scrcpy for Multiple Devices: Setup, Commands and Limits

scrcpy is the most popular free tool for mirroring and controlling an Android phone from a PC. It's fast, open source and needs nothing installed on the phone. It was built for one device at a time, but with the right commands you can run it across a whole set of phones. This guide shows how, with copy-paste scripts for Windows, and where scrcpy stops scaling.

Install scrcpy on Windows

Either download the latest Windows release zip from the scrcpy GitHub page and unzip it (it includes adb), or install it with winget:

winget install --exact Genymobile.scrcpy

Every phone needs USB debugging turned on and the computer authorised. If you haven't done that yet, follow steps 1 and 2 in How to control multiple Android phones from one PC.

Pick a specific device

When more than one phone is connected, plain scrcpy fails with "more than one device". List the serials first:

adb devices
List of devices attached
R58M42ABCDE     device
9A281FFAZ004LE  device
192.168.1.21:5555  device

Then open a window for one of them:

scrcpy -s R58M42ABCDE

Shortcuts: -d picks the single USB device, -e the single TCP/IP (Wi-Fi) device.

Launch scrcpy on every phone with one script

Windows batch file (save as scrcpy-all.bat)

@echo off
rem Opens one scrcpy window per connected, authorised phone
for /f "skip=1 tokens=1,2" %%a in ('adb devices') do (
  if "%%b"=="device" start "" scrcpy -s %%a --max-size 800 --max-fps 30 --no-audio --window-title "%%a"
)

PowerShell

adb devices | Select-String "\tdevice$" | ForEach-Object {
    $serial = ($_ -split "\t")[0]
    Start-Process scrcpy -ArgumentList "-s $serial --max-size 800 --max-fps 30 --no-audio --window-title $serial"
}

Both skip phones that are unauthorized or offline. The window title shows each phone's serial so you can tell them apart. Tip: stick a label with the last four characters of the serial on each phone.

Best flags for many windows

Wireless (Wi-Fi) mode

With the phone connected by USB and on the same Wi-Fi as the PC, run:

scrcpy -s R58M42ABCDE --tcpip

scrcpy switches the phone to TCP/IP, connects to it over Wi-Fi and starts mirroring; you can then unplug the cable. For a phone already listening on port 5555:

scrcpy --tcpip=192.168.1.21:5555

Wi-Fi is convenient for a few phones, but with many it adds lag, drops when phones sleep, and doesn't charge them. For a full rack, use USB and powered hubs.

Where scrcpy stops scaling

scrcpy is excellent for one to a handful of phones. Past roughly 5–10 devices the friction adds up:

• One window per phone. Twenty floating windows have to be arranged by hand every session.
• No one-to-many input. A tap on one phone isn't repeated on the others, so the same step has to be done N times.
• No grouping, workflows or scheduling. Anything repeatable needs separate ADB scripts (see ADB commands for multiple devices).
• CPU load grows with every window, since each one decodes its own video stream.

FAQ

Can scrcpy control multiple devices at the same time?

Yes, but one window per device. Start scrcpy once for each phone with -s and the phone's serial number. Each window is controlled separately; scrcpy doesn't repeat one input on every phone.

How do I choose which phone scrcpy opens?

Run adb devices to list serial numbers, then start scrcpy with -s SERIAL (or --serial SERIAL). With exactly one USB device and one TCP/IP device you can also use -d for USB or -e for TCP/IP.

How many scrcpy windows can I run at once?

There is no fixed limit; your PC is the limit, because each window decodes a video stream. Lowering --max-size and --max-fps lets a typical PC run noticeably more windows.

Does scrcpy work over Wi-Fi?

Yes. Recent versions can switch a USB-connected phone to TCP/IP with scrcpy --tcpip, or connect to an address with scrcpy --tcpip=IP:5555. USB is more stable for many phones.