Full remote access to Android device

Question

Background: I'm looking for an app that lets me control my Android device from my computer.

Sadly, any attempt at Googling this, only yields results for using the Android device as a remote control.

I've been using Pushbullet for some time, which lets me see Android notifications as popups on my computer. It also lets me do some basic stuff, like reply to text messages when they pop up, but this is very limited.

Additional info:

I'm perfectly OK with using a web interface to access the phone. I'm also familiar with VNC, if that's an option.

Huge bonus for any app that lets me control the device using the computer's mouse to simulate taps and swipes.

Android version: 4.4.2

Price range: Any

Security: Any commonly accepted encryption. For VNC alternatives, this is probably a non-issue.

EDIT: What I'm looking for is full remote access. That is, seeing the full screen of my phone, with my computer's mouse simulating touch on the Android device.

Answer 1

Teamviewer also features remote control of your phone. You'll need Teamviewer Quicksupport on your phone and the ordinary Teamviewer application on your computer. It allows full control as well as direct access to various settings like WLan profile, app-manager, file exchange and more. Some won't like that it needs to contact a server hosted and owned by the company behind Teamviewer negotiating the connection. Once the connection is established data is only exchanged between your computer and your phone. Of course it also offers the other way round (control computer with phone).

Edit: I've just noticed that it is necessary for some of the other solutions to have your device at hand to get the connection details. The partnerlist of Teamviewer also works for Quickconnect devices. If your mobile is listed on the partnerlist and runs the Quickconnect app you can connect via doubleclick without having to know the devices ID or some URL etc.

Answer 2

Blame Google for not finding my site (but first make sure it really didn't :)

For a list of candidates, I might refer you to Full remote device management. Most likely candidates matching your request (which I have personally used) include:

Airdroid

This is probably the most famous candidate. It requires an app to be installed on your Android device. Start that app and its service, and it presents you with the data needed to connect it. These you enter in your web browser, and will be presented with a "remote desktop":

^{Airdroid app (left) and desktop (right); source: cio.com/t3n; click images for larger variants}

As the screenshots show, you'll get real desktop feeling – and access to many details including call logs, files, create screenshots, see device stats, and have a shared clipboard. For more details, please refer to the linked articles (and the app's page on Play, of course). Moreover, the first mentioned page (on my site) links to additional material.

3CX DroidDesktop

This app is pretty similar to above described Airdroid: You'll need to install an app, and get a "remote desktop":

^{3CX DroidDesktop app and desktop (source: Google Play; click images for larger variants)}

Features are, as indicated, pretty much comparable – so it's mainly a question of preference which of the two to chose; provided of course that's matching your wishes. Again, for alternative candidates, let me refer you to my site – where you hopefully also find matching candidates for your other needs. Other than most market sites, this uses "real life categories", and links additional information to each app whenever possible.

Answer 3

mobizen

Completely control your Android from computer, anywhere!, Either plugged in via USB or wirelessly over WiFi or your mobile data carrier

Mobizen unleashes this awesomeness! There’s plenty more goodies here like recording the screen without root

• Completely mirror your Android to computer screen to PC or Mac over Mobile Data, WiFi or USB!
• Completely control every aspect of your phone or tablet remotely!
• Screen record without root!
• Transfer files with ease!
• Easy to setup!

Just see this video : - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdepDY3ynxg

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Note : IMO,To completely mirror your android this one is the best

Answer 4

Androidscreencast allows you to see, and to a certain level control, your Android device.

• View your Android device's screen
• Use your mouse to "touch" the screen (rooted devices only)
• Use your keyboard to type (rooted devices only)

It can be installed on any Java-capable platform (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc). You will need ADB for this to work. Help on that on our sister site for Android Enthusiasts: Is there a minimal installation of ADB?

It is open source.

Answer 5

Let me recommend aPuppet which works on Android 7 and above. This project has been developed by our team especially for self-hosted remote support.

It is completely open source, the code is available on GitHub (Android app and server).

The app doesn't require adb or rooting for screen mirroring and remote control. It isn't sensitive to the device model and Android build, and can work even on AOSP.

The server is deployed on premises, on Ubuntu Linux, and can work behind a NAT or even in a private network.

Answer 6

I have three android TV PCs at home. I use them as thin clients against a windows server machine, and they work excellent! But, how do I remote into the android devices to keep them updated and backed up? I spent a lot of time finding a good solution for this. I also remote into my galaxy Note 3 sometimes.

What I use on each android device is vnc_server https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.schumi.vncs . It has some issues, but for the most part works very well. I give each android device a static IP address either through wifi or ethernet. There are others similar. Each seems to be made from the same code base that was made public a few years back. Install this, work through the issues, and it will do what you want.

On the PC side to get into the android devices I use UltraVNC http://www.uvnc.com/downloads/ultravnc.html . I had to do trial and error to get everything right, but it does do what I want. I tried several VNC software packages until I settled on this one.

Another piece of software I put on the android devices is Webkey https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.webkey . This gives me an alternate means of control should vnc_server get hammed up. It has good functionality and is very reliable. The android device is accessed via web browser. Depending on what you want to do, Webkey itself may be enough. The way the menu overlays the display is a little cheesy, but other than it's good.

I tried Airdroid but ultimately could not find much use for it and was disappointed. I paid for it, too!

I love TeamViewer. There's a TeamViewer client for android I use to see my work machine, and it's like I'm sitting right there! Excellent piece of software. For thin client in my house I use Microsoft Remote Desktop Beta. But there is no TeamViewer compliment allowing you to get into the android device. I had TeamViewer Quicksupport on the android devices, but uninstalled it.

Where you say:

Sadly, any attempt at Googling this, only yields results for using the Android device as a remote control.

This is very true and was extremely frustrating. But I did finally get what I want.

Answer 7

scrcpy (screen copy):

This application provides display and control of Android devices connected via USB or over TCP/IP. It does not require any root access. It works on GNU/Linux, Windows and macOS.

Pros include:

• Free, and open source.
• You don't need to install anything on your phone, just enable ADB debugging.
• Doesn't need a rooted device.
• Works on Linux, Windows, Mac.
• Supports recording.
• Supports mirroring with Android device screen off.
• Supports copy-paste in both directions.
• Supports Android device as a webcam (V4L2) (Linux-only).
• Supports physical keyboard simulation (HID) physical mouse simulation (HID)

... Among many other features.

If you're on Linux it should be in your distro's repositories. If you're on Windows you can install it with chocolatey or scoop.

A possible con is it requires Android 5, which is above the version requested, but as this was asked 7 years ago I'm assuming that's no longer an issue.

Answer 8

I recommend for you SideSync it use VNC feature .it also have a nice theme and style and more easier to use but the problems: _You can't ring your phone with media and system sounds but with sonneries like in clock alarm and sound settings _You must open sydesinc in your phone first then you can connect your pc and the phone https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sec.android.sidesync30

Answer 9

For those looking to remotely support or control Android at scale, perhaps as part of a service team:

Check out Bomgar. It supports remote viewing and file for most Android and iOS devices, and it has remote control for Samsung, HTC, and Dell hardware.

The appliance can be hosted on premise so it's great from a security / compliance perspective. Not cheap, but it's a critical component of our support infrastructure.

Answer 10

AnyDesk is free for personal use and is very easy to use - just enter an ID from one device on the other one to connect to it and then confirm the remote control request. Unattended access is also supported, although on Android 10+ it requires additional configuration over USB.

Supports a wide range of mobile and desktop platforms, including Windows (a small 3.5MB self-contained .exe), Linux (.deb package), macOS, and even some rare ones like Raspberry Pi and FreeBSD.

Answer 11

What you need is MMECS Software ADB WebUI. It allows full control of any android device from a web interface, doesn't require rooted devices, and is the originator of codeless test creation. It also has many built-in utilities for aiding in creating test scenarios. Check it out on youtube channel mmecs.sqatools for additional information.