Popular questions, answered
- Can I use my phone as a mouse for my PC?
- Can I use my phone as a trackpad?
- Can I use my phone as a keyboard for my PC?
- Can I control my Windows PC from my iPhone?
- Can you control a Mac from an iPhone?
- Can I control OBS from my phone?
- What are the best cheap Stream Deck alternatives?
- What's the best HTPC controller or home theater PC remote?
- How do I connect Spotify from my phone to my laptop?
- How do I control YouTube on my PC from my phone?
Works on iPhone & Android — no app needed. Scan the QR code on your PC with the phone's camera and the remote opens in its browser. On Android you can also add the optional Google Play app.
Looking for one app? Remotes by app has a page each for VLC, Kodi, Plex HTPC, Jellyfin, Steam Big Picture, Disney+, Hulu, Prime Video, Apple Music, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Lightroom and Google Meet, with the exact buttons to add.
All guides
Cheap Stream Deck Alternatives Compared (2026): Free & Budget
The cheapest Stream Deck alternative is your phone. Free and cheap options compared: Touch Portal, Macro Deck, Deckboard, SofaDeck, Elgato's mobile and virtual decks.
Read →How to Control Your PC From Your Phone (Windows 10 & 11)
Every practical way to control a Windows PC from your phone — button decks, remote desktop, mouse/keyboard remotes and voice — and which one fits which job.
Read →Use Your Phone as a Stream Deck for Streaming: A Setup Guide
Build a streaming control deck on the phone you already own: which buttons to make, how to lay out pages, mounting the phone and keeping it awake during a stream.
Read →LaunchBox & Big Box Phone Remote With Voice Control
How SofaDeck grew out of a real LaunchBox arcade cabinet: using a phone as a Big Box remote, searching and launching games by voice, and the parts that make a couch-friendly setup.
Read →HTPC Remote & Controller: Your Phone as a Home Theater PC Remote
The best HTPC controller is often your phone: big buttons, trackpad, keyboard and voice for a home theater PC. IR remotes, air mice and keyboards compared, plus setup.
Read →Use Your Phone as a Presentation Remote for PowerPoint
Turn your phone into a slide clicker for PowerPoint, Google Slides or a PDF: next/previous, blank screen, timer and what to check before you present.
Read →How to Control Your PC With Your Voice on Windows
Windows Voice Access, dictation and phone-based voice remotes compared: what each can do, what it needs, and how to pick one for hands-free PC control.
Read →Accessible PC Control: Big Buttons and Voice for Easier Computing
How large on-screen buttons and short voice commands can make a Windows PC easier to use for people with limited mobility, low vision or tremor — and where they fall short.
Read →Macro Pad vs Phone Deck: Which Should You Use?
Physical macro pads and hardware button decks versus a phone running a deck app: feel, cost, flexibility and when it is worth buying hardware.
Read →How to Use Your Phone as a Macro Pad (Windows & Mac)
Turn your phone into a macro pad for your PC or Mac: pairing, which shortcuts to put on buttons first, pages per task, multi-step macros, and the Mac Accessibility setting.
Read →Connect Spotify From Your Phone to Your Laptop or PC: 2 Free Ways
How to connect Spotify from your phone to your laptop or PC with Spotify Connect, and control playback and volume with a phone remote. Steps, a 9-button page and fixes.
Read →Can I Control OBS From My Phone? Yes: OBS Phone Remote Setup
Yes: control OBS Studio from your iPhone or Android with hotkey buttons (no plugin, no phone app) or a WebSocket remote. Scene, mic and Go Live buttons, step by step.
Read →Can I Control My Windows PC From My iPhone? Yes, Free
Yes: control a Windows PC from an iPhone with a free button deck, trackpad and voice remote in Safari (no iPhone app), or see the whole desktop with remote desktop.
Read →Can You Control a Mac From an iPhone? Yes: 3 Ways
Yes: control a Mac from an iPhone with a button-and-voice remote in Safari (no iPhone app), Screen Sharing with a VNC app, or Keynote Remote. Steps and settings.
Read →Stream Deck Mobile vs SofaDeck: Phone Decks Compared (2026)
How Elgato's Stream Deck Mobile works and what it costs, compared with SofaDeck's no-app phone deck: free tiers, pricing, plugins, voice and iPad use.
Read →Free Macro Software for Windows: 4 Kinds Compared
Free macro software for Windows compared: AutoHotkey scripts, PowerToys remapping, keyboard-maker recorders and phone button decks, with time-saving ideas.
Read →Can I Use My Phone as a Mouse for My PC? Yes: 4 Free Ways
Yes, your phone can be a mouse, trackpad and keyboard for a Windows PC or Mac: Wi-Fi remote apps, Android Bluetooth and USB compared, with setup steps.
Read →PC Remote Apps Compared: Unified Remote, KDE Connect & More
PC remote apps compared honestly: Unified Remote, KDE Connect, Remote Mouse, Chrome Remote Desktop and SofaDeck, by setup, control and cost.
Read →Virtual Stream Deck Explained, Plus a Free Phone Alternative
What Elgato's Virtual Stream Deck is, what it needs (Stream Deck 7.0, Windows 11 or macOS 13, supported hardware) and how to get a virtual deck on your phone instead.
Read →Stream Deck for Productivity: Work Buttons Worth Having
The Stream Deck buttons that save time at work — meeting mute, snip, clipboard, lock, launchers, text snippets and macros — with Windows and Mac shortcuts, on hardware or your phone.
Read →Stream Deck Soundboard on Your Phone: Set It Up Properly
How a Stream Deck soundboard really works — getting sounds into Discord or your stream, soundboard apps with hotkeys, and triggering them from a phone deck.
Read →Stream Deck for Mac: Hardware, Virtual and Phone Options
Every way to get a Stream Deck on a Mac — Elgato hardware, Virtual Stream Deck, Stream Deck Mobile, Touch Portal, Macro Deck and SofaDeck — plus the macOS permissions each needs.
Read →Touch Portal Alternatives and Touch Portal vs Stream Deck
Touch Portal's free and Pro versions in facts, how it differs from Elgato's Stream Deck, and the phone-deck alternatives — including ones that need no phone app.
Read →Macro Deck and Deckboard Alternatives: Free Phone Decks
Where Macro Deck stands after version 3 (and the end of Macro Deck 2), what Deckboard's free and PRO apps offer, and the alternatives side by side.
Read →Unified Remote Alternatives: Free PC Remotes for Your Phone
Unified Remote's free and Full versions, and the alternatives — KDE Connect, Remote Mouse, Chrome Remote Desktop and a no-app button remote — with how to switch.
Read →How to Shut Down, Restart or Sleep Your PC From Your Phone
Shut down, restart or sleep a Windows PC or Mac from your phone, the shutdown commands behind it, sleep timers, and Wake-on-LAN for turning it back on.
Read →Use an iPad or Android Tablet as a Stream Deck
Turn an iPad or Android tablet — even an old one — into a Stream Deck: which apps work, pairing a browser deck, keeping the tablet awake, and tablet layouts.
Read →How to Lock Your Computer: Win+L, Auto-Lock, From Phone
How to lock your computer: the Win+L shortcut and other ways, Dynamic lock when you walk away, a lock shortcut any button can run, and locking from your phone.
Read →How to Control YouTube on Your PC From Your Phone
Control YouTube on your PC from your phone: why casting doesn't work, YouTube's keyboard shortcuts (K, J, L, F, M), and a free phone remote with voice search.
Read →How to Control Netflix on Your PC From Your Phone
Pause, skip, go fullscreen and change the volume of Netflix on a Windows PC from your phone: why casting doesn't work, Netflix's keyboard keys, and a phone remote.
Read →Can I Use My Phone as a Trackpad? Yes, Here's How (Free)
Yes: turn your phone into a touchpad for a Windows PC over Wi-Fi. Drag to move, tap to click, two fingers to right-click and scroll, on iPhone or Android.
Read →Can I Use My Phone as a Keyboard for My PC? Yes, Free
Yes: type on a Windows PC from your iPhone or Android over Wi-Fi, or pair Android as a Bluetooth keyboard. Setup steps, autocorrect, dictation and fixes.
Read →Teams and Zoom Mute Button: Shortcuts and a One-Tap Phone Button
The Teams, Zoom and Google Meet mute and camera shortcuts for Windows and Mac, why they sometimes do nothing, and how to put a one-tap mute button on your phone.
Read →Google Slides Clicker: Control Slides From Your Phone or a Remote
Control a Google Slides presentation from your phone or a USB clicker: the keys Slides listens for, the F5 trap, a free phone clicker and a checklist before you present.
Read →HTPC Keyboard Guide: Couch Keyboards vs Your Phone
The four kinds of HTPC keyboard — touchpad keyboards, mini handhelds, lap trackball boards and your phone — what to look for, and when the phone is enough.
Read →Print Shipping Labels From Your Phone (Rollo & Thermal)
Print 4x6 shipping labels from your phone on a PC's Rollo or thermal printer at actual size: the three ways to do it, wrong-size fixes and a no-dialog setup.
Read →Send Files From Phone to PC Over Wi-Fi (No Cable, No Cloud)
Send photos, videos and files from an iPhone or Android phone to a Windows PC over Wi-Fi with no cable, cloud or phone app, plus clipboard and links.
Read →Stream Deck Smart Profiles on Your Phone: Pages That Follow Apps
Make your phone deck switch pages by itself when OBS, a browser or a game comes to the front, like Stream Deck Smart Profiles, with no extra hardware.
Read →Normal CPU Temperature & How to Monitor PC Temps (Free)
What your CPU temperature should be, how to see it on Windows, and how to watch CPU, memory, disk and NVIDIA GPU temperature live on your phone, free.
Read →Wake Your PC From Your Phone: Wake-on-LAN Made Simple
Turn on a sleeping Windows PC from your phone: how Wake-on-LAN works, what to switch on first, three ways to send the wake signal, and the Wi-Fi catch.
Read →How to Turn On Wake-on-LAN in Windows 11 (Step by Step)
Enable Wake-on-LAN in Windows 11: the Device Manager settings, Fast Startup, the BIOS switch, PowerShell checks, and why Wi-Fi waking is unreliable.
Read →Shutdown Timer for Windows: Commands, Sleep Timers and Your Phone
The commands to shut down or restart Windows now or on a timer (shutdown /s, /r, /a), a sleep timer Windows lacks, and setting either from your phone.
Read →Touch Portal vs Macro Deck (2026): Which Free Phone Deck?
Touch Portal vs Macro Deck compared: free limits, Pro price, phone apps, plugins and Macro Deck 3's beta status — plus when a no-app, voice-controlled deck is the simpler pick.
Read →Unified Remote vs Remote Mouse: Which PC Remote App? (2026)
Unified Remote vs Remote Mouse compared side by side: trackpad, app remotes, voice, platforms and price — and when big buttons and voice beat a phone trackpad.
Read →Voice Commands for Windows 11 and 10: The Complete List
The voice commands that actually work on Windows: Voice access on Windows 11, Speech Recognition on Windows 10, voice typing (Win+H), and phone voice-remote commands, in one list.
Read →Windows Speech Recognition Is Gone: What Replaces It (2026)
Windows Speech Recognition is deprecated and removed from current Windows 11. A fair comparison of what replaces it: Voice access, voice typing, Dragon and phone voice remotes.
Read →Discord Push to Talk: Setup, Fixes and a Phone Mute Button
How to set up Discord push to talk on PC and mobile, why it stops working in games (and the admin fix), the release delay, and a one-tap mute button on your phone.
Read →Discord Mute Button: Keybinds and a One-Tap Button on Your Phone
Discord's mute and deafen shortcuts, how to make a global Toggle Mute keybind that works in games, and how to put big mute and deafen buttons on your phone for free.
Read →Is a Stream Deck Worth It? Cost, Uses and a Free Test
Who gets real value from a Stream Deck, who doesn't, what it costs, its best uses, and a free way to try the idea on your phone before you buy one.
Read →Use a Phone or Tablet as a Sim Racing Button Box
What a phone or tablet can replace on a sim racing, flight sim or truck sim button box, how to bind keys, a pit-and-menu layout, and when to buy real hardware.
Read →Windows 11 Keyboard Shortcuts & Hotkeys: Custom, Turn Off
The Windows 11 keyboard shortcuts worth knowing, 3 ways to make custom hotkeys (shortcut keys, PowerToys, AutoHotkey), how to turn them off, and phone buttons.
Read →A Stream Deck for Gaming on the Phone You Already Own
What gamers actually put on a Stream Deck — game launchers, Discord mute, clips, screenshots, GPU temps, music — and how to build the same gaming deck on your phone.
Read →Windows Performance Monitor: How to Use It (Plus Simpler Options)
How to open and use Windows Performance Monitor (perfmon), the counters that matter, logging a slowdown over time, and watching CPU, RAM and GPU from your phone.
Read →OBS Hotkeys: Setup, Fixes in Games and Phone Buttons
The OBS Studio hotkeys worth setting, why they stop working in games (admin and focus fixes), and how to put scenes, recording and streaming on phone buttons.
Read →OBS Scene Switcher: Automatic Switching and One-Tap Scene Buttons
Set up OBS Studio's built-in Automatic Scene Switcher, when a plugin is worth it, and how to switch scenes with one tap or by voice from your phone.
Read →How to Mute Your Mic on PC: Win+Alt+K and a One-Tap Button
Every way to mute a mic on Windows 11 and 10: Win+Alt+K, Sound settings, Discord, Teams and Zoom shortcuts, and a free one-tap mute button on your phone.
Read →How to Automate Tasks on Windows: Free Tools, No Coding Needed
Which free Windows automation tool fits which job — Startup apps, Task Scheduler, batch files, Power Automate, PowerToys — and one-tap routines you can run from your phone.
Read →Mac Automation: Shortcuts, Automator and One-Tap Buttons
A practical guide to Mac automation: your first Shortcuts automation, when Automator and AppleScript still help, and running Mac automations from your phone.
Read →How to Change Keyboard Shortcuts on a Mac (and Make Your Own)
The Mac keyboard shortcuts people look up most, how to change or turn off any of them, make your own for any menu command, and put them on phone buttons.
Read →How to Control Your iPhone From a Mac or PC (2026)
Control your iPhone from a Mac with iPhone Mirroring or Switch Control, what Phone Link can do on Windows, requirements and fixes when it won't connect.
Read →Remote Desktop From iPhone to Windows 11: Setup & Fixes
Use Remote Desktop from an iPhone to a Windows 11 PC: Windows App setup on Pro, Chrome Remote Desktop on Home, safe access away from home and error fixes.
Read →SofaDeck vs Unified Remote (2026): Which PC Phone Remote?
SofaDeck vs Unified Remote side by side: phone app or browser, free versions, one-time prices, voice, trackpad, Wake-on-LAN, and which fits which job.
Read →SofaDeck vs Touch Portal (2026): Quick Phone Deck or Deep One?
SofaDeck vs Touch Portal compared: free buttons, Pro prices, plugins, voice control, phone app vs browser, and when each one is the better pick.
Read →Best Phone Remote for PC (2026): 6 Apps Compared by Job
The best phone remote app for your PC depends on the job: button remotes, trackpads, remote desktop and streaming decks compared, with free options.
Read →Shopping for someone? See our gift ideas for PC gamers and home theater fans.
Where to start
Deciding what to use? Read the Stream Deck alternatives comparison for phone-based decks, macro pad vs phone deck if you're weighing hardware, and how to control your PC from your phone if you're not sure whether you need a deck, a mouse remote or remote desktop at all.
Setting something up? There are ready-made layouts for streaming with OBS, a living-room PC, a LaunchBox and Big Box arcade and presentations, each with the exact keys and buttons to add.
Want hands-free? The voice control guide compares Windows Voice access, dictation and phone voice remotes, and the accessibility guide covers big-button layouts for anyone who finds a mouse and keyboard hard work. Our list of voice commands for Windows covers Voice access, Speech Recognition and voice typing, and what replaced Windows Speech Recognition compares the options.
Gaming? Start with a gaming deck on your phone, a Discord mute button and Discord push to talk fixes. Unsure about hardware? Read is a Stream Deck worth it?
Streaming or on calls? Set up OBS hotkeys that work in games, automatic and one-tap scene switching and a mic mute button for every app.
Saving time? Automate everyday Windows tasks, watch your PC with Windows Performance Monitor or your phone, and on a Mac try Mac automation and your own keyboard shortcuts.
iPhone and a computer? Set up Remote Desktop from an iPhone to Windows 11, or go the other way and control your iPhone from a Mac or PC.
How we write these guides
We make SofaDeck, so we have a point of view — but a guide that only says "use our app" doesn't help anyone. Every comparison lists what we checked and when, uses the vendor's own published prices and features, and links to their sites. Where a hardware deck, remote desktop tool or Windows' own features are the better answer, the guide says so. If you spot something out of date, email support@dixonappstudio.com and we'll fix it.