How to Hide Mobile Device Notification Badges in Windows 11 Start Menu
Mobile device notification badges in Windows 11 are the red dots and numbers that appear on your phone’s icon in the Start menu for unread texts and missed calls. You control them from the Phone Link app, not from the main Windows Settings app. Turning them off keeps the Start menu clean and free of phone distractions.
The short version: open Phone Link, go to Settings , choose Start menu personalization, and turn off the Badges toggle. The full steps are further down.
Open the Phone Link app and go to Settings . Select “Start menu personalization,” then toggle the “Badges” button on or off under Notifications to hide or show notification badges. This helps keep your Start menu clean.
What Is Phone Link?
Phone Link is a built-in Windows 11 app that connects your smartphone to your PC. You can read text messages, make calls and check notifications on the desktop. It also puts your phone’s battery level and connection status in the Start menu , so you can see them at a glance.
Starting with Windows 11 22635.4805 (Beta), you can easily access content on your mobile device directly from the Start menu on your PC. This feature lets you view your device’s battery status and connectivity, access your voice messages and calls, and view your photos.
The phone has to be paired with your PC before any of this shows up. If you have not set up Phone Link yet, do that first. Until then, there is nothing in the Start menu to hide.
Why Hide Notification Badges?
A recent Phone Link update added an option to show or hide your device’s notification badges in the Start menu . If you do not see the option described below, your Phone Link app is probably out of date. Open the Microsoft Store, check Downloads for updates, install the Phone Link update, and then try again.
How to Show or Hide Mobile Device Notification Badges in Start Menu
To hide notification badges for your connected phone, open Phone Link, go to Settings , and turn off the Badges option. That stops the red dots and message counts from appearing on your phone’s entry in the Start menu .
- Open the Phone Link app. You should see the main Phone Link window with your connected phone.
- Click the Settings button (gear icon) at the top right corner of the window. The Settings page for the app opens.
Phone Link app settings button - Select Start menu personalization from the list. The options for how your phone appears in the Start menu appear on the right.
- Under Notifications on the right side, switch the Badges toggle to Off to hide the badges. Switch it to On to show them again.
Phone Link notification badges on start menu
The change should take effect straight away. You do not need to restart Windows or sign out. Open the Start menu to check: the red dot or unread count on your phone’s entry should be gone, or back, depending on what you chose.
This works the same on Windows 11 Home and Pro. It only controls the badges on the Start menu. Your phone still receives messages and calls, and Phone Link still shows them inside the app. To undo the change, return to the same page and turn Badges back on.
Summary
Once you know where the setting lives, managing your mobile alerts takes one toggle. Phone Link controls whether your phone's badges appear in the Start menu, so you can keep the desktop tidy without disconnecting the phone.
- The Phone Link app connects your phone and PC together.
- Recent updates let you control notification badges in the Start menu. If the option is missing, update the app from the Microsoft Store.
- Open Phone Link, go to Settings Start menu personalization, and turn the Badges toggle on or off.
- Hiding badges helps keep your Start menu clean and organized.
- You can change this setting anytime to match how you work.
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About the Author
Richard
Tech Writer, IT Professional
Richard is a writer at Geek Rewind who turns complex IT tasks into clear, step-by-step guides. He draws on years of hands-on experience in system administration and enterprise IT operations, focusing on Windows, Linux and WordPress: the problems people actually run into, and the fixes that work. His server and WordPress guides come from systems he runs himself. Richard builds and maintains the platform behind Geek Rewind, from its Ubuntu servers and Nginx configuration to its custom WordPress plugins. Many new tutorials start with readers' questions, and he's always glad to answer them in the comments.
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