How to Use Remio — Every Feature, Explained

§01 · Start here

Pair once, stream forever

Remio is two apps: a host on the computer you want to reach, and a client on the device in your hand. Pair them once with a QR scan or a six-digit PIN — no account, no router setup — and they find each other from then on.

Scan once. Connected for good.

The host shows a QR code and a six-digit PIN. Point your phone's camera at the QR — or type the Device ID and PIN — and the two machines are paired. From then on your computer simply appears in the device list, ready to connect from anywhere.

The full first-session walkthrough →

Pairing a computer in Remio on iPhone with a six-digit code

The five-minute first session

Install the host, grant its two permissions, install a client, scan the QR, stream.

macOS · Windows · Linux hosts Check your devices are supported

OS versions for every host and client, and the network that gets you the lowest latency.

All platforms Download Remio for each device

Every host and client, one download page. Free — every feature included.

All platforms Recipe: Mac to Mac

Pair two Macs on the same network or across the internet.

macOS host · macOS client Recipe: Mac to iPad

Apple Pencil, Magic Keyboard, and trackpad — the full iPad experience.

macOS host · iPadOS client Recipe: Windows to Mac

Reach a Windows desktop from a Mac with full input parity.

Windows host · macOS client

§02 · Take control

Fingers, pencils, keyboards, controllers

Every mouse action has a touch gesture, and every real peripheral — a Bluetooth keyboard, a trackpad, an Apple Pencil, a game controller — passes straight through to the remote computer. Watch the gestures:

Tap — left-click

Two-finger tap — right-click

Two-finger slide — scroll

Hold, then move — drag

Pinch — zoom your view

Three-finger swipe — switch desktops

The complete gesture reference

Touchpad vs Direct Touch mode, every gesture, and how to tune pointer and scroll speed.

iPhone · iPad · Android Typing & keyboards

The on-screen keyboard that pushes content up instead of covering it, the shortcut bar, and hardware keyboards.

All clients Keyboard layouts & special keys

Non-US layouts, sticky modifiers, and rebinding problematic keys.

All clients Apple Pencil

Point, tap, and scroll with the Pencil on iPad — plus palm rejection setup.

iPad Game controllers

Xbox, DualSense, and MFi controllers — pairing, slots, and button mapping.

iOS · macOS · Android clients Remio TouchPad — phone as a trackpad

A separate free app that turns your phone into a wireless trackpad for your Mac.

iPhone · Android → Mac

§03 · Screen & picture

A desktop shaped exactly like your device

Dynamic resolution — resize the window, the desktop follows.

Remio does not squeeze a copy of the host's monitor onto your screen. It drives a dedicated virtual display sized exactly to your window — rotate your phone, drag a corner on your Mac, go fullscreen, and the remote desktop reshapes itself live, pixel for pixel. It feels like your machine because, for that session, it is.

How dynamic resolution works →

Drag the window — the remote desktop reshapes live

Switch between the host's displays

Pick which monitor streams, or use the dedicated virtual display sized to your device.

macOS · Windows · Linux hosts Streaming quality presets

Auto to Ultra — what each preset trades, and when to change it.

All clients True 4:4:4 color New

Pixel-exact text and color for NVIDIA-powered Windows hosts streaming to a Mac.

Windows host → macOS client Zoom & pan your view

Pinch to magnify the stream locally — read small text without touching the host.

iPhone · iPad · Android Picture in Picture

Keep the stream in a floating window while you use other apps.

iOS · macOS clients Advanced video settings

Codec, frame-rate caps, bitrate limits — the whole screen, explained.

All clients

§04 · Sound

Hear your computer, wherever you are

System audio streams alongside the video, in sync, straight to whatever output your device is already using — AirPods, a Bluetooth speaker, the phone's own speakers.

Set up audio streaming

Turn on host audio capture and route sound to your client in one toggle.

All hosts → all clients Audio settings, explained

Channels, quality, sample rate, frame duration, and silence detection.

All clients Fix audio problems

Dropouts, crackling, and silent streams — diagnosed step by step.

All platforms

§05 · Clipboard, files & apps

Two machines that act like one

Copy here, paste there.

The clipboard is shared both ways: copy text on the remote computer and paste it on your device — or the reverse — with no extra taps. It rides the same end-to-end encrypted connection as the stream, so nothing ever touches a server. Files go the same way: pick a document on your phone and it lands in the host's Downloads → Remio folder, revealed and ready.

How clipboard sync works →

⌘C → ⌘V

Shared clipboard

Copy text on either side, paste on the other. On by default, and easy to switch off.

All hosts ↔ all clients Send files to your computer

Share a file from your device and it lands in the host's Downloads → Remio folder — over the encrypted session.

iOS · Android · Windows clients → hosts The dock & app launcher

Launch the host's apps from a dock in the streaming toolbar — no hunting for tiny icons.

All clients

§06 · Away from the desk

The computer you left behind, handled

Close the lid. Keep working.

Shut a MacBook's lid and Remio keeps the stream alive — no dummy HDMI dongle, no settings dance. Combined with remote unlock, a locked computer is never out of reach: connect, see the lock screen, and type your password from your phone.

Streaming with the lid closed →

Still streaming

Unlock from the lock screen

Connect to a locked computer and type its password from your device.

All hosts Privacy & session-end controls

Blank the physical screen while you work, and lock the computer automatically when you disconnect.

Host settings Lid-closed streaming

Keep a MacBook awake and streaming with the lid shut.

macOS host Wake a sleeping computer

Wake-on-LAN setup so the host is reachable even after it drifts off.

Network setup Control admin windows & UAC

Installers, Task Manager, and elevated prompts stay controllable on Windows hosts.

Windows host Start the host automatically

Launch at login so the computer is reachable after every restart.

All hosts

§07 · Connection

Direct by default, relay when it must

Remio always tries the shortest path first — a direct, device-to-device connection. When a network blocks it, an encrypted relay carries the session instead, and only ever sees ciphertext.

How the connection is chosen

Direct vs relay, what the connection info panel tells you, and why LAN feels instant.

All platforms Stay direct from anywhere

Forward one UDP port and enter it in Remio — sessions from outside stay direct.

Advanced · all clients Firewalls, NAT & corporate networks

Double NAT, blocked UDP, and the workarounds that actually help.

Network setup

§08 · Account & devices

Optional sign-in, synced everywhere

Remio works with no account at all. Sign in — Google, Apple, or email — only if you want your list of computers to follow you across devices.

Your computers, on every device.

The home screen is your fleet: each paired computer with a live thumbnail and its status — ready to stream the moment you tap. Sign in once on a new phone and this list is already filled in.

Accounts & sync, explained →

The Remio device list on iPhone — paired computers ready to stream

Sign in & sync your computers

Google, Apple, or email — and what syncing actually stores (spoiler: never your screen).

All platforms Manage paired devices

See every device paired to a host, remove one, or rotate the PIN.

Host settings Delete your account

Remove your account and its synced data completely, any time.

Account

§09 · Coming soon

On the workbench

Documented here before they ship, so you know what is coming. The live status of each lives on the roadmap.

Coming soonTwo-way file transfer

Sending files from your device to the host already works — next, files flow the other way too.

Coming soonCustom keyboard shortcuts

Map any key combo to any gesture — trigger complex shortcuts with a single tap.

Coming soonSession recording

Record remote sessions for training or compliance — searchable, exportable, encrypted.

Coming soonLinux client

Linux is host-only today; a native client is on the roadmap.

Coming soonMore 4:4:4 pairs

True 4:4:4 color beyond NVIDIA-Windows-to-Mac — more host and client pairs on the way.

Coming soonTeams & admin features

Shared device lists and admin controls for small teams.

✦Questions

Frequently asked questions

How do I start using Remio?

Install the Remio host on the computer you want to reach (macOS, Windows, or Linux), install the client app on the device you will use (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android, or Windows), then scan the QR code the host shows — or type its Device ID and six-digit PIN. The first session takes under five minutes and no account is required.

How do I right-click, scroll, and drag with touch?

Tap with one finger to left-click, tap with two fingers to right-click, slide two fingers to scroll, and hold for half a second then move to drag. Pinch to zoom your view. The same gestures work on iPhone, iPad, and Android, and a built-in cheat sheet is available from the ? button in the streaming toolbar.

Does Remio sync my clipboard and transfer files?

Yes. Copy text on one device and paste it on the other — the shared clipboard travels over the same encrypted connection as the stream. You can also send files from an iPhone, iPad, Android, or Windows client straight to the host desktop; two-way transfer is on the roadmap.

Do I need an account to use Remio?

No. Pairing works with a QR scan or a Device ID and PIN, no sign-up required. Signing in with Google, Apple, or email is optional — it syncs your list of computers across devices so they are ready to connect everywhere you are.

How to use Remio — every feature, explained.