Setup Cheat Sheet: Mobile + Desktop
A one-time setup.
Module 1 covers the conceptual stuff: what Claude is, the formula for a good prompt, the privacy posture (the Dorm-Door Rule from Lesson 1.4). This page is the practical install: getting Claude on every device you use, getting voice mode working, and turning off the one notification setting that nukes your focus. Do this once, ideally before you start Module 2. Then you don't think about it again.
What you'll have at the end of this page
Claude installed on your phone (iOS or Android). Same account synced between phone, web, and desktop. Voice mode turned on and tested. Notifications set to "summary, not interrupt." A clear sense of which surface to use when (web for typing-heavy work, phone for voice and quick checks, desktop for cross-app workflows).
1. Install on your phone (iOS or Android).
The phone app is the surface that turns Claude from "a thing I open on my laptop" into "a thing I have on me." Voice mode lives here. The quick check between classes lives here.
iOS
App Store → search "Claude by Anthropic" → install → open → log in with the same account you use on the web (same email). Verify your account by checking the top-right profile menu: it should show your email and your plan tier (Free / Pro). If you signed up via Google or Apple on web, use the same provider here.
Android
Play Store → search "Claude by Anthropic" → install → open → log in. Same account-matching rule as iOS. On Android, also turn on the keyboard's Claude integration if your launcher offers it (varies by device):that's how you'll voice-prompt without opening the full app.
Sync check
Send yourself a test message on web. Open the phone app. The conversation should appear within 5 seconds. If it doesn't: log out and back in on phone using the exact same email/method as web. Most "my phone Claude doesn't see my Project" issues are a wrong-account login.
Pro tier on phone
If you're on Pro (the things Modules 7 and 9 require), Pro carries to phone automatically through your account: voice mode, higher message limits, and the Dispatch feature for Cowork. Heads-up: Cowork Projects (like your Coach from Module 7) live in the Claude Desktop app and don't appear on phone. Dispatch can trigger Cowork-style work from your phone but doesn't open individual Projects. Plan Coach work for desktop; use phone for chat, voice, and quick checks.
2. Turn voice mode on and test it.
Voice mode is a Pro feature on the Claude phone app. Lesson 1.3 covers what it's good and bad at; this page just gets it working. The first test should happen before you ever try to use it for real: failed voice mode at 7am during a Sunday Reset (Lesson 9.2) is a bad first experience.
Turn it on
Open Claude on phone → start a new chat → look for the microphone or waveform icon (usually next to the send button). Tap it once. The first time you do, the app will ask for microphone permission: say yes. Speak a short sentence ("test, test, can you hear me"). Claude should reply by voice. If you only see text reply, look in settings for "voice replies" or "voice output" and turn that on too.
Test in 3 environments
Voice mode performance varies a lot by environment. Test before you depend on it: (a) a quiet room with phone speaker: should be flawless. (b) walking outside with AirPods or wired headphones: should still be solid. (c) a noisy environment (coffee shop, dining hall) without headphones: usually struggles; this is the limit. Knowing which environment is which saves you a frustrated re-test later.
Where voice mode does NOT belong
Voice mode is for prep, not for live exam rooms, closed-book settings, or any classroom that prohibits AI tools.
3. Notifications: the single setting that ruins your focus.
If you wire up scheduled tasks in Module 9:Sunday Reset, Pre-Exam Watch, Daily Brief: those tasks will fire at scheduled times. The default notification settings will push them to your lock screen, your watch, and your laptop simultaneously. That's not "tireless tutor"; that's "pushy assistant." Fix this once.
The "summary, not interrupt" rule
Phone settings → Notifications → Claude → set to Scheduled Summary (iOS) or Silent / Bundle (Android). What this does: scheduled-task output still arrives, but it doesn't ping you. You see it when you next open the app: usually at your Sunday Reset session, your morning coffee, or the moment you actually want it. The whole point of scheduled tasks is to wait for you, not interrupt you.
Class-time blocks
iOS Focus Modes / Android Focus Modes: set up a "Class" focus that blocks Claude (and most other apps) during your scheduled class times. Sync it with your calendar so it auto-activates.
Which surface to use when.
You'll use all three: web, phone, and desktop app. Each one is the right tool for different parts of the course. The matrix below is the short version of which is which.
Heads-up: Cowork is desktop-only.
This course uses Cowork frequently from Module 7 onward (the Coach Project, scheduled tasks, the Capstone dashboard). Cowork only runs in the Claude Desktop app. You don't need it for Modules 0–6, but you will need it for the rest of the course. Plan to install the desktop app before you hit Module 7.
🌐 Web (browser)
Best for: Long writing sessions. Anything that involves uploading files (PDFs, syllabi, papers). Reviewing the full chat history of a Project. Pretty much every Module 0–6 lesson.
Worst for: Voice mode. On-the-go anything. Cowork (not available on web).
📱 Phone (iOS / Android)
Best for: Voice mode (the killer feature). Walking-around quizzes (Lesson 3.4 explain-it-back). Brain-dumping when an idea hits. The "what should I work on next" check. Reviewing scheduled-task output (Sunday Reset, Daily Brief).
Worst for: Long writing. Document uploads (workable but cramped). Cowork Projects (don't appear on phone — see Lesson 7.5).
💻 Desktop app (macOS / Windows)
Best for: Cowork. Your Coach Cowork Project (Module 7), scheduled tasks (Module 9), and your Capstone dashboard (Module 10) all live here. Required for the second half of the course. Also good for cross-app work where you're toggling between Claude, notes, slides, your inbox.
Worst for: Voice mode (use phone). Quick checks between classes (use phone).
🎯 The default rule
Web for the writing-heavy lessons in Modules 0–6. Phone for voice mode and anything on the go. Desktop app for Cowork (required for Modules 7 onward). All three are part of a complete setup; you don't have to install desktop on day one, but plan to have it ready before Module 7.
Privacy carries across all your devices.
Whatever you set up in Lesson 1.4 (data controls, training opt-out if available, Dorm-Door Rule for sensitive content) applies on every device that's logged into the same account. Phone privacy is account-level privacy. So is desktop. The setup choices you made on web carry: but it's worth opening Privacy / Data Controls on the phone app once and confirming, because the menu is laid out differently and a setting that looked "off" on web can look "on" on phone if the labels differ.
Once-a-term re-check
Same audit habit from Lesson 9.1: every term, open settings on phone and web, confirm your data controls and training opt-out (or whatever the current names are), confirm Pro tier is what you expect, confirm scheduled tasks are the ones you actually still want running. Set it as a recurring calendar reminder if it helps.
If you switch phones
Logout-on-old, login-on-new. Voice permissions get re-asked on the new device: say yes again. Scheduled tasks survive (they're account-level, not device-level). Notification preferences DO NOT survive: re-set them to "summary, not interrupt" on the new phone before scheduled tasks fire next.
If you use a public computer
Log in via incognito / private mode and explicitly log out when you leave. Don't let "remember me" save your Claude session on a library terminal or a roommate's laptop. The login carries every Project, every saved prompt, every chat history: it's a bigger leak than a forgotten Gmail tab.
What changes; what doesn't
Snapshot from April 2026. App layouts, settings menu names, and which features are gated to Pro all change. The structure of this cheat sheet: install, sync, voice, notifications, surface matrix, privacy: is stable. The exact button labels are not. If a step doesn't match what you see on screen, that's the version drift; the underlying setting still exists, usually one menu over.
Back to the curriculum
Run through this once. Most of it is one-time setup. Then forget about it. Module 1 (the rest of it) is waiting at Lesson 1.1 if you skipped here from a sidebar.
Back to the curriculum →