To control a computer connected to the TV, perhaps a Mini PC like Intel's NUC, a laptop connected via HDMI or a Raspberry PI with Windows 10, we are forced to use a mouse and keyboard, which are decidedly uncomfortable to use in these circumstances. Those who use a PC as a media center to watch movies on TV are forced to buy a wireless keyboard so they can control the PC, move the cursor or write while sitting on the sofa to make things comfortable. To make it as easy as possible to control its mini PCs and avoid the additional expense of a wireless keyboard, we can use very convenient smartphone apps, so that we can use our phone as a mouse and PC keyboard . We see in this guide which app to use on Android and iPhone and how to configure the server on a computer.
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How to use the smartphone as a mouse and PC keyboard
In order to control the computer using our smartphone, we will have to rely on some services that allow keyboard and mouse interaction using an input management server, to be installed in advance on the computer. In this way we can simulate mouse touches on the phone screen as if it were a virtual touchpad and write on the screen or in the text fields using the smartphone's on-screen keyboard.Unified Remote
One of the best apps to control your PC from your smartphone is Unified Remote, available for free for Android and iOS / iPadOS.
To use this app, the only requirement is that both the PC and the smartphone or tablet are connected to this same Wi-Fi network.
Once the app is installed on our phone, let's go to the PC to be controlled and download the Unified Remote server, available for 32-bit and 64-bit Windows PC. At the end of the installation we start the server and allow it to start automatically together with Windows, so that we can immediately check the system at each startup.
With the server running let's go to the app and use one of the available remote controls: in fact we can start the on-screen keyboard, with an empty space at the top with a scroll bar, and the touchpad remote control, so as to simulate mouse gestures directly on the screen touch the phone. In addition to these two remote controls, others are available to control multimedia apps, to control the browser and media center programs : many of them are paid, but already with the free version of the app we will have everything you need to control your computer directly from our smartphone.
To purchase the full version, just go to the Unified Remote Full page (€ 5); if instead we want to control any TV via IR, we can also buy the Unified TV app (€ 1).
Remote Mouse
Another very useful app to control your computer from your smartphone is Remote Mouse, which is also available for free for Android and for iOS / iPadOS.
The operation is very similar to Unified Remote: first of all we will have to install the server on our PC with Windows, start it and set it to auto-start; only now can we open the app on the phone, so that we can control the cursor via the virtual touchpad . If necessary we can also call up the telephone keypad or take advantage of the special keyboard, containing the keys commonly found on a keyboard for Windows (for example Shift, Caps lock, Control, Alt, Windows key etc.).
The peculiarity of this app is that the server can also be installed on Mac and GNU / Linux systems, so that we can control all types of computers in our possession.
Serverless Bluetooth Keyboard / Mouse (Android only)
If we want to avoid installing a server on our computer and only use the Bluetooth connection, we can install the free Serverless Bluetooth Keyboard / Mouse app on our Android smartphone.
By installing this app, you only need to enable the Bluetooth connection on your phone and computer, pair and immediately start using your smartphone as if it were a Bluetooth keyboard or mouse, simulating all the touches on it. If our computer does not have Bluetooth connectivity, we can immediately add support for this wireless technology by purchasing a small USB adapter like this -> TP-Link UB400 USB Bluetooth adapter (€ 10).
PC screen sharing app
Another method to be able to control our computer remotely via smartphone involves the use of screen sharing apps; in addition to showing everything that happens on our computer screen, it allows you to simulate the touch of the mouse and to write using a virtual keyboard.The best free app in this sense is Chrome Remote Desktop, available free for Android and iOS / iPadOS.
By installing Google Chrome on our PC and its extension for remote control, we will be able to control every aspect of our computer by opening your favorite programs, changing the size of the windows and choosing which multimedia key to press virtually. It is currently one of the few completely free services, easy to set up and use.
Alternatively we can use one of the following services (free for personal use or that need to be configured in the Windows menus).
- Microsoft Remote Desktop (RDP)
- TeamViewer
- AnyDesk
- UltraVNC
- LogMeIn
Conclusions
To use our computer as a media center for TV or to view streaming content, we will have to connect the computer to the HDMI cable television and use one of the methods described above to simulate keyboard and mouse, so that we can control every aspect of the operating system without physically connecting a keyboard and / or mouse.If we want to control every aspect of the computer from our smartphone, we can also read the guide on how to switch on, use and switch off the computer from a smartphone .
To control an Android TV Box from another Android smartphone or from an iPhone, just read the methods described in our guide on how to Control Android Box with smartphone .
If our Android smartphone is equipped with an infrared sensor, we can use it to control televisions (but also air conditioners and Hi-Fi Stereo) by following the suggestions in our article on how to change the TV channel with the infrared sensor of the Android phone .
