Microsoft 'Link to Windows' actually works now

Link your phone to Windows

Link to Windows has had something of a chequered history, but seems finally to be getting some attention. Last time I tried, when it was called 'Your Phone' I could not make it function at all. Lets have another look at it in a kind of 'busman's holiday'. Microsoft used to make phones but threw in the towel, so they have to embrace other manufacturers mobile devices. This has clearly been something of a journey for them, and it is still a work in progress but its starting to make sense at last.

Features of Link to Windows 

• Make and receive calls from your Bluetooth capable PC
• Read and reply to text messages from your PC
• Manage your phone's notifications on your PC
• Use your PC's bigger screen, keyboard, mouse and touch screen to interact with your phone from your PC.

Features of Link to Windows only for Android

• Access the photos on your Android phone from your PC

Features of Link to Windows that require the integrated Android version provided by a device manufacturer*

• Access your favourite mobile apps on your PC
• Drag files between your PC and phone
• Copy and paste content between your PC and phone

TL:DR – The latest version of Link to Windows keeps you connected to your PC, Lets you take and make calls (requires Bluetooth), keep up with messages and notifications, and on Android devices you can share your photos. Some manufacturers provide the Android app as a system app, which enables deeper functionality, but you can get the base functionality from the version available from Google Play, and just for the photo functionality and for the ease of pasting text into messages it is worth it. The iPhone version is more limited and looks like work in progress. Switching between phones is a little but clunky too, indicating again that theres still work to do.

Setting up - Link to Windows on your Android device

• On your Android phone go to www.aka.ms/yourpc or direct to the Play Store and install 'Link to Windows' 

• Sign in to your Microsoft Account then use the QR Code to connect 'Link to Windows' to your PC
• Enable notifications. (You may travel to the Android permissions screens and back)
• Allow background refresh (impacts battery life)
• Thats it.

A slight caution about Android system apps

There is a complexity to understand this android app. It exists as a built in andriod system app for Surface Duo and some Samsung and HONOR and OPPO and ASUS devices, and for every other device manufacturer there is a downloadable app from Google Play. This could be confusing. The Apps have the same identifier, (com.microsoft.appmanager) which means that updates can come from Play Store. System apps however can't be uninstalled (easily).

See Link to Windows on Google Play and Link to Windows supported devices (Surface Duo and selected Samsung devices only

Setting up - Link to Windows on your iPhone

• On your Android phone go to www.aka.ms/yourpc or direct to the App Store
• Go into Settings and add Device on Phone Link for Windows

 

• Select 'iPhone'
• Scan the QR code on your iPhone, and it will open the app and help you pair your device. If you dont have the app installed it will be confusing as it will try to help you install it but it just looks like the QR Code reading failed when actually you just need to install the app from the App Store first.
• Once paired, make sure notifications are on in Bluetooth settings
• That's it.

What can you do with Phone Link with an Android device on your Windows PC?

Photo management

You can avoid having to email yourself photos or the complexity of using BlueTooth file transfer. Your Photos are visible in a gallery in Phone Link. You can grab the text, copy, edit, delete and drag and drop photos without touching your android device.

• Your phone photo gallery is visible in Phone Link.
• A new feature 'Copy text from photos' is available.
• You can copy a photo, save it somewhere else on your PC, share it, and if you give the app permission, you can delete photos from your android device using your PC.

Messages, Calls, Notifications, Now Playing all in one place on your Windows PC

You can Compose, read and reply to messages direct from your PC using Phone Link for Windows.

• Its pretty nice, but the user experience with the nav drawer doesn't really work for me for a Windows utility, fortunately if you resize bigger it is like the image at the top of the screen 
• You can see the Phone you are connected to, its connectivity to BlueTooth. WiFi and Cellular network, whether the battery is charging and the battery charge percentage. Each of these indicators has a tooltip with more information.
• There is a set of buttons which indicate Do not disturb status, Volume level, Music Player On/Off and let you send a sound to your device for 20 seconds.
• The currently displayed track and controls will appear and cover art if your chosen music app supports this.
• Finally you can see your notifications and clear them from here too. 

What can you do with Phone Link with an iPhone on your Windows PC?

Messages, Calls, Notifications, Now Playing all in one place on your Windows PC

You can Compose, read and reply to messages direct from your PC using Phone Link for Windows.

• Its pretty nice, but the user experience with the nav drawer doesn't really work for me for a Windows utility, fortunately if you resize bigger it is like the image at the top of the screen 
• You can see the iPhone you are connected to, its connectivity to BlueTooth. WiFi and Cellular network, whether the battery is charging and the battery charge percentage. Each of these indicators has a tooltip with more information.
• There is a set of buttons which indicate Do not disturb status, Volume level, Music Player On/Off and let you send a sound to your device for 20 seconds.
• The currently displayed track and controls will appear and cover art if your chosen music app supports this.
• Finally you can see your notifications and clear them from here too, but you may have to adjust the permissions on your iPhone to allow this.

Conclusion 

The app has been radically simplified and complexity has been removed. The previous design for this app was impossibly flaky and complex. It is as if Microsoft people read my review of the previous release and said 'yes fair enough, lets fix all those issues and make it work'. This app might seem a little limited but it is at least reliable now for Android and iPhone, although the feature parity isn't quite there yet and the experience is different, partially due to restrictions imposed by the mobile operating systems manufacturers.

Note: "A Busman's Holiday" is a holiday or vacation during which one does something similar to what one does for work.

* Link to Windows is available on Surface Duo and some Samsung and HONOR and OPPO and ASUS devices.