Remote Viewer enables you to view the device's current screen on your Console and take screenshots. Remote Control allows you to take control of the device. This means you may interact with the remote device using your mouse or trackpad as if you were physically touching the screen.
Remote Viewer and Control are useful in a variety of situations including:
- Capturing a bug report for a device out in the field
- Observing unexpected behavior
- Checking on devices that send alerts
Use Remote Viewer and Control to take control of your devices when unexpected situations arise.
In this article:
- Setting Up Remote Viewer
- During a Remote Viewer Session
- Setting up Remote Control
- Hardware Keys and Keyboard Events
Setting Up Remote Viewer
You’ll only be able to start a remote session if the device is online. We recommend being on a reliable network, such as Wi-Fi, for the best results. If you experience problems, try refreshing your browser or restarting the session.
Find Remote Viewer and Control by locating the device in Devices & Groups and locating the Remove Viewer tab.
Before starting a session, check the following:
- Is the device communicating with Esper and unlocked?
- Ensure you've disabled any lock screens as well.
- Have you verified our firewall requirements?
- Has screen timeout been set to five minutes or longer?
- Does your role give you access to Remote Viewer?
- Optional: Experiencing a slow connection speed? If so, check the Data Saver box at the top before starting a session. The frame rate will decrease. You won’t be able to change this option during a session.
After setting up the device, it’s time to start a Remote Viewer session.
Step 1: To remotely view a device, click on Start Session.
For Android 8 and below, devices will show a prompt to allow the session. Once the request is accepted, a secure connection will be established, and the device's screen will be streamed to the Console.
To end the session, click Stop Session.
The session will end automatically when it reaches the time limit displayed.
During a Remote Session
Entering Full Screen Mode
During a Remote Viewer session, you’ll be able to view the screen and take screenshots of it.
Use the Full Screen button to enter full screen mode.
To exit Full Screen mode, press the Escape key on your computer's keyboard.
Capturing a Screenshot on a Device
Capturing screenshots can be useful in reporting unexpected behavior on devices. To take a screenshot, start a Remote Viewer session.
Step 1: Click the Take Screenshot button to capture the current device screen.
You’ll see a collection of screenshots at the bottom of the Remote Viewer screen.
Click on the screenshot to open it. Right-click to download the screenshot or click the trash can to delete it. Screenshots can’t be retrieved after deletion.
Setting Up Remote Control
Before starting a session, check the following:
- Is the device on Esper Foundation for Android, manufactured with a signed Esper Agent, or Samsung Knox-enabled (running Knox 3 or later)?
- Is the device on Esper Agent version 7.5.0005 or later? If not, does it have a Supervisor Plugin and Knox?
- Is the device communicating with Esper and unlocked?
- Have you verified our firewall requirements?
- Has screen timeout been set to five minutes or longer?
- Does your role give you access to Remote Control? Viewer roles won’t have access to Remote Control.
- Optional: Do you have a slow connection speed? If so, check the Data Saver box at the top before starting a session. You won’t be able to change this option during a session.
The Remote Control experience may differ across devices and versions.
| Behavior | Requirement |
| Manual approval request | Android versions 5 - 8 |
| Manual approval request bypass | Android version 5-8 with a Supervisor Plugin |
| Full Remote Control support | All Android versions with a Supervisor Plugin |
| Esper Settings > Accessibility to activate Remote Control manually | Android 7 and above |
| Paste feature support | All Android versions with a Supervisor Plugin |
Contact Esper for a Supervisor Plugin.
If you see the error message, perform the following:
Go to the Esper Settings on the device.
Select the Remote Control option.
Enable Remote Viewer.
On the modal, you will be asked to confirm your choice. Select OK.
You can use the remote control in both view modes: Full-screen and non-full-screen.
Using Hardware Keys and Keyboard Events
Some devices do not have soft keys for home, back, and recent and they use physical keys on the device instead. On such devices, a virtual set of keys appears at the middle of the Remote Control screen. When in Full-screen mode, the widget includes the hard keys. You can grab and move the widget to a different location on your screen as you wish.
You may also use your computer’s keyboard to interact with the device as if you were using the device’s keyboard.
Copying, Pasting, and Other Tapping Events
Requirements:
- You will need an updated Supervisor Plugin for paste. Contact Esper to learn more about Supervisor Plugins.
Starting on July 5, 2023, and with Esper Agent version 7.12, we began updating the Remote Viewer. After your Remote Viewer is updated, you'll have the ability to copy, paste, and perform other functions during a Remote Control session, subject to hardware requirements.
Timing your clicks can be a little tricky at first. Try double clicking on the text you want to copy and waiting for the tooltip to appear.
Copying
You will be able to copy a section of text from your computer to the device. However, copying text from the device onto your computer is not possible.
Long Press
Long press your mouse or trackpad. The device’s toolbar will appear and you’ll use your mouse to select an option.
Special Characters
Special characters are supported for most keyboards. For example, you’ll be able to type “$400 USD” or “a 40% of rain” on the device from your keyboard. Non-English characters and emojis are not supported.
Paste from Computer
Copy a URL or password from your computer and use your keyboard to paste the text to the device. You won’t be able to copy from a device and paste to your computer.