KDEConnect – Synchronize your SmartPhone with KDE

• December 8, 2015
• Linux, PC
• One comment

One thing I’ve loved so much in KDE is the KDEConnect. A dope feature for me a lazy man 🙂

What is KDEConnect?

KDE Connect is a project that aims to communicate all your devices. For example, with KDE Connect you can receive your phone notifications on your computer, or just use your phone as a remote control for your desktop. To achieve this, KDE Connect implements a secure communication protocol over the network, and allows any developer to create plugins on top of it. Currently there are KDE Connect clients on KDE, Android and Blackberry, and soon we will support iPhone as well.

How Does It Work?

I’m surprised seeing the dope features KDEConnect has, working more like IoT. Here are features of KDEConnect:

• Clipboard: Connecting your Linux and SmartPhone makes it able for both device to share same clipboard, means I copy something in my Linux, it’s also copied in my SmartPhone. Vice versa
• File Sharing: No need for bluetooth or USB Cable this time, everything has gone wireless! 🙂 . Share any type of file over both devices.
  
• SmartPhone Notifications: The smartphone notifications are shown on your Linux, this saves me of standing up from my seat or getting distracted from what I’m doing for some junk SMS sent from my service providers. Currently accepts phone notifications in my 4.2.1, both calls, battery and SMS are shown, the sweet part is when call arrives; any playing media pauses automatically and resumes when call ends ^_^.  Below is an example
  
• Remote Control: From SmartPhone you can control your Linux’s touchpad (includes keyboard input but only touchpad works on mine)
• Media Control: Media player controls are also controlled via SmartPhone
  

Short video on how it works is below

Installing KDEConnect
KDEConnect is in most distribution repos as kdeconnect. Install using:

$ sudo apt-get install kdeconnect

YUM Systems

$ sudo yum install kdeconnect

Download for your Android on PlayStore

Configuring KDEConnect
Both devices must be on same network (a WiFi obviously). Open KDEConnect on your SmartPhone, list of available systems with KDEConnect will be listed then touch to pair and connect. 🙂
If you are not see systems, make sure this port range is open for communication 1714 – 1764 both UDP and TCP.

Once devices are paired, in your Linux move to System Settings->Hardware->KDE Connect to configure options for your device synchronization.

Enjoy the rest synchronization with your phone and Linux 🙂

• kde
• kdeconnect
• Linux

James John

Software Engineer

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