How to Use Your Android Phone as a Gamepad for Playing PC Games

You can use an Android phone as a controller when you're playing PC games. Here's how to set it up.

Playing video games with an effective control system is always helpful in improving your gaming experience. While the traditional controls for PC gaming are a keyboard and mouse, some games are played better with a gamepad.

But if you don't have a dedicated controller, don't worry. Here's how to use your Android phone as a controller for your PC.

Using an Android phone as a video game controller for your desktop can improve your gaming experience. Here are a few reasons why it is beneficial:

If you're wondering what an accelerometer or gyroscope can do in games, you can find that in our guide on smartphone sensors.

To use your Android phone as a gamepad, you will first need to connect the phone and your PC. For this, you need to install two apps. You need PC Remote Receiver on your Windows computer and the companion app PC Remote on your Android phone. They're free, but you can pay to remove ads and unlock higher-quality streams and other features.

Launch the applications after installation, and make sure you have connected both devices to the same Wi-Fi network. Now follow these steps on your phone:

If you're having trouble connecting through Wi-Fi, there are a few other methods you can try to get it working.

It's quick and easy to connect through a USB cable if you've got one to hand.

The third method you can use to set up your Android phone as a game controller is Bluetooth.

If you have any difficulties with the options above, you can scan a QR code to get connected.

After successfully connecting your Android phone and the PC, you're ready to use your Android device as a controller of your PC. Now visit the layouts section in the Android app and choose your desired gamepad layout by tapping on the name of the game you want to play. After selecting it, launch the game on your desktop.

If there's no layout for the game you're playing, then you can choose the Xbox360 controller layout instead, as it will work for most gaming titles. Furthermore, you can customize your controller by tapping on the gamepad icons on the top left in the layout menu.

On the top right of the layout menu, you can see a + button which you can use for creating a new portrait or landscape layout, or import a custom layout from your phone's storage.

With your Android phone working like a controller, you can enjoy the tilt control on racing or driving games like Forza Horizon 5. For using your phone as a gamepad, you only need to install the applications on both devices and pair them with your favorite method.

Ashutosh is a staff writer for the Android section at MUO. His first mobile phone was the YU Yureka, and his modding journey started with the legendary CyanogenMod. He loves trying new custom ROMs and tweaking Android phones, and he's passionate about helping readers by explaining how to master every aspect of the Android OS.