Don’t have a spare mouse? You can use your phone as a wireless mouse to work on your computer.
Long story short, my rat recently died. It’s a Razer Viper Mini, the buttons work, the scroll wheel works too, but the cursor doesn’t move. I took it apart and cleaned it, but I think the sensor is bad. So, while I wait for a new mouse to arrive, I decided to use my iPhone as a mouse.
There are probably other software that can do this, but I prefer to use KDE Connect, as I already use it to manage my phone’s media. KDE Connect is free, open source, no account required to use it. It works using your local Wi-Fi.
I’m using Linux Mint and an iPhone, but the process is similar on Windows and Android. I only tested Windows/Android briefly, but it worked fine. Disappointingly, this does not work on macOS 26.
How to use your phone as a wireless mouse
1. Download KDE Connect On your desktop (Windows, macOS and Linux).
2. Download KDE Connect on your Android mobile device or iPhone.
3. Pair your device using the app.
4. Tap the computer name on your phone’s KDE Connect.
5. Select remote input.
Simply, you can use your phone’s screen as a touchpad and use it as your computer’s mouse. Tap and hold your finger on the screen to move the mouse around. Tap the empty space to the left of the scroll wheel to left-click, or tap to the right to right-click. The scroll wheel can be dragged up and down, just like you scroll pages on your phone. This can be annoying because dragging downwards scrolls the page up, and dragging upward scrolls the page down. There is a slight input delay, so keep that in mind.
Tap the three-dot menu button to see additional commands like the sensitivity slider, haptics-style selector, etc. In addition to using it as a mouse, you can also use KDE Connect as a wireless keyboard by tapping on the keyboard icon at the top of the app. You should be aware that since your phone’s screen will remain active when you use it for remote input, your battery will drain very quickly.
It’s not the most convenient thing, but it’s better than nothing when you don’t have a mouse, but want to get some work done. I wouldn’t recommend it for gaming, but it should work fine for browsing and basic use.
