Use your Android as a touchpad, mouse, and keyboard for your PC or Mac: Complete guide with RemoteDroid and alternatives

  • Full control of your PC/Mac from Android: touchpad, mouse, and keyboard, compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux.
  • Connect to the same WiFi network, multi-touch gestures and sensitivity settings for comfortable use.
  • Alternatives like Remote Mouse, Unified Remote, and PC Remote add multimedia panels, Gyro Mouse, security, and Bluetooth.
Pilar CalvoUpdated on

4 minutes

Android as a touchpad for PC or Mac

The last program we talked about in Android Help to use our Android as a Mouse, Touchpad or Joystick that could control our computer was DroidPad, a great application for those who want to fully control the computer from their phone, but with a small problem, which it only worked for Windows computers. Well, today we are talking about another very simple and effective application that will turn our Android into a touchpad, mouse or keyboard of our computer regardless of its operating system, since it works with a Java file that can be executed on Windows, Linux or Mac Os X without giving rise to differences between the three platforms, we talk about RemoteDroid.
Now, we list the steps The brief and simple process of converting our Android into a touchpad and keyboard for our computer with RemoteDroid. To do this, we need to do the following:
  • 1. First we will install RemoteDroid on our Android phone. The application is free on Google Play, so this step will be as easy as letting Google Play download and install the application to our phone.
  • 2. Now we must download the program RemoteDroid to our computer from your official pageOnce inside we must click on download server appThis program will synchronize your computer with your mobile phone via Wi-Fi. Once downloaded, unzip it wherever you want and open the Java RemoteDroidServer.jar file. On Mac and Windows, a double-click is probably enough, but on Linux, you may need to right-click on the file and open with OpenJDK. We will see a window that will give us some small instructions to use the application.
  • 3. From here it is already filmed. We open the application on our phone and a screen will appear with a box in which we have to enter our IP (which appeared in the computer window). Once introduced, we must give Connect and… Voilà! We can now start to control our computer from our mobile.
From this moment on, thank you with RemoteDroid, you can use any computer connected to your Wifi network with your Android device, regardless of the operating system. Enjoy it!

Turn your Android into a touchpad, mouse, and keyboard with RemoteDroid

Controlling an Android PC as a touchpad

For a stable connection, make sure that mobile and computer share the same WiFiIf this isn't possible, some apps allow you to create a hotspot from your phone to connect both devices. With RemoteDroid, after entering the PC's local IP address, you'll see a touch-sensitive area that acts as a virtual trackpad and keyboard access for comfortable typing on the computer.

In addition to moving the cursor, it is useful to know the most common gestures that you'll find in most remote control apps: a one-finger tap equals a left click; two fingers are usually a right click; a two-finger swipe equals a left click. scroll; and with double tap, hold and drag you can select and move elements on screen.

  • Control area full screen for precision when moving the pointer.
  • Bottom bar with icons for multimedia, shortcuts and on-screen keyboard.
  • Sensitivity settings, pointer speed and left-handed mode.

If you are going to present slides or play video, applications of this type usually include multimedia controls (pause, next, volume) and keyboard shortcuts. Many add options such as password lock for connecting or synchronizing the clipboard between devices.

Popular alternatives and advanced features

If you're looking for extras beyond RemoteDroid, there are very complete solutions. Remote Mouse It is one of the most popular and adds features like Gyro Mouse (move the cursor with the phone's gyroscope), specialized panels for multimedia and browser, App Switcher, power options (sleep, restart), sync clipboard and volume control with the physical buttons on the phone. It allows crear una cuenta to synchronize multiple computers and offers a plan Remote Mouse Pro with a 7-day trial and low monthly fee, eliminating ads and incorporating advanced controls.

In the same line, Unified Remote It stands out for its compatibility with Windows, macOS and Linux, control profiles for many apps, integration with Tasker/Wear OS and customization options. For its part, PCRemote offers keyboard modes, touchpad, and gaming profiles on Windows. Several of these alternatives allow connection via WiFi or Bluetooth, orientation adjustment, additional shortcuts and even freehand writing to sign or take quick notes.

Whichever tool you choose, remember to keep both devices on the same network, adjust the pointer sensitivity to your liking, and take advantage of your phone's keyboard to type in any app on your computer. With these tools, you can turn your phone into a powerful remote control to work, present or enjoy content from the sofa.