How to Mirror and Control Your Android Phone on PC Using scrcpy

Overview

This tutorial teaches how to mirror and directly control an Android smartphone on a Windows computer using the open-source tool scrcpy. The process requires no third-party app installations on the mobile phone, no root access, and no programming knowledge. The setup begins by downloading the Windows release of scrcpy from its official GitHub repository, placing the archive into a dedicated directory on Local Disk C:, and extracting its contents. On the Android device, Developer Options must be unlocked by tapping the Build number seven times in settings, followed by enabling USB Debugging. Finally, the user launches the Command Prompt as an administrator, navigates to the extracted directory using the cd command, connects the phone via a USB cable, and executes scrcpy. The smartphone screen appears in an interactive desktop window that supports resizing, mouse navigation, and full control over phone apps.

Introduction to Screen Mirroring with scrcpy

00:00

The presenter demonstrates operating an Android phone directly from a Windows desktop using a computer mouse and keyboard. Applications such as File Manager and media players can be accessed without installing any mirroring client apps on the phone itself or writing custom code.

• Control Android device entirely through PC peripherals.
• Zero apps needed on the phone.
• Completely free and open-source tool.

Downloading scrcpy from GitHub

00:38

Open a web browser, search for 'scrcpy', and navigate to the official repository hosted on github.com (Genymobile/scrcpy). Locate the Windows download release link, which downloads an archive of approximately 25 MB containing the required adb and scrcpy binaries.

• Download scrcpy directly from github.com.
• Locate the Windows 64-bit release package.
• No complex installation installer required; delivered as a zip archive.

Extracting Files to Local Disk C:

02:00

Copy the downloaded archive into the root of Local Disk (C:). Create a new folder named 'scrcpy' in C:, move the zip archive into it, and extract the files using 'Extract Here' so the executables reside directly inside C:\scrcpy.

• Administrator permissions are required when pasting into Local Disk C:.
• Create a dedicated folder named scrcpy in C:\.
• Extract the zip contents directly inside C:\scrcpy.

Enabling Developer Options and USB Debugging

03:54

On the Android device, open Settings and go to 'My phone' (or 'About phone'). Locate the 'Build number' entry and tap it repeatedly seven times. Enter your device lock screen PIN or password when prompted to activate Developer status. Return to Settings > System > Developer options, scroll down to find 'USB debugging', toggle it on, and confirm the prompt.

• Tap Build number 7 times to unlock Developer options.
• Verify your lock screen credentials when prompted.
• Turn on the USB debugging toggle under Settings > System > Developer options.

Launching scrcpy via Command Prompt and Controlling the Phone

07:14

Connect the Android phone to the PC via USB cable. In Windows, copy the folder path C:\scrcpy. Launch Command Prompt (cmd) as Administrator, change directory by typing 'cd C:\scrcpy', and press Enter. Then type 'scrcpy' and press Enter. A responsive window will open displaying the Android phone screen, which can be resized, minimized, or used to interact with apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook using the mouse.

• Run Command Prompt as Administrator.
• Navigate to the tool directory using cd C:\scrcpy.
• Ensure the phone is connected via USB before running scrcpy.
• The mirrored window allows full mouse and keyboard interaction.

cd C:\scrcpy
scrcpy