Use Your Android Device As a Remote for Your PC

5 Parts:

Free version (PC portion)

Free version (Mobile portion)

Paid version

Tips, Tricks and Warnings

Comments

Using your Android mobile device to remotely control your PC is incredibly powerful. For example, If you use your PC as a media station to watch videos and or listen to music, having access via your phone makes life a lot easier. Let's say you found an engrossing series that has pulled you into a full-on binge-watching session. Are you really going to get up from your cozy viewing spot to pause, skip or rewind? One sure way to taint good binge-watching is having to get up from your seat too often, to do things standard TV remotes have been doing for over half a century.

For the purpose of this article, we'll be focusing on an app called, 'Unified Remote'^[1], which has both a free and paid version. We used a Samsung Galaxy S4 and desktop PC running Windows 7 Professional during the setup process.

1. 1
   On your PC, launch a web browser and open Google search

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   Type "Google play" into the search box and click the first link in the results.

   

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2. 2
   Inside the Google Play store, type "unified remote" into the search box

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   When the results populate, click on the "Free" version.

   

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3. 3
   On the app page, click the green "Install" button.

   

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4. 4
   A popup box will ask you to sign into Google

   .

   Click, "Sign in". If you're currently signed in you will skip to step 6.

   

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5. 5
   Sign into your Google account

   .

   Enter your email and password, then click "Next".

   

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6. 6
   A popup will ask you to select your mobile device

   .

   Choose the Android device associated to the Google account you're signed in with, and click "INSTALL".

   

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7. 7
   An additional pop up box will notify you that the app will be installed on your device

   .

   Click "OK". Check your Android device for the Unified Remote icon, it may take a minute or two.

   

   

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8. 8
   Now that the app is installed on your mobile device, it's time to proceed with the PC portion of the setup

   .

   Go to unifiedremote.com and click the "Download" button.

   

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9. 9
   When the page refreshes, click "Latest Server".

   

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10. 10
    Once the file (SetupServer) has finished downloading, browse to the location where your downloaded files go (in Chrome you will see it in the lower left corner) and run it.

    

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11. 11
    If a Windows Security alert pops asking if you want to run the file, click "run" or "open".

    

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12. 12
    If a UAC alert box pops asking to allow the following application to make changes to your computer, click "Yes".

    

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13. 13
    The next window is the software license agreement

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    Read or skim through it and select, "I accept the agreement", then click "next".

    

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14. 14
    Here is where we select the installation destination

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    Typically you can leave the default location, as this is most likely where your applications get installed. If however you have a different location, browse to it, then click "Next".

    

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15. 15
    The next window allows you to select which components will be installed, along with the required disk space

    .

    You can leave the default "typical" and click "Next".

    

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16. 16
    In this window you can select which driver components to install

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    The default (recommended) will work without issue. If you select "joystick simulation", be sure to read over the Unified Remote FAQ/Help section.

    

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17. 17
    Here is where you can select a few additional tasks to be performed during setup

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    You can leave them all selected and click, "next".

    

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18. 18
    The next window summarizes the options you've selected throughout the setup process

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    If everything looks good, click "Install".

    

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19. 19
    Unified remote will now install on your PC

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    This may take a few minutes but during you will see the following Windows Security alert box. Click "Install" to continue the setup process.

    

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20. 20
    To complete the installation, click "Finish".

    

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21. 21
    Now that the PC portion of Unified Remote is installed, it's time to run the application

    .

    Click the shortcut on your desktop, or access through Windows' start menu.

    

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1. 1
   Once the program is running on your PC, tap the Unified Remote icon on your Android device.

   

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2. 2
   Inside the app you'll be asked to sign in with a Google account or to skip this step

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   If you choose to skip, the app will still function correctly.

   

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3. 3
   The following screen will show that you're connected to your PC

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   It should read: Connected to "name of your PC". Tap, "Let's get started" to begin.

   

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4. 4
   This screen shows all the available remote functions that are unlocked with the free version.

   

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5. 5
   To Access the app settings, tap the menu icon in the upper left corner

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   Here you can view and edit the apps basic setting. Please note that some options may not be available with the free version.

   

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6. 6
   This is the "Basic Input" screen

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   Read the instructions on screen and experiment with the cursor. You should see the cursor move on your PC as you touch your device.

   

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7. 7
   The next remote is for the "File Manager"

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   You can access files on your PC from this screen.

   

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8. 8
   Next we have the "Keyboard" remote

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   Here you can use a full screen keyboard.

   

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9. 9
   The second last remote is "Media"

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   You can control volume, play/pause and also skip tracks.

   

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10. 10
    The final remote in the list is "Power"

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    This is where you can control the basic shutdown functions on your PC.

    

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1. 1
   Inside the app, tap the menu icon in the top left corner.

   
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