Watch videos from phone on computer

nandohyphen1

I download videos from NewPipe quite frequently to watch offline. I always watch them on my phone. Can I somehow watch them on my computer but without copying the files to the computers local storage? I don't want them on my computer directly (just another thing to delete and take up space). I'm assuming I could plug my phone in via USB, find the file, and just play it on my computer without copying it to the computer. This will work if its the only way, but the ideal way would be to do it wirelessly. Almost something like Google Cast, but not Google Cast.

thmf

nandohyphen1 Almost something like Google Cast, but not Google Cast.

More like a USB thumb drive.

nandohyphen1 plug my phone in via USB, find the file, and just play it on my computer without copying it to the computer

A USB thumb drive?

Johnnyloans

nandohyphen1 wirelessly

KDE connect app on the phone and PC. KDE is native to linux; but, they have a windows (probably has all of the features?) and macos (not maintained) install.

On Linux, my phone pops up with my folders and drives. I can open a video file in: phone > Video > newpipe. (The download location you set may be different)

Playback is smooth for me.

Open both apps and pair your phone. Set what plugins you want inside of both apps for: file access, texts, clipboard, etc

thmf

nandohyphen1 True, but you emphasized

nandohyphen1 without copying the files to the computers local storage

So I thought maybe you have limited space available on your machine or something like that.

nandohyphen1

thmf that could work, but if I'm going to go to all that trouble of putting the adapter for my phone on the drive, copying the files, ejecting the drive, taking the adapter off, plugging it into my computer, watching the videos, then deleting them off the drive, I may as well just connect my phone via USB and do it that way. ;)

nandohyphen1

Johnnyloans I do use KDE connect (on Linux)! I love it! But ever since I downloaded it and started using it, I can't access my phone's files or videos. When I try to via KDE, it says "Error; Can't access file system". Half the time KDE Connect doesnt even recognise my phone, so it doesnt connect. I love this app. I just can't figure out why its so buggy for me and sometimes my phone won't connect and I can't access the file system. If I could get this working, this would be the best solution ever.

Johnnyloans

nandohyphen1

Most VPNs won't let you access devices on your home network so your phone won't be recognized or seen to pair up.

I recently had an issue of files not transferring and having an error randomly but it usually worked. I had to switch off & on the plugin on my phone for file transfers. Now it's perfect.

Computers can be real weird some times so what I'd do is:
Phone:

reinstall the app or delete storage and cache for kdeconnect.
Make sure the app is updated.
give kdeconnect permissions for storage etc
disable vpn or allow LAN

PC:

Unpair/forget your phone in kdeconnect.
make sure a firewall isn't blocking ports. I would just allow the ports outright because what if you travel with your PC or move in 2 years. (Ignore "192.168.1.0/24" in the below article)
disable vpn or allow LAN

These steps are handy:
https://userbase.kde.org/KDEConnect#Troubleshooting

Try to set it up again.

Bonus tip: I set kdeconnect and my PC browser to download files to a tmpfs volume (RAM) so it is automatically deleted when I shutdown. I can copy any files out that I want to keep.

nandohyphen1

Johnnyloans thank you! I've got to work soon, but I'll look at this all later today. Many thanks!

Johnnyloans

nandohyphen1

Youre welcome!

nandohyphen1

thmf no, I have lots of space, just don't really want them on my computer. Its fine if I put them on my computer, I'd just prefer wirelessly. (Less steps to watch on my computer) I got busy after work today, so I'm going to try KDE Connect tomorrow

JulianKaiser

If you're trying to cast or mirror the phone screen to a PC just for videos, the easiest reliable method right now is scrcpy over USB (wireless also works but needs initial setup).
Install scrcpy on your computer (official GitHub releases), enable USB debugging on the phone, connect via cable, run scrcpy from terminal/command prompt. Video plays smooth with almost no delay, audio routes through the PC speakers, and you can control playback with mouse/keyboard.
No root needed, no extra apps on the phone beyond developer options. Works great on GrapheneOS 2025 builds I've tested. Wireless ADB is an option if you hate cables, but start wired to get it going quickly. Let me know if you hit any snags with permissions or drivers.

nandohyphen1

JulianKaiser yeah mirroring my screen would be nice for lots of stuff, but I'm not enabling Developer Options or USB debugging. Its highly insecure and stuff can break. I really wish there was a mirroring system that didn't need developer options

horde

https://github.com/futo-org/fcast

nandohyphen1

horde thats cool. Thanks!

nandohyphen1

So I reset KDE Connect on both devices (app up to date) and I'm still getting this error;
Pixel 6a: Failed to mount filesystem: device not responding

I don't know how to fix this

Johnnyloans

Check

Settings > apps > special app access > all files access > KDE connected allowed

Force close kdeconnect on your phone, reopen

When you attempt it, have the kdeconnect app open and the screen on.

Check that you can ping your phone's ip address.

nandohyphen1

Johnnyloans I just tried all that. Access all files is allowed. I force stopped it. The app's open on my phone. I can ping my phone.

Edit; The computer won't receive a ping back from the phone though if I ping the computer

Johnnyloans

nandohyphen1 The computer won't receive a ping back from the phone though if I ping the computer

This isnt an issue. Your computer could be set up to not reply to pings.

Weird. I'm not sure what the issue would be for not mounting your phone.

Could try kdeconnect after booting into a USB drive with Linux on it to see if it's the software or config on your PC.

nandohyphen1

Johnnyloans Could try kdeconnect after booting into a USB drive with Linux on it to see if it's the PC.

Ya its really strange. I have 2 computers running Mint and neither one will even recognise my phone, so I can't even connect to KDE Connect on those computers

nandohyphen1

Using a USB cable to access my files on my phone just might be the easiest option after all