How to Use Your Tablet as a Second Monitor on Ubuntu

I’m surprised just how easy it is to use an iPad or an Android tablet as a second monitor with Ubuntu 22.04 LTS and above.

Not just “access your desktop” but “use it to extend your desktop” as though it were a regular, physically connected external monitor.

I know: I’m supposed to be on the pulse of stuff like this. Yet here I am, monsieur slow-train, only learning about this capability because I saw it mentioned on Reddit.

Naturally I had to dive it to try it out first hand. I’ve wanted something like this on Linux for a long time – albeit not out of any major need for a second monitor, more the satisfaction of knowing ‘anything Apple can do…’ etc 😉.

And it works pretty well, as you can see in this (hastily recorded) video:

We have GNOME developers to thank for this.

Among the GNOME 42 features were changes related to support for the remote desktop protocol (RDP) and screen sharing. This included the ability to extend the desktop to a virtual monitor as though it were a real one (and respect any multi-monitor preferences configured).

Using a tablet as a second screen through RDP asks for greater performance than being able to access a desktop over RDP (which can be laggy).

So to help, GNOME devs plumbed in frame tracking and enhanced hardware acceleration to deliver a smooth-as-possible experience (though as the feature is network dependant don’t expect miracles on poor or slow connections).

In a nutshell, any Linux distro with GNOME 42 (and above) can use a RDP-supported device (e.g., Android tablet, iPad, another computer) as an external monitor, much the same way as Apple’s SideCar feature (which lets macOS lets users extend their desktop to an iPad screen).

The virtual monitor behaves like a regular monitor. You can ‘drag’ your virtual monitor to your desired location directly from the Settings > Display panel, and adjust the virtual monitor’s screen resolution independently of your “main” display.

While this kind of feature is not ‘new’ new – it’s been possible to use tablets as external monitors (including on Linux) via the local network for a while – what is new is that all of relevant components to make this work well come baked into GNOME 42.

Let’s look at how to set it up.

Enable Virtual Monitors in GNOME

Before you do anything make sure you are using Ubuntu 22.04 LTS or a Linux distribution based on GNOME 42 or later. The parts that make this possible are not included in earlier versions. Also, while I tested this in a Wayland session it should work in Xorg too, but YMMV.

First, open a Terminal window and run: gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.remote-desktop.rdp screen-share-mode extend.

This step is needed to enable extendable virtual monitors over RDP because, at present, the feature is hidden (and not polished enough for the masses to make use of yet — so be aware).

Next, open the Settings app, navigate to the Sharing panel, and turn on Sharing, and turn on (once it appears) the ‘Remote Desktop’ option. You will want to set up a username and password too, to allow you to connect from a different device.

Use an RDP client on your tablet/phone — I used Microsoft’s free Remote Desktop Mobile which is available for Android and iOS — to connect to your computer from your tablet using your local IP (plus the right login credentials, if set previously).

In Microsoft’s app just tap the “+” icon, enter your PCs IP address_¹, and the user credentials you created previously. Make sure you hit the ‘save’ button before backing out or you’ll have to do it again.

Now from the main screen of the app tap on the listed thumbnail to connect and hey, presto!

Finally, head back to the Settings > Display panel to reposition your virtual monitor, configure the screen resolution, etc. Remember: any multi-monitor behaviours you’ve tweaked elsewhere (e.g., ‘show dock on all monitors’) are respected by virtual monitors too.

A few caveats

Once connected through an RDP app on the second screen everything should “just work”.

Don’t get carried away, mind: you can’t use your virtual monitor as, say, a playback monitor when video editing because the frame rate isn’t 100%. Also, you can’t use touch events on the tablet to interact with any windows or desktop environment either, nor something like an Apple Pencil.

You will also see a second cursor on the virtual monitor. This doesn’t “work” (though you can move out of the way). This is a bug at present and will be fixed in a future GNOME update.

Also make sure that when you’re not using this feature to turn off remote desktop in the sharing app. While it’s unlikely anyone will be local-enough to access your computer, it’s a possibility.

¹ To find your IP in Ubuntu go to Settings > Network, click the cog icon next to your active network, find your IP in the ‘details’ pane.