual USB for this purpose as its free version is enough to connect a virtual keyboard without any limitations.

Install it on both desktop and laptop. While installing, select the Server option on laptop and Client option on desktop. You will have to restart both devices after installation.

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Now, launch the server on your laptop and you will see all the USB devices that can be shared. Next to the keyboard, click the checkbox under the Shared column and confirm the prompt. This will display the keyboard for the client. Open the Free Virtual USB client on your desktop and select the keyboard to install and use.

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Unlike a KVM program, the keyboard will not depend on the mouse position to work. It will also bypass program restrictions such as DRM-locked applications or applications blocking remote sessions.

3. Use Remote Desktop software

Instead of just connecting a keyboard, you can also take full control of your desktop from your laptop and do everything from your laptop. Remote desktop software can allow you to take full control of your device over the Internet, including using the keyboard to enter data.

You can use TeamViewer for free remote work sessions. Just download the TeamViewer app on your laptop and the QuickSupport app on your desktop.

You will need a TeamViewer account on your laptop to create and start the session, so create one and log in. In the main interface, you will see a Control remove device section with a blank field below it. The QuickSupport app displays an ID and password; you will need to enter that information into this blank field to start the connection.

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The session will run in a separate window, so you can work on your laptop and desktop at the same time. The big downside to this method is that you'll notice a slight input lag. It may not be the best option for things that require quick reactions, like gaming, but it'll be fine for file management or data entry.

Additionally, you can also use the Chrome Remote Desktop extension for sessions without registration.

Using Mouse without Borders is definitely the easiest method if you just want to use your laptop keyboard with your desktop and be able to control both. If you are also having problems with your laptop keyboard , check out our guide to fixing this problem.

Marvin Fry

Update 10 July 2025

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