How To Link Your Android or iOS Device To Windows 10? | Connect Phone To Windows 10

One Windows 10 feature that’s quite handy is the option for users to link Android and iOS devices to their Windows 10 PCs and use the ‘Continue on PC’ feature. It lets you push web pages from your phone to your PC without the need to connect to the same network or use a USB cable.

The Continue on PC feature is currently available for users running Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. You can use the steps mentioned in this post to link phone to Windows 10 PC with ease.

Should I link my phone to Windows 10?

The answer is yes. There doesn’t seem to be any harm in connecting your phone to your computer. And when we talk about the advantages, there are many. Apart from sharing web pages, you can also receive notifications from Android apps in your Windows 10 Action Center.

There is one feature like a lot. You can reply to SMS texts directly from your Windows 10 PC. Although, I don’t think there are many people who would find it much useful. However, users can delight themselves by knowing that the reply option also works for WhatsApp and possibly other messaging apps.

Also Read: 17 Tips & Tricks To Speed Up Windows 10 And Make It Faster

Connect Android or iOS Phone to Windows 10

You should have a working phone number if you want to link your phone to your Windows 10 PC. In this post, I have used an Android device, but the steps for iOS are similar if you want to link iPhone to Windows 10. Follow the steps written below:

1. On your Windows 10 PC, open Settings app.
2. Click on the Phone option.
   
3. Now, to connect your Android or iOS device to Windows 10, you can start by clicking Add a phone. Make sure both your PC and phone have an active internet connection.
   
4. On the new window that appears, choose your country code and fill in your mobile number. Click Send to receive the text message on your phone.
   
5. Download the Android app called Microsoft Apps using the link in the SMS. It’s required when you want to link Android phone to Windows 10 and use the Continue on PC feature. You don’t need that app to link iPhone to Windows 10.
   Update: Now, the SMS contains a link to install the Microsoft Launcher app. On iOS, it installs Microsoft Edge browser.
   After you sign-in the Microsoft Launcher or Edge, your device will appear in Windows 10’s Phone section.

Once done, you can use the new ‘Continue on PC’ button in the Cortana and Edge browser. For any news story you read, you can send it to your PC by tapping that button.

The linking is only a one-time process. However, if some issue occurs, you can delete the app and follow the steps again.

How to unlink your phone from Windows 10?

If you don’t want to sync your phone and Windows 10 can unlink the phone whenever you want. Go to the Phone section and click the Manage all devices linked with your Microsoft account option. A new browser window will open where you’ll find your phone listed. Click Unlink this phone and you’re done.

You can also unlink the PC if you don’t want your device to push links to your PC. But this would stop all the connected Android and iOS devices from doing so.

Continue on PC is not limited to Cortana

You can use the feature on other apps. For instance, visit any web page in Google Chrome and open the Share section by tapping the Settings button. Here, you’ll find the Continue on PC option which works the same way as mentioned earlier.

You can also send images from your phone. However, it requires an additional step. In Google Photos app, tap Share > Continue on PC. Now, it asks you to create a link to the file to be shared. So, you simply have to select the first option if you want to send only one image.

Similarly, you can open links stored in Google Keep directly on your Windows 10 PC. The Continue on PC option is available in virtually all the places where you can find Android’s native share option. But it’ll only work if there is a web link to be shared.

Unfortunately, iOS users don’t have this facility as the Cortana app is not available for their platform.

What’s more? Cross Device

You can club the likes of the Continue on PC feature with existing syncing capabilities offered by Microsoft as a part of their Cortana’s cross-device experience. In the Cortana app on your Android device, turn on the “Enable Cortana cross device” option.

Through the Cortana app, you can sync various things like notifications for missed calls, incoming messages, low battery status, and notifications from other apps can appear in the Windows 10 Action Center. Don’t forget to read some useful Action Center tips and tricks.

To enable these sync options, visit Cortana > Swipe from left of the screen > Settings > Cross Device. Turn on the toggle buttons you like. After you enable app notifications sync, you can select individual Android apps for which you want to enable notifications on your Windows 10 PC. Tap Choose what to sync to choose apps. By default notifications for all the apps are disabled.

Send photos and videos wirelessly to Windows 10

Apart from linking your phone to Windows 10 over the internet, there are other ways to transfer data between the devices. Microsoft has released a new app called Photos companion which can be used to transfer photos and videos from your Android or iOS devices to Windows 10 over WiFi. Read the required steps to set up Photos Companion.

Connect Phone to Windows 10 PC via USB

What is Microsoft Phone Companion?

If you want to connect phone to Windows 10 PC via a USB cable, Microsoft already has an app for that. Known as Microsoft Phone Companion, the app allows you to sync your Android, iOS, or Windows Phone with your PC. It’s available in the Microsoft Store for Windows 8.1 and above.

How to use Microsoft Phone Companion?

You can simply download the app from the Store. Next, connect your Android, iOS, or Windows Phone and run the app. It’ll automatically detect the device (provided the drivers are installed) and show relevant details like charging status, storage, etc.

You can backup files to your computer locally and set up different Microsoft services on your phone.

So, this was a brief overview of the method which can help you link your Android or iOS device to your Windows 10 PC. If you’re running the Fall Creators Update, you can try the feature and tell your experience in the comments.

Also Read: 10 Ways To Increase Your Android Battery Life