Do I Need a PC to Run TachoDash?

# Do I Need a PC to Run TachoDash?

Do I need a PC to run TachoDash?

No. TachoDash runs on a phone or a tablet — iOS or Android — and connects directly to the game over your own Wi-Fi network. There is nothing to install on a computer, no companion application to leave running, and no cable between the game and the screen showing your dashboard.

That is the whole shape of the product: your console and your phone share a network, the app reads the game's telemetry output, and the gauges move as you drive.

What does the app actually connect to?

It connects to the game's telemetry output. Every supported Forza title can broadcast what the car is doing — speed, revs, gear, inputs, temperatures — to an address on your local network. TachoDash listens for that stream and draws it.

The link is a native UDP connection over Wi-Fi, refreshed at frame rate. The stream goes from the game to the app on the network you are already on; for what the app does with data, the privacy policy is the authoritative document.

That also explains the one requirement people miss: both devices have to be on the same network. Not the same house — the same Wi-Fi.

What do I need instead of a PC?

Four things, all of which you probably already have:

• A phone or tablet running iOS or Android.
• A supported Forza game — Forza Horizon 6, Forza Horizon 5, Forza Motorsport (2023) or Forza Motorsport 7.
• Both devices on the same Wi-Fi network.
• The game's data output switched on. This is a one-time setting inside the game: Settings → HUD and Gameplay → Telemetry, Data Out ON, then your phone's IP address and a port outside the 5200–5300 range. On the two Motorsport titles the output format also has to be set to Dash.

That is the entire list. The FH5 and FH6 setup guide walks through it screen by screen, and the Motorsport format setting covers the extra step those two games need.

Can I use my phone on mobile data?

No. The connection is local, so the phone has to be on the same Wi-Fi as the console. A phone on cellular is on a completely different network and will never see the game, no matter how the address is entered.

If you want to move the dashboard around the room, that still works — it just has to stay within reach of the same Wi-Fi.

Is there anything to install on the console?

No. Nothing is installed, modified or sideloaded on the console. You change one setting in the game's own menu and the console does the rest. This is also why the app can support a new game without you touching your console again.

What if I already have a PC in the room?

Then you can keep using it for everything else. TachoDash simply does not need it — the app does not use a computer as a relay, a host or a rendering box. Point the game at the phone, and the phone draws the dashboard.

The reason the app is built this way is practical rather than ideological. A PC setup means a machine that has to be on, a display that has to be near it, and a cable run to the console. A phone on a mount is already where you are sitting.

Can I use a laptop instead of a phone?

TachoDash is an iOS and Android app, built for phones and tablets. That is not a limitation we worked around — it is the reason the product exists in this shape. A laptop means a machine that has to be open, a screen that has to be angled toward you, and a power cable somewhere in the way. A phone on a mount is already where you sit.

If you have an old phone or tablet in a drawer, that is a perfectly good dashboard. Nothing about the setup is tied to a new device.

Does the dashboard connection need the internet?

The live link is local: the game sends to your phone over the Wi-Fi you share, and the app draws what arrives. Browsing and downloading themes from the in-app theme market is the online part of the app, and it is separate from the dashboard connection.

The practical version: if the theme you want is already on the device, your dashboard keeps working on the strength of your local network alone.

What kind of screen can I use?

Once the connection is up, which screen you use is a placement decision. A phone fits on a mount at eye level, a tablet gives you a bigger cluster, an old handset can sit on a shelf as a permanent dash. All of them run the same app and the same themes.

TachoDash ships a growing library of themes with their own typography, needles, colours and layout logic — some digital, some analog, some deliberately quiet. Free themes come with every install; premium themes are available as single purchases (Theme T1–Theme T10, $0.99–$9.99 each) or through a Monthly ($2.99), Quarterly ($7.99) or Yearly ($29.99) pass — USD prices, local store pricing varies by region. Units are set independently (km/h or mph, bar or psi), and theme parameters such as colour can be adjusted in the app.

Where do I get TachoDash?

TachoDash is available on the App Store and on Google Play. If you would rather look at the dashboards first, browse the theme library; the download page has both store links side by side.

TachoDash is an unofficial fan-made project, not affiliated with Playground Games or Microsoft.