What's the Best Free Tally Light App for iPhone?
Safari on iPhone supports Wake Lock (screen stays on automatically). Chrome on iOS does not support Wake Lock — your screen will dim mid-production. Always open Cue Light in Safari on iPhone.
How to set up on iPhone
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Open Safari on the iPhone you'll use as the display Not Chrome — Safari only for Wake Lock support.
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On the controller (your phone or laptop), open cuelight.io/app A room is created automatically. You'll see the QR code and a "Copy Display Link" button.
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Scan the QR code with the iPhone camera Or paste the display link into Safari manually. The screen goes fullscreen black — connected and on standby.
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Tap Live on the controller The iPhone goes fullscreen green. Tap Preview for amber. Tap Off to clear.
Browser compatibility on iPhone
For older iOS without Wake Lock: go to Settings → Display & Brightness → Auto-Lock → Never before your production. Remember to change it back afterward.
Why most iPhone tally apps require a server
Most tally systems communicate over a local WiFi network. The iPhone connects to a server running on a PC on the same network. This means:
- You need to install Node.js and a tally server (Tally Arbiter) on a PC
- The iPhone must be on the same WiFi network as the server
- It won't work for remote guests, or on cellular data
- If the server PC sleeps or crashes, the tally dies
Cue Light skips the server entirely. The signal travels over the internet — same as a text message. The iPhone can be anywhere with a data connection and the tally still works.
More questions
Yes. The display iPhone can be on cellular data, WiFi, or any internet connection. The controller and display don't need to be on the same network.
Yes. Any iPhone running iOS 14+ and Safari works as a display. An old iPhone 8 or iPhone X running on WiFi is a perfectly good dedicated tally display at zero cost.
Yes. Open cuelight.io/app on any iPhone in Safari — it loads as the controller by default. Tap Live, Preview, Standby, or Off to control all connected displays.
Multiple. You can have several iPhones (or any other devices) connected as displays simultaneously — one in the talent's eyeline, one for a remote guest, one for the camera operator. All update at the same time.
Turn your iPhone into a tally light now
Open Safari → cuelight.io/app → scan QR. Done. Works over WiFi or cellular.
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