Your Phone app help (including Link to Windows)

Yes, you can use your mobile data to sync with your PC. However, if you’re concerned about the effect on your data allowance, we recommend remaining on a Wi-Fi connection.

On your Android phone:

1. Open the Your Phone Companion app.
2. Tap Settings .
3. Select Sync over mobile data.
4. Turn this option On or Off.
    

Your Windows laptop needs to be plugged in and Battery saver turned Off to keep your devices synced.

The Your Phone app will only ever create temporary files on your PC when viewing copies of your recent photos. It is not possible to transfer other files.

To ensure the fastest, most reliable connection, your Android phone and PC must be connected to the same trusted Wi-FI network. This optimization isn't possible on a public connection, for example, in a coffee shop, hotel, or airport.

When you first connect to a Wi-Fi network through Windows 10, you'll be prompted to set it as public or private (trusted). You can also change it at any time.

These changes might not always be possible - for example, if your workplace controls your network connection.

Before we begin to change settings, we recommend quickly running through the following checks:

• Double-check you’re using the same Microsoft Account to sign into both Your Phone apps.
• Ensure Battery saver isn’t running on your PC or Android phone, as this might affect connectivity.
• You have an active Wi-Fi connection. Can you open your browser and navigate to your favorite website?

Still not working? Continue with the following troubleshooting advice.

On your PC:

Check if the Your Phone app can run in the background.

1. Select Start  (or press the Windows logo key on your keyboard), then select Settings  > Privacy > Background apps.
2. In the list Choose which apps can run in the background, ensure Your Phone is enabled.

Ensure nothing is stopping you from sharing across devices.

1. Select Start  (or press the Windows logo key on your keyboard), then select Settings  > System > Shared experiences.
2. If you see Fix now in Accounts, select it and follow the instructions. 

On your Android phone:

Make sure you can receive app notifications.

• Go to your phone Settings  > Apps (or Apps & Notification on some phones) > Your Phone Companion and check that notifications are enabled.

Make sure Do not disturb is turned Off.

• Go to your phone Settings  > Sounds (on some phones this might be Sounds & Vibration or Sounds & Notifications) and check to see that Do not disturb is turned Off.

If you’re still having trouble, follow these steps to unlink your phone.

On your Android phone:

1. Go to your phone Settings  > Apps (or Apps & Notification on some phones) > Your Phone Companion.
2. Tap Force Stop.
3. Tap Storage > Clear Cache > Clear Data.

On your PC:

1. Open your browser and visit accounts.microsoft.com/devices. Sign in with your Microsoft account.
2. You’ll be presented with a list of all your connected devices. For each, select Show details > More actions and then Unlink this phone.
3. Select Start  (or press the Windows logo key on your keyboard), then select Settings  > Phone > Unlink this PC.
4. Select Back to return to Windows Settings Home, and then select Apps.
5. In Apps & features, select Your Phone.
6. Select Advanced options > Reset.

Once these steps are completed, go to the Your Phone app on your PC and follow the set-up process to establish a new link.

It's not possible to connect your phone to multiple PCs at one time. As a workaround, you can disconnect one PC from your phone and re-connect to another.

On your Android phone:

1. Swipe downwards from the top of your screen to reveal your Android Notification panel.
2. Tap to expand the Your Phone Companion notification.
3. Tap Disconnect.
    

On your second PC:

1. Check you’ve completed the Your Phone app set up process to link your phone and PC.
2. Open the Your Phone app – you’ll then receive a notification on your Android phone prompting you to Allow the connection.

That’s it! Your Android phone is now connected to your second PC. Repeat the process to connect to your first PC again.

To ensure a smooth experience, we recommend updating to the latest version where available. To do this:

On your Android phone:

1. Open the Your Phone Companion app.
2. Tap Settings .
3. Tap Check for Updates.

On your PC:

1. Open the Microsoft Store.
2. Select More … (located next to your Microsoft Account picture)
3. Select Downloads and Updates.
4. Select Get updates if required.

Your Phone is currently only available on Android.

We’re still actively working on making the Your Phone experience the best we possibly can and we welcome your ideas and insights.

On your Android phone:

1. Open the Your Phone Companion app.
2. Tap Settings .
3. Select the Provide Feedback option.

On your PC:

1. Type Feedback hub into the search box on your Windows taskbar.
2. Select Suggest a feature.

The Your Phone app offers several ways to interact with your photos.

Selecting a photo will open it using the Windows Photos app. Here you’ll be able to view your photo or edit it as you like. If you save your changes, they'll be saved as a new file and your original photo will remain unchanged on your phone.

Long-press on a photo (or right-click if using a mouse) to Copy, Share or Save as.

You can copy your photo and paste it into an Office document, an email, your Desktop, but it's not possible to copy a photo into a text message.

To share a photo, select and hold (or right-click) the photo, and select Share.

To minimize network bandwidth and maximize performance, we show your 25 most recent photos and screenshots from your phone.

Also, we only get photos that are in the Camera Roll or Screenshots folders on your Android phone. If you moved or saved your photos to a different folder on your Android phone, they will not appear in the Your Phone app.

No. The Your Phone app only creates copies of your recent photos. These are stored as temporary files on your PC. Deleting the temporary file on your PC will not affect the original on your Android phone.

1. On your PC, in the Your Phone app, select Messages.
2. To start a new conversation, select New message.

The Your Phone app supports messages sent by Short Message Service (SMS). It also supports Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) group messaging. You can still send favorite photos and your GIFs from your PC.

To minimize network bandwidth and maximize performance, we show text messages that you've received or sent within the last 30 days.

You can't manage or delete messages on your PC.

With the Your Phone app you can view and manage your phone notifications on your PC.

On your PC:

1. Open the Your Phone app and select Notifications.
2. Select Get started.
3. Select Open settings for me. On your phone, you should see a list of apps.

On your Android phone:

1. Find Your Phone Companion in the list and select it.
2. Select Allow on the pop-up that appears on your phone.

Select Notifications. Notifications from your phone will now appear on your PC.

Once you’ve started to receive notifications, then then you can choose which apps you’d like to see notifications from.

On your PC:

1. Select the Notifications menu item.
2. Select Customize. The Settings page will appear.
3. Under Pick which apps notify you, you’ll see a list of all the apps that have sent notifications to your PC. If an app hasn’t sent a notification yet, then it won’t appear here. You can turn notifications Off or On. 

Apart from notifications that cannot be dismissed on your Android phone, all notifications will be displayed on your PC.

Dismissing notifications on your PC will also remove them from your Android phone (and vice-versa).

On your PC:

You can dismiss notifications by pressing the X next to each notification in the list. You can also dismiss all notifications at once by selecting Clear All.

You won’t see any notifications if:

• Your Windows laptop battery is low or Battery saver has been turned On.
• If Focus assist (previously known as quiet hours) is turned on. Learn how to turn Focus assist off or on  

You'll need both your Windows 10 PC and your Samsung Note 10 to link them. The Your Phone app is already installed on your PC if you have the Windows 10 October 2018 Update or later.

On your PC:

1. In the search box on the taskbar, type your phone and select Your Phone from the results.
2. You’ll be asked to sign into your Microsoft Account.
    

Now we’ll guide you through the steps to complete the set up process on your Samsung Note 10.

On your Note 10:

1. Swipe downwards from the top of your screen to reveal your Android Notification panel.
2. Tap Link to Windows.
3. Sign in with the same Microsoft Account you’re using on your PC.
4. When prompted, tap to allow permissions.

The name of your Windows 10 PC will appear below Link to Windows when a successful link has been made.

You should ensure Link to Windows is always updated to the latest version in order to get the best experience with Your Phone. 

On your phone: 

1. Go to your phone  Settings  > Advanced features.  

2. If an update is available, you will see a prompt underneath Link to Windows. 

3. Tap to download the latest version.