Can an Android phone control Ubuntu like a remote?

Question

I am looking at making a budget media centre. I am new to Linux and have not yet installed it but think I can manage. I want to use Ubuntu and would like to use my Android phones to control or work as a remote for media playing to a TV.

My setup will be the media box to TV via HDMI (no keyboard or mouse connected) then to my Wi-Fi router via Ethernet.

So I want to be able to turn this PC on and after it's booted directly from my phone control the PC remotely to open the media application and run videos and open photos directly to the TV.

I am using a Samsung Galaxy S II and soon a new Sony for the wife.

score 25 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 17 '12 at 08:22

25

If you install the xbmc packages (and use that environment), you can control your machine from android, because there is an app called xbmc remote in google play. It works flawlessly for me.

answered Apr 17 '12 at 08:22

gajdipajti

3,501

score 11 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 17 '12 at 10:14

11

You can use anyRemote too

answered Apr 17 '12 at 10:14

Sreevisakh

1,536

score 8 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 31 '17 at 19:21

There's actually an Android app written specifically for this use case. It's called Couch Potato. In addition to providing a virtual mouse and keyboard, it allows you to register your machine, and subsequently boot it by sending a Wake-on-LAN packet.

Full disclosure: I'm the developer.

score 4 · Answer 4 · edited Oct 07 '15 at 23:58

4

If you use VLC (a popular video/music player) in Ubuntu you could use one of the apps from the Google play store.

edited Oct 07 '15 at 23:58

Lucas03

147

answered Apr 17 '12 at 21:05

score 4 · Answer 5 · answered May 30 '16 at 12:25

I found only one app that is free, generic (not written specifically to work with a certain program), doesn't require installing special custom server software for that app, and is able to connect to my computer (well… after working with the author to find and fix an unreasonable restriction).

It is XMouse and it is open-source. No ads and no nags. You can use it as a mouse, keyboard, or remote control with programmable buttons (execute any command you want). Maybe not the greatest user interface (takes some time to understand and get used to it), but it works well.

The only requirements are ssh and xdotool (well, xdotool is not 100% required, but I think it's at least needed for the mouse and keyboard functionality).

score 3 · Answer 6 · edited May 21 '21 at 04:56

GSConnect/KDE Connect

GNOME Shell Connect (GSConnect) lets you use the KDE Connect mobile application to control (recent) versions of Ubuntu running GNOME Shell.

In my experience it works very well OOTB and is quite configurable, with support for custom launchers, two-way push notifications, message replies, file sharing, media control, etc. in addition to keyboard and mouse support.

score 3 · Answer 7 · answered Nov 11 '12 at 12:50

3

I used the standart VNC server (Desktop Sharing app in Ubuntu) and PocketCloud.

It's easy to setup and works well.

You can find instruction here: click.

answered Nov 11 '12 at 12:50

titusjaka

558

score 3 · Answer 8 · edited May 21 '21 at 04:55

VNC

There is a way to do it and its free plus also no need to use the Internet.

Install any VNC server from the list like TightVNC, UltraVNC, TigerVNC, or RealVNC, although encryption is not supported with the latter.
Create a hotspot without internet if you want and connect your laptop and your Android phone in the same network.
Install bVNC Secure VNC Viewer on your Android phone.

The bVNC app is a VNC viewer.It can also emulate a touchpad or let you use Android as a mouse with support for touchscreen gestures. You can save sessions, zoom and scale the Linux desktop on the Android screen, and share the text in the clipboard between Android and PC.

score 2 · Answer 9 · answered Feb 28 '13 at 14:50

An application that comes close to doing this is RemoteDroid. It makes your touchscreen phone work like a wireless touchpad + keyboard combination.

There are two separate applications you need to download for this - one for your linux machine (server) and another for your Android Phone.

score 2 · Answer 10 · answered Jul 10 '14 at 20:23

I have good experience with Home Remote Control. Works good with linux.

You can control:

media (play, stop, volume, ...)
mouse, keyboard,
browse folders, upload / download files to smartphone
run a command

All those are "shortcuts" organized to "shotcut groups" and are implemented / can be configured with custom commands.

There is no need to install anything on Ubuntu (just xdotools for media control by commands). The connection is by username/password or by ssh-key/passphrase

score 1 · Answer 11 · edited May 21 '21 at 05:07

Kore to control OSMC/Kodi

Kore and Yatse are what I use for my OSMC setup on Pi.

Install kodi on Ubuntu.
```
 sudo apt install kodi
```
Launch kodi and navigate to
Services option under it and set the Settings level to Advanced / Expert.
Navigate to the Control option then Allow remote control via HTTP and also Allow remote control from applications on another system.
Go back to Settings Menu on Kodi as shown in Step 1 and navigate to System info
Navigate to System info and under Network note the IP Address and MAC Address. You will need them to set up on Application on the iPhone / iPad/Android.
and then install the app on your android phone.
- Kore on Playstore
- Kore on F-Droid
- Yatse (paid alternative, free to download)

After Kore/Yatse 's installation, all you need to do is enter the ip into the app and you will be good to go.

Reference

score 1 · Answer 12 · answered Apr 17 '12 at 22:03

1

I would also recommend

http://openelec.tv/

Which uses XBMC and has configured shares for easily coping media to the media center. It is a very simple install and requires minimal hardware.

answered Apr 17 '12 at 22:03

Matt Mootz

569

Madhusudhan Kasula · Answer 13 · 2018-09-24T05:37:26.807

0

I have developed the Linux Remote Android app exactly for this purpose.

edited Sep 24 '18 at 05:37

answered Sep 24 '18 at 05:26

Madhusudhan Kasula

1

score 0 · Answer 14 · answered Jul 17 '14 at 09:55

0

you can use Remote Computer Over Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.polytech.remotecomputer free and without ads

answered Jul 17 '14 at 09:55

user306411

1

score 0 · Answer 15 · edited Sep 24 '18 at 05:30

0

Install the Chrome Remote Desktop extension then the Debian binaries. Connect and you are good to go.

edited Sep 24 '18 at 05:30

Chai T. Rex

5,323

answered Sep 04 '16 at 03:27

Host4dummies

1

score 0 · Answer 16 · answered Feb 14 '17 at 06:44

I believe AndroMouse offers a dead-easy setup and is full of features. You just have to run a java app in your server (your Ubuntu desktop) and the Android app on the client (your phone). Then, you have two options to connect the client to the server: Wi-fi or Bluetooth. Then the app auto-searches for the server; if it's not found, you can insert the easily-visible server IP on the client to connect.

score -1 · Answer 17 · answered Sep 30 '17 at 08:32

-1

You can use TeamViewer. This simple and easy tool to control your pc using your android device. You need to install teamviwer in ubuntu and android mobile.

answered Sep 30 '17 at 08:32

Gandhasiri Sandeep

1

Can an Android phone control Ubuntu like a remote?

17 Answers17

GSConnect/KDE Connect

VNC

Kore to control OSMC/Kodi

Linked