How to Remove All Local Copies of Phone Files on Windows 11

What happens when you remove local copies?

When you remove the local copies, they are deleted from your Windows 11 PC. The original files on your phone are not affected. Your phone’s storage remains unchanged.

Step 1Stop 📁 File Explorer from Showing Your Phone

To remove phone files from Windows 11, you can stop 📁 File Explorer from automatically showing your phone. You do this by changing a setting in your PC’s settings menu. ⚙️ Open Settings by clicking the ⊞ Start button and then the gear icon, or by pressing Windows key + I.

1. Open Settings. Click the ⊞ Start button and then click the gear icon for Settings. You can also press the Windows key + I.
2. Go to Mobile devices. In Settings, click on 🔷 Bluetooth & devices in the left menu. Scroll down and click on Mobile devices.
3. Manage your devices. Under Mobile devices, click Manage devices.
4. Turn off 📁 File Explorer access. Find your phone in the list. Look for the option “Show mobile device in File Explorer” (this is the setting that lets Windows see your phone’s files). Click the switch next to it to turn it Off. This stops your phone from showing up directly in 📁 File Explorer.

Step 2Find and Delete Local Phone Files

After stopping 📁 File Explorer from connecting to your phone, you can now delete any local phone files Windows 11 saved on your PC. Open File Explorer by clicking the folder icon on 🖥️ your taskbar or pressing Windows key + E. Then, go to the CrossDevice folder by typing the following path in the address bar and pressing Enter.

1. Open 📁 File Explorer. Click the folder icon on 🖥️ your taskbar or press Windows key + E.
2. Go to the CrossDevice folder. In the 📁 File Explorer address bar, type the following path and press Enter:
   

   💻Code

   Copy

   C:\Users\<your username>\CrossDevice

3. Important: You need to replace YOUR_USERNAME with your actual Windows username. You can find your username by looking at the folder names in C:\Users\.
4. Look at and delete files. Inside the CrossDevice folder, you will see files and folders copied from your phone. Look through them. You might see folders named after your phone or dates. Select the files or folders you want to remove. You can select many items by holding down the Ctrl key while clicking.
5. Press the Delete key on your keyboard. Or, 🖱️ right-click on the selected items and choose Delete.
6. Empty the 🗑️ Recycle Bin. To free up that storage space immediately, go ahead and empty your 🗑️ Recycle Bin. Find the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop, right-click it, and choose Empty 🗑️ Recycle Bin.

Reference:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/setting-up-and-using-your-phone-in-file-explorer-45ee7712-622c-4a9c-b9aa-a77fb145635e

Summary

This guide helps you remove local copies of phone files from your Windows 11 computer by first stopping 📁 File Explorer from showing your phone and then deleting files from a specific folder.