How to connect your PC to an Android phone in 3 steps

May 2026 · 5 min read

In under 5 minutes you'll see your PC's screen on your phone. No open ports, no odd drivers and no app to install on the phone. You install PController on the PC, link your account and open the browser: that's it. Good for running the PC from the sofa or watching a download from bed.

What you need before you start

A PC running Windows 10 or 11.
A phone with any modern browser (Chrome, Safari, Firefox) — there's no app to install.
To be on the same WiFi network as the PC (Local plan). With Pro you can connect from any network, through the internet tunnel.

Worth knowing: access from outside your network goes through an encrypted tunnel (Pro plan). You don't have to open router ports or set up a static IP, and it works behind NAT without trouble.

Step 1 — Install the server on your PC

Download the installer from pcontroller.app for Windows 10/11. Run the wizard — it asks for no administrator rights and takes under a minute.

Once open, PController keeps running with an icon in the system tray (bottom right).

Step 2 — Link the PC to your account

Create your account at app.pcontroller.app (with Google, or with email and password). The first time you open PController on the PC, your browser opens with a 6-digit linking code. One click and the PC belongs to your account. You can also type the code by hand from your phone at app.pcontroller.app/link.

On the Pro plan the PC also gets a tunnel with its own subdomain — something like brave-otter-42.pcontroller.app — so you can connect from any network.

Step 3 — Connect from your phone

Go to app.pcontroller.app in your phone's browser, sign in with the same account and pick your PC from the list. On the same WiFi network the connection is nearly instant. From another network (Pro plan), the Open viewer button connects you through the tunnel — just as simple.

In under 3 seconds you should see your PC's screen on the phone. From there you move the mouse by sliding a finger, click by tapping and type with the virtual keyboard. On the Pro plan you also hear the PC's audio.

Tip: If latency feels high in your first session, check that the server is running. The tray icon should be green. The first connection can take 2-3 seconds longer while the tunnel comes up; the ones after that are faster.

How much battery and data does it use?

On the default settings (1080p, 20 fps) usage over the internet is high — on the order of several GB per hour. If you're on mobile data, turn the quality and the fps down from Settings in the viewer. The hit on the phone's battery is moderate. If you want to use less, turn the quality and the fps down from Settings in the viewer.

What happens if I close the laptop lid?

It depends on your power settings. In Windows you can make the machine stay on when the lid closes. The setting is under Control Panel → Power Options → Choose what closing the lid does → Do nothing.

Next steps

You've got the connection working on your WiFi network. If you want more, here's what Pro adds:

PC audio: you hear whatever is playing on the remote PC, which Local doesn't include.
Internet tunnel: connect from the office or while travelling, without opening ports or running a VPN.
PC audio: you hear what's playing over there — follow the meeting or the movie from bed.
3 PCs reachable over the internet: get into more than one PC from outside your network (Local only works inside it).

Pro costs $5.99/month; the yearly plan is $39, about $3.25/month. You can try it for 7 days with no card: if you stop there, nothing is charged and you pick a plan whenever you want.

Rather pay once? Lifetime gives you Premium permanently for $199, with no Local needed — 500 units in total during launch.

And if you want to keep reading: security good practice and what you can do without paying.

Download the .exe and see your PC on your phone in under 5 minutes. Free, no card and no app.

Get started — free

Try Pro for 7 days — no card, and nothing is charged when it ends.