How to Unlink Your Phone from Windows 11 Phone Link
Unlinking your phone from Windows 11 Phone Link stops your Android device or iPhone from sharing texts, calls, and photos with your computer over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth . Phone Link is a built-in Windows tool that mirrors your mobile screen and notifications on your PC. On Android, the companion app on the phone is called Link to Windows.
You need to disconnect this link when you sell your phone, switch to a new device, or fix persistent connection bugs. Breaking the connection works the same way across all recent versions of Windows 11, on both Home and Pro, and takes less than a minute. You don’t need to restart the PC.
Your personal photos, contacts, and files stay on your actual phone while you remove the connection. Once you finish, your PC stops showing your phone alerts, and you can link a new device whenever you want.
For a clean break, do it in three places: the phone, the Phone Link app on the PC, and your Microsoft account. The sections below take them in that order.
Remove your phone from the Phone Link app settings on your PC by navigating to Settings My Devices, selecting your phone, and clicking Remove. You can also unlink it from your phone’s Link to Windows settings by tapping the gear icon and choosing Remove.
Unlink your phone from your mobile device
You need to change settings on your smartphone to completely unlink the phone from the mobile end. Open your phone settings, tap the Link to Windows app menu, and choose to remove the account. This stops your phone from sending texts, photos, and notifications to your computer right away.
The exact wording and location of the Link to Windows entry depends on the phone maker. Samsung Galaxy phones usually list it in Settings under Advanced features. On other Android phones, try the search box at the top of Settings and type “Link to Windows”.
- Open your phone's settings menu. You should see the main list of settings categories.
- Find and press the Link to Windows icon to open its specific settings. If you can't find it, use the search box in Settings. The Link to Windows page should now show your linked PC and the permissions it has.
The steps in this list continue below. The screens you see may differ a little between phone brands, but the options are the same.
- Tap the Settings (gear icon). A list of options for the link, including the account and permissions, should open.
- Select the Remove button. A confirmation prompt should appear.
- Confirm your choice by tapping Remove again. Your phone is now unlinked from the PC. To use Phone Link again later, you will need to sign in and pair the devices again.
If you use an iPhone, there is no Link to Windows app to remove. Remove the phone in Phone Link on your PC using the steps in the next section. Then open Settings Bluetooth on the iPhone, tap the info icon next to your PC, and choose Forget This Device.
Remove your device from Windows
You can finish the process by removing the device from the desktop app itself. Open the Phone Link app on your computer, go to settings, and delete your phone from the list of connected hardware. This makes sure your PC no longer tries to sync with that phone.
If you already unlinked on the phone, the PC app may still list the device or show a "disconnected" message. That is normal, and removing the entry here clears it.
- Open the Phone Link app on your computer. If you can't find it, select Start and type "Phone Link". The app window should open and show your phone's status.
- Click the Settings (gear icon) at the top right corner. The Phone Link settings page should open.
- Select My Devices. You should see a list of every phone linked to this PC.
Two or more phones can appear in this list if you have linked different devices over time. Check which one you are removing before you go on.
- Find the phone you want to remove. Check the device name so you don't remove the wrong one.
- Click the 3-dots (More options) button next to that phone. A small menu should appear.
- Select Remove. A confirmation window should appear.
- Click Yes, remove to confirm. The phone should disappear from the My Devices list.
If the Remove option is missing or does nothing, close Phone Link completely and open it again. If it still fails, use the cleanup methods later in this guide.
Managing Microsoft Account Settings
Microsoft accounts sometimes retain ghost entries for disconnected hardware. Sign in with the same Microsoft account you used in Phone Link, then visit account.microsoft.com/devices to remove the device profile from Microsoft's servers. Clearing this entry stops background sync attempts.
If you are selling or giving away the phone, do this step too. It helps keep old devices from staying tied to your account.
Troubleshooting and Forced Removal
Stubborn reconnection loops require cache clears or forced package removal. Advanced administrators use PowerShell (a command-line shell for system administration) to scrub the software package completely. Administrative permissions are mandatory for this operation.
To open PowerShell with those permissions, right-click the Start button and choose Terminal (Admin), then approve the User Account Control prompt. Use this method only after the standard steps above have failed. Because it removes the app package itself, you may need to reinstall Phone Link from the Microsoft Store afterward. Restarting the PC after the cleanup is a good idea.
Get-AppxPackage *Microsoft.YourPhone* | Remove-AppxPackage
Summary
Managing synced hardware improves digital privacy and resolves stubborn pairing bugs. After you finish, your phone should no longer send notifications to the PC and should no longer appear in Phone Link. If you ever want to reconnect, you can pair the phone again from scratch.
Reference: Microsoft.com
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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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