Use Keynote Remote

You can use the remote feature in Keynote on an iOS device to control a presentation playing on a Mac. To do this, the iOS device and the Mac need to have Keynote installed and have Wi-Fi turned on.

Keynote Remote uses Multipeer Connectivity, which allows newer iOS devices and Mac computers that have the latest version of Keynote to connect over Wi-Fi whenever they’re in close proximity, even when they aren’t on the same Wi-Fi network. If you have difficulty using Keynote Remote with older devices or Mac computers over Wi-Fi, try adding them to the same Wi-Fi network. See this Apple Support article for more information.

Set up a device as a remote control for a presentation on a Mac

  1. Open Keynote on the iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch you want to use as a remote control.

  2. In the presentation manager, tap Remote button, then tap Continue.

    The device now displays the Set Up Remote screen.

  3. Open Keynote on your Mac, then choose Keynote > Preferences (from the Keynote menu at the top of your screen).

  4. Click Remotes in the Preferences window, then select Enable.

  5. Click Link next to the device you want to use as a remote control.

    A four-digit code appears on the Mac and the device.

  6. Verify that the four-digit codes match, click Confirm, then close Keynote preferences.

After the device is linked, you can control your presentation from the remote control device.

Control a presentation from a device

  1. Open your presentation on your Mac.

  2. Open Keynote on the iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch you want to use as a remote control.

  3. In the presentation manager, tap Remote button.

  4. Tap Play.

  5. To control the presentation playback, do any of the following:

    • Advance to the next slide: Tap the slide, or swipe left across the slide on your iOS device.

    • Return to the previous slide: Swipe right across the slide on your iOS device.

    • Skip to a specific slide: Tap the slide number in the upper-left corner, then tap the slide you want to display.

    • Stop presentation playback: Tap Stop playback button.

  6. To change what you see on your remote control device as you’re presenting, do any of the following:

    • View the current slide, next slide, or presenter notes: Tap Layout button, then select a layout.

    • Switch between a timer or current time display: Tap the time or timer at the top of the screen.

Change the presentation devices linked to your remote control device

  1. Open Keynote on the iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch you use as a remote control.

  2. In the presentation manager, tap Remote button.

  3. Tap Devices, then do any of the following:

    • Add another presentation device: Tap Add a Device, and follow the onscreen instructions.

    • Switch to a different presentation device: Tap a different device name, then tap Done.

    • Remove a presentation device: Swipe right across the name of the device, then tap Delete.

Unlink a remote control device from your Mac

  1. Open Keynote on your Mac.

  2. Choose Keynote > Preferences (from the Keynote menu at the top of your screen).

  3. Click Remotes in the Preferences window, then select Enable.

  4. Click Unlink next to a device.

If you don’t want to use any remote, but you don’t want to unlink devices you’ve already linked, you can also deselect Enable. Reselect Enable when you want to use a device again.

Note: The old Keynote Remote app previously available from the App Store is no longer supported.