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Looking for something to remote control my Droid without having to root. To be clear, I am looking for full control over the computer (view on monitor, use mouse and keyboard for input).

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6 Answers 6

up vote 2 down vote accepted

No longer true : So the answer is no.

Please see other answers, which give more details how to control an android device without rooting it.

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Update added in 2013: The answer isn't quite a simple "no" anymore: it's more of a qualified "no". See the answers with positive vote counts below. But really, in the end, owners of rooted phones have far more options. So consider rooting your phone. –  unforgettableid Aug 14 '13 at 22:00

We just released VMLite VNC Server for Android in Google Play Store. It's first vnc server that works on non-rooted Android devices.

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Do you run an root exploit every time you start your VNC Service on non-rooted devices? "... However, for non-rooted devices, every time after you reboot, you will have to connect your device to a Windows PC or Mac using a USB cable, then run a free desktop program, VMLite Android App Controller, to start the server on your device. ...." –  Flow Aug 10 '12 at 12:47
there is no temp rooting, no system files are changed. Mainly, everytime, to start the server with appropriate permissions. –  huisinro Aug 11 '12 at 13:54
If there is no rooting going on, either to run the service or to change the permission on the device nodes involved, what exactly is done by "VMLite Android App Controller"? –  Flow Aug 11 '12 at 13:59
The lack of response to what @Flow asks brings a shadow of suspicion over this app. Personally, I'd never install it. –  Francisco Alvarado Aug 16 '13 at 16:21

As replied in another related question, Team viewer had recently provided app for Samsung phones. After installing this app in, the phone can be remotely accessed from PC. The following is the screen shot from its site: enter image description here

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This looks very promising. Unfortunately it's not available on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus!?, which I have at the moment. –  Matt Sep 7 '12 at 23:19

Matt, have you given TeamViewer a try? http://www.teamviewer.com/download/mobile.aspx

They just recently released a BETA version for mobile. I have used TeamViewer in the PC world quite a few times and it's a very good VNC application, never had any problems with it, not to mention it's free of charge for personal use.

I am not sure if it works PC->Android as well. Also, you cannot find it on the Android Market (for reasons I don't understand) and you have to download the APK from their site and allow installations from unknown sources.

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I haven't tried that yet, but it looks interesting. From what I can tell it won't do what I'm looking to do in this question but it definitely appears to be a good VNC app, thanks. –  Matt Feb 3 '11 at 18:34
Just tried a demo version of the Team Viewer app. Worked great, but they want $1400 for the full version. Would be nice if My Mobilier came out with a non rooted version of their software. Loved that app. –  Heidi Paulson Jul 22 at 21:59
Gah! It's not a VNC application, as VNC is a specific protocol, and that's not what TeamViewer uses. –  Noah Oct 16 at 8:31

I just installed android-vnc-viewer (so I don't know yet how good it is) but from the documentation it seems that it doesn't require root access. (And it wasn't crying for it yet.)

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Thanks but that appears to only work one way (control pc with phone) and I want one that works the other way (control android with pc). –  Matt Oct 15 '10 at 7:59

Droid VNC Seems to do the job for rooted phones. This allows you to control your phone via your computer, laptop, or other device with Ultra VNC or WinVNC.

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...but this question is specifically about unrooted phones, so how is this helpful? –  eldarerathis Apr 23 '13 at 18:19

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