How to set things up, and what to do if something is off

Check three things: Remolo Helper is running (the icon is in the menu bar), on iPhone Settings → Remolo → Local Network is on, and the phone and Mac are close by. A shared Wi‑Fi is best but not required — see the next question.

Hotel and conference networks often isolate devices. Remolo connects directly, without a router, if both the iPhone and the Mac have Wi‑Fi and Bluetooth on. You do not need to join the same network.

When the phone asks for a code, a small panel with six digits or a QR code appears on the Mac by itself. The code is also in the Remolo menu bar icon (the “+” button). Each phone needs it only once.

At the Mac (ahead of time, or by someone who is there): Remolo Helper menu → “iPhone not nearby”. The Mac makes a one-time link you can copy, send or show as a QR code. Open it on your iPhone: the phone shows the Mac’s name and connects nothing until you tap Connect. The link works once and is then deleted, and remote access turns on on the Mac. Adding a Mac this way is free; staying connected to it from afar needs Remolo Pro.

Add each one, with a code or a link. Tap the Mac’s name at the top of the “•••” menu, or open Settings → My Macs, to see the list; switching takes one tap. Remolo knows each Mac by its own key, not by the network or IP address, so at home and at the office it is the same entry. Several Macs are free.

The pause button in the Remolo Helper menu. While paused, the phone cannot control the Mac or see its screen, and Remolo on the iPhone says “Mac is paused: control and screen are off”. Click it again to resume.

Remolo reconnects by itself in a second or two. If the Mac slept, the Helper restores the connection on wake. Frequent drops usually mean a weak signal.

System Settings → Network → Firewall → Options: allow incoming connections for Remolo Helper.

On the Mac, click 🌐 in the Remolo Helper menu or open Settings → Security → “Control this Mac from anywhere”. Connect the phone once — at home with the code, or with a one-time link. From then on it finds the Mac from any network. It is a Pro feature.

By itself: in Auto mode, directly at home and over the internet on the go. In Settings → Connection you can pin Home or Internet. To see how the connection runs — Wi‑Fi, nearby directly or 🌐 — and the latency, turn on Settings → Interface → Network status. The indicator is off by default.

On the Mac, turn on “Mac always ready to connect”: then it does not go to sleep by itself and starts Remolo at login. A closed laptop lid or a flat battery still puts the Mac to sleep.

Over the internet the Mac’s screen is smaller and has fewer frames, and the quality adapts to the connection. When you stop moving the cursor, a sharp frame arrives. The magnifier zooms up to 5× around the cursor.

Yes. Data is encrypted on your devices; the Remolo relay only sees ciphertext and stores nothing. Only phones you give access can connect: with the code from the Mac’s screen, a one-time link from its menu or a guest link. If your router allows it, the connection goes directly.

Menu “•••” → “Files & clipboard” (Pro): the Mac’s Desktop, Documents, Downloads and home folder. Tap a file and it opens on your iPhone, ready to save to Files or Photos. In “iPhone to Mac”, the “Photos & videos” and “Files” buttons send them from the phone to the Mac’s Downloads. At home and over the internet.

Whatever the Mac copied waits in the “•••” menu: one tap and it is on your iPhone’s clipboard. To get it on the iPhone right away, turn on “Auto-copy from Mac” in Files & clipboard — it is off by default. From iPhone to Mac, use the paste button, then ⌘V on the Mac. Anything password managers mark as concealed never leaves the Mac. It is a Pro feature.

Add the “Mac status” widget to your Home or Lock Screen (Pro): whether the Mac is online, its battery, the lock and whether it is ready for remote connections. With remote access on, the widget knows even when Remolo is closed.

Remolo Helper menu → “Guest access”. Pick how long — an hour, a day or 7 days from when the link is made — and what is allowed: trackpad and keyboard, slides, media (all on) and the Mac’s screen (off until you turn it on). The Mac gives you a one-time link that the guest opens on their iPhone. The owner needs Remolo Pro; the guest does not.

Files, the clipboard, the terminal, buttons with actions or scripts, sleeping or locking the Mac, quitting apps and your button profiles — never. The Mac never sends a guest its own relay room, typed text, the clipboard or the battery level. The Mac itself enforces the rules and drops an expired guest within 15 seconds.

In the Remolo Helper menu, in the guest access section: “End access” — any time, even before the time is up. A link nobody has used yet can be withdrawn there too.

It works once, carries a 256-bit secret that burns on the first wrong attempt, and lasts a day at most (and never longer than the access itself). The guest lands in a separate temporary relay room, never the Mac’s own, and the Mac’s key inside the link makes sure the phone talks only to that Mac. The secret sits after the “#”, so the server never receives it. Only open links from people you trust.

Almost always the Accessibility permission is missing. System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility → turn on Remolo Helper. If it is on already, toggle it off and on.

In Trackpad mode: menu “•••” → “Mac screen” (Pro). The first time, the Mac asks for permission: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording → turn on Remolo Helper. The screen assembles from dots above the trackpad, the magnifier zooms from 1× to 5× around the cursor, and with several displays there is a switcher under the image. The picture goes only to your phone, encrypted.

Settings → Trackpad → Gestures (Pro). “Same as Mac” takes gestures from your Mac’s settings. “Custom” gives you 11 three- and four-finger gestures, including a three-finger tap, each with a Mac action, a shortcut or an app.

Some apps ignore pinch. On the Mac: Helper settings → Security → “Pinch to zoom with ⌘+ / ⌘−”.

Remolo follows your Mac’s scroll direction: change it there and Remolo picks it up. Just for Remolo: Settings → Trackpad → Gestures → Custom → Natural scrolling (Pro).

Just turn the phone — the trackpad, buttons and remote rearrange themselves. On iPhone it is a Pro feature, on iPad it is free.

Hold a finger on the slide area or tap ☾. The Mac shows a full-screen curtain; Esc on the Mac removes it. Choose which one on the Mac: Remolo Helper → Settings → General → Curtain: black, your own picture or a video (picture and video in Pro).

They work in pocket mode (Pro) — the phone-with-lock icon in Slides. That way they never change the volume by accident.

Notes come only from Keynote and PowerPoint (Pro). The first time, the Mac asks to let Remolo Helper control the app — click Allow.

Remolo shows what macOS considers “Now Playing”. Start playback once and the title and artwork appear.

Install Remolo on the watch from the Watch app on iPhone and open it. Pick a stopwatch or a countdown (set the minutes with the Crown) and press ▶. The watch works through your iPhone, so keep the phone nearby. It is a Pro feature.

The wide › button is next, ‹ is back, or turn the Crown. Tap the time to pause; ☾ shows the curtain on the Mac.

With two minutes left the time turns red and the watch taps you. At the end it says “Time!” and taps again.

Make sure Remolo Helper is running on the Mac and the iPhone is nearby and can see the Mac.

Hold the Home Screen → Edit → Add Widget → Remolo. “Remolo buttons” shows up to 8 buttons of the current profile, “Now playing on Mac” the artwork and pause, “Mac status” the connection, battery and lock. A tap runs the action on the Mac. It is a Pro feature.

Action button: iPhone Settings → Action Button → Controls → Remolo. Control Center: open it → “+” → Add a Control → Remolo. You get “Pause on Mac”, “Next slide” and “Remolo button”, where you pick any of your buttons. It is a Pro feature.

Siri phrases are English only: “Pause Remolo”, “Next slide in Remolo”, “Previous slide in Remolo”, “Lock my computer with Remolo”, “Press [button name] in Remolo”. It is a Pro feature.

Yes (Pro): “Pause”, “Media”, “Slides”, “Control the computer” (lock, sleep, display off, screenshot) and “Press Remolo button”. You can use them in automations. If the Mac is not connected, the action connects to the last Mac by itself.

Start the timer in Slides — the time, the slide number and ← → appear on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island. It is a Pro feature.

It stays off until you turn it on on both sides. On iPhone: Settings → Advanced → Terminal mode. On the Mac: Remolo Helper → Settings → Security → “AppleScript and shell commands from the phone”. It is your zsh in the Mac’s home folder, and commands really run. It is a Pro feature.

Settings → Language: Ukrainian, English, German, French or Spanish — or the same as the system. Remolo Helper on the Mac has the same choice in its settings. All languages are free.

VoiceOver reads out buttons, modes and settings. Most screens — settings, the Guide, lists — follow larger text sizes; the control screen keeps fixed sizes so the touch areas do not move. Remolo respects Reduce Motion.

Shake the phone (you can turn this off in Settings → Support) or open the “•••” menu → “Something wrong?”. Describe what happened and send it. The reply and the status (received, confirmed, fixed in a version, not a bug) appear in Settings → My reports.

A random install ID, your text, the language and technical details — no names, no content. An email and a screenshot only if you add them. Only the developer, KIRIL TREITIAK, reads reports; they are never sold or shared.

180 days. The “Delete all my reports” button in My reports erases them from the server at once.

For every bug we confirm and reproduce, a code for a month of Remolo Pro, up to 6 a year. The third confirmed bug brings a year of Remolo Pro and Remolo Insider status. Your name appears in the site’s thanks only if you add it yourself, and you can remove it any time. Rewards never depend on App Store ratings or reviews.

Only with your consent. On iPhone: Settings → Advanced → Crash reports: Ask (the default), Always or Never. On the Mac they stay off until you turn on “Send crash reports” in Remolo Helper settings. A report holds technical data only: the version, the model and the crash trace. No screen, text or files. Kept for 90 days.

Remolo settings → Appearance: System, Light or Dark theme for free; seven app icons in Pro. On the Mac, the theme is in Remolo Helper → General → Theme.

Yes, it is the same app and the same purchase: a big trackpad, a wider grid of buttons, the Mac’s screen and any orientation.

On the Mac: Remolo icon → gear → Devices → Forget. On iPhone: Settings → Forget this Mac.

Yes, on the yearly plan: the first 7 days are free through the App Store. Cancel at least 24 hours before the week ends and you are not charged. The monthly plan has no trial.

Remolo settings → Remolo Pro, or iPhone Settings → your name → Subscriptions → Remolo.

Tap any Pro feature and choose “Restore purchases”.