Do I need to be on the same network?

No. On the same Wi-Fi, Servey uses a direct, high-performance stream for the sharpest possible picture. On different networks it automatically switches to a private connection between your own devices. Either way it just works.

Is it secure and private?

Yes, and there are two locks rather than one. Signing in with Google pairs only your own devices, scoped to your account. On top of that you set a master password on your Mac that every device must produce before it can connect, each new device waits for you to approve it on the Mac itself, and you can revoke any device at any time. Your screen video travels end-to-end encrypted peer-to-peer between your devices; if your network will not allow a direct connection, it relays through our own server rather than a third party's cloud.

What happens to my terminal session if I disconnect?

It keeps running. Every terminal session in Servey is a named session that lives on your Mac rather than inside the app, so closing Servey, losing signal or putting the phone in your pocket does not stop the work. Start a long build from the iPad, come back an hour later, and you rejoin it exactly where it got to. You can also open the same live session on your Mac and your iPad at once.

Can I hide what I am doing from people near my Mac?

Yes. Privacy Mode blacks out every monitor physically attached to your Mac while the stream you are watching keeps showing the real desktop. It covers every app, every space and every connected display, including the cursor, and nothing is overlaid on screen. If Servey quits or the connection drops, macOS restores the displays on its own, so it cannot leave the Mac stuck on black.

What if I stop using Servey - am I locked in?

No. Servey runs your terminal sessions in tmux on your own Mac, and the app shows you the attach command for each one. Paste it into Terminal.app, iTerm, Ghostty or an SSH connection and you are in the same live session with Servey uninstalled. Nothing you start in Servey is trapped in a format only Servey can open.

Does it work over cellular?

Yes. Servey is built to connect reliably even on strict mobile and carrier networks where most tools give up, and it tunes quality to your connection automatically so the picture stays smooth.

Which devices are supported?

A Mac as the host, controlled from an iPhone or iPad. Servey needs macOS 15.3 or later on the Mac and iOS or iPadOS 18.5 or later on the device you control it from, so it is worth checking your versions before you join the waitlist. Any Mac that runs macOS 15.3 works, Apple silicon or Intel, and a MacBook can be driven with the lid shut. Servey is built natively for the Apple ecosystem - not an Electron or Java port - so it feels fast and right at home on your devices.

Do I need a VPN or port forwarding?

No. There's no VPN to configure and no ports to forward. Sign in with Google on both devices and your Mac appears - that's the entire setup.

Is there a free version?

Yes. Servey has a free tier with no card and no countdown: five-minute sessions, five sessions a day, and your daily allowance resets at local midnight. Everything Servey does is in it - screen mirroring, input and the terminal - so what you are paying for on a paid plan is time, not a longer feature list.

When is it launching and how much will it cost?

Servey is in pre-submission hardening now, and the waitlist is how you get in first. Pricing is already set: free to start, the Terminal plan at $1.99/month or ₹99/month in India, and Full access - screen mirroring plus terminal - at $4.49/month or ₹299/month in India. Join the waitlist and we'll email you the moment it's ready. You're never charged until launch.

Can you control your iPhone from your Mac?

Yes, using iPhone Mirroring, which Apple added in macOS Sequoia. Your iPhone appears in a window on the Mac and you drive it with your mouse and keyboard. It requires macOS Sequoia 15 or later on a Mac with Apple silicon or the T2 chip, iOS 18 or later on the iPhone, both devices signed in to the same Apple Account with two-factor authentication, and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on. Crucially, the iPhone must be locked and physically near the Mac.

Can I control my iPhone from my Mac remotely, over the internet?

No. iPhone Mirroring is a Continuity feature and works only between two devices that are near each other, and no third-party app can do it either. iOS does not let an app read the whole system screen or inject taps into other apps, and there is no API for it. The only thing that reaches a phone that is not in the room is mobile device management, which can push apps, apply policy or wipe a company device, but cannot show you the screen and let you tap around on it.

Why does iPhone Mirroring not work on my Mac?

Check the requirements one at a time, because all of them must be true. The Mac needs macOS Sequoia 15 or later and Apple silicon or a T2 chip; the iPhone needs iOS 18 or later and a passcode set; both must be on the same Apple Account with two-factor authentication; both need Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on; and the iPhone must be locked and nearby. It will also refuse to start if your Mac is sharing its internet connection or already using AirPlay or Sidecar. Availability has also varied by region.

Does my iPhone stay locked while I am mirroring it?

Yes, and that is deliberate. The phone remains locked for the whole session, so nobody nearby can see what you are doing on it or pick it up and use it while it is mirrored to your Mac. You can pair only one Mac with one iPhone at a time.

How can I see my iPhone screen on my Mac without iPhone Mirroring?

Connect the iPhone with a cable, open QuickTime Player, choose File then New Movie Recording, and select the iPhone as the camera source. You get the live screen and can record it, but you cannot control the phone - it is a mirror rather than a remote. This works on older versions of macOS that do not have iPhone Mirroring.

What if I actually want to control my Mac from my iPhone?

That direction works, from anywhere, and it is what Servey is built for: your Mac's screen and a real terminal on your iPhone or iPad in one app, with no VPN, no port forwarding and nothing to configure - you sign in on both devices and your Mac is there. If you only ever need your Mac from inside your own home, macOS can do it for free: turn on Screen Sharing in System Settings under General then Sharing and use any VNC client on the phone. The moment you leave the house that stops working, and solving it without handing you a networking project is the part Servey exists for.

How to control your iPhone from your Mac, and what Apple actually allows

By Janesh Kapoor · August 31, 2026 · Updated September 5, 2026 · 6 min read

Since macOS Sequoia there is a real, Apple-built answer to this: iPhone Mirroring. It works well, and it has one limitation that catches almost everybody out - your iPhone has to be sitting next to your Mac. If what you actually wanted was to reach a machine that is somewhere else, the direction that genuinely works remotely is the opposite one: your Mac, from your iPhone, anywhere. That is the job we built Servey to do, and it is covered in full below.

The four ways to see or control an iPhone from a Mac, and what each one is actually for.
	What it does	Works when the iPhone is elsewhere?	Cost
iPhone Mirroring	Full interactive control of your iPhone in a window on your Mac	No - the phone must be locked and near your Mac	Free, built into macOS Sequoia
QuickTime Player	Shows and records the iPhone screen; you cannot control the phone	No - requires a USB cable	Free, built into macOS
Apple Configurator	Bulk configuration, app installs and restores for managed devices	No - USB, and it is a provisioning tool rather than a screen	Free, but aimed at IT
Mobile device management	Policy, apps and remote wipe across a fleet of company phones	Yes, for management actions - but it is not remote control	Paid, business only

The short answer

You can control your iPhone from your Mac, and the tool is iPhone Mirroring, which Apple shipped in macOS Sequoia. Your phone appears in a window, you drive it with your mouse and keyboard, and notifications come through to the Mac. It is genuinely good. What it is not is remote access: the feature is built on Continuity, which means it works over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi between two devices in the same room. If your iPhone is at home and you are at the office, nothing on this list will let you reach it, and that is a deliberate design decision by Apple rather than a gap somebody is about to fill. The remote problem that can be solved is the reverse one - reaching your Mac from the phone in your hand - and Servey, the app we make, is built specifically for it.

What iPhone Mirroring needs

Apple is specific about the requirements, and every one of them has to be true or the feature simply will not appear. Your Mac needs macOS Sequoia 15 or later and either Apple silicon or the Apple T2 Security Chip. Your iPhone needs iOS 18 or later and must have a passcode set. Both devices have to be signed in to the same Apple Account with two-factor authentication turned on, and both need Bluetooth and Wi-Fi enabled. Your Mac must not be sharing its internet connection or using AirPlay or Sidecar at the time. You can pair only one Mac with one iPhone at a time.

The requirement that matters most is the physical one. Your iPhone has to be locked and near your Mac - it can be face down on the desk or charging in StandBy, but it has to be there. The phone also stays locked for the whole session, which is a nice privacy property: nobody walking past can see what you are doing, and nobody can pick the phone up and use it while you are mirroring it.

Why you cannot control an iPhone over the internet

This surprises people who are used to Windows or Android, where remote control apps for phones have existed for years. On iOS, an app cannot read the screen of the whole system or inject taps into other apps. There is no API for it, and App Store review would not permit it if there were. Screen recording is possible with the user's explicit consent through ReplayKit, but recording is not control, and it stops the moment the app is backgrounded. So the tools that do exist for reaching an iPhone remotely are management tools rather than remote desktops: mobile device management can push apps, apply policy, lock or wipe a company phone from anywhere, but it cannot show an administrator the screen and let them tap around on it.

Anything advertising full remote control of an iPhone from across the internet is worth treating with real suspicion. Either it requires the phone to be supervised and enrolled through a business MDM, or it depends on the phone being jailbroken, or it is simply describing screen recording. This is one of the areas where Apple's restrictions genuinely protect you, and the honest answer is that the feature does not exist for consumer devices.

The other options, briefly

QuickTime Player: plug the iPhone into the Mac with a cable, choose File then New Movie Recording, and pick the iPhone as the camera source. You get the live screen and can record it. You cannot tap anything - it is a mirror, not a remote.
Apple Configurator: free from the App Store and built for deploying devices in bulk. Useful for restores, app installs and supervision, useless as a screen.
Switch Control: an Accessibility feature that lets you drive an iPhone or iPad using another Apple device on the same network. It is designed for people with motor impairments and it is slow for general use, but it is a real answer for accessibility needs.
Mobile device management: the only option that reaches a phone that is not in the room, and it is aimed at company fleets rather than your own phone.

The direction that does work remotely

It is worth checking which problem you are actually trying to solve, because a lot of people arrive at this question having got the two devices the wrong way round in their head. The reason you almost never need to reach an iPhone remotely is that the iPhone is the device you already have with you. The machine that is stuck somewhere else, with your files, your projects and your long-running jobs on it, is the Mac. Unlike the iPhone direction, that one is entirely possible, it works from anywhere, and Servey exists to do exactly it.

That is the job Servey is built for. It puts your Mac on your iPhone or iPad: crystal-clear screen mirroring and a real terminal - a genuine shell on your Mac, not a web console - one tap apart in a single native app. On your own Wi-Fi it streams hardware-encoded HEVC, so text stays sharp enough to read and you can pinch to zoom into it. Away from home it moves automatically to a private, end-to-end encrypted peer-to-peer link between your own two devices, and it holds that connection on the strict mobile networks that defeat most tools. There is no VPN to configure, no ports to forward and no relay server to choose: you sign in with Google on both devices and your Mac shows up.

To be clear about what Servey does not do, since this page is about the opposite direction: it does not control your iPhone, and no third-party app can. Servey is Mac-as-host and iPhone or iPad-as-client, deliberately, because that is the direction where the remote problem is real and worth solving. It launches soon from $1.99 a month, and the waitlist is open now.

Bottom line

If your iPhone is on the desk in front of you and you want it in a window next to your other apps, iPhone Mirroring is the answer, it is free, and it is already on your Mac if you are running Sequoia. If your iPhone is somewhere else, there is no consumer answer and there is not going to be one, because iOS does not allow it. But if the device you were really trying to reach is your Mac, you are in luck, because that is the direction that actually works from anywhere. Servey gives you your Mac on your iPhone or iPad - a sharp screen and a real terminal in one app, with no VPN and nothing to configure. It launches soon from $1.99 a month and the waitlist is open now.

Frequently asked questions

Can you control your iPhone from your Mac?: Yes, using iPhone Mirroring, which Apple added in macOS Sequoia. Your iPhone appears in a window on the Mac and you drive it with your mouse and keyboard. It requires macOS Sequoia 15 or later on a Mac with Apple silicon or the T2 chip, iOS 18 or later on the iPhone, both devices signed in to the same Apple Account with two-factor authentication, and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on. Crucially, the iPhone must be locked and physically near the Mac.
Can I control my iPhone from my Mac remotely, over the internet?: No. iPhone Mirroring is a Continuity feature and works only between two devices that are near each other, and no third-party app can do it either. iOS does not let an app read the whole system screen or inject taps into other apps, and there is no API for it. The only thing that reaches a phone that is not in the room is mobile device management, which can push apps, apply policy or wipe a company device, but cannot show you the screen and let you tap around on it.
Why does iPhone Mirroring not work on my Mac?: Check the requirements one at a time, because all of them must be true. The Mac needs macOS Sequoia 15 or later and Apple silicon or a T2 chip; the iPhone needs iOS 18 or later and a passcode set; both must be on the same Apple Account with two-factor authentication; both need Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on; and the iPhone must be locked and nearby. It will also refuse to start if your Mac is sharing its internet connection or already using AirPlay or Sidecar. Availability has also varied by region.
Does my iPhone stay locked while I am mirroring it?: Yes, and that is deliberate. The phone remains locked for the whole session, so nobody nearby can see what you are doing on it or pick it up and use it while it is mirrored to your Mac. You can pair only one Mac with one iPhone at a time.
How can I see my iPhone screen on my Mac without iPhone Mirroring?: Connect the iPhone with a cable, open QuickTime Player, choose File then New Movie Recording, and select the iPhone as the camera source. You get the live screen and can record it, but you cannot control the phone - it is a mirror rather than a remote. This works on older versions of macOS that do not have iPhone Mirroring.
What if I actually want to control my Mac from my iPhone?: That direction works, from anywhere, and it is what Servey is built for: your Mac's screen and a real terminal on your iPhone or iPad in one app, with no VPN, no port forwarding and nothing to configure - you sign in on both devices and your Mac is there. If you only ever need your Mac from inside your own home, macOS can do it for free: turn on Screen Sharing in System Settings under General then Sharing and use any VNC client on the phone. The moment you leave the house that stops working, and solving it without handing you a networking project is the part Servey exists for.

Servey puts your Mac in your pocket. Launching soon.