Use a remote to control a presentation in Keynote on Mac
You can use your iPhone or iPad as a remote control to play a presentation on a Mac. When you use iPhone as a remote control, you can also control the presentation from its companion Apple Watch.
Important: To use an iPhone or iPad with iOS 14 or iPadOS 14 as a remote, Keynote needs permission to connect to other devices on your local network. Go to Settings > Privacy > Local Network, then turn on Keynote.
Set up iPhone or iPad as a remote control
The device and the Mac need to have Keynote installed and have Wi-Fi turned on.
Go to the Keynote app
on the iPhone or iPad that you want to use as a remote.In the presentation manager, tap
, then tap Continue.The device displays the Keynote Remote menu.
Note: Tap Allow if you’re asked to allow Keynote to find and connect to devices on your local network.
Go to the Keynote app on your Mac, then choose Keynote > Settings (from the Keynote menu at the top of your screen).
Click Remote at the top of the settings window, then select Enable.
Click Link next to the device you want to use as a remote.
A four-digit code appears on the Mac and on the device.
Verify that the four-digit codes match, click Confirm, then close Keynote settings.
After the devices are linked, you can control the presentation from the remote.
Use iPhone or iPad as a remote control
You must first set up the iPhone or iPad to be a remote control, as described in the previous task. To turn your device into a remote using Handoff, Handoff must be set up on the Mac and on the device, and the presentation you want to control must be saved in iCloud Drive.
Go to the Keynote app
on your Mac.Open the presentation you want to play, then click
in the toolbar.On the iPhone or iPad you’ve set up to be a remote, do one of the following:
Open Keynote on the device that you set up as a remote, tap
in the presentation manager, then tap Play.Use Handoff. To do this, swipe up from the bottom to the middle of your screen (or double-click the Home button on devices without Face ID) until you see the App Switcher, then tap the Keynote banner at the bottom of the screen on your iPhone or iPad. If you don’t see the banner, move the pointer on your Mac.
To control the presentation, do any of the following:
Advance to the next slide or build: Tap the slide, or swipe left across the slide.
Return to the previous slide: Swipe right across the slide.
Skip to a specific slide: Tap the slide number in the upper-left corner, then tap the slide you want to display.
Stop playing the presentation: Tap
.
To change what you see on your remote device as you’re presenting, do any of the following:
View the current slide, next slide, presenter notes, or any combination: Tap
, then select a layout.Change the appearance of presenter notes: With presenter notes showing, tap
, then tap 
to make the font larger, or tap 
to make it smaller. Turn on Invert Colors to show white text on a black background or vice versa (other text colors aren’t affected).Switch between a timer or current time display: Tap the time or timer at the top of the screen.
Use Apple Watch as a remote control
You must first set up iPhone to be a remote control for the Mac, as described above, and Keynote must be installed on Apple Watch and the companion iPhone. To install Keynote on Apple Watch, update the companion iPhone to the latest version of Keynote. Then on Apple Watch, confirm the installation of Keynote.
Go to the Keynote app
on your Mac, then open the presentation you want to play.On Apple Watch, press the Digital Crown, then tap
to open Keynote.To play the presentation, tap
.To advance to the next slide or build, tap
.To view the advanced controls screen, swipe right on Apple Watch, then do any of the following:
Advance to the next slide or build: Tap
.Return to the previous slide: Tap
.Stop playing the presentation: Tap
.Return to the simplified controls: Swipe left.
Note: If you stop and restart the presentation, or if Apple Watch goes to sleep and then wakes up, the Apple Watch screen returns to the simplified controls (that show only the Forward button).
Tip: On Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 or later, you can tap your index finger and thumb together twice to start playing a slideshow or advance to the next slide or build.
Highlight on a slide from a remote control device
If you’re using Keynote Remote to control a presentation from iPhone or iPad, you can draw on your device and have your drawing appear on the device that’s playing your presentation. This feature is useful, for example, if you want to emphasize a particular item on your slide—you can underline or circle the item for your audience.
With an iPhone or iPad set up as a remote, go to the Keynote app
on your Mac.Open the presentation you want to play, then click
in the toolbar.Go to the Keynote app on the iPhone or iPad you’ve set up to be a remote, tap
in the presentation manager, then tap Play.Tap
.Do any of the following:
Draw with a color: Tap a color, then draw on the slide.
Use the laser pointer: Tap the laser pointer and move your finger around the slide; the laser pointer follows your movements.
Erase the last highlight: Tap
. Continue tapping to undo all your drawing on the slide.Return to the previous slide or advance a slide: Tap the left or right arrow on the slide.
Hide the drawing tools: Tap
.
Change the presentation devices linked to a remote control device
Go to the Keynote app
on the iPhone or iPad you’ve set up as a remote.In the presentation manager, tap
.Tap Devices, then do any of the following:
Add another presentation device: Tap Add a Device, then follow the onscreen instructions.
Switch to a different presentation device: Tap a different device name, then tap Done.
Remove a presentation device: Swipe left across the name of the device, then tap Delete.
Unlink a remote control from a Mac
Go to the Keynote app
on your Mac.Choose Keynote > Settings (from the Keynote menu at the top of your screen).
Click Remote at the top of the settings window, then do one of the following:
Permanently unlink a remote: Click Unlink next to a device.
Temporarily unlink all linked remotes: Deselect Enable so the devices remain linked but aren’t functional as remotes. Reselect Enable when you want to use them again.
Keynote Remote uses Multipeer Connectivity, which allows newer iOS devices, iPadOS 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.
Note: The old Keynote Remote app previously available from the App Store is no longer supported.