Look at a mirroring method by what it cannot do. If it cannot tap, automation stops at watching the picture. If it cannot send items into Photos, publishing assets never reach the phone. If it is written to need the main program, a closed main program leaves you with a picture and nothing else.
| Mode | What it cannot do |
|---|---|
| System mirror (AirPlay) | Cannot tap, swipe, or type. Cannot send items into Photos. No control command goes back |
| Wired mirror (Lightning / Type-C) | Cannot tap, cannot send items into Photos. The cable only carries the video stream |
| Screenshot without automation + USB HID | Can tap. With no main program, it cannot send items into Photos, cannot use a custom input method, and cannot use the main-program clipboard. Needs iOS 17 or later, and Start Automation must stay off |
| Main-program recording + USB HID | When the main program is missing or closed, it cannot send items into Photos, cannot write the clipboard the main-program way, and cannot open links. Needs iOS 17 or later |
| USB + automation service | With Start Automation left untapped, there is no control. Below iOS 15 the offline main program cannot send items into Photos, so install the file assistant. Mutually exclusive with USB HID |
Two paths that cannot tap
AirPlay pushes the picture to a Mac over Wi-Fi. Watching one screen in a meeting is enough. A mouse click on the computer picture has no matching touch on the phone. The Photos button is absent from this path.
Wired mirroring sends video over Lightning or Type-C and skips a layer of Wi-Fi jitter. A tap still has no HID or automation service to catch it, and files still fail to appear in Photos. To control the phone, switch to one of the three rows below in the table, and meet the system version on that row.
It can tap, and Photos need the main program
Screenshot without automation plus USB HID, from EasyClick iOS USB 10.7.0 (2026-09-08), can skip installing an app and skip a Bluetooth board or an OTG board. USB connected is enough, on iOS 17 or later. The mouse can tap and swipe. Photos, a custom input method, and the main-program clipboard are outside this scene, because the phone has no offline main program. It is mutually exclusive with Start Automation. If the mouse does nothing, right-click the device, open USB HID, and rebuild the USBHID session.
To send items into Photos, switch to main-program recording plus USB HID. That is still iOS 17 or later. Install the offline main program from the download area. v7.2.0 and later is the point at which this main program counts as the USB automation program, and the phone itself needs iOS 15 or later. If mirroring pops up Start Broadcast, tap confirm. When you send items into Photos, copy text, or open a link, the main program has to be available. Tap Open main program when you need to. If the main program is off the foreground, those actions stop.
On USB plus automation service, flash the developer disk image first, trust the profile, turn on Developer Mode on iOS 16 and later, then tap Start Automation. On iOS 15 and later, open the proxy IPA before uploading images. Below iOS 15, install the file-assistant IPA and send files by its instructions. Keep the same phone off USB HID at the same time. If the picture looks wrong after you leave USB HID and return to automation mirroring, restart the phone first.
iOS 18 and later has another tier, Bluetooth mirroring plus screenshot without automation: Bluetooth hardware only, no signed IPA, and a lower frame rate. Photos need a Shortcut built separately. The Photos steps for board-free USB HID are absent from this tier.
When an individual developer signs the main program, the annual fee is 688 yuan, up to 100 devices, iOS 12 and later. TrollStore is iOS 15 through 16.6.1. After a restart drops the signature, the main program will not open, and recording plus Photos stop together until you re-sign.
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