Alike Microsofts Xbox-to-PC streaming, Sonys PlayStation 4 can stream games to a few of Sonys Xperia smartphones and tablets. However, with a small tweak, you can stream your PlayStation 4 games to nearly any Android device. The steps are easy to understand and perform.
Step One: Install the Modified Remote Play App
Sony provides a PS4 Remote Play app in Google Play, but its only officially compatible with certain Xperia devices.
Despite that, it can actually work on a wider variety of Android devices Sony just wants to use it to push its own Xperia phones and tablets. XDA Developers forum user twisted89 has modified the Remote Play app so that it can run on a wider variety of devices. It also wont check if your device is rooted or refuse to work if your connection speed isnt slow enough like the original app.
To get this working, youll first need to open Android Settings app and tap the Security category. Enable the Unknown sources setting. This will allow you to install the modified Remote Play app from outside of Google Play. You may want to disable this setting after you successfully install the app.
Then, you can head to the XDA Developers forum page, find the download link for the latest version, and download it to your Android device. Open the APK file on your Android device and agree to install it.
Step Two: Connect Your PlayStation 4 controller
You can play PS4 games using touch screen controls, but that probably wont be ideal for most games, which are obviously designed to be played with a physical controller. Youll probably want to connect a PS4 controller to your Android device to play games.
This is actually quite easy. You can pair the controller with your phone wirelessly using standard Bluetooth pairing. Just hold down the Share and PlayStation buttons on the controller until the light bar starts flashing to put it into pairing mode.
Then, visit Androids Bluetooth settings screen, and select the controller.
You could also physically connect it to your Android device directly if you have the appropriate cable. If you have a USB OTG cable adapter, you could use the standard USB cable that came with your console to plug it directly into your Android device, too
Whether its connected over a wireless or wired connection, it should just work. To confirm the controller is working after youve connected it, go to the home screen and move the joysticks they should allow you to select icons on your home screen and navigate Androids interface.
On some Android devices, the button mappings may be a bit messed up. If the controllers buttons dont work as youd expect when you start playing games, you can install the SixAxis Controller app from Google Play and use it to change the button mappings. However, this requires a rooted phone. This is the only part of this process that requires root, however and its not necessary on all devices. On our Nexus 7 tablet, the controller appeared to work fine when paired over Bluetooth with no controller configuration tweaks, additional apps, or rooting required.
Step Three: Set Up Remote Play
You can now launch Sonys Remote Play app and go through the configuration process. Tap Next to continue and skip the controller setup screen. If youve already connected the controller over Bluetooth or USB, it should just work anyway.
Youll need to sign in with your PlayStation Network (PSN) account. Assuming your Android device is on the same Wi-Fi network as your PS4, it ll find your PS4 and connect. If it cant connect automatically, you ll be told to visit the Remote Play Connection Settings screen on your PS4. This screen will give you a PIN and you can enter that PIN on your Android device to pair your PS4 and Android device for Remote Play.
You can then use the controller or the touch screen to launch PS4 games. Your PS4 will run them and stream them to your Android smartphone or tablet
You should be able to play remotely after the first-time setup, even if you are on another Wi-Fi network or on a cellular network, streaming games from your home PS4 to your device wherever you are. Of course, it wont work quite as smoothly if it has to transfer data over the Internet. Itll also work best if you have a speedy Wi-Fi connection.
Sony has actually offered remote streaming for quite a while. Sonys PlayStation Vita handheld console, PlayStation TV set-top box, and Xperia smartphones and tablets can stream games from a PlayStation 4. This trick just extends that support to almost all Android devices.
Sony has announced it will officially bring this feature to Windows and Mac, and it will appear in PS4 system update version 3.50. Theres also an unofficial Windows client. However, Sony hasnt announced it will officially offer this feature on non-Xperia Android devices or Apples iPhones and iPads. This unofficial support may be necessary for quite a while if youd like to stream games to non-Xperia Android devices. Of course, even Microsoft doesnt offer support for streaming Xbox games to smartphones not even Windows phones.
Article Credit : Chris Hoffman
