How to Link Your Phone to Windows 10
With Windows 10 you can use the Your Phone app to share data between an Android phone or iPhone. Here’s the initial process of linking your phone and PC.
We took an early look at the Your Phone app when it was still in beta. Now that it has grown and evolved, we’ll start taking a more in-depth look at it through the course of several articles. Today we start with getting started and linking your phone with Windows 10.
You get a lot more options when using an Android phone compared to the iPhone. Android is more open than iOS and allows for a lot more cooperation between operating systems. It allows you to answer calls, share photos, send and receive texts, and a lot more. Currently, with iPhone, you can only send webpages from your phone to your PC and vice versa.
For this article, the screenshots I’m using are for linking an Android phone. But the process of linking an iPhone is the same idea and I explain where the differences are in the process.
Link Your iPhone or Android Phone to Windows 10
To get started, on your Windows 10 machine, click the Start menu, and click on Settings. Or if you are a keyboard warrior use the keyboard combo Windows Key + I to open the Settings app.
When the Settings app opens up click on Phone from the home screen.
On the following screen click the “Add a phone” button.
That opens the Your Phone app. Click on the type of phone you have and click Continue.
Next, the wizard will show the features you get when your phone is linked. It will show your Microsoft account email address. Click Continue if that is the address you want to use. If not, click the “Sign in with another account” link under the Continue button.
Now you will be prompted to install an app on your phone. Either follow the on-screen instructions for downloading the Your Phone Companion app for Android. Note that select Samsung phones already have the app installed and will open automatically from the link. Or, for the iPhone, you will be prompted to download Microsoft Edge to your phone.
Related: Link a Samsung Galaxy Phone to Windows 10 with Link to Windows
On your Android phone, launch the app and sign in to your Microsoft account and verify any two-factor authentication and other requirements you might have set up. On iPhone, you will be prompted to sign in to Microsoft Edge with the same Microsoft account you’re signed into your PC with.
Then give the Your Phone Companion app permissions to access items on your phone so it can share it with your Windows 10 PC.
Linked Up
After you verify signing into your Microsoft account from your phone you’ll get a successfully linked up message in the Your Phone app on Windows. You will also get a message on your phone letting you know the two devices are linked.
Once your devices are linked together you can start using the features of the Your Phone app on your PC.
With Android, you can share photos, send and receive text messages, answer calls, and a lot more. Again with iPhone, you are limited to sharing webpages between your PC and phone from Microsoft Edge.
