Set up & use Phone Hub on your Chromebook

What you need

Connect your phone to your Chromebook

Important: Make sure that Bluetooth is turned on first. At the bottom right of your screen, select the time and turn on Bluetooth.

Use Phone Hub features

Turn Phone Hub features on or off

Stream apps on your Chromebook

Important: To use Phone Hub to stream apps, you'll need:

• A Pixel 4A or later that runs Android version 13 or later.
• Nothing Phone (1)
• Nothing Phone (2)
• Select Xiaomi devices with Android version 13 or later:
  • 12T
  • 12T Pro
  • 13
  • 13 Pro

Select devices that run on Android 13 or later support app streaming. Once connected, Phone Hub will inform you when:

• An app stream is terminated due to inactivity
• An app stream is terminated because your phone is too far away from your Chromebook
• An app stream is terminated due to a connection error
• An app window will terminate an ongoing activity when you try to close a window

To stream apps, you'll need to meet certain requirements:

• Both devices must share the same Wi-Fi network.
• Some public/private Wi-Fi networks may not be supported.
• Your phone and Chromebook must be close to each other.

You can also use Instant Tethering to put both devices on the same local area network if your current network environment doesn't support app streaming.

This unblocks users who aren't able to get on the same network and enables app streaming. Learn more about Instant Tethering.

Important: Before you can stream apps, you need to grant the necessary permissions on your connected Android phone.

1. On your Chromebook, at the bottom right, next to the time, select the Phone.
2. Select Connected devices.
3. Under "Connected devices," select your phone.
4. Under "Enabled," next to "Recent photos, notifications and messaging apps," select Setup.
5. Follow the on-screen instructions.
6. Select Done.
7. On your phone, allow access to:
   • Notifications
   • Photos and Media
   • Apps
8. After the set up is done, on your Chromebook, under "Connected devices," turn on Notifications and Apps.

Stream apps easily

Important: Due to Digital Rights Management (DRM) policies of some entertainment apps, your streaming experience on Chromebook may not behave as expected.

There are 3 ways you can launch an app stream:

• Through a messaging app notifications:
  1. Phone Hub shows a loading indication that your app will open.
  2. The app's streaming window opens.
  3. The app icon appears next to the Phone Hub icon.
• Through the Recent apps list in Phone Hub:
  1. On your Android device, open an app you want to stream. Once the app is opened, it's added to "Recent apps" in Phone Hub.
  2. On your Chromebook, select Recent Apps.
  3. Select the app you want to stream.
• Through "All Apps," which you can access through the Recent Apps list in Phone Hub:
  1. On your Android device, open an app you want to stream. Once the app is opened, it's added to "All Apps" in Phone Hub.
  2. On your Chromebook, select Recent Apps All Apps.
  3. Select the app you want to stream.

Tips:

• Use your Chromebook's track pad to zoom on an app in the same way you would on the phone's touchscreen.
• If your Chromebook has touch support, you can use the touch screen to interact with the streamed app.

End a stream easily with your phone

1. On your phone, swipe down to open your Notifications.
   • You'll find the notification "Streaming with your Chromebook."
2. To end a stream, tap End stream.

Tips:

• You can stop the stream on your Chromebook if you close the streaming window.
• When a streamed app is idle, it automatically stops the stream on your Chromebook.

Manage your Chromebook profile on your phone

1. On your phone, open Settings.
2. Tap Connected devices.
3. Under "Connected devices," next to "Chromebook," tap Settings.
4. Choose your profile.
5. Allow access to:
   • Notifications
   • Apps
   • Photos and media
   • Wi-Fi Sync

How lock-on-sleep setting works

The lock-on-sleep setting needs to be verified before you can open each stream. If you get an error that the app can't open, turn on "Show lock screen when waking from sleep" and try the steps again.

You've already set up a lock screen on your phone, but not on the device that you're streaming to If you already set up a lock screen on the device that you're streaming to, but not on your phone If both your phone and your Chromebook don't have a lock-on-sleep setting, you'll get an error that says that your stream can't start. To enable the stream, set up a lock screen on either your phone or Chromebook.

Troubleshoot Phone Hub features

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