| Phone Link | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||
 A screenshot of the Phone Link interface opened in Windows, showing the Calls section. | |||||||
| Developer | Microsoft | ||||||
| Initial release | October 2, 2018; 7 years ago (2018-10-02) | ||||||
| Stable release(s)[±] | |||||||
| |||||||
| Operating system | Windows 10,Windows 11,Android,iOS | ||||||
| Predecessor | Phone Companion | ||||||
| Type | Phone and PC driver | ||||||
| License | Proprietaryfreeware | ||||||
| Website | Phone Link | ||||||
Phone Link, previouslyYour Phone, is a syncing software developed byMicrosoft to connectWindows PCs toAndroid andiOS mobile devices to view notifications, make phone calls, and use mobile apps, and perform other actions on mobile devices, via the PC.[5] It is a native component ofWindows 10 (since version 1809) andWindows 11, where it is aUWP app and consists of adriver that communicates with theLink to Windows[6] app on the mobile device. Phone Link makes use ofWi-Fi,Bluetooth for voice calls, ormobile data.[6]
Phone Link enables a PC to send (and receive)text messages relayed from the mobile device, including bothSMS andMMS, as well asRCS for Samsung Phones using Samsung Messages.[7] It can also access the 2000 most recent photos on the connected phone.
Audio that is played on the phone can also be controlled on the Phone Link interface, so long as the playing apps have media controls in the Android notification area.[8]
Phone Link can also be used to mirror the screen of anAndroid device; however this feature is currently only available on select devices with the Link to Windows service pre-installed.[9][10] The app also has a cross-device copy and paste feature allowing users to send copied text and images between devices using the same copy and paste shortcuts on each device.[11]
It requires users to sign in with the sameMicrosoft account on both PC and phone to enable the functionality.[12]
At itsBuild 2018 event on May 7, 2018, Microsoft presented the Your Phone app, which allowed users to use their PCs to see recent photos on theirAndroid based phones, and to send SMS messages.[13] Your Phone was released as part of the Windows 10 October 2018 Update (1809), as a replacement of the legacyPhone Companion app.[14]
AtSamsung's GalaxyNote10 launch event, Microsoft previewed the additional Your Phone feature of receiving phone calls directly on a PC viaBluetooth. The feature was made available for all Android phones on February 20, 2020.[15] At the same event it was revealed that Your Phone will ship on mostSamsung Galaxy devices as part of a partnership withSamsung Electronics.[16]
In March 2022, Your Phone was rebranded to Phone Link[17] and the interface was changed.[18] At the same time, the Your Phone Companion app on mobile was also renamed, to Link to Windows.[19]
In April 2023, Microsoft started rolling out support for theiPhone on Windows 11 only.[20]
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