Fix Wi-Fi, Pairing & Typing Problems

Phone cannot connect

Keep the Mac awake and CmdPalm running. Open its menu to get the current address and pairing code.
Confirm both devices can reach each other on the local network. Guest, office and hotel Wi-Fi may isolate devices even under the same Wi-Fi name.
If an Android phone cannot resolve a .local link, choose QR link uses → IP Address under the Mac’s QR code, then scan again.
Check that the Mac’s firewall allows incoming connections for CmdPalm.
Several phones and tablets on the same Wi-Fi can connect at once. If only one device connects, update CmdPalm on the Mac to the latest version.
If you changed the port or address, use the new link. CmdPalm uses port 8790 by default; if that port is busy, it picks another one and says so in the menu. Check whether a VPN changes which network either device can reach.

Open CmdPalm Settings → Advanced to check server status. Restart Server briefly disconnects all devices and lets them reconnect.

The Mac is asleep or unavailable

CmdPalm shows a screen explaining that it cannot reach the Mac, with checks and Try again, when the Mac is asleep, off or on another network. A connection lost for a while brings up the same screen. It reconnects automatically when the Mac becomes reachable.

Over the encrypted connection, the home-screen app keeps a cached copy of its interface and an offline page after it has loaded successfully. It can show help when the Mac is unavailable, but controlling the Mac still needs a live connection. Open CmdPalm once while the Mac is reachable so the phone can save that copy.

PIN or pairing does not work

Use the current PIN shown on the Mac, and leave its menu or Phone Setup open while entering it. The PIN changes every 10 minutes and after pairing, and stops working a few minutes after it leaves the screen. New QR code and PIN makes a fresh one.

After repeated wrong PINs, wait for the phone’s cooldown instead of retrying. The current QR code remains another pairing method. The global wrong-PIN limit does not block QR pairing or Mac-side approval; approval requests have their own cooldowns. If you tapped Ask the Mac to approve instead, click Allow in the prompt on the Mac. Allow devices to ask to pair must be on in Phone Setup.

For a device that no longer reconnects, check that it has not been removed from Mac Settings → Devices, then pair again.

Connected but nothing moves or types

Turn on Allow control in the Mac’s CmdPalm menu.
Check System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility → CmdPalm.
Click the intended Mac app or text field to give it focus.
Tap Release all keys and buttons on the phone if an input seems held down.

If Accessibility is already enabled but does not work after an update, remove CmdPalm from that macOS list and add the installed copy again. CmdPalm’s General settings include this recovery hint.

Scrolling or dragging feels wrong

Use Phone Settings → Trackpad for pointer speed and click behavior, and Scrolling & zoom for speed, direction and momentum. Change one option at a time.

Enable Show advanced settings to inspect Touch and hold, Tap, then drag and Drag lock. If a drag stays held, tap to end drag lock or use Release all keys and buttons. The trackpad reference explains each option.

Zoom, rotation or three-finger swipes behave differently

Smooth pinch zoom and rotation need support in the focused Mac app. To use the older zoom shortcuts, enable Show advanced settings and choose Scrolling & zoom → Pinching → Presses ⌘+ and ⌘−. Disable Rotate if you do not want two-finger turns to rotate content.

If right-click feels slower, check Smart zoom. It delays two-finger right-clicks to distinguish a second tap. If three-finger swipes stopped working, turn off Trackpad → Three-finger drag in advanced settings, or use four-finger gestures instead.

Text is wrong in a game or remote desktop

CmdPalm follows the Mac’s current keyboard input layout and updates the phone’s keys as soon as you switch it. Make sure the Mac has the layout you expect.

For apps that ignore ordinary typed characters, enable Show advanced settings on the phone and choose Keyboard & typing → Send text as → Key presses. This applies to text sent with the send button, so turn Live off in the typing panel. For long text in an app that supports paste, try Paste. Secure Input can block text in protected fields.

Test a short phrase in an ordinary local text field first. If that works, the target app may expect a different input method. See Keyboard & typing.

Unexpected capitals or a key looks held

The Mac keyboard’s Caps Lock key and custom keys that send Caps Lock light up green while it is on, including when it was enabled on the Mac itself. Tap Caps Lock to switch it off. Text sent with Send text as → Key presses preserves the case you wrote even while Caps Lock is on; individual Mac keys still follow Caps Lock.

Keys release their pressed appearance when you lock the phone or switch apps. If an input still seems held, use Release all keys and buttons and check that the Mac is running 0.6.0 or later.

Changes are not saved

If the Mac cannot save phone settings, for example because its disk is full, CmdPalm shows an error on the phone. The phone keeps its local settings and retries while connected. Free space or resolve the reported storage problem before relying on the Mac’s copy or clearing the phone’s browser data.

If a Deck save is refused, the editor keeps your draft and shows a message. Review the current Deck and retry when the connection or storage problem is resolved. If another device deleted the original page, the editor lets you add the button to the current page as a new button. If the Mac cannot read a saved deck, including one from a newer version, it preserves that file separately instead of overwriting it. Keep it if you need to recover the setup, and check Advanced → Show Log for the loading error before importing or resetting a deck.

A Deck link or command is refused

In Mac Settings → Deck → Shell Commands, Allow buttons to run shell commands also controls links to files, terminals and file servers, such as file:, ssh: and smb:. Turning it off, pausing control, stopping the server or quitting CmdPalm stops commands and the background jobs they started. Enable it only for devices and commands you trust; ordinary web links and other Deck actions do not need it.

If a button cannot be read after updating the Mac app, reload the phone’s page and try again. Use the exact name for Run Shortcut, including a leading hyphen if its name has one. A failed Shortcut stops the rest of its sequence, and runs taking more than 60 seconds time out.

Drag CmdPalm from the disk image into Applications, open that installed copy, then turn on General → Open at login again. A copy opened from the disk image or a temporary location will not be available there after a restart.

Certificate warning or Not encrypted

Not encrypted means you opened the HTTP link. After installing and trusting the certificate, open the separate Encrypted link in Mac Settings → Phone Setup.

If HTTPS shows a warning, check:

The certificate came from the same Mac you are connecting to.
Its SHA-256 fingerprint matches the one shown in that Mac’s CmdPalm settings.
On iPhone or iPad, Certificate Trust Settings is enabled as well as the profile being installed.
You are using the current encrypted address shown by CmdPalm. The built-in authority covers .local, localhost and supported local IPv4 addresses. DNS names outside those domains, including .home.arpa and .internal, and IPv6 need a proxy with its own certificate.

If these checks do not explain the warning, stop and ask for help before trusting a different certificate. Follow the HTTPS setup guide for installation and removal.

Microphone or voice typing is unavailable

Confirm Encrypted in the phone’s CmdPalm Settings.
Enable Mac Settings → General → Allow dictation from devices.
Allow Speech Recognition on the Mac and microphone access in the phone’s browser.
Check that on-device speech recognition is available on the Mac for your phone’s language. Enabling Dictation in macOS System Settings → Keyboard can download missing support.

Open Keyboard → Type or Trackpad’s typing panel and try Dictate again. For a complete walkthrough, see Voice typing.

If dictation says The microphone stopped., a call, Siri or another app may have interrupted access. Finish the interruption, return to the typing panel and tap Dictate again. CmdPalm stops the session rather than continuing to show that it is listening.

An app, media key or slider does not respond

In Apps, tap Refresh. For an app outside standard folders, add its folder under CmdPalm Settings → General → Add Folder…. Reconnect an external drive if the app lives there.

Media playback follows macOS’s current Now Playing app. Start playback in the intended app on the Mac first. Volume, display brightness and keyboard backlight depend on hardware support; some outputs require their own controls.

Get more help

Check CmdPalm Settings → General → Updates → Check Now, then report a problem on GitHub if it remains.

Include your CmdPalm and macOS versions, phone model, browser, the screen or setting involved, and steps to reproduce. Advanced → Show Log shows the log file (~/Library/Logs/CmdPalm/CmdPalm.log) in Finder; review any attachment before sharing it. Omit pairing QR codes, PINs and other access details.

For a suspected vulnerability, use private security reporting.