Connecting Your Phone

Connecting Your Phone

How to connect

Once the service is running, a QR popup appears on the HTPC screen. You have two ways in:

Scan the QR code Point your phone camera at the code. Most phones recognise it automatically and offer to open the URL. Tap the notification.

Type the URL manually The URL is shown below the QR code in two forms — mDNS hostname and raw IP:

glide.local:7000       ← works if your router supports mDNS
192.168.1.42:7000      ← always works

Open either in any browser. Chrome, Safari, Firefox — all work.

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Popup behaviour

The popup is designed to stay out of the way during normal use. Locking your phone, switching apps, or a brief network blip won't flash the QR code on screen mid-film.

Event	Popup
Service starts / you log in	Shows immediately
Phone connects	Hides
Phone screen locks	Stays hidden
Browser goes to background	Stays hidden
Brief network drop	Stays hidden
Phone reconnects (reload tab)	Stays hidden
No device connected for 2 hours	Shows again

The 2-hour clock resets every time any device connects. So if you watch something for 3 hours, put the phone down, then pick it up and reload the tab within 2 hours — the popup never appears.

To change the timeout, see Configuration#idle-timeout.

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Reconnecting

The WebSocket reconnects automatically when you reload the browser tab. Bookmark the URL or add it to your home screen for one-tap access.

If you want to hand control to a different phone without waiting 2 hours:

1. On the current phone: tap the link icon (top-right) to disconnect, or just close the tab
2. On the new phone: open the URL — it connects immediately, no popup needed

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Multiple devices

Multiple phones can connect simultaneously. Each one gets its own WebSocket connection and can send input events. The popup hides as long as at least one device is connected.

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Connection indicator

The controller header shows connection state at all times:

Indicator	Meaning
Teal dot + connected · 192.168.1.42:7000	Live, sending events
Yellow dot + reconnecting…	WebSocket dropped, retrying