How to use S Pen remote control on Galaxy Note 9?

S Pen remote control on Galaxy Note 9 allows you to use the new S Pen to control some apps remotely through a Bluetooth connection.

You can even customize the app actions corresponding to the single press (press the S  Pen button once) and double press (press the S Pen button twice).

This Galaxy Note 9 S Pen guide explains how to use and customize S Pen remote control on Galaxy Note 9.

What is S Pen remote control on Galaxy Note 9?

The Galaxy Note 9 S Pen is Bluetooth-enabled. And Samsung wants you to use it as a remote control so that you can free your hands from the phone screen.

If you ever used a selfie stick, you may already know the importance of a remote shutter for the selfie stick.

Now, with Galaxy Note 9, you can just press the S Pen button once to take a photo. You can press the button twice to switch between the front and rear camera.

Or when you hook Galaxy Note 9 to a projector to do a presentation (in either screen mirroring or Samsung DeX mode), you can use S Pen as a wireless presenter.

Besides the camera app and PowerPoint app, you can also use S Pen remote control on Galaxy Note 9 to control a few other apps.

There are 3 categories of S Pen remote control on Galaxy Note 9:

1. Open app or S Pen function. You can designate one app to be opened when you press the S Pen button (and when you are in Galaxy Note 9 Home screen or Apps screen). You can also choose one S Pen feature (e.g., smart select) if you do not want to open an app.
2. App actions. You can choose the corresponding operations for single press and double press of the S Pen in supported Samsung and Google apps.
3. Universal control or master control. You can assign operations for all third-party camera apps and media apps.

In short, S Pen remote control allows you to perform operations in some apps without looking at the phone screen (the S Pen nib does not touch or hover over the screen). It is just like the TV remote for your TV.

How to enable and disable S Pen remote control on Galaxy Note 9?

By default, S Pen remote control on Galaxy Note 9 was disabled.  You need to enable it if you want to use the S Pen remote control.

You can enable S Pen remote control in Settings —Advanced features.

As shown in the screenshot below, you can tap S Pen in the Advanced features page.

Now, in the S Pen settings page, as shown above, tap S Pen remote.

In the S Pen remote settings page, as shown below, you can tap the On/off switch (marked as 2) to turn on or turn off S Pen remote control on Galaxy Note 9.

How to customize S Pen remote control on Galaxy Note 9?

Samsung allows you to customize S Pen remote control features on Galaxy Note 9, as shown in the S Pen remote settings page shown above.

Assign an app or S Pen feature  (3)

When you are on Galaxy Note 9  home screen, if you press the S Pen button once, you can open an app or open an S Pen feature.

By default, the camera app is assigned. It means the camera app will open if you press the S Pen button once. If you press the S Pen button again, a picture will be taken by default.

You can use any app installed on the phone to customize this feature. Of course, you can only choose one app.

If you want, you can assign an S Pen feature, instead of an app, for this operation. For example, you can choose one of the following S Pen features: create a note, smart select, screen write, live message, Bixby vision, translate, magnify, glance, view all notes, PENUP and colouring.

Customize app actions

When you are using a supported app, you can choose what to do:

• If you press the S Pen button once (single press).
• If you press the S Pen button twice (double press).

For each app, you can customize the actions.  You can also turn on or off app actions individually.

The numbers in this section correspond to the number in the screenshot shown above.

Samsung Camera app

You can choose to turn on/off S Pen remote control for this app (4).

To customize the app actions for the single press, you need to tap single press field (marked as 5 in the screenshot shown above). Available actions will pop-up, and you can select one.

Similarly, you can customize the camera app action for the double press.

Available camera app actions for the single press (5)  and double press (6) include:

• Take picture.
• Switch camera.
• Record video.
• Do nothing.

It is allowed to choose the same action for the single press and double press.

Samsung Gallery app

You can tap the switch (7) to turn on/off the S Pen remote for the Gallery app.

You can customize the Gallery app actions as mentioned above.

The available Gallery app actions for the single press (8) and double press (9)  include:

• Previous item.
• Next item.
• Do nothing.

Please note, S Pen remote control does not work on third-party gallery apps.

Samsung voice recorder app

In most regions, the Samsung voice recorder app was not pre-installed. You can get it in Galaxy Apps.

If you need a voice recorder on Galaxy Note 9, this app is actually better (and free) than many other paid apps.

You can turn on or turn off S Pen remote control for the voice recorder app using the switch (10).

The available app actions for the single press (11) and double press (12)  include:

• Record/Pause.
• Do nothing.

If you are using any third-party voice recorder app, the S Pen remote control will not work.

Google Chrome app

S Pen remote control supports Google Chrome browser.  You can turn on or turn off this support by tapping the switch (13).

When you are browsing a webpage, you can use the S Pen to control the navigation remotely.

The available app actions for the single press (14) and double press (15) include:

• Back.
• Forward.
• Scroll down.
• Scroll up.
• Do nothing.

Surprisingly, Samsung’s native browser (Internet) does not support S Pen remote.

Clock (not shown on the picture)

Samsung Clock app also supports S Pen remote control.

You can press the S Pen button to start a stopwatch. If the stopwatch has started, it will mark the laps.

Hancom Show

Hancom office suite is the best alternative for Microsoft Office on Galaxy Note 9 if you use Samsung DeX for file editing.

Microsoft office is NOT free when in Samsung DeX mode. So, Samsung gives you the Hancom Office as a free alternative.

When you are using Hancom Show (corresponding to PowerPoint in Microsoft Office) for a presentation (screen mirroring, screencasting or DeX mode), you can use the S Pen as a wireless presenter.

The available app actions of Hancom Show for the single press (17) and double press (18) include:

• Next (move to the next slide).
• Previous (move to the previous slide)
• Do nothing.

Of course, you can turn on or turn off the S Pen remote control support for Hancom office (16).

Microsoft PowerPoint app

S Pen remote control also supports the Microsoft PowerPoint app on Galaxy Note 9.

You can enable or disable the S Pen remote support (19).

The available app actions are similar to those for Hancom Show mentioned earlier.

You may customize app actions corresponding to the single press (20) and double press (21) as:

• Next slide.
• Previous slide.
• Do nothing.

How to use S Pen remote control on Galaxy Note 9 for third-party apps?

Besides the pre-installed apps, Galaxy Note 9 allows you to use S Pen remote control for all third-party camera apps and media player apps.

You can turn on this features in the S Pen remote settings page.

As shown in the screenshot above, you can find a section named Master controls.

You can turn on or turn off the S Pen camera remote by tapping the switch (22). For third-party camera apps, you can only define app action (23) for the single press.

And you can only choose from taking a photo or doing nothing when pressing the S Pen button.

Please note, the settings do NOT affect Samsung camera app. They apply to third-party camera apps only.

In addition to the S Pen camera remote, you can also enable or disable S Pen music controls (24).

Although “music control”  is used, it actually refers to both music and videos.

You can choose app actions for any media apps corresponding to the single press (25) and double press (26) as:

• Play/Pause.
• Skip.
• Do nothing.

Please note, S Pen music controls apply to ALL media apps including those from Samsung  (e.g., Samsung Music and Samsung Video).

If you turn off S Pen music controls (24), then you cannot use S Pen to control media playing at all.

Also, if you play a video in the Gallery app, the app actions (single press or double press) will follow Gallery app action settings, not S Pen music controls.

Can you use S Pen remote control on Galaxy Note 9?

If you have any questions on S Pen remote control on Galaxy Note 9, please let us know in the comment box below. The community will help you find the answer.

For other Galaxy Note 9 guides, please check this page.

To download or read the official user guide for Galaxy Note 9 in your local language, please check this page.