Keyboard layout issues.

When you type @ on the client and the host writes " instead, you've hit a layout mismatch — the most common keyboard issue in remote desktop. Almost every layout problem comes down to one thing: the host reads your key presses with its own layout. This guide explains the model, the fixes, and the trade-offs.

How Remio sends keystrokes

Remio sends two kinds of keyboard input, because each is right for different work.

Key presses — Remio sends the physical key you pressed, by its position on the keyboard. The host interprets it using its own active layout. This is the right behavior for games (where WASD must hit physical positions, not letters), for shortcuts (Cmd+S must be the Cmd key, not the character S), and for any application that reads raw key events.

Typed text — Text that your device composes before Remio sees it — through an input method (IME) such as Telex or Pinyin, an emoji picker, or an accent built from two keystrokes — arrives as the finished characters, and the host types them as they are, whatever its layout. This is what makes international text, diacritics and IMEs work.

There is nothing to switch: Remio sends key presses for the keys you press and finished characters for text your device has already composed.

# Mental model
key presses → physical position (Q is at top-left)
              host interprets using its layout
              → games, shortcuts work

typed text  → finished characters (U+00E4 = ä)
              host types them as-is
              → international text, IMEs, diacritics work

Prerequisites

• Both ends updated — older versions could drop or double accented letters and IME text. Current versions send it once.
• Knowledge of your host's active layout — macOS shows it in the menu bar; Windows shows it in the language bar.
• If using an IME (Vietnamese Telex, Japanese, Chinese Pinyin), run it only on the client.

01 · Diagnose the symptom

The exact mistranslation tells you which layouts are mismatched. A few common patterns:

• @ becomes " and vice versa — UK client, US host (or the reverse). Both layouts have @ and " on different shifted keys.
• Z and Y swap — QWERTZ (German, Czech) client, QWERTY host. Z and Y trade physical positions.
• $, £, € misplaced — UK or European client, US host. Currency symbols vary by locale.
• Backslash missing or wrong — ISO vs ANSI keyboard layout. ISO has an extra key near Enter that ANSI lacks.
• Diacritics produce wrong vowels — dead keys interpreted on host instead of client.
• IME duplicates characters — IME running on both ends. Each composes the input and the second one re-composes.

02 · Option A — match the layouts

The cleanest fix is to make both ends share a layout. Pick one and apply it everywhere.

macOS

System Settings → Keyboard → Text Input → Edit. Add or remove input sources; the menu bar shows the active one. macOS allows multiple layouts; the one in front of an app at the moment of keypress is what Remio reports.

Windows

Settings → Time & Language → Language & Region → Keyboards. Add, remove, or set a default. The system tray language bar shows the active layout. Press Win+Space to cycle between added layouts.

03 · Option B — let your device compose the text

If you'd rather not change OS settings, or if you regularly type characters that don't exist on the host's layout, type them through your device's own input method.

On the client, switch to the keyboard language or input method you need — the on-screen keyboard's language key, or your OS's input-source menu — and type as usual. Your device composes each character, and the finished text is sent to the host, which types it as it arrives.

Trade-offs to know:

• Shortcuts still go by key position — Cmd, Ctrl, Shift and Alt combinations reach the host as key presses, so shortcuts and chord combinations still fire.
• Games read key positions — most games read raw key presses, so for gaming press the physical keys instead of typing through an input method.
• IMEs work cleanly — your client IME composes the final character locally; the host receives the composed text, not the in-progress pinyin or dead-key sequence.

04 · Special characters and diacritics

Special characters are where layout mismatches hurt most. Each language has its conventions; here's how Remio handles the common ones.

• German ÄÖÜß — composed on your device, they arrive as U+00C4, U+00D6, U+00DC, U+00DF. The host OS needs no German support installed.
• Vietnamese diacritics — run Telex, VNI, or your preferred IME on the client. The composed character (e.g. ơ, ư, ấ) is sent as Unicode. Do not run a Vietnamese IME on the host or you'll double-compose.
• French accents — characters like é è ê ç compose on the client (with dead keys or AZERTY direct keys) and arrive complete on the host.
• Japanese / Chinese / Korean IMEs — run the IME on the client only; pinyin or hiragana shows in the on-screen candidate window on the client, and the chosen character is sent to the host.
• Emoji — pick from the client's emoji picker; the codepoint is sent as Unicode. The host renders it with whatever emoji font it has.

05 · Modifier keys across platforms

The fiddliest cross-platform problem is modifiers: macOS uses Cmd as the primary modifier, Windows uses Ctrl. By default, a Windows host treats Cmd from a Mac client as Ctrl, so Cmd+S saves on the Windows PC just as it would on a Mac. In the other direction, Remio for Windows swaps Ctrl and Cmd for you by default (Swap Ctrl / Cmd, in the Settings panel while connected, Session section), so Ctrl+S saves on the Mac; turn it off to send Ctrl and the Windows key as they are.

If you type on a PC keyboard and want the Windows key to open Start on a Windows host, turn on Command key sends the Windows key in Remio Host's settings on that PC. Leave it off for a Mac keyboard, where Cmd should act as Ctrl.

Additional notes:

• Option / Alt — same physical key, different name. Remio reports both correctly.
• Windows / Cmd — same physical position. The Command key setting above decides whether it acts as Ctrl or as the Windows key.
• Caps Lock — passed through as-is. The host's Caps Lock state matches what you toggled on the client.
• Function keys — F1-F12 all reach the host. On Mac hosts, fn+F1 etc. respects whatever the system setting is for media-key behavior.

# Example — Mac client → Windows host
client: Cmd+S                  (you press)
host:   Ctrl+S triggers Save  (Command key sends the Windows key: off)

Troubleshooting

• Some keys still wrong after changing a layout — disconnect and reconnect, and check you changed the layout on the right device: the host's layout decides what key presses type.
• Game doesn't recognize keys — press the physical keys instead of typing through an input method. Some games also need raw input enabled in their settings.
• IME shows composition window on host — turn off the IME on the host; run it only on the client.
• Shortcut hits the wrong app — verify the host app actually has focus. Remio sends to whatever app is in front on the host.
• Hardware keyboard on iPad not detected — disconnect and reconnect the Bluetooth keyboard, then reopen the session. iPadOS sometimes drops the connection between sessions.

Keyboard layout FAQ

Why do my @ and " keys swap on Remio?

Your client and host are on different keyboard layouts — typically UK vs US. The two layouts swap @ and " between Shift+2 and Shift+'. Force both ends to the same layout in the OS keyboard settings, or type through your device's own input method so the finished characters are sent instead of key positions.

How does Remio send keystrokes — key positions or characters?

Both. Physical key presses go by key position, so games and shortcuts work correctly. Text your device has already composed — input methods, emoji, accents — goes as finished characters, so special characters arrive intact regardless of the host's layout.

Can I type German ÄÖÜ on a US keyboard via Remio?

Yes. Use a German keyboard layout or input method on your device — the dead keys, accents, and umlauts you compose are sent as finished characters and typed on the host regardless of its layout.

Do Vietnamese diacritics work over Remio?

Yes. Diacritics are composed on the client (using whatever IME you use locally — Telex, VNI, or the system IME) and the final character is sent as text. Avoid running an IME on the host simultaneously or you'll double-compose.

Where do I change the keyboard layout on the macOS host?

System Settings → Keyboard → Text Input → Edit. Add or remove layouts there. Remio respects whatever layout macOS currently has active for the focused application.

Why do my keyboard shortcuts not work in Remio?

Most often, the modifier keys differ — macOS Cmd vs Windows Ctrl. From a Mac client, a Windows host treats Cmd as Ctrl unless Command key sends the Windows key is on in Remio Host's settings on that PC. From a Windows client to a Mac, Swap Ctrl / Cmd (in the Settings panel while connected, Session section) is on by default and makes Ctrl act as ⌘ — check that it has not been turned off. On an iPad keyboard, press ⌥ in place of ⌘ for the shortcuts the iPad keeps for itself.