Phone Link is an app that runs on your PC. It allows you to access your phone’s notifications, messages, and photos directly on your PC. The app can be used on Windows 10 PCs running the May 2020 Update or later that have at least 8GB of RAM, and it requires a smartphone running Android 11.
The Your Phone app is a powerful and often overlooked addition to Windows 10 or Windows 11. Once it’s set up properly, you’ll be able to view text messages, notifications, and photos from your Android device directly on your desktop.
You can even respond to messages and notifications without touching your phone. That makes the Your Phone app one of the best productivity tools for people who spend most of their day at a computer but still need to keep tabs on their smartphones.
Recently, Microsoft made an announcement that they will be rebranding Your Phone to Phone Link. With this change, also comes a new interface, rounded corners, a new notification area as well as some fresh changes to the setup experience. This move is geared toward bringing your Android Phone even closer to your Windows PC.
How to connect your Android phone to Phone Link
- Download Phone Link from the Microsoft Store.
- Launch the app and click on Get Started.
- Then, select the option to Sign in with Microsoft and key in your login information.
- Select the option to Link Phone and PC, then Enter your Phone number and hit Send.
- Then, you will need to download the application on your Android phone from Google Playstore.
- Confirm that My PC is ready and click on the option to Connect my PC.
- Then, sign in to your Microsoft account, and click on Continue.
- Click on Allow, on the subsequent screen prompts that will pop up.
- Finally. Click on Done to finish setting up the application on both devices.
How to disable Phone Link in Windows 11
Your Phone App now Phone Link comes installed on your device by default, this means that it will be automatically updated to the new version and take up the new changes through the Microsoft Store. However, if you do not make use of the application then you can easily uninstall it from your device by following the steps listed below:
- Click on the Search icon on your taskbar and type Powershell.
- Select Powershell and choose the option to Run as Administrator.
- Then, key in the following command line to remove the application from your device and press Enter: Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.YourPhone -AllUsers | Remove-AppxPackage
Note: The package name of the application did not change during the rebranding process, just the display name from Your Phone to Phone Link.
Get started with Phone Link in Windows 11
On Android, Your Phone mobile companion had been renamed to Link to Windows for all users. Microsoft has further indicated that the next Windows 11 update will show a set-up screen during the OOBE, with a QR code. Therefore, users can scan this QR code to link the phone to their PC, rather than following the conventional way.
If you use your PC for work or school (or both), it may be easier to use some features on Phone Link from your computer. It’s easier to type longer messages on a computer keyboard rather than using a touchscreen, for example. And if you’re using Microsoft Teams or other productivity apps all day, it’s more convenient to check notifications from mobile apps in Windows rather than switching between devices.
Download the app here:
