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There must be thousands of people in the same situation as me, so I find it hard to believe there isn't a solution. But I've looked all over and have come up dry.

My elderly Dad got an iPad and is having trouble with it. He's no dummy, but iOS is new to him and he's not good at describing his problem and what he's seeing to me, 1100 miles away. I'm sure I could help him if I could just see what he sees.

I had installed LogMeIn on his laptop, and could remotely control and view his screen when he had problems. I know iOS is different and has different levels of sandboxing and other protection from Windows.

But is there any way to remotely view a WiFi-connected iPad, without jailbreaking? If not, this seems like a great opportunity for an app developer, or maybe Apple if things are too locked down for a 3rd party app.

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The only workable solution I have found to the problem is a second device such as an iPod or iPhone running FaceTime or Skype so that you can see and talk with the person you are supporting.

With a gorilla tripod that flexes and something like the glif - this works amazingly well and everything needed has many other uses which does not lessen the impact on one's budget, but does ease the value proposition of this solution.

And - the approved way to get video off your iPad is through AirPlay mirroring which works with bonjour to find an AirPlay receiver on the local network. Currently, Apple TV and a Mac with some software (like Reflector. So if you had a Mac with your Dad or equivalent software on his PC, you could at least see his screen. The two drawbacks to this (in addition to the extra hardware and software) are you can't see where he is tapping and you can't control the iPad remotely.

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  • I did think about using Skype and webcam but I think we'd end up with half an hour of "no, to the left, now up, no, that's too far, down a bit, now to the left, etc." My mom does have an iMac, so I guess I can look into Reflection and AirPlay. Not sure of the capabilities, but if I can get the iPad screen to show up on her iMac, I think I can remote into that at least. And, for now, just seeing what he sees would be helpful. Actual remote control would be nice, but not necessary.
    – Scott
    Commented Jun 2, 2012 at 21:49
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If it's an iPhone 4S, iPad 2 or new iPad, Reflector can do this.

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  • is there a free alternative to this?
    – Mintuz
    Commented Jul 29, 2012 at 18:25
  • Reflector appears to be screen mirroring, i.e., if his father could launch it without help, it would let him see the screen, but NOT remote control it. I too would like to be able to remote the iPad I am thinking of giving to a blind friend. She lost her sight just recently, so has NO experience with anything accessibility features. So I would need not only control and mirroring, but audio.
    – WGroleau
    Commented Nov 21, 2017 at 16:38
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Use Skype with mirrors, I haven't tried it but its possible

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    Oh, come on. OBVIOUSLY it's possible. Who needs a source for that? However—does Skype have a way to fix the image that's been reversed by the mirror?
    – WGroleau
    Commented Nov 21, 2017 at 16:38

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