QuickRemote - Guide

QuickRemote is a full-featured VNC and RDP remote desktop client with connection profiles, encrypted credential storage, file transfer, and multi-monitor support. This guide covers everything you need to connect, control, and manage remote machines.

Getting Started

Launch the app — you land on the Connection List screen showing your saved profiles.
Tap the + button to create a new connection profile.
Choose a protocol — VNC or RDP — and enter the host address and port.
Enter credentials and optionally save them to the secure vault for quick reconnection.
Tap Connect to start the remote session. The remote desktop appears in full-screen view.

Use LAN Discovery to find available hosts on your local network automatically. No need to type IP addresses manually.

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Interface Overview

Connection List

The home screen displays all saved connection profiles:

Profile cards — show host name, address, protocol badge, and last-connected timestamp
Quick Connect — tap a profile to connect instantly using saved credentials
Search & filter — find profiles by name, address, or protocol type
LAN Discovery tab — automatically detected hosts on the local network

Remote Session View

Once connected, the remote desktop fills the screen. A floating toolbar provides access to:

Extended Keyboard toggle — show/hide the special-key toolbar
Input Mode switch — toggle between pointer and touch modes
Display controls — adjust scaling, quality, and monitor selection
File Transfer — open the file browser for uploads and downloads
Disconnect — end the session and return to the connection list

Sidebar

The collapsible sidebar gives quick access to app-level navigation:

Connections — the main profile list
LAN Discovery — network scanner
VNC Server — host mode configuration
Settings — app preferences and security
Help — this guide and keyboard shortcut reference

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Connecting to a Remote Host

Creating a Connection Profile

Tap the + button on the Connection List screen.
Select the protocol: VNC or RDP.
Enter the host address (IP or hostname) and port (defaults: VNC 5900, RDP 3389).
Provide a display name for the profile and optionally assign a color tag.
Enter your username and password. Toggle Save to Vault to store credentials securely.
Configure optional settings: display resolution, color depth, encoding preference.
Tap Save to store the profile, or Save & Connect to connect immediately.

Protocol

VNC

Platform-independent remote framebuffer protocol. Works with Linux, macOS, Windows, and embedded devices. Supports Tight, ZRLE, Hextile, and Raw encodings.

Protocol

RDP

Native Windows remote desktop protocol. Supports NLA authentication, clipboard sharing, audio redirection, and drive mapping.

LAN Discovery

QuickRemote can automatically scan your local network for available remote desktop hosts:

Open the LAN Discovery tab from the sidebar or connection list.
The app scans for VNC (port 5900) and RDP (port 3389) services.
Discovered hosts appear with their hostname, IP address, and detected protocol.
Tap a discovered host to create a profile and connect.

LAN Discovery works only on the local network segment. Hosts behind VPNs or different subnets will not appear automatically. Use manual connection for those.

SSH Tunneling

For secure connections over untrusted networks, enable SSH tunneling in the profile settings:

Open the connection profile and expand Advanced Settings.
Toggle SSH Tunnel on.
Enter the SSH server address, port, username, and authentication method (password or key).
The app creates an encrypted tunnel and routes the VNC/RDP connection through it.

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Input Modes

QuickRemote provides two input modes to match different use cases and devices:

Mode	Behavior	Best For
Pointer Mode	Your finger acts as a trackpad. Drag to move the cursor, tap to click, two-finger tap to right-click. Pinch to zoom the viewport.	Precision work, small UI targets, desktop-style workflows
Touch Mode	Your finger taps directly where you want to click on the remote screen. One-to-one mapping between touch and cursor position.	Touchscreen-native UIs, quick navigation, large targets

Pointer Mode Gestures

Single finger drag — move the remote cursor
Single tap — left click
Two-finger tap — right click
Two-finger drag — scroll the remote view
Pinch in/out — zoom the viewport (does not change remote resolution)
Long press — click and hold (for drag operations)

Touch Mode Gestures

Tap — left click at the touched position
Long press — right click
Two-finger tap — middle click
Drag — click and drag from start to end position
Pinch in/out — zoom the viewport

Switch between modes using the floating toolbar or press Ctrl + M. Pointer mode gives you finer control; Touch mode is faster for casual use.

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Extended Keyboard

Mobile devices lack keys that remote desktops rely on: Ctrl, Alt, function keys, Escape, and more. The extended keyboard toolbar provides one-tap access to all of them.

Default Keys

The toolbar shows a scrollable row of special keys above the on-screen keyboard:

Modifier keys — Ctrl, Alt, Shift, Super (Win/Cmd). Tap to toggle sticky; they stay active until the next key press.
Escape — send the Escape key to the remote host
Tab — send the Tab key
Function keys — F1 through F12, accessible via a scroll or expand gesture
Arrow keys — Up, Down, Left, Right for cursor navigation
Special combos — Ctrl+Alt+Del, Alt+Tab, and other common shortcuts as dedicated buttons

Customizing the Toolbar

Open Settings > Extended Keyboard to add, remove, or reorder keys.
Create custom macro buttons that send a specific key combination with a single tap.
Adjust the toolbar height and key size for your preference.

Modifier keys (Ctrl, Alt, Shift, Super) are sticky by default. Tap once to activate, tap again to deactivate. A dot indicator shows active modifiers.

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File Transfer

Transfer files between your local device and the remote host without leaving the app.

How It Works

During an active session, tap the File Transfer icon in the floating toolbar.
A split-pane browser opens: local files on the left, remote files on the right.
Navigate to the source file and tap Upload or Download.
A progress bar shows transfer status. Multiple transfers can run simultaneously.

Supported Operations

Upload — send files from your device to the remote host
Download — pull files from the remote host to your device
Browse directories — navigate the remote file system with a familiar tree view
Create folders — make new directories on the remote host
Delete files — remove files on the remote host (with confirmation)

File transfer availability depends on the protocol and server configuration. VNC servers require an additional SFTP/SSH channel. RDP uses native drive redirection.

For large transfers over slow connections, use compression (enabled by default) to reduce transfer times significantly.

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Built-in VNC Server

QuickRemote can also act as a VNC server, letting other devices connect to your screen.

Setting Up the Server

Open VNC Server from the sidebar.
Set a password for incoming connections.
Choose the listening port (default: 5900).
Optionally enable view-only mode to allow screen viewing without input control.
Tap Start Server. The status indicator turns green when ready.

Server Options

Password protection — required for all incoming connections
View-only mode — share your screen without granting input control
Port selection — use a custom port to avoid conflicts
Connection limit — maximum number of simultaneous viewers
Auto-start — start the server automatically when the app launches

server> VNC Server started on port 5900
server> Waiting for connections...
server> Client connected: 192.168.1.42

Use the VNC server for screen sharing during calls, remote support sessions, or collaborative work. Combined with LAN Discovery, other QuickRemote users can find and connect to you instantly.

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Settings

Connection

Default Protocol — set VNC or RDP as the default for new profiles
Connection Timeout — how long to wait before declaring a connection failed
Auto-Reconnect — automatically attempt to reconnect on connection drops
Keep Alive Interval — send periodic pings to prevent idle disconnection

Display

Image Quality — balance between visual clarity and network bandwidth
Scaling Mode — fit-to-screen, scroll, or original resolution
Color Depth — 24-bit (full color), 16-bit (fast), or 8-bit (minimal bandwidth)
Frame Rate Limit — cap the refresh rate to reduce resource usage

Input

Default Input Mode — choose Pointer or Touch as the startup mode
Scroll Speed — adjust two-finger scroll sensitivity
Keyboard Layout — match the remote host's keyboard layout
Extended Keyboard Layout — customize which keys appear in the toolbar

Security

Vault Lock Timeout — auto-lock the credential vault after a period of inactivity
Biometric Unlock — use fingerprint or face recognition to unlock the vault
Clipboard Sharing — enable or disable clipboard sync with the remote host

Audio

Audio Streaming — enable or disable remote audio playback (RDP only)
Audio Quality — choose between low, medium, and high bitrate

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Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl` + `M`	Toggle input mode (Pointer / Touch)
`Ctrl` + `K`	Toggle extended keyboard toolbar
`Ctrl` + `F`	Open file transfer panel
`Ctrl` + `D`	Toggle display settings overlay
`Ctrl` + `Shift` + `F`	Toggle full-screen mode
`Ctrl` + `Shift` + `M`	Cycle through remote monitors
`Ctrl` + `,`	Open Settings
`Escape`	Disconnect from current session
`F1`	Open Help

During a remote session, most keyboard input is forwarded to the remote host. Use the floating toolbar for app-level controls, or hold the designated host key (configurable in Settings) to intercept shortcuts locally.

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Tips & Tricks

On slow connections, reduce Color Depth to 16-bit and set Image Quality to medium. This dramatically improves responsiveness while keeping the display usable.

Create macro buttons in the extended keyboard for key combos you use often. A single tap for Ctrl+Alt+Del or Alt+F4 saves time during IT support sessions.

Use SSH tunneling when connecting over public Wi-Fi or the internet. It wraps your VNC/RDP session in an encrypted tunnel, protecting credentials and data in transit.

Assign color tags to connection profiles to visually group machines by role: orange for production, blue for development, green for personal.

Enable Auto-Reconnect in Settings to handle flaky network connections gracefully. The app will retry the connection automatically when the link drops.

When managing headless machines, combine LAN Discovery with saved profiles. Discovery finds new hosts; profiles remember your preferred settings for known ones.

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Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Cannot connect to host	Verify the host address and port. Ensure the remote machine is running a VNC/RDP server and the firewall allows incoming connections on the correct port.
Connection drops frequently	Enable Auto-Reconnect in Settings. On unstable networks, reduce Image Quality and Color Depth to lower bandwidth usage.
Black or blank screen after connecting	The remote display may be off or locked. Try sending Ctrl+Alt+Del via the extended keyboard. For VNC, verify the server is sharing the correct display number.
Keyboard input not working	Check that the extended keyboard is active and the correct keyboard layout is selected in Settings. Some servers require specific key mapping configurations.
LAN Discovery finds no hosts	Both devices must be on the same network segment. Guest networks, VLANs, and AP isolation can prevent discovery. Try manual connection with the IP address.
File transfer fails	For VNC, file transfer requires SSH/SFTP access on the remote host. Verify SSH is running and credentials are correct. For RDP, enable drive redirection in the profile settings.
Audio not streaming	Audio streaming is available for RDP connections only. Ensure the remote Windows host has audio redirection enabled in Remote Desktop settings.
Slow or laggy display	Reduce Color Depth to 16-bit, lower Image Quality, and cap the Frame Rate Limit. For VNC, switch to Tight or ZRLE encoding for better compression.
Vault password forgotten	The secure vault cannot be recovered without the master password. You will need to reset the vault (clearing saved credentials) and re-enter passwords for each profile.
Multi-monitor not showing all displays	Open Display Controls from the floating toolbar and select the desired monitor or choose "All Monitors" to span the full remote desktop.

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Privacy

QuickRemote does not require an account or sign-in.
No usage data, analytics, or telemetry is collected.
All connections are direct between your device and the remote host — no traffic passes through third-party relay servers.
Saved credentials are encrypted and stored locally on your device in the secure vault.
The app works fully offline for LAN connections. Internet is needed only when connecting to remote hosts over the internet.
LAN Discovery broadcasts stay within your local network segment.