How to set up KDE Connect on Linux (Android and iPhone)

KDE Connect links your Android phone or iPhone to a Linux PC over your local Wi-Fi. You install the desktop app from your distro's repository and the phone app from its app store, pair the two, and open ports 1716–1764 in your firewall if one is running. After that you get notifications on your desktop, a shared clipboard, file transfers in both directions, and your phone as a remote control. This guide covers installing it on every major distro, pairing your phone, fixing the "device not found" problem, and what works on an iPhone.

What you need

A Linux PC with any desktop. KDE Plasma has the deepest integration, but KDE Connect also runs on GNOME, Cinnamon, Xfce and others.
An Android phone or an iPhone/iPad. The official iOS app requires iOS 14 or later, according to the KDE Connect iOS project.
Both devices on the same local network. KDE Connect finds devices with UDP broadcasts, so guest Wi-Fi networks or routers with "client isolation" turned on will block it.
Admin rights (sudo) to install packages and change the firewall.

Step 1: Install KDE Connect on your Linux distro

If you use KDE Plasma, check before installing: many Plasma distros, including Kubuntu, ship KDE Connect by default. Look for "KDE Connect" in System Settings.

Otherwise, install it from your distribution's own repository. The official README notes the package goes by several names (kdeconnect, kdeconnect-kde, kde-connect), so here are the common ones:

Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Debian and Linux Mint: sudo apt install kdeconnect
Fedora: sudo dnf install kde-connect
Arch Linux and Arch-based distros: sudo pacman -S kdeconnect
openSUSE Tumbleweed and Leap: sudo zypper install kdeconnect-kde

If the name doesn't match on your distro, search your package manager for "kdeconnect". On GNOME, Fedora's package pulls in a number of KDE libraries; if you would rather avoid that, use GSConnect (Step 2) instead.

Step 2 (GNOME only): Use GSConnect instead

On the GNOME desktop, the better choice is usually GSConnect, a GNOME Shell extension that speaks the same KDE Connect protocol, so it pairs with the same phone apps. It adds a phone menu to the top bar and "Send to mobile device" to the Files app.

Install it from the GNOME Extensions website, through the Extension Manager app, or from your repository. On Ubuntu the package is gnome-shell-extension-gsconnect (sudo apt install gnome-shell-extension-gsconnect), then log out and back in.

Don't run both: the GSConnect documentation says it will not work with the KDE Connect desktop app installed, because both use the same network ports. Note also that GSConnect is now maintained by volunteers without dedicated developers, so releases can trail new GNOME versions.

Step 3: Install the app on your phone

Android: install "KDE Connect" from Google Play or F-Droid. Both are official KDE builds.
iPhone and iPad: install "KDE Connect" from the App Store. It is free.

On Android, the app asks for several permissions over time (notifications, files, SMS, contacts). You only need to grant the ones for the features you want; you can skip the rest.

Step 4: Open the firewall ports

KDE Connect needs TCP and UDP ports 1716 to 1764 open on the PC. If pairing works straight away, your firewall already allows it and you can skip this step. If your phone and computer can't see each other, this is the most common cause.

On Ubuntu, Linux Mint and other distros using ufw, run:

sudo ufw allow 1716:1764/tcp
sudo ufw allow 1716:1764/udp

On Fedora, openSUSE and other distros using firewalld, there is a ready-made service. Replace public with your active zone if it differs (check it with firewall-cmd --get-active-zones):

sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --zone=public --add-service=kdeconnect
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

These commands come from the GSConnect firewall guide, and the ports are the same for KDE Connect and GSConnect.

Step 5: Pair your phone with your PC

Open KDE Connect on the phone. Your computer should appear under "Available devices" within a few seconds. Tap it and choose "Request pairing".

On the PC, a notification asks you to accept. Click Accept. On Plasma you can also do this from System Settings → KDE Connect, and on GNOME from the GSConnect preferences.

Pairing is a one-time step. The connection is encrypted with TLS, and only devices you have accepted can exchange data. From then on, the two devices reconnect whenever they are on the same network.

Step 6: Turn on the features you want

Each feature is a plugin you can switch on or off for each paired device, on both the phone and the PC. The KDE Connect README lists the main ones:

Notification sync: phone notifications appear on the desktop, and on Android you can reply to messaging apps from the PC.
Shared clipboard: copy on one device, paste on the other.
File and link sharing: send files or URLs from the phone's share menu, or right-click a file on the PC (Dolphin, or Nautilus with GSConnect) and send it to the phone.
Browse the phone's files from your file manager (Android).
SMS: read and send text messages from the PC (Android).
Media control: pause, skip and change the volume of whatever plays on the PC.
Remote input and presentation remote: use the phone as a touchpad and keyboard, or to flip slides.
Run commands: define shell commands on the PC (for example, lock the screen or suspend) and trigger them from the phone.
Ring my phone: make a lost phone ring loudly from the desktop, even when it is on silent.
Battery status: see the phone's charge in the system tray or top bar.

Troubleshooting: KDE Connect not finding your device

Work through this checklist in order:

Confirm both devices are on the same network and subnet. Guest networks, mesh "isolation" modes and many public or office Wi-Fi networks block discovery.
Open ports 1716–1764 TCP and UDP (Step 4). Temporarily disabling the firewall is a quick way to test whether it is the cause.
Tap Refresh in the phone app, or in GSConnect's preferences.
If discovery still fails, add the device by IP address. In the Android app, open the menu and choose "Add devices by IP", then enter your PC's local address (find it with ip -4 addr).
On GNOME, make sure KDE Connect and GSConnect are not both installed. GSConnect reports a network error when another program is already using the ports.
On a VPN, discovery often fails because traffic leaves the local network. Allow local network access in your VPN client or pause it while pairing.

Why does the touchpad or keyboard not work?

Remote input relies on the desktop allowing another program to move the pointer. It works best on KDE Plasma, including under Wayland. On other Wayland desktops support depends on the desktop's portal implementation, so if remote input does nothing, try logging into an X11 session, if your distro still offers one, to confirm that this is the cause.

Does KDE Connect work with an iPhone?

Yes, but with fewer features than on Android. The iOS app supports the clipboard, sending files and links to the PC, the remote touchpad, the presentation remote, and running commands, as It's FOSS reported at launch. iOS does not let apps read other apps' notifications or SMS, so those features are Android-only, and the iOS project notes that the app is often unresponsive in the background. In practice, keep the app open and the phone unlocked while you transfer files.

Is KDE Connect safe to use?

Devices must be paired by accepting a request on both ends, and all traffic is encrypted with TLS. It works only over your local network and does not route data through a cloud service. The main risk is granting broad permissions (notifications, SMS, file access) to a PC that others can use; turn off the plugins you don't need for each device.

Which distro is best for KDE Connect?

Any distro with KDE Plasma gives the smoothest experience, because KDE Connect is part of the desktop: it is in System Settings, the system tray and the Dolphin file manager. Kubuntu is a beginner-friendly option; compare it with GNOME-based options in Kubuntu vs Ubuntu or Fedora Workstation vs Kubuntu. GNOME users get nearly the same features through GSConnect, so you don't need to switch distros for it.

What to do next

Once your phone is paired, set up a couple of Run commands for things you do often. If you are still choosing a desktop distro, browse the best Linux distros for programming and development or the Ubuntu 26.04 LTS support dates before you install.

Sources

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