Set up a PC

Install the Software

Prerequisite

PhoneMyPC requires the Microsoft .NET 3.5 or later. If you have not received this update via Windows Update, you can download it from Microsoft, or the PhoneMyPC installer will ask you if you would like to install it directly.

Step 1

the PC software. If you have an older version, you must uninstall it first.

Step 2

Double-click the downloaded PhoneMyPCxxx.msi file to install the software.

Step 3

Follow the steps in the Installer. When you finish, PhoneMyPC will run automatically.

If it does not run, see Troubleshooting Installation, below.

Step 4

Enter credentials that will secure your PC so that only your phone can access it. Use the same credentials on any other PC’s and on your phone.

Note: Be sure to use secure credentials, as though this were your bank account! If someone guesses your name and password, they will have the same access to your PC that you do.

Next, give this PC a unique name, such as “Home PC,” or “Laptop.”

This name is private to your account, so don’t worry about whether others have used the same name.

Click Ok to save the configuration. The PC is now accessible from your phone.

Your system tray shows the PhoneMyPC icon.

Step 5

Run PhoneMyPC on your phone. Enter the same credentials, if you haven’t already. The PC will show in a selectable list. Touch the PC to see the list of features.

Note: although the settings screen has a field for License Key, this feature is not yet used, and we will email you a key before it becomes important. You do not need a key at this time and can safely ignore this field.

Troubleshooting

Here are some tips for common issues during installation and setup. Note that some of these are just tips, but some are work-around for known bugs.

After I install, the Settings screen does not show

 
 
When you finish the installation, PhoneMyPC runs automatically. If you do not see the settings screen, this means the program was mistakenly run in the wrong Windows session. The solution is to kill the PhoneMyPC.exe process and let the Helper service re-start it properly.

  • Open Task Manager (right-click your Task bar and choose Task Manager)
  • If necessary, click “Show programs from all users”
  • Locate PhoneMyPC.exe
  • Choose it and click End Process

The Helper process should re-run PhoneMyPC immediately, and you should see the settings screen show up. If it does not, it could be that you already had PhoneMyPC configured from a previous installation; look at your System Tray for the PhoneMyPC icon. Double-click it to open the settings screen.

I have installed and configured the software on my PC and my Phone, but I don’t see the PC on the phone; the Phone eventually reports “No Hosts Found”

 
 
If the phone is reporting “No Hosts Found,” then we know it is connecting to our servers successfully.

This leaves two possible causes:

1) The PC cannot connect to the servers.

Check this by double-clicking the PhoneMyPC icon in the System tray, then lo0k at the title of the settings window. If it shows (Connected), then go on to #2, below.

If it does not show (Connected), then it is being blocked from connecting. Please check your firewall and make sure PhoneMyPC is allowed to connect out of your network using TCP port 443.

2) The credentials on the Phone do not match the credentials on the PC

If the credentials do not match, your phone will not be able to find your PC.

We recommend changing credentials to something simple–but not so simple as to be insecure–on all devices and trying again. Pay close attention particularly as you type on the phone, as some 3rd party keyboards (such as Swype) may capitalize or add spaces when you do not expect it.

I checked the “Require Password to change Settings” box on the PC but have forgotten my password

 
 
The solution for this is as follows:

  • Uninstall PhoneMyPC from your PC
  • Delete the folder c:\Program Files\SoftwareForMe Inc, or c:\Program Files (x86)\SoftwareForMe Inc
  • Re-install and set up the PC software

I checked the “Password Protect Application” box on the Phone settings, but have forgotten my password (or the application just return to my Home screen after I enter my password)

 
 
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If you enter the wrong password, the program simply exits without any further notice. You will need to reset the password.

To reset the password, uninstall and re-install the software. When you first run it, you will have to re-enter all settings.

Note: if you did not remember your password, you will likely have to enter a new one on your PC(s) so you can make them match the new one on the phone.

Screen updates are not as fast as they used to be

 
 
The most recent release incorporates industry standard TLS encryption on all communications. This is necessary
now that you may have to type your PC credentials in order to log in.

PhoneMyPC has always excelled at speed, and we have a number of improvements to make in the near future to address the performance. Stay tuned!

Software errors when I run it or reboot

 
 
PhoneMyPC is run automatically by a Windows Service called PhoneMyPC_Helper. Therefore, you never need to run it, and it should not be in your Startup menu.
If you did not uninstall the old version before installing the new one, or for one of several other reasons, there may still be a shortcut on the Start, Programs, Startup menu.
If you find one there, please delete it.

Note that the Programs icon is still there because it should be used to show the UI in the event you have hidden the System tray icon. However, there is a bug at present,
and running it this way is causing errors. We will have this fixed shortly.