Microsoft Phone Link: Everything you need to know (and why you might skip it)

When it comes to device interoperability, the world may be an Apple oyster, but Windows PCs have tricks up their sleeve, too. If you’re looking to connect your phone and computer to have more flexibility when using them together, Microsoft’s Phone Link app might be just what you’re looking for. However, Phone Link may not be for everyone, so here’s a quick look at what Phone Link can do, how to set it all up, and where it might fail.

What does a phone link do?

Microsoft Phone Link is a window into your phone that can live on your Windows PC. It works with texts, calls, photos, and more. For example, you can mirror your phone’s screen to your computer, giving you full visibility and simple navigation as if your phone were right there (this is especially great if you have a touchscreen laptop). You can access and view applications normally. It basically lets you use your phone via your computer. That’s with Android, anyway. With iPhones, Phone Link is more limited, but still allows you to interact with texts, calls, and notifications.

Phone Link has deep integration with phone and messaging apps, letting you make calls, turn on Do Not Disturb mode, view text threads, and reply, all from the Phone Link interface. Notifications on your phone are also sent to Phone Link, where you can view, respond to, and dismiss them from any device. If your phone plays audio, there’s also an interface to control playback and the option to stream the audio to your computer instead. The program also displays a feed of your photo library and lets you drag and drop images to quickly transfer them to your computer. A tool called Instant Hotspot quickly turns on your phone’s hotspot feature and links your computer to it.

Some interoperability works in reverse as well. Through the application on your phone, you can get some additional options. You can lock your computer, choose which files to send, view clipboard content, and find files sent to your phone from your computer. Sending said files is as simple as right-clicking on them on your computer and choosing “Send to My Phone” from the drop-down menu. Files sent from your computer will appear in the Received Files section of the Link to Windows app.

There’s also a phone finder feature that lets you play a sound on your phone for 20 seconds in case you get lost on the couch.

If your phone disconnects from your computer, you can quickly reconnect with one click within the Windows software.

How to set up Phone Link and enable its full potential

If you’re setting up a new Windows PC, you’ll likely be asked to activate Phone Link during the setup process. Otherwise, you can start it yourself by opening the Phone Link program on your computer. It’s available on Windows 11 and recent versions of Windows 10.

Phone Link will ask you what type of device you want to use, Android or iPhone, and then present you with a QR code to scan with your phone to get the correct Link to Windows app on your device. You can also download apps manually (Android/iOS).

You’ll need to sign in to the same Microsoft account in this app as you do on your Windows PC. After that, you can start the pairing process, where your computer will display the code that you will need to enter on your phone. Naturally, a tool like this requires a lot of access to your phone’s data, and the Links to Windows app will ask for a lot of permissions. Some features may still work without all these permissions, but many will not.

Once you grant the permissions, you’re ready to go. However, there are quite a few things you’ll need to enable to get all the features. For example, if you want to be able to make phone calls from your computer, you’ll also need to go through the process of pairing your phone and computer using Bluetooth. Windows software can help make this easier, but if it fails (as often happens with Bluetooth), you’ll need to pair them manually.

There are some additional hidden abilities. To make sure all of these features are enabled, in Windows, go to Settings > Bluetooth & Devices > Mobile Devices > Device Manager, and then enable all the switches for your paired phone.

Although the app prefers to run on the same Wi-Fi network as your computer, and this setup will likely provide optimal performance, you also have the option of using your phone’s cellular data for truly remote access. This way, you’ll still be able to access calls, texts, and photos no matter where you left your phone.

Related, in the top-right corner of the Phone Link app, there’s a three-dot menu that includes the Instant Hotspot option, which turns on your phone’s Wi-Fi hotspot and connects to it. Note, however, that the first use of this requires authorization on your phone.

You can also let your computer use your phone’s main camera or selfie camera as a webcam by opening the Camera app on your computer and selecting your phone as the device you want to use.

Some restrictions on the phone link

Although there’s a lot that Phone Link can do, it’s not without its wrinkles.

For one: all those permissions. Giving an app access to too much data is never a good thing. If you’re using an Android phone, you’re already giving a lot of data to Google. If you use a Windows computer, you provide a lot of different data to Microsoft. With Phone Link, you cross the tables a bit. If you just want texting capabilities, it’s faster and easier to use Messages for the web in your browser and link it back to the Messages app on your phone. This version of Messages displays conversations with chat interactions correctly, while Phone Link can display them differently (it lacked interaction bubbles in my testing). My editor noticed that Phone Link also displayed unwanted texts even when his phone blocked them. I found the same behavior. This is amazing.

There’s still a lot about Phone Link that isn’t quite perfect. While access to text messages and calls is mostly seamless, access to apps and other information tends to rely on screen mirroring. Every time you want to start a screen mirroring session, you’ll need to take out your phone and provide permission. For example, opening Gmail on Phone Link required me to go to my phone again, unlock it, and grant screen mirroring permission.

Screen mirroring isn’t always 1:1, as I found that I could navigate my home screen and launch apps, but couldn’t access the notification center or quick settings panel. Admittedly, the previous point is somewhat moot since my notifications were otherwise available in the Phone Link software on my computer. It’s also a somewhat subpar experience, since the visual resolution and refresh rate won’t match your phone’s screen.

If your phone isn’t connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your computer, many things go wrong. Screen mirroring is slower and slower. The webcam feature failed to establish a connection for me. Although transferring photos to PC still worked, it took more time, needed some time to cache the entire file first, and thus generally failed on every first attempt to transfer the file to desktop. Even when both devices are on the same network, you can only transfer photos one by one – without selecting bulk.

Although Phone Link is capable of a lot, many of its features can be duplicated without using it. Applications such as droidcam Offering similar webcam capabilities. The message browser app also works with text messages. The USB cable still proves its superiority in transferring large amounts of images quickly and having some images emailed to you or downloaded from photo On the web it is marginally less convenient. The usual way to create a Wi-Fi hotspot takes just a few clicks. Quick control over sound notifications and sorting is still much better Smart watch (At least in my opinion).

So, yes, Phone Link removes some friction here and there. It’s especially useful for iPhone users who want to access calls, text messages, and notifications on a Windows PC. But it all comes at the cost of more data sharing, some setup effort, and a lot of extra permissions. Is this worth it? Maybe, but it really depends on how much you share between your phone and computer during the day.