Control Your PC From Your Phone: Remote Desktop on Android

Your phone is always in your pocket, which makes it the perfect remote control for the computer you left behind. Maybe you need a document from your desktop, want to start a render, or a relative has asked for help and you are on the bus. With a remote desktop tool your phone shows the PC's screen and lets you click, scroll and type on it. Here is how to do it with PeerFlow, free and without creating an account.

What you need

• The PC (Windows, macOS or Linux) with the PeerFlow desktop app installed. The app is what lets someone else move the mouse and press keys. Download it from the download page.
• Your Android phone with the PeerFlow app, from the download page.
• A few minutes the first time. After that it takes seconds.

Connect step by step

1. On the PC, open PeerFlow and go to Remote access, then press Share this device. A short code like K7Q2-M9XA appears.
2. Choose what to share: your entire screen, or one window.
3. On the phone, open PeerFlow, choose Remote access and type the code. You can also send the code from the PC to the phone in a PeerFlow chat, and tap Connect in the message.
4. The PC screen appears on the phone, fitted to the display. Control is on by default, and you can see a status line on the PC saying someone is controlling it.

If both devices are signed in to the same PeerFlow account, you can skip the code altogether: your other online devices are listed under My devices with a Connect button.

Using a phone as a mouse and keyboard

• Tap to click, hold for a right-click, drag with one finger to move or select, and scroll with two fingers.
• Open Keyboard for a typing bar that handles autocorrect properly, plus quick keys for Esc, Tab, Enter, arrows, Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, Alt+Tab and the Windows key.
• Use Full screen to give the remote screen every pixel.
• Copy and paste works across: text you copy on the phone can be pasted into the PC, and the other way round.
• Open Chat and files to talk, switch on your microphone for a voice chat, or send a file to the PC without leaving the session.

Why the phone experience matters

A remote desktop that only works well with a mouse is frustrating on a touchscreen. PeerFlow translates touch gestures into mouse actions, scales the screen to fit your phone in portrait or landscape, and keeps the controls out of the way. It also reconnects by itself if the network drops for a moment.

Staying safe

Giving anyone control of a computer deserves care.

• Only share a code with someone you trust, and never with an unexpected caller.
• The code works for one session and you can generate a new one at any moment.
• On the PC you always see when someone is connected, and you can stop control with one click.
• Everything between the devices is encrypted and nothing is stored on a PeerFlow server.

For a longer checklist, read is remote desktop safe?.

When to use something else

If you need permanent, unattended access to dozens of machines with central management, a dedicated enterprise tool is built for that. For everyday use, helping family or reaching your own PC, a short-code tool is simpler. See how it compares in our AnyDesk alternative guide, or read the full overview of remote desktop with PeerFlow.

Install the PeerFlow app on your PC today, and next time you are away from your desk, your phone will have it covered.