SolosetHelp
Help and questions.
Setting up, filming hands-free, where your takes go, and what to do when something does not work.
Getting started
You need an iPhone with iOS 18.2 or later and a Mac with macOS 14 Sonoma or later, on the same Wi-Fi network. No cable and no account.
- Install both apps.Soloset on the Mac, and Soloset from the App Store on the iPhone.
- Allow the local network.The first time, the iPhone app asks to find devices on your network, and so does the Mac app on macOS 15 or later. Choose Allow. If you said no, turn it on in Settings › Privacy & Security › Local Network (iPhone) or System Settings › Privacy & Security › Local Network (Mac).
- Pair once.The Mac shows a code; scan it with the iPhone app, or type it. The code works once and for ten minutes. The link that follows is encrypted with a key only that phone and that Mac have. A phone can remember several Macs.
- Film.Mount the phone, check the live preview on the Mac, and press Space.
Where to put the phone
Wherever it sees your hands: above the desk on an arm or overhead mount, in front of you on a tripod, or at your side for tools and machines. For long takes, keep the phone on power, and leave a little air around it so it stays cool.
Hands-free keys
These keys work when the Soloset window is in front, you are not typing in a text field, and the phone is connected. Anything else passes through to your Mac as usual.
| Key | What it does |
|---|---|
| Space | Starts a take; then pauses and resumes it. |
| ↩ | Held for one second, stops the take. With Settings › Hands-free › Stop needs › Double press, two presses within 0.6 seconds stop it instead. |
| H | Marks a highlight on the exact frame, while recording. |
| M | While paused, records a voice memo up to 90 seconds; press again to finish. |
| ← → | While paused, chooses the next step. |
A banner on the preview always says what the take is doing. If you press a take key before the phone has answered the last one, it says Waiting for the phone… and nothing is sent twice. A quiet sound plays when the phone confirms. A keyboard paired to the iPhone works the same way, with stop always a hold.
Foot pedals
Any Bluetooth or USB foot pedal that types a key works. Open Settings › Hands-free on the Mac and record the pedal's keys for start, stop and highlight; Soloset only listens for them while that window is open. If your pedal cannot hold a key down, set Stop needs to Double press.
Where your takes go
The iPhone records the original files at full quality. A take can be several files: one video file per recorded stretch (a pause starts a new one), one file per memo, and a small log of every event on the take's own clock.
When a take ends, the Mac copies its files one by one and compares each with the phone's copy. Only then does the take show as Checked. If the Wi-Fi drops, the copy picks up again when the phone is back; the phone keeps its originals until you remove them, or, if you turn on automatic deletion in the Mac's Settings, until they are checked and the phone needs the space.
To edit, send a take to your export folder (chosen in Settings): it arrives as one folder with the video segments in order, the memos, the markers, a manifest, and an empty READY file written last, so tools that watch the folder know it is complete. Settings can also send every kept take on its own. You can also copy takes off the phone in Finder, with the phone connected by cable.
Storage, battery and heat
- Storage. 4K at 30 frames per second takes about 218 to 293 MB a minute (13 to 18 GB an hour), measured on real sessions. The phone shows the time left, and a take stops on its own while there is still a safe margin.
- Battery. Off power, the phone warns at 30, 20 and 10 percent. It never stops a take for the battery.
- Heat. A take stops on its own only if the phone gets critically hot. Shade and a little air help in long sessions.
- Interruptions. A phone call or an alarm pauses the take instead of ending it. Resume when you are ready.
When something does not work
The Mac does not find the phone.
Check that both are on the same Wi-Fi network, both apps are open, and both are allowed to use the local network (see Getting started). Guest networks and some office networks keep devices apart; try a home network or your Mac's own hotspot.
The Mac says it cannot connect to this phone.
The phone has not been paired with this Mac yet, or the pairing was removed. Pair again: the Mac shows a new code.
The live preview stutters.
The preview is a light, separate stream; your take is recorded on the phone at full quality and is not affected. A busy Wi-Fi network or a hot phone makes the preview drop frames first. Moving closer to the router or cooling the phone helps.
The banner says Waiting for the phone…
The Mac sent a command and the phone has not answered yet. It keeps sending the same command for up to a minute, and the phone carries it out once. If it does not answer, check the phone is on and the app is open.
The apps say their versions do not match.
Update both apps to the latest version: the phone from the App Store, the Mac from the app's update check. The two halves must speak the same version.
A key does nothing.
The Soloset window must be in front and no text field may be in use. The banner says why when a key cannot act, for example a memo while recording.
Where are my takes on the Mac?
In the takes list in Soloset. Right-click a take to reveal its files, or its exported bundle, in Finder. Exports go to the folder set in Settings.
Still stuck?
Write to us. Say which iPhone and Mac you use, the versions of both apps, and what you see; a screenshot helps. We are a small team and answer every email, usually within three working days.
Privacy questions: privacy@soloset.app. How we handle data: privacy policy.