Microsoft 'Link to Windows' actually works now

Link your phone to Windows — and it actually works

Phone Link — Microsoft's app for connecting your Android or iPhone to a Windows PC — has come a long way from its troubled beginnings. Back when it was called 'Your Phone', getting it to function at all was an achievement in itself. By 2026, the picture is genuinely different: the app ships preinstalled on Windows 10 and Windows 11, setup takes minutes, and day-to-day reliability has improved to the point where it earns a place in a real workflow. Microsoft no longer makes phones, so embracing Android and iOS has always been a necessity rather than a choice — and it shows in how seriously Phone Link is now being developed.

Features of Phone Link (all supported devices)

• 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
• See battery status, connectivity, volume and Do Not Disturb state at a glance
• Control music playback and see now-playing information with cover art

Android-only features

• Access up to 2,000 recent photos from your Android camera roll directly on your PC
• Copy text from photos using built-in OCR

Features that require the integrated Android version provided by a device manufacturer

• Run 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 — Phone Link keeps your PC and phone in sync for calls, messages, notifications, and (on Android) photos. The Play Store version covers most people's needs. Manufacturers including Samsung, HONOR, OPPO, and ASUS ship it as a system app with deeper integration. iPhone support is real and functional, though Android still gets the richer feature set. The app is preinstalled on Windows 10 (May 2019 Update or later) and Windows 11, so there is a good chance it is already sitting on your taskbar.

A note on naming — Phone Link vs Link to Windows

The naming is slightly confusing and worth clearing up before anything else. On your Windows PC, the app is called Phone Link and is available from the Microsoft Store. On your Android phone, the companion app is called Link to Windows and is available from the Google Play Store and the Galaxy Store. They are two halves of the same system. If you search for the old name 'Your Phone Companion', you will be redirected — Microsoft retired that branding some time ago.

Setting up — Link to Windows on your Android device

• On your Android phone go to www.aka.ms/yourpc or search for 'Link to Windows' directly in the Play Store or Galaxy Store.

• Sign in to your Microsoft Account, then scan the QR code shown in Phone Link on your PC to pair the two devices.
• Grant notification access. Android will likely bounce you to its permissions screen and back — this is expected.
• Allow background refresh. This keeps the connection alive but does draw on battery life.
• That's it.

A note on Android system apps

There is one complexity worth understanding. Link to Windows ships as a built-in system app on Surface Duo and selected Samsung, HONOR, OPPO, and ASUS devices. For every other Android phone, you install it from the Play Store. Both versions share the same app identifier (com.microsoft.appmanager), which means Play Store updates apply to both — but system apps cannot be uninstalled in the usual way.

See Link to Windows on Google Play and the full list of supported devices with deep integration.

Samsung has gone furthest with this integration. Devices like the Galaxy Book3 Pro and Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 ship with Phone Link tightly woven into the hardware and software experience — including the ability to run Android apps directly on the PC display, drag files between devices, and share the clipboard. If you are in the Samsung ecosystem, this is the most seamless version of the experience available anywhere.

Setting up — Link to Windows on your iPhone

• On your iPhone, go to www.aka.ms/yourpc or find the app directly on the App Store. Install it before you try to scan any QR codes — if you attempt to scan first, it will look like the scan failed when actually the app just isn't there yet.
• Open Phone Link on your Windows PC, go to Settings, and choose Add a Device, then select iPhone.

• Scan the QR code shown on your PC using the Link to Windows app on your iPhone.
• Once paired, check Bluetooth settings and confirm that notifications are enabled.
• That's it.

What can you do with Phone Link on Android?

Photo management

Gone are the days of emailing yourself photos or wrestling with Bluetooth file transfer. Phone Link gives you direct access to your Android camera roll — up to 2,000 recent images — from your PC. You can browse, copy, save, share, and delete photos without touching your phone.

• Your Android photo gallery is visible and browsable in Phone Link on your PC.
• The Copy text from photos feature uses OCR to extract text from any image — genuinely useful for grabbing addresses, reference numbers, or anything you've photographed rather than typed.
• You can copy a photo to your clipboard, drag it into another app, save it to a local folder, or delete it from your phone — all from the PC.

Messages, Calls, Notifications, and Now Playing

Phone Link consolidates your phone's communications into a single panel on your PC. You can compose, read, and reply to messages using your full keyboard, and take or make calls via Bluetooth without picking up your phone.

• The status bar shows your connected phone, Bluetooth state, Wi-Fi, cellular signal, charging status, and battery percentage — each with a tooltip for more detail.
• Quick-action buttons let you toggle Do Not Disturb, adjust volume, control the media player, and ping your phone with a 20-second sound if you've lost it somewhere in the sofa cushions.
• Currently playing track, playback controls, and cover art appear automatically when a supported music app is active on your phone.
• Notifications arrive on your PC and can be dismissed from there, keeping both screens in sync.

What can you do with Phone Link on iPhone?

Messages, Calls, Notifications, and Now Playing

iPhone support is real and functional, though Apple's platform restrictions mean the feature set is narrower than Android. You don't get photo access or