Help & Support
From your first pairing to connection and transfer issues, here is the shortest path to a fix.
App stores
Both apps are now available: the macOS version on the Mac App Store and the HarmonyOS version on HUAWEI AppGallery. Use the official entries below — the two apps are meant to be used together.
The HarmonyOS app installs on the phoneScan this with the phone camera to open AppGallery. Opening the store page on a computer cannot install it.
Your first wireless connection
- Put your phone and Mac on the same trusted Wi‑Fi.
- Open Lynsi on the Mac and confirm the receiver is running.
- On the phone, tap “Scan to connect” and scan the QR code on the Mac. Or choose “Enter pairing code” and enter the address and pairing code shown on the Mac.
- Once connected, both sides show the other device's name and the current link. To mirror, tap “Mirroring” under “Live video” on the phone's home screen, then allow screen recording in the system prompt.
Control the phone from your Mac
Update both Lynsi apps to 3.1.1. Phone control requires an Apple Silicon Mac and a HarmonyOS phone connected over the local network. Keep the phone unlocked; control is unavailable over a USB-only connection.
- Follow the wireless connection steps above to pair and start mirroring, until the phone's picture appears on the Mac.
- On the phone, turn on “Wireless debugging” in Settings → System → Developer options and note the port shown there. If Developer options is missing, on HarmonyOS 5 or later search Settings for “About,” open the device's About page, and quickly tap the software version number seven times. Follow the system prompts to enable it and restart. After restarting, reconnect Lynsi, resume mirroring and check the current port. See Huawei's official instructions in Chinese; system labels may vary.
- In the Lynsi app on the Mac, open Settings → Control Phone and enter the phone's current wireless debugging port. You do not need to enter an IP address. This port is not the Lynsi pairing code.
- Return to the mirrored picture on the Mac and click “Control Phone.” On first connection, check the trust prompt on the phone and choose “Always trust” for this Mac. Wait until control is ready.
Click, hold or drag on the picture, or use a two-finger trackpad scroll or mouse wheel to scroll. Click the control icon to open its panel for Back, Home and “Stop control.” Right-click goes back in touch mode; with “Keyboard & mouse sharing (pointer)” on, it is the phone's right mouse button. If the panel says “Runs on release,” release the mouse and wait for the phone to respond.
Recommended: Compose on This Mac
Turn on “Compose on This Mac” in the control panel, click a text field in the phone's picture, then type and choose candidates with your Mac's input method. After composing, press Return to insert the whole text at the phone's cursor. This needs no Bluetooth keyboard pairing, and candidates appear on the Mac. Sending text replaces the phone clipboard without restoring its previous content; inserting text does not send a chat message for you.
Optional: Type with the phone's input method
Turn on Bluetooth on both devices and keep the phone beside the Mac. In Lynsi's Settings → Control Phone, turn on “Enable keyboard input,” click “Start Setup,” and follow the prompts to check and accept the matching pairing codes on both devices. Wait until keyboard input is ready. If asked to connect by hand, connect the matching Mac or Lynsi Keyboard in the phone's paired Bluetooth devices. Setup is usually needed only once; follow Lynsi's progress prompts while it runs.
Once ready, turn off “Compose on This Mac,” click a phone text field and type directly with the phone's input method. Space or a digit selects a candidate; tapping Shift switches Chinese and English. If candidates are missing from the picture, turn off “Privacy protection” in the phone's casting notification, once per mirroring session. To keep that protection on, use “Compose on This Mac” instead.
Once you have successfully controlled a phone, control starts automatically with its future mirrors by default. You can turn off “Turn on control when mirroring starts” in Lynsi's settings. Stopping control by hand keeps it off for the rest of that mirror. The free tier includes 10 minutes a day shared between mirroring and video playback; Pro removes the time limit.
USB connection
With both apps at 2.1.0 or later, you can transfer files by cable without Wi-Fi, USB debugging or extra drivers. A device supporting accessory access with HarmonyOS API 14 or later is required.
- Open Lynsi on the Mac, keep the receiver running, and enable USB direct connection in Settings.
- Connect a data-capable USB cable, unlock the phone, and open Lynsi.
- On first use, tap the USB connection button, allow accessory access if requested, and enter the pairing code shown on the Mac.
- Paired devices can try to reconnect automatically. Reconnecting the cable may require accessory permission again.
If USB is busy, end debugging in DevEco Studio or the program holding the device. To continue debugging, turn off USB direct connection in Lynsi on the Mac. Lynsi does not terminate other programs. Interrupted transfers must be sent again; resumable transfer is not supported.
Frequently asked questions
Which languages does Lynsi support?
Both the HarmonyOS and macOS clients support Simplified Chinese and English. They follow the system language by default; to use a different language just for Lynsi, switch it in the app's language settings.
Why can't a wireless connection find my Mac?
Make sure both devices are on the same local network, the Mac receiver is running, and local network access is allowed. VPNs, proxies, and guest networks can block device discovery; if it still fails, just scan the QR code again.
Why didn't mirroring start immediately?
The Mac can only request mirroring, not authorize it for you. Confirm the system screen‑recording prompt on the phone. Some banking apps, DRM video, and protected windows will hide content by system rules.
Mirroring works, but Control Phone is unavailable or will not connect. What should I check?
Make sure both apps are at 3.0.0 or later, the Mac has Apple Silicon, and the phone is connected over the local network and actively mirroring. Keep the phone unlocked with wireless debugging on, and enter its current debugging port in Lynsi's Mac settings. If no trust prompt appears, turn wireless debugging off and on, check and update the port, then retry. Do not use the Lynsi pairing code as the debugging port.
Clicks work, but typing does nothing. Why?
Click a phone text field first. To use the Mac's input method, turn on “Compose on This Mac” in the control panel. To use the phone's input method, complete “Enable keyboard input” setup and turn off “Compose on This Mac.” If the Bluetooth keyboard disconnects, reconnect the Mac or Lynsi Keyboard in the phone's paired devices.
I can type Chinese, but cannot see the phone's candidates. What can I do?
Turn off “Privacy protection” in the phone's casting notification to include its candidates in the mirrored picture. Repeat this for each mirroring session. Or turn on “Compose on This Mac” to show candidates on the Mac without changing the phone's privacy protection.
How do I stop control? Does switching apps stop it?
Click “Stop control” in the Mac control panel, or stop mirroring. Locking the phone stops control; unlock it and enable control again. Switching to another Mac app keeps the control connection open, so you can return to Lynsi and carry on. After the first successful control session, you can adjust automatic control in Settings → Control Phone.
Does phone control require Pro?
There is no separate Pro requirement for control. It works while mirroring, and the free tier includes 10 minutes a day shared between mirroring and video playback. Pro removes that time limit.
Will it still receive after I close the Mac window?
Yes. The Mac receiver keeps running in the menu bar and saves incoming files to “Downloads/Handoff.” You can reopen the main window from the menu bar, or explicitly choose “Stop receiving.”
Why isn't the clipboard syncing automatically?
Check the clipboard switches on both ends and the HarmonyOS clipboard permission. Even with auto‑sync off, the phone can still tap “Send clipboard to Mac” to push the current text.
Will an interrupted transfer leave a corrupt file?
No half file is ever shown as complete. The current version discards incomplete staged files; resumable transfer is not yet available, so a reconnect requires sending again.
How do I revoke trust for a device?
These actions do different things. “Disconnect phone” on the Mac only ends the current session; the pairing stays valid and connecting again from the phone restores it, so it does not revoke trust. To revoke one phone, click “Unpair” next to it under “Paired devices” in the Mac window: its credential is deleted and it is disconnected at once, and it must scan again to reconnect. Other phones are unaffected, but the current pairing QR code is replaced. Use this for a lost phone too. “Unpair all phones…” deletes every phone's credential, so each phone must scan again. On the phone, “Unpair” deletes the pairing stored on the phone; the Mac still lists that phone under “Paired devices” until you unpair it there.
What data can I sync between a HarmonyOS phone and a Mac?
Files, photos and clipboard can move between the two devices, and you can mirror the phone screen to the Mac. This is not a full-phone backup. Contacts, SMS, calendars and notifications are not synced. See Mac 与鸿蒙手机怎么同步数据 for the Chinese guide.
Can it sync contacts, SMS or calendars?
No. Lynsi does not read contacts, SMS, call history or calendars, and is not going to.
3.1.1: Diagnostics & Help
For mirroring, control or typing issues, generate a diagnostic session in the Mac app's Settings → Diagnostics. Confirm each check from what you actually observe, then preview the report, copy a summary or save a file. Mac records can be collected even without a phone connection. The phone's Settings → Diagnostics & Help lets you copy a local summary and test taps and typing.
Reports are not uploaded automatically and contain no typed text or screen images. Test text stays out of reports. You decide whether to send a saved report through your existing support channel. For intermittent issues, keep the diagnostic report before reconnecting or restarting.
Contact & feedback
For problems or suggestions, email [email protected]. To help us pin it down, please include your OS version, device model, whether you used Wi‑Fi or USB, what you did just before the problem, and status information that contains no private content. You may attach a diagnostic summary or file you have previewed. Please do not send clipboard text, private files, or the pairing QR code.