Live Device Streaming

Live Device Streaming lets you see and control a real mobile device directly from your web browser. The device screen is mirrored in real time, and your mouse and keyboard inputs are forwarded to the device -- so you can test as if you were holding the device in your hand.

Starting a Live Session

1. Navigate to QA Infrastructure and open the Device Lab.
2. Find an available device and click Request.
3. Select a session duration and click Start Session.
4. The live streaming view opens, showing the device screen in your browser.

Alternatively, if you already have a device allocated:

1. Go to QA Infrastructure and select the Sessions tab.
2. Click on your active session.
3. The streaming view opens.

Screen Mirroring

The device screen is displayed in your browser in real time with low-latency video streaming. You can:

• View in actual size -- The stream shows the device at 1:1 pixel ratio by default.
• Fit to window -- Click the resize icon to scale the display to fit your browser window.
• Full screen -- Click the full-screen button (or press F) to expand the device view to your entire monitor.

The stream quality adjusts automatically based on your network connection to maintain smooth, responsive interaction.

Touch Interactions

Use your mouse to simulate touch interactions on the device:

Tap

Click anywhere on the device screen to perform a tap at that location.

Swipe

Click and drag to swipe. The direction and speed of your mouse movement is translated into a swipe gesture on the device.

• Swipe up -- Click and drag from bottom to top (e.g., to scroll down a page)
• Swipe down -- Click and drag from top to bottom (e.g., to pull down a notification shade)
• Swipe left/right -- Click and drag horizontally (e.g., to navigate between screens or dismiss items)

Long Press

Click and hold for about 1 second without moving your mouse. This triggers a long-press gesture on the device, useful for context menus, drag operations, and selection mode.

Pinch to Zoom

Use your scroll wheel to simulate pinch-to-zoom:

• Scroll up -- Pinch out (zoom in)
• Scroll down -- Pinch in (zoom out)

tip

For the most responsive experience, use a wired internet connection rather than Wi-Fi. Latency under 100ms provides the smoothest interaction.

Typing Text

There are two ways to type text on the device:

Direct Keyboard Input

1. Click on a text field on the device screen to focus it.
2. Type on your physical keyboard.
3. Your keystrokes are forwarded to the device and appear in the text field.

Text Paste

For longer text or special characters:

1. Click the Keyboard icon in the session toolbar.
2. A text input box appears.
3. Type or paste the text you want.
4. Click Send to insert it into the currently focused field on the device.

This is especially useful for pasting URLs, email addresses, or test data.

Using Hardware Buttons

The session toolbar provides virtual hardware buttons that simulate the device's physical buttons:

iOS Devices

Button	What It Does
Home	Returns to the home screen (or triggers the app switcher on devices without a physical home button)
Lock	Locks the device screen
Volume Up	Increases volume
Volume Down	Decreases volume
Rotate	Rotates the device between portrait and landscape orientation

Android Devices

Button	What It Does
Home	Returns to the home screen
Back	Navigates back
Recent Apps	Opens the recent applications view
Volume Up	Increases volume
Volume Down	Decreases volume
Rotate	Rotates the device between portrait and landscape orientation

Taking Screenshots

Capture a screenshot of the device at any moment during your session:

1. Click the Screenshot button (camera icon) in the session toolbar.
2. The screenshot is captured instantly.
3. A preview thumbnail appears in the toolbar.
4. Click the thumbnail to view the full-size image.
5. Click Download to save it to your computer.

All screenshots taken during a session are also saved to the session's artifacts, so you can access them later from the test results.

tip

Use the keyboard shortcut S to take a quick screenshot without clicking the toolbar button.

Recording Video

Record a video of your entire testing session or a portion of it:

Starting a Recording

1. Click the Record button (video camera icon) in the session toolbar.
2. A red recording indicator appears, showing that video capture is active.
3. A timer shows how long the recording has been running.

Stopping a Recording

1. Click the Stop Recording button in the toolbar.
2. The video is processed and saved.
3. A link to the recording appears in the session artifacts.

Accessing Recordings

After your session ends, you can find all recordings in:

• Session Artifacts -- Go to QA Infrastructure > Sessions > select your session > Artifacts tab
• Test Results -- If the session was linked to a test run, the recording appears in the test result attachments.

Ending a Live Session

When you are done testing:

1. Click the End Session button in the top-right corner of the streaming view.
2. Confirm you want to end the session.
3. The stream disconnects and the device is released back to the pool.
4. All artifacts (screenshots, videos, logs) are saved automatically and remain accessible from the session history.

tip

If you step away and forget to end your session, it will automatically time out after the duration you selected when starting it. You will receive a notification 5 minutes before the session expires, giving you a chance to extend it.

Troubleshooting

Stream is Laggy or Choppy

• Check your internet connection speed. A minimum of 5 Mbps is recommended.
• Close other bandwidth-heavy applications or browser tabs.
• Try reducing the stream quality in the settings menu (gear icon in the toolbar).

Touch Interactions Not Registering

• Make sure you are clicking directly on the device screen area, not outside it.
• Try refreshing the page if the session becomes unresponsive.
• If the problem persists, end the session and start a new one.

Cannot Type in Text Fields

• Click on the text field on the device screen first to make sure it has focus.
• Try using the Text Paste method (keyboard icon in the toolbar) as an alternative.
• Some apps may have custom text fields that handle input differently. Use the paste method for these.