Frequently asked questions

Yes. Mouse, keyboard and clipboard — text, images and files up to 10 MB, including drag-and-drop — across two computers are free forever, no account needed. A one-time Pro purchase lifts the transfer limit to any size and adds the web bridge and larger machine chains.

Yes — Mac to Windows, and any other pairing too. macOS, Windows and Linux machines mix freely in any combination, same-OS or across OSes. Copy/paste muscle memory is preserved: Cmd+C on a Mac keyboard arrives as Ctrl+C on Windows and Linux, and the reverse, when one of the machines is a Mac.

Yes. Same-OS setups are fully supported and are in fact the most common: two Windows PCs, a Mac and a MacBook, or two Linux machines all work exactly like a mixed Mac–Windows pair. EasySwitch links any two computers on the same network — the operating systems can match or differ, it makes no difference. There is no cross-platform requirement.

EasySwitch is not remote desktop and never mirrors a desktop. Extend doesn't capture the screen you're using — it creates a brand-new, empty display and streams only that, only while you have it switched on, encrypted, over your own network. Leave Extend off and nothing but input, clipboard and your files ever moves.

No. Everything runs over your own local network (Wi-Fi or Ethernet). A paid license is activated online once; after that the app works forever with the internet unplugged. The free tier needs no activation at all.

Install EasySwitch on both, put them on the same network, and each appears in the other's device list automatically. Click Connect; the first time, a short fingerprint shows on both screens — confirm they match and click Trust. There is no PIN for machine-to-machine pairing; the 6-digit PIN is only for the phone/browser web bridge.

Every connection is end-to-end encrypted with the Noise protocol on every tier, including free. Encryption is never a paid feature — a license unlocks capabilities, never security.

No hardware, no cables, no button to press. The cursor crosses screen edges like a multi-monitor setup (or you jump with Ctrl+Alt+1–5), and the clipboard and files travel with you — something no KVM cable can do.

Double-tap the Ctrl key. Control returns to your local machine immediately, even if the network stalls. Moving that machine's own mouse also reclaims it.

Press Ctrl+Alt+1 to return control to the computer you're sitting at, and Ctrl+Alt+2 through 5 to jump to your other machines by position. Ctrl+Alt+L locks input to the current screen.

Yes. Text clipboard sync is free both ways. Images and files sync too — copy on one machine and paste on another. On the free tier transfers are capped at 10 MB; Pro removes the cap.

By design. Copying files only announces a list of names and sizes; the bytes move only when you actually paste on the other machine. Nothing transfers if you never paste — it saves bandwidth and keeps files you didn't ask for off the other computer.

Yes. Pick up a file, drag it across the shared screen edge, and drop it into Finder, Explorer or an app on the other machine. If there's no drop target it lands in the received-files folder. Free up to 10 MB; unlimited with Pro.

Turn on the web bridge in Settings (a Pro feature). It shows a URL, a 6-digit PIN and a QR code. On your phone's browser, scan the QR or open the URL, enter the PIN, and you can upload files to and download files from that machine, and exchange text — with nothing to install on the phone.

The web bridge is gated by a fresh 6-digit PIN and only exposes the received-files folder and the last text you sent — not your whole disk. Five wrong PINs from one device locks it out briefly. It's a trusted-LAN convenience over local HTTP; the encrypted input and clipboard paths are unaffected.

Yes. While a machine is linked to another, EasySwitch holds a sleep and idle inhibitor so it won't drop off mid-session. It's on by default and can be turned off in Settings.

The Pro and Business licenses are a one-time purchase — pay once, own it, every future update included, no renewal. Only the planned internet-relay remote access would ever be a subscription; it isn't shipped yet.

Two. Pro covers up to 5 computers on one key and Business up to 25. You can start free and upgrade later just by pasting a key — nothing to reinstall.

Free for two computers, forever. Pro is a one-time $49 (5 computers) and Business is a one-time $179 (25 computers). Both include second monitors. No subscription.

No. Adding a key makes exactly one online call to activate the device, which returns a signed receipt. Every launch after that verifies the key and receipt offline. There's no account in the app, no telemetry, no periodic check-in, and no hardware fingerprinting.

Sign in to your account on the website and open the device list for your license: remove the old computer to free its seat, then paste the key on the new one. A seat is taken when you activate a key on a machine.

Yes. Text-producing keys travel as the actual characters your layout produces, so AZERTY, QWERTZ and non-Latin layouts type correctly on macOS and Windows targets, while shortcuts stay positional. Linux targets type positional keys.

By default it checks once at startup and updates itself quietly. You can turn auto-update off in the About card, and check or apply updates manually whenever you like.

Into a received-files folder — by default a folder named EasySwitch inside your Downloads. You can point it anywhere in Settings.

Almost always the network. Make sure both machines are on the same Wi-Fi or LAN, allow EasySwitch through the firewall (Windows) and grant the Local Network permission (macOS). Phone hotspots often isolate devices from each other and block discovery entirely. The Troubleshooting guide walks through each case.

That's Windows SmartScreen flagging a newly published app until it builds reputation, and it only appears for the direct download. The download is the official build from easyswitch.realbrain.cc; choose More info, then Run anyway. Or install EasySwitch KVM from the Microsoft Store — Store installs are Store-signed and never show the prompt.