Enable Windows 11 App Resume Feature Easily

This article explains enabling the new Apps Resume feature on Windows 11.

The new app resume feature in Windows 11 lets you seamlessly resume working on OneDrive files from your phone (iOS and Android) on your Windows 11 PC with a single click. With this feature, you will get a notification asking if you want to pick up where you left off editing a OneDrive file like a Word doc you last viewed or edited on your phone within a 5-minute window before unlocking your PC.

Upon clicking on this notification, the same file that you were viewing or editing previously on your phone will open in your default browser on your PC.

As of now, here are some limitations:

• Your PC should be on Build 22635.4515 and higher in the Beta Channel.
• This feature works only when signing into OneDrive with the same Microsoft account on your Windows 11 PC and mobile device.
• This feature supports Word docs, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, OneNote notebooks/pages, and PDFs.
• The OneDrive file must be opened on your phone when your PC is locked. If you unlock your PC within 5 minutes of accessing the file on your phone, you will receive the resume notification noted above.

Enable/disable apps resume feature in Windows

As mentioned, a new app resume feature recently added to Windows 11 can be enabled or disabled using the Settings app,

Here’s how to do it.

First, open the Windows Settings app.

You can do that by clicking on the Start menu and selecting Settings. Or press the keyboard shortcut (Windows key + I) to launch the Settings app.

When the Setting app opens, click the App button on the left and select the Resume tile on the right to expand.

Next, select the “Resume” tile and toggle the switch button to the On position to enable it. To disable it, toggle the switch button to the Off position.

Once “Resume” is enabled, you can toggle the OneDrive button to the On position to enable resuming work on your Windows devices from your mobile phones.

Toggle the button again to disable it.

Close the Settings app when you’re done.

Enable or disable Apps Resume using the Windows Registry

Another way to enable or disable the “Resume” in Windows is to use the Windows Registry editor.

First, open the Windows Registry and navigate to the folder key path below.

Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\CrossDeviceResume\Configuration

Right-click Configuration > New > DWORD (32-bit) Value and name the new DWORD IsResumefAllowed.

Double-click IsResumefAllowed and change the value 1 to enable the “Resume” feature in Windows 11.

Enter 0 to turn it off.

Once the resume feature is enabled, you can then turn on specific apps you want to resume working on Windows.

In the same “Configuration” key in the registry above, create an app’s DWORD value and list it as:

Is<app name>ResumeAllowed

For example, to toggle the OneDrive app, use the format below.

IsOneDriveResumeAllowed

For the value, type 1 to enable resume and 0 to disable.

That should do it!

Conclusion:

In summary, the new Apps Resume feature in Windows 11 enhances productivity by allowing seamless transitions between mobile and desktop environments. Here are the key takeaways:

• The feature provides notifications to help users quickly resume their work from OneDrive files on their PC.
• It is available in Windows 11 Build 22635.4515 and later in the Beta Channel.
• Users must sign in to OneDrive with the same Microsoft account on both devices for the feature to function.
• Supported file types include Word docs, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, OneNote notebooks, and PDFs.
• The feature can be enabled or disabled through the Settings app or the Windows Registry, providing flexibility for user preferences.

Users can improve their workflow and maintain continuity in their tasks across devices by taking advantage of this feature.