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Gaming#

Play games on a gaming PC or Mac host with low latency and smooth motion. Games require a fast encoder, a frame rate that matches your screen, and responsive input: a game controller, or a mouse cursor that does not stop at the edge of the window.

For example:

  • A gamer plays on their gaming PC at home from a MacBook, with a controller or a locked mouse cursor.
  • From the couch, the same gamer plays from an iPad or Android tablet with a Bluetooth controller, or from a phone with the on-screen controller.

Applies to#

  • Jump Desktop on Windows, macOS, iPhone, iPad, and Android Beta. For the steps on each platform, see Windows or Mac, iPhone or iPad, and Android.
  • Fluid connections to a Windows, Mac, or Linux Alpha host with Jump Desktop Connect.
  • On a Linux Alpha host, skip the virtual display and cursor lock steps: virtual displays work only in the session Connect starts when no one is signed in, and cursor lock does not work with Linux hosts.
  • Game controllers require a host running Windows 11 or later, or macOS 15 or later, with Jump Desktop Connect 10.15.23 or later, or a Linux Alpha host with Jump Desktop Connect. Game controllers are available on all plans.

Set up the network#

Use Ethernet on both the host and the device you connect from. If Ethernet is not available, use the 5 GHz Wi-Fi band. See Set up the network.

Set up the host#

  1. Hardware encoding: keep the GPU driver on the host up to date. See Hardware encoding requirements.
  2. Game controllers: turn on USB redirection for the host. USB redirection is off by default, and controllers require it. See Turn on USB redirection. On hosts with a Connect Configuration, a team administrator must also keep Allow Game Controllers turned on.

Choose session settings#

During a Fluid session, open the Remote menu and choose:

Setting Choose
Color Good
Codec Hardware, or Fluid 2.0 if Hardware is not available
Framerate Auto
Maximum Bandwidth Auto

To choose these settings on iPhone, iPad, and Android Beta, tap the Settings button in the session toolbar, then tap Remote. Jump Desktop saves your choices for that host.

Play from Windows or Mac#

After you configure the network and the host, do the following in Jump Desktop for Windows or Mac during a Fluid session:

  1. Displays: choose Display > Presets > Single Virtual Display, then turn off Use Retina Resolution in the Display menu. See Use virtual displays on Windows and Mac.
  2. Session settings: in the Remote menu, choose the recommended settings.
  3. Lock the mouse cursor: press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+L (Windows) or Ctrl+Cmd+Esc (macOS) so that mouse movement is sent to the game. To unlock the cursor, hold Esc. See Lock the mouse cursor.
  4. Controller: connect the controller to your computer over USB or Bluetooth, choose Remote > Devices, select the controller, and then click I Understand in the firmware update warning. With the Jump Desktop for Teams Enterprise plan, a Steam Controller retains its touchpads, gyro, and haptics; see Steam Controller.
  5. System shortcuts: to send Alt+Tab, the Windows key, or Cmd+Tab to the game, see Send system shortcuts to the host.
  6. Lower latency on a Mac: in Jump Desktop settings, under General, select Disable VSync. With VSync disabled, the screen may show tearing.

Play from iPhone or iPad#

After you configure the network and the host, do the following in Jump Desktop on iPhone or iPad during a Fluid session:

  1. Displays: choose Single Virtual Display when you first connect. To turn off Retina, tap the Settings button in the session toolbar, then tap Display > Resolution > Match iPhone or Match iPad instead of Match iPhone with Retina (Recommended) or Match iPad with Retina (Recommended). See Use virtual displays on iPhone, iPad, and Android.
  2. Session settings: tap the Settings button in the session toolbar, then Remote, and choose the recommended settings.
  3. Controller: connect the controller to your iPhone or iPad over USB or Bluetooth, then tap the Settings button, Devices, and the controller. Without a physical controller, tap Devices > On-Screen Controller, and move its controls to where your thumbs rest. See Use game controllers.
  4. Lock the mouse cursor (iPad): with a mouse or trackpad connected, tap the Settings button, then Mouse > Lock Mouse Pointer, or press Shift+Cmd+Option+P on a connected keyboard. To unlock the cursor, hold Esc. iPhone does not support a locked cursor. See Lock the mouse cursor.
  5. Keyboard: a connected keyboard sends shortcuts, arrow keys, and Esc to the host. See Hardware keyboards on iPhone and iPad.

Play from Android#

After you configure the network and the host, do the following in Jump Desktop on Android during a Fluid session:

  1. Displays: choose Single Virtual Display when you first connect. Android has no Retina setting; Match Phone and Match Tablet use the full pixel resolution of your screen. For a lower resolution, tap the computer button (Display) in the session toolbar, then Resolution > Custom Resolution. See Use virtual displays on iPhone, iPad, and Android.
  2. Session settings: tap the Settings button in the session toolbar, then Remote, and choose the recommended settings.
  3. Controller: connect the controller to your Android device over USB or Bluetooth. When Jump Desktop asks Game controller connected, tap Redirect. To redirect controllers without a prompt, turn on Automatically Connect Gamepads under Gaming in Jump Desktop Settings. Without a physical controller, tap the Settings button, then Devices > On-Screen Controller. See Use game controllers.
  4. Keyboard: tap the floating keyboard button, then type on the connected keyboard. Esc, Tab, arrow keys, F1 to F12, and Ctrl and Alt shortcuts are sent to the host. See Hardware keyboards on Android.

Jump Desktop on Android cannot lock the mouse cursor.

Check that it worked#

Turn on connection statistics: on Windows and macOS, choose Help > Show Fluid Connection Stats; on iPhone, iPad, and Android, tap the Settings button, then Show Connection Stats.

  • Encoder shows Hardware and the GPU vendor, such as Hardware NVIDIA. It shows Fluid 2.0 if you chose Fluid 2.0 or the hardware encoder failed.
  • Frames stays close to Max Frames while the game moves. If Frames drops, see Slow or laggy sessions.
  • A check mark appears next to the controller or On-Screen Controller in Devices, and the game responds to it.

Advanced settings#

Change these settings only when they suit your configuration.

  • Maximum Bandwidth above 20 mbps: on the Jump Desktop for Teams Enterprise plan, you can test a Maximum Bandwidth value above 20 mbps.

    Warning

    A higher limit increases network load and can degrade performance.