iPhones work really well with a Mac. However, most of these functions will not be available if you are using a Windows PC and iPhone. Moreover, if for some reason you want to control your iPhone via Windows, there is no built-in way to do it. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t. In fact, there are some pretty easy ways to do this. If this is something you want to do, here’s how to use and control your iPhone from a Windows PC.
How to Use and Control iPhone from Windows
First of all, why would you want to control your iPhone from Windows? Well, you can mirror your iPhone screen to a PC. You can receive text messages, notifications and much more on your computer. So it can be quite useful. Regardless of why you want this feature, there is more than one way to accomplish this.
There are several ways you can use to control your iPhone from Windows. Here I will discuss both of these methods and you can choose the one you like more. If you want, you can also use the table of contents below to go directly to a specific section of this article.
1. Use Wormhole to Use and Control iPhone from Windows
The first option you can check is an app called Wormhole. This is a free application to download. But to use it to its full potential, you will have to spend some money on it. Fortunately, it offers a 3-day free trial so you can check out all its functions before spending your money.
- Download Wormhole here Web site and install it.
- You will have the option to choose the device type. Choose iOS.
- Then you can purchase the license or start the free trial. Choose the option you want.
- By default, the app will show you the method of using a wired connection. However, you can also use this wireless.
- Open Control Center on your iPhone and tap on ‘Screen Mirroring’. You will see an option for a device named “wormhole-desktop-xxxxxxx”. Tap on it.
- Then you can proceed according to the instructions on the screen. To use your PC’s cursor with your iOS device, make sure you have Assistive Touch enabled on your iPhone.
- Your iPhone screen will be displayed on your computer and you can use it like a normal iPhone.
The wormhole also offers a number of options on the left. You get options for clicking a screenshot of your iPhone screen, navigating the phone with buttons, and much more.
It’s a pretty useful app, especially if you want an extension of your iPhone to be on your PC.
By the way, wormhole is also available for Mac, so you can complete the same functionality with screen mirroring on macOS.
2. Use Dell Mobile Connect
The second option you can try is Dell Mobile Connect. The good thing about this app is that it’s completely free. Also, the name might make you believe it only works on Dell computers, but it doesn’t. You can use this application on any Windows PC.
- Install Dell Mobile Connect on your computer (download) and your iPhone (download).
- Your iPhone displays a code when you launch the app. Enter this code on your PC.
- Give the app the necessary permissions. The Company states that it does not collect any personal information from your Contacts or Media.
- After completing all the steps shown on your computer, you will be able to see your iPhone notifications in the Dell Mobile Connect app on your computer.
- You can also use the tabs on the left to view messages, make calls and more.
Dell Mobile Connect also has the option to mirror your screen. However, it’s hit and miss and it didn’t seem to work for me even with both devices on the same WiFi network. There are also some issues with the app and the Bluetooth connection with the iPhone.
Basically, the only reason this free app is second in this article is because it can cause quite a bit of inconvenience when it doesn’t work. However, aside from screen mirroring, which is not very reliable, this app is extremely fast and does what it’s supposed to do well. So, if you don’t need screen mirroring or don’t want to buy a license for Wormhole, you might want to consider using that as well.
Easily Operate and Control iOS Devices from Windows
There are certainly other apps that offer at least a subset of the features that the apps I’ve mentioned here offer. But in my experience, these two apps offer the best feature set and pricing. Plus, they’re pretty fast too. Especially with screen mirroring in Wormhole.
So, are you interested in using your iPhone via a Windows PC? Let us know in the comments along with any other apps or methods you think we should discuss here.
