How to set up Lovense long-distance control

Every current Lovense device can be controlled by a partner anywhere with an internet connection. The principle is simple once you see it: the device connects to its owner's phone over Bluetooth, and the partner's commands reach that phone over the internet through Lovense's servers. Distance only matters between the device and the phone it is connected to.

What each partner needs

• The partner wearing or using the device: the Lovense Remote app, a Lovense account, the device charged and switched on, and Bluetooth enabled on the phone.
• The partner in control: usually the Lovense Remote app and an account as well. The exception is a Control Link, which works in a browser without installing anything.
• Both of you: an internet connection for the whole session. The controlling partner does not need a device of their own unless you want the two devices to react to each other.

Step by step

1. Install Lovense Remote from the App Store or Google Play and sign in. Each partner uses their own account.
2. The device owner switches the device on and connects it in the app over Bluetooth. Once connected, the app shows it as online.
3. Add each other as contacts in the app.
4. Open Long Distance, at the bottom of the app, and start the session. Lovense offers Live Control, where one partner controls the device in real time, and Long-Distance Sex, where you choose one-way or two-way control.
5. Keep the device online for the whole session: the owner's phone stays within Bluetooth range of the device, with the app running and an internet connection. If that phone drops its connection, the partner loses control until it returns.

The three ways to share control

Live Control is the simplest: one partner adjusts the other's device in real time. Long-Distance Sex adds a choice between one-way control, where one side drives the other, and two-way control, where both devices drive each other at once. Two-way control needs a Lovense controller toy on both sides, such as the Nora and the Max 2; our guide to long-distance toys that work as a pair explains which devices can do it.

The third option is a Control Link. The device owner generates a link, and whoever opens it can control the device from a web browser, with no app and no account. It is the quickest way to let a partner in, and also the one that needs the most care.

If it does not connect

• Check the device is charged and switched on. A low battery is an easy cause to miss when a device drops out mid-session.
• Check Bluetooth is on and the app has permission to use it. On Android, the app also needs the nearby devices permission, or location on older versions, to find the device.
• If the device was last connected to a different phone, disconnect it there first.
• Update the app on both phones, then close and reopen it.
• Check both partners are online. Long-distance control stops when either phone loses its internet connection.
• Remember that Bluetooth range is between the device and its owner's phone. Moving the phone to another room can break the connection even though the partner is in another city.