Remote Control has changed a lot since launch, and Anthropic’s documentation records those changes as version notes scattered through the page. This is all of them in one place, so you can tell at a glance whether the behaviour you are seeing is a bug or just an older build.
Check your version with claude --version. If something below says it requires a version newer than yours, upgrade before debugging further.
Check your build
Paste your version below and this reads it against the table further down, telling you which capabilities you have, which a newer release would add, and which defects were fixed after your build. That last list is the useful one: if your symptom appears there, upgrading is the fix.
Run claude --version in your terminal and paste the output here. Nothing is sent anywhere; this runs in your browser.
Nothing you type leaves your browser. The comparison runs client side against the table on this page, so there is no request to us and nothing logged. If your build is current and the behaviour persists, it is not version drift: check the error reference, and confirm none of the telemetry-disabling variables are set.
Why this matters more than usual here
Remote Control is in research preview, which means behaviour changes between releases and error messages get rewritten. A lot of confusing reports come down to running a build from a few weeks ago: a flag is rejected as unknown, an error names the wrong cause, or a session silently duplicates itself. Knowing which version introduced what turns those from mysteries into a one-line upgrade.
Version history
| Version | What changed |
|---|---|
| 2.1.154 | Variables that disable feature-flag evaluation got their own error message. Before this, DISABLE_TELEMETRY and friends produced the misleading “Remote Control is not yet enabled for your account” instead. |
| 2.1.166 | /mcp works from mobile and web. On mobile it returns a text status summary rather than opening the picker. |
| 2.1.176 | Auto-generated session titles match the language of your conversation, or your language setting. |
| 2.1.178 | Added “Couldn’t verify Remote Control eligibility” and “Couldn’t verify your organization’s Remote Control policy”. Both mean the feature-flag service was unreachable. |
| 2.1.181 | /config works from mobile with key=value. Added CLAUDE_CLIENT_PRESENCE_FILE for suppressing push notifications while you are at your machine. |
| 2.1.196 | Remote Control is disabled when ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL points at a host other than api.anthropic.com. Before this, a custom base URL produced no explanatory message. |
| 2.1.200 | Added -c / --continue and --session-id to server mode. Also fixed reconnection: a failure now reports itself instead of silently creating a duplicate session. |
| 2.1.202 | Fixed attachments sent without a caption being dropped before reaching the session. |
| 2.1.203 | The “Enable Remote Control for all sessions” toggle appears in the VS Code command menu. |
| 2.1.206 | Running /remote-control while signed out reports the real reason. Before this it said Unknown command: /remote-control. |
| 2.1.207 | Desktop-hosted sessions send subagent and workflow progress to connected devices. Also fixed updates being lost during reconnection, which left finished tasks showing as still running. |
| 2.1.208 | Added session URL reminders (“Still working” and “Approve tool calls from your phone”). Connecting devices now show subagents and workflows that were already running. |
| 2.1.211 | On Team and Enterprise, /usage-credits from mobile no longer sends a request to your admin without confirmation. It now tells you to run it in the CLI. |
| 2.1.212 | A device joining mid-run shows a running workflow’s agents immediately, rather than waiting for the next agent update. |
| 2.1.219 | Provider errors name the specific variable that routed the session away from the Anthropic API, such as CLAUDE_CODE_USE_BEDROCK. |
Diagnose by symptom
Working backwards from what you are seeing is usually faster than reading the whole table.
| What you see | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
Unknown command: /remote-control | Signed out on a build older than 2.1.206 | Sign in with /login, and upgrade so you get the real message next time |
--continue or --session-id rejected as an unknown argument | Older than 2.1.200 | Upgrade. These flags did not exist before that release |
| “Not yet enabled for your account” but you are on an eligible plan | Older than 2.1.154 with a telemetry-disabling variable set | Unset DISABLE_TELEMETRY, DO_NOT_TRACK, CLAUDE_CODE_DISABLE_NONESSENTIAL_TRAFFIC or DISABLE_GROWTHBOOK, then upgrade |
| Duplicate sessions piling up at claude.ai/code | Older than 2.1.200 | Upgrade. Reconnection failures used to create a new session silently |
| A finished task still shows as running on your phone | Older than 2.1.207 | Upgrade. Status updates sent during reconnection could be lost |
| Remote Control silently unavailable behind a proxy | Older than 2.1.196 | Upgrade to get the explanatory message, then unset ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL |
| An image sent from your phone never arrives | Older than 2.1.202 | Upgrade, or send the attachment with a caption as a workaround |
| Subagents missing when you open a session mid-run | Older than 2.1.208, or 2.1.212 for workflows | Upgrade |
Minimum version by feature
- Server mode session resuming (
--continue,--session-id): 2.1.200 /mcpfrom mobile or web: 2.1.166/configfrom mobile: 2.1.181- Presence-aware notification suppression (
CLAUDE_CLIENT_PRESENCE_FILE): 2.1.181 - VS Code auto-connect toggle: 2.1.203
- Session URL reminders: 2.1.208
Everything else described in the command reference works on any build that has Remote Control at all.
Staying current
Because this is a research preview, the practical advice is to stay on a recent build. If you hit something that contradicts the troubleshooting guide, check your version before assuming it is a bug. Roughly half the confusing behaviour reported for Remote Control turns out to be a release or two of drift.
Last reviewed: 2 August 2026. Versions listed are those Anthropic documents explicitly; releases that changed nothing about Remote Control are not listed.
Related guides
- Troubleshooting: every error message and its fix
- Command reference: every command and flag
- Setup: requirements, login, and workspace trust
- Claude Remote Control: the full guide