How to Add Phone Link to Windows 11 Start Menu

Add or Remove Phone Link from the Start Menu

The first method uses the Settings ⚙️ app. You change one toggle and your phone appears in Start, so you can see texts and notifications without opening the full desktop app. It works on both Windows 11 Home and Pro, and you don’t need a restart.

1. Open the Settings app. Click the Start menu ⊞ and choose Settings, or press Win+I. The Settings ⚙️ window opens with a list of categories on the left.
2. Select Personalization from the left-hand menu. The right side now shows options for backgrounds, colors, themes and Start.

If the left-hand menu looks different, make the Settings ⚙️ window wider. When the window is narrow, Windows collapses the menu into icons or a menu button.

3. Click Start on the right side. You are now on Settings › Personalization › Start, which lists the options for the Start menu ⊞ layout and the items it shows.

The list can be long, so scroll down if you don’t see the mobile device option straight away.

4. Find Show mobile device in Start and switch the toggle to On. To remove the shortcut later, come back to this page and switch it to Off.

With the toggle on, your phone appears as a shortcut in the Windows 11 Start menu ⊞. From there you get quick access to its apps and notifications. Open Start to check. You may need to link your phone in the Phone Link app first, because the Start panel only has something to show once a phone is paired.

If you can’t find the option, your PC is probably on a build older than 22H2, or it hasn’t received the update that added it. Open Settings › Windows Update 🔃, install any pending updates, restart, and look again.

The toggle takes effect right away. If Start still doesn’t show your phone, close and reopen the Start menu ⊞, then check that your phone is linked in the Phone Link app.

Using the Windows Registry (Advanced)

This is an advanced method. It changes system keys directly and needs administrator permissions, so back up before you start. Either create a restore point, or in Registry Editor choose File › Export to save a copy of the key you are about to change.

1. Open the Windows Registry by typing its name into the Start menu ⊞ search and selecting it from the results. Click Yes if User Account Control asks for permission. Standard accounts will be asked for an administrator password.
2. Go to the key below. Paste it into the address bar at the top of the Registry Editor and press Enter, or expand the folders in the left pane one by one. The right pane then shows the values stored in that key.

Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Start\Companions\Microsoft.YourPhone_8wekyb3d8bbwe

3. Look for a value named IsEnabled in the right-hand pane. If it isn’t there, right-click an empty area of the pane and choose New › DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name the new value IsEnabled. Check the spelling, because the name has to match exactly.

4. Double-click IsEnabled to open its edit window. Enter 1 in the Value data box to turn the feature on, then click OK. A value of 0 turns the feature off, so use that if you want to undo the change later.

After you click OK, the right pane should list IsEnabled with a data value of 0x00000001 (1). If it shows anything else, double-click it and fix it.

A wrong change can cause problems in Windows. Back up your computer before making changes.

5. Close the Registry Editor and restart your 🔄 computer to apply the changes. Unlike the Settings ⚙️ method, the registry change needs a restart before it takes effect.

After you sign back in, open Settings › Personalization › Start and check that the mobile device option is there and switched on. If it still isn't, make sure Windows is fully updated.

Summary

Adding Phone Link to the Windows 11 Start menu puts your phone one click away from your PC. Try the Settings app first, since it is quick and easy to reverse. Use the Registry Editor only if the Settings option is missing, and back up first.

Reference: Microsoft.com