How to control your Mac or PC from an iPhone or iPad
The short answer
Put an app on the computer that lets it be reached, and that app’s viewer on the iPhone or iPad. Apple doesn’t document a way to control a Mac from an iPhone: iPhone Mirroring works the other way round, and Sidecar needs the iPad next to the Mac. For a Windows PC running Windows Pro, Microsoft’s free Windows App works. For a Mac, a PC or a Linux computer, use Chrome Remote Desktop in the browser, or an app such as Scry.
- Scry has a native iPhone and iPad app (iOS 17 or later) that reaches Mac, Windows and Linux computers.
- Touch, Trackpad or Pointer control, a key bar for ⌘, Ctrl, Esc, Tab and the arrows, and pinch to zoom up to 4x.
- Try every Scry feature free for 24 hours, with no card.
Set up Scry on your computer too. Try every feature for 24 hours with no card.
- Updated
- Outside facts dated and linked at the bottom
Your options
The built-in and free ways first, each with its catch.
Step by step with Scry
Scry goes on both ends: the computer you want to reach, and the iPhone or iPad you connect from.
On the computer: install Scry
Download Scry for the Mac, Windows PC or Linux computer you want to reach, and sign in with your Bravely Account: Apple, Google or email.
On a Mac, allow Screen Recording and Accessibility for Scry in System Settings. On Windows, choose Yes when Windows asks to let Scry make changes. On Linux, turn on Reach this machine anytime and enter your password once.
On the iPhone or iPad: get Scry from the App Store
Get Scry for iPhone and iPad. It needs iOS 17 or later.
Sign in with the same account, the same way you signed in on the computer. A different sign-in method can make a separate account.
Tap the computer to connect
Every computer you’ve set up shows up in one list, with a dot that shows whether it’s online. Tap one to connect. If it’s locked, type its password at its lock screen.
Drive it with your fingers
Choose how your finger moves the pointer: Touch, Trackpad or Pointer.
The key bar adds the keys a phone keyboard lacks: ⌘, Ctrl, Option, Shift, Esc, Tab and the arrows. Press and hold to right-click, and pinch to zoom in on the other screen, up to 4x.
When a Windows PC is at its lock screen, a Send Ctrl + Alt + Delete button appears.
What Apple’s own features do, and don’t
iPhone Mirroring works the other way round: your Mac shows and controls your iPhone, with the iPhone locked and near the Mac.
Sidecar and Universal Control join an iPad to a Mac on the same desk: a second display, or one keyboard and mouse across both. Both need the devices within about 10 meters of each other and signed in to the same Apple Account.
None of them reaches a Mac from an iPhone, or from an iPad that isn’t nearby, and none reaches a Windows PC or a Linux computer.
What Scry doesn’t do here
- The key bar’s keys tap one at a time and can’t be held together, so shortcuts that need two keys at once don’t pass through from an iPhone or iPad. Copy and paste have their own buttons.
- It can’t wake a sleeping computer, and a Mac or Windows PC that has restarted can be reached again only once someone signs in to it. A locked computer is fine.
- A Mac or Windows PC with several displays shows one at a time, with a switch between them.
- Your iPhone and iPad connect to your computers; they can’t be reached themselves.
FAQs
Can I control my Mac from my iPhone?
Yes, with an app on both. Apple doesn’t document one: iPhone Mirroring does the reverse, letting a Mac control a nearby iPhone. Chrome Remote Desktop works in the iPhone’s browser, and Scry has a native iPhone app.
Can Microsoft’s Remote Desktop app on iPhone reach a Mac?
No. Microsoft lists what Windows App on iPhone and iPad reaches: Windows PCs running Pro, Enterprise or Education, Windows Server and Microsoft’s own cloud PCs. A Mac isn’t on that list, and neither is a PC running Windows Home.
Does it work when I’m away from home?
Yes. Scry connects over the internet from anywhere, with no router setup: directly when the network allows, and through an encrypted relay otherwise.
Can I control my Mac from my iPad?
Nearby, yes: with the iPad within about 10 meters of the Mac and both signed in to the same Apple Account, Sidecar makes the iPad a second display you can touch. Farther away, you need a remote access app such as Chrome Remote Desktop or Scry.
What does Scry cost on iPhone and iPad?
Any Scry plan covers your iPhone and iPad, whichever device you bought it on. On the web it’s $9.99/mo or $95.99/yr, each starting with 7 days free, or $399 once; the App Store shows its own prices, in your currency. You can also try every feature for 24 hours with no card.
Sources, with the date each was read
- Apple: Use iPhone Mirroring on your Mac (2026-09-27)
- Apple: Use an iPad as a second display for a Mac (Sidecar) (2026-09-27)
- App Store: Windows App Mobile (2026-09-27)
- Microsoft Learn: Enable Remote Desktop on your PC (2026-09-27)
- Microsoft Learn: Allow access to your PC from outside its network (2026-09-27)
- Google: Chrome Remote Desktop on iPhone and iPad (2026-09-27)
Scry
Remote desktop, anywhere
Free for 24 hours: every feature, no card.
Updated . Facts about other companies’ products were read on their own pages on the dates shown and can change.