Gamepad & controller setup.

Remio turns your phone, tablet, or laptop into a wireless controller bridge for your PC. Pair a controller to the client device, connect to your host, and buttons, sticks, and dpad map straight to keyboard and mouse input the host game already understands. A few minutes from unboxing the controller to playing.

Overview

A controller doesn't have to be physically plugged into the gaming PC to play games on it. Remio captures every button press and stick movement at the client and forwards it to the host as keyboard and mouse input, on the same low-latency input channel Remio uses for pointer and keyboard. The host reacts exactly like it would to a key press or a mouse move — no native gamepad device is created, and no game-side controller support is required.

This is a key/mouse mapping, not a native controller emulation. It's a great fit for menus, strategy and building games, many indie titles, and anything that plays fine with keyboard and mouse — and less of a fit for games that specifically need analog trigger pressure, rumble, or a recognized native gamepad signal (see the FAQ below for the details).

Prerequisites

• A Bluetooth or USB controller — Xbox Wireless / Series / Elite, PlayStation DualShock 4 / DualSense, Nintendo Switch Pro, 8BitDo, or any MFi-certified controller.
• Remio Client on iOS, iPadOS, Android, macOS, or Windows — latest version recommended.
• Remio Host on a Windows 10/11 or macOS 13+ machine.
• Bluetooth or USB-C on the client device. USB-C is generally lower latency than Bluetooth when both are available.

Supported controllers

Almost every controller you'd reasonably want to game with can pair. Buttons, sticks, and dpad all map to keyboard and mouse input; controller-specific extras below are not carried through.

• Xbox Wireless / Series / Elite — Bluetooth or USB-C. Face buttons, sticks, and dpad map cleanly; Elite-only paddles and rumble are not forwarded.
• PlayStation DualShock 4 / DualSense — Bluetooth or USB-C. Face buttons and sticks map like any other controller; DualSense-only features (adaptive triggers, gyro, touchpad, light bar, haptics) aren't forwarded.
• Nintendo Switch Pro Controller — Bluetooth. Face buttons, sticks, and dpad map to keyboard and mouse input.
• 8BitDo — most modern models. Bluetooth or USB. Pro 2, Ultimate, SN30 Pro, and arcade sticks all pair and map; mode switches on the controller still apply.
• MFi-certified iOS controllers — Backbone, Razer Kishi, GameSir, Rotor Riot, etc. Apple's GameController framework picks them up automatically and Remio maps every button it exposes.

01 · Pair the controller to your client device

Use your client device's standard pairing flow — Remio doesn't replace it. Once the OS shows the controller as connected, Remio Client picks it up automatically.

• iOS / iPadOS Client — Settings → Bluetooth. Put the controller in pairing mode (Xbox: hold the small sync button for 3 s; DualSense: hold PS + Share until the light bar pulses; Switch Pro: hold the sync button next to the USB-C port). Tap the controller name when it appears.
• Android Client — Settings → Connected devices → Pair new device. Same controller-side steps as above. Galaxy devices list the controller under "Other devices".
• macOS Client — System Settings → Bluetooth. Put the controller in pairing mode and click Connect when it appears in Nearby Devices.
• Windows Client — Settings → Bluetooth & Devices → Add device → Bluetooth. Or plug a USB-C cable for instant connection without pairing.

Verify the OS reports the controller as connected before opening Remio. A failed pair at the OS level can't be fixed inside Remio.

02 · Open Remio Client and connect to the host

Launch Remio Client. When you connect to a host, the controller is automatically forwarded. The HUD shows a small gamepad indicator when input is flowing — solid means events are reaching the host, blinking means the controller is detected but inactive.

You can plug or unplug controllers mid-session. Hot-add and hot-remove both work without disconnecting the stream.

• iOS / iPadOS / macOS — controller events flow as soon as the Apple GameController framework reports the device.
• Android — Android's InputManager picks up the controller; events are forwarded the moment the first button is pressed.
• Windows — any controller Windows recognizes over Bluetooth or USB works the same way.

03 · Confirm your inputs are reaching the game

Before diving into a game, do a quick sanity check on the host. This avoids spending ten minutes debugging what turns out to be an OS-level pairing issue.

• Move a stick — it should behave like a mapped key or mouse movement on the host, not a raw gamepad axis. Open any text field or the desktop and confirm the cursor or a key press responds.
• Press a face button — it should trigger the mapped key press on the host in real time.
• If nothing happens — the issue is between client and host, not the game. Skip to troubleshooting.

# Gamepad input flow
Controller → Bluetooth/USB → Client device OS
Client OS → Remio Client reads button and stick events
Remio Client → maps them to keyboard and mouse actions
Remio Host → receives the mapped key press / mouse movement
Game on host → reacts exactly as it would to keyboard and mouse input

04 · Launch a game and test everything

Open the game on the host. Two quick checks:

• Sticks — should move the camera or character the way the mapped keys or mouse movement would. Great for menus, strategy games, and anything that plays fine with keyboard and mouse.
• Face buttons and dpad — each should trigger its mapped action cleanly, on/off, like any key press.

If a game specifically requires a native gamepad signal, analog trigger pressure, or rumble feedback, this mode isn't the right fit yet — plug the controller directly into the host instead.

What the host sees

The host doesn't see your controller hardware at all — it sees keyboard and mouse input. This is why setup is simple: no driver to install on the host, no per-game controller support required. It's also why games "with special anti-cheat or native controller requirements" won't recognize the input as a gamepad.

• No driver install — nothing to set up on the host beyond Remio Host itself.
• Works with keyboard/mouse-friendly games — menus, strategy and building games, many indie titles, and anything that plays fine without a native controller.
• Not a fit for controller-only games — titles that require a recognized native gamepad, analog trigger pressure, or rumble feedback will not behave correctly.

Premium controller features

DualSense and other premium controllers have features Remio doesn't carry through today — worth knowing before you rely on them.

• Adaptive triggers — not forwarded. Triggers behave like any other mapped button.
• Gyroscope aiming — not forwarded.
• Touchpad and light bar — not forwarded. If a game depends on them, plug the controller directly into the host.
• Elite paddles / extra back buttons — not forwarded on any controller today.

Rumble and haptic feedback

Not supported today. Gamepad input only travels one way — from your controller to the host — so there's no channel back to trigger vibration. Your controller stays still even when the game would normally rumble on a direct connection.

Using a single controller per session

Right now, Remio forwards input from one connected controller per client session. If you want local co-op with several human players and controllers at once, plug the extra controllers directly into the host for that session.

Latency optimization for gaming

Default settings are tuned for fast feedback, but a few choices push latency even lower for fighting games, rhythm games, or competitive shooters.

• Wired controller — USB-C beats Bluetooth for input latency at the controller-to-client hop, every time.
• 5 GHz Wi-Fi to the client — 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi shares spectrum with most Bluetooth controllers and microwaves. The interference shows up as input stutter.
• Ethernet to the host — wire the host PC if possible. Eliminates uplink jitter from the host side.
• Low-latency mode in client settings — Settings → Streaming → Low latency. Disables a buffer frame at the cost of slightly more bitrate variance.
• Direct LAN connection — when client and host are on the same network, Remio uses a direct peer-to-peer path that doesn't touch the public internet. See direct LAN connection.

Troubleshooting

• Controller pairs to phone but nothing happens on the host — the game or app on the host needs to accept keyboard or mouse input for the mapped action to register. If a game only reacts to a native gamepad signal, this mode won't reach it — plug the controller directly into the host instead.
• Triggers feel binary instead of pressure sensitive — that's expected. Triggers map to a key press like any other button, so they're always on/off, not analog, over Remio today.
• Rumble doesn't work — expected. Gamepad input only travels one way, so there's no channel back to trigger controller vibration.
• Stick drift only over Remio (not on host directly) — your client device's gamepad driver is forwarding noisy input. Update the client OS to the latest version.
• Switch Pro disconnects after a few minutes — older firmwares have aggressive sleep behavior over Bluetooth. Update the controller via the Nintendo Switch console once, then re-pair.
• Racing wheel or HOTAS not detected — these usually need their own driver and force-feedback support on the host PC (Logitech G HUB, Thrustmaster TM Hub, etc.). Plug specialized devices directly into the host rather than through the client.
• Controller works in one game but not another — some games ignore keyboard/mouse input from certain UI contexts, or require a native gamepad signal outright. Confirm the game accepts keyboard and mouse control at all.

Gamepad & controller FAQ

Which controllers work with Remio?

Any controller your client device can pair over Bluetooth or USB — Xbox Wireless / Series / Elite, PlayStation DualShock 4, PlayStation DualSense, Nintendo Switch Pro, 8BitDo (most models), and any MFi-certified iOS controller. Remio reads button and stick events the same way any app would once the OS reports the controller connected.

Does the game actually see my controller on the host PC?

Not as a native controller device. Remio maps your controller's buttons and stick movement to keyboard and mouse input on the host, so any game or app that accepts keyboard and mouse control works. Games that require a true native gamepad signal aren't the best fit for this mode yet.

Are triggers analog or on/off over Remio?

On/off. Triggers map to a key press like any other button, so games that need true analog trigger pressure — racing sims, some flight sims — will feel different than a controller plugged straight into the host.

Does rumble or haptic feedback work?

Not yet. Gamepad input only travels one way, from your controller to the host, so there's no channel back to trigger vibration. Your controller stays still even when the game would normally rumble.

Can I use more than one controller at the same time?

Remio forwards input from one connected controller per client session today. For local co-op with multiple human players, plug the extra controllers directly into the host.

Will the game show gamepad button prompts?

No. Since your controller's input arrives on the host as keyboard and mouse events, the game will show keyboard and mouse prompts rather than gamepad button icons, even though you're playing with a physical controller.

Headset audio through the controller — does that work?

Not over Remio. Headset audio through the controller's 3.5mm jack stays on your phone or laptop. For low-latency game audio, plug a headset directly into the host PC, or pair Bluetooth audio directly with the host. Remio's game audio still flows back to the client through the stream itself.

Related guides

• Apple Pencil setup — the input-device sibling guide. If you use a Pencil for creative work and a gamepad for gaming, both share Remio's low-latency input channel.
• Cloud gaming with Remio — the root use-case page. Performance benchmarks, supported titles, and the full gaming feature story.
• Play PC games on iPad — long-form blog post walking through Steam, Game Pass, and emulator scenarios.
• Keyboard layout fix — if a game falls back to keyboard input and your characters arrive wrong, this guide explains why.
• General troubleshooting — connection issues, audio, video quality.