KiteRelay

Compare

Plenty of good boxes. Here is the table.

Eight columns, four other makers, sources under the table, and three situations with the columns that decide each one.

01Comparison

Plenty of good boxes. Only one that unlocks the screen itself and is set up from your phone.

KiteRelay

Screen never relayed through the maker
YesYes
Wi-Fi setup from phone
YesYes
Unlocks the screen itself
YesYes
Jiggler on a schedule
YesYes
Tailscale built in
YesYes
Generic hardware identity
YesYes
Updates itself, with rollback
YesYes
Unplugs keyboard and mouse when idle
YesYes

PiKVM

Screen never relayed through the maker
YesYes
Wi-Fi setup from phone
NoNo
Unlocks the screen itself
NoNo
Jiggler on a schedule
Limited or add-onLimited or add-on
Tailscale built in
Limited or add-onLimited or add-on
Generic hardware identity
Limited or add-onLimited or add-on
Updates itself, with rollback
Limited or add-onLimited or add-on
Unplugs keyboard and mouse when idle
NoNo

TinyPilot

Screen never relayed through the maker
YesYes
Wi-Fi setup from phone
NoNo
Unlocks the screen itself
NoNo
Jiggler on a schedule
Limited or add-onLimited or add-on
Tailscale built in
YesYes
Generic hardware identity
NoNo
Updates itself, with rollback
Limited or add-onLimited or add-on
Unplugs keyboard and mouse when idle
NoNo

JetKVM

Screen never relayed through the maker
Limited or add-onLimited or add-on
Wi-Fi setup from phone
NoNo
Unlocks the screen itself
NoNo
Jiggler on a schedule
YesYes
Tailscale built in
Limited or add-onLimited or add-on
Generic hardware identity
Limited or add-onLimited or add-on
Updates itself, with rollback
Limited or add-onLimited or add-on
Unplugs keyboard and mouse when idle
NoNo

StarTech IP-KVM

Screen never relayed through the maker
YesYes
Wi-Fi setup from phone
NoNo
Unlocks the screen itself
NoNo
Jiggler on a schedule
NoNo
Tailscale built in
NoNo
Generic hardware identity
NoNo
Updates itself, with rollback
Limited or add-onLimited or add-on
Unplugs keyboard and mouse when idle
NoNo

Compared against publicly listed features as of October 2026. Products change, so check the maker’s own page before you decide. Automatic unlock does nothing until you have set it up, and you can switch it off. Generic hardware identity means the computer sees ordinary peripherals, not a KVM.

✓ yes~ limited or add-on✕ no
Where these marks come from
  • PiKVM: the PiKVM Handbook pages on Tailscale, the mouse jiggler and device identification. Tailscale is a terminal install, the jiggler has no schedule, and the USB identity is editable by hand.
  • TinyPilot: the knowledge base article on installing Tailscale, which TinyPilot Pro does from its web interface.
  • JetKVM: the Keyboard and Mouse page, the 0.5.9 release notes and the Remote Access page. The jiggler has had a schedule since firmware 0.5.9. Tailscale is not pre-installed: it installs from JetKVM’s own script over SSH. Remote access can fall back to a relay JetKVM provides (encrypted) when a direct connection fails. When nobody is connected it can hide itself as a monitor, but its keyboard and mouse stay attached.
  • StarTech IP-KVM: the SV1108IPEXT product page and its manual. StarTech now lists that model as discontinued.

Checked on 8 October 2026. Products change; if a maker adds one of these, the mark changes too. Write to support@kiterelay.com if you spot one we have missed.

02What the other computer sees

Two ordinary devices. That is the whole list.

Generic hardware identity is the column that matters for a locked-down work laptop you are authorised to manage. It sees a wireless receiver and a plain monitor, the same as any desk, and there is nothing on it to install or to notice.

Connected devices

  • USB receiverKeyboard and mouseReady
  • Monitor1600 x 900, 60 HzReady

Nothing else. Nothing installed.

The KiteRelay box

What is actually there

KiteRelay, with a generic hardware identity.

The computer sees ordinary peripherals, not a KVM. There is nothing on it to notice, because there is nothing on it.

03Which one is right for me

Three situations. The columns that decide each one.

  1. 01

    The machine is at home. I am not.

    You want to reach it from an office or a phone, get past its lock screen, and never touch a router setting.

    Look at

    • Tailscale built in
    • Unlocks the screen itself
    • Wi-Fi setup from phone
  2. 02

    The other computer must not notice anything.

    It should see an ordinary keyboard and monitor, and nothing at all while you are away.

    Look at

    • Generic hardware identity
    • Unplugs keyboard and mouse when idle
  3. 03

    I want it running in ten minutes, without a terminal.

    Set up from a phone, kept up to date on its own, and a jiggler that keeps a long job moving.

    Look at

    • Wi-Fi setup from phone
    • Updates itself, with rollback
    • Jiggler on a schedule

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