How to Enable or Disable Phone Link in Windows 11

This article explains how to turn the Phone Link feature on or off in Windows 11.

The Phone Link app is a feature on Windows that allows you to link your phone and PC using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth and access your phone’s apps and data from your PC. It lets you browse, play, order, chat, and more using your PC’s larger screen and keyboard while your phone stays in your pocket or desk.

With your phone connected to your PC, you can choose how to display notifications, choose to hear audio from the PC or phone, turn allow the phone link app to sync over mobile without Wi-Fi on or off, unlink your phone from Windows, enable or disable auto startup for the phone link app, send and receive text messages from the app, add or remove Phone Link on the widgets board, turn dark mode on or off, open your phone screen in the app, turn show notifications for all my apps on or off, show notifications in the Phone Link feature feed, enable or disable using Phone Link with Windows suggestions, open Phone Link notification banners in the mobile app or Phone Link, enable or disable Phone Link to show text messages, enable or disable Phone Link to make calls from your mobile device, and more.

The Phone Link feature (soon to be renamed “Mobile Devices”) can now be turned on or off in the Windows Canary and Dev builds. To enable or disable Phone Link, your computer must be enrolled in the Microsoft Insider Preview program.

Why does this matter? When you turn off Phone Link, Windows stops talking to your mobile devices.

Enable or disable Phone Link in Windows

The Phone Link feature can be enabled or disabled using the Settings app in Windows.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Open the Windows Settings app. Click on the Start menu and select Settings. Or press Windows key + I to launch the Settings app.
2. When the Settings app opens, click the Bluetooth & devices button on the left side.

3. Select the Mobile devices tile under “Bluetooth & devices” on the right to expand it.

4. Select the Phone Link tile. Then toggle the switch button to the On position to enable Windows to communicate with your mobile devices. To turn it off, toggle the switch to the Off position.

5. Close the Settings app when you’re done.

Enable or disable Phone Link using the Local Group Policy Editor

Another way to disable or enable the Phone Link feature is to use the Local Group Policy Editor.

Here’s how:

1. **ADMIN PRIVILEGES REQUIRED** Open the Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc). Search for “Edit group policy” on the Start menu.
2. Navigate to this folder path:Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Group Policy
3. In the Group Policy details pane on the right, locate and double-click the “Phone-PC linking on this device” setting.

4. On the “Phone-PC linking on this device” window, set the option to Not Configure, Enabled, or Disabled.
   • Not Configured (default) – No change is made.
   • Enabled – Your Windows device can use Phone-PC linking and participate in Continue on PC experiences.
   • Disabled – Your Windows device cannot be linked to phones. It will remove itself from any linked phone’s device list and cannot participate in Continue on PC experiences.
5. Click OK to save your changes. You may need to restart your device to apply the settings.

Turn on or off Phone Link using the Windows Registry Editor

Another way to disable or enable Phone Link in Windows is to use the Windows Registry editor.

Here’s how to do it:

Disable or enable for the current user:

1. **ADMIN PRIVILEGES REQUIRED** Open the Windows Registry and navigate to this folder path:Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Mobility
2. Double-click the Mobility (REG_DWORD) name on the right pane to open it.
3. Enter a value of 1 to enable Phone-PC linking for the current user. Enter 0 to disable it.
4. If you do not see the “Mobility” name, right-click a blank area and create a new DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name it “Mobility” and enter the value you want.

Disable or enable for all users:

1. **ADMIN PRIVILEGES REQUIRED** Navigate to this folder path:Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System
2. Double-click the EnableMmx (REG_DWORD) name on the right pane to open it.
3. Enter a value of 0 to disable Phone-PC linking for all users on the device.
4. If you do not see the “EnableMmx” name, right-click a blank area and create a new DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name it “EnableMmx” and enter 0 to disable for all users.
5. To enable it, delete the “EnableMmx” value name.
6. Save your changes and restart your computer.

That should do it!

Summary

Here are the key points about enabling or disabling the Phone Link feature in Windows 11:

• What is Phone Link? It’s a feature that lets you connect your phone to your PC using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. You can then access your phone’s apps and data from your PC.
• Why would you disable it? You might want to turn it off for privacy or security reasons, or if you’re not using it.
• Three ways to manage it: You can use the Settings app (easiest), the Local Group Policy Editor, or the Windows Registry Editor (both require admin access).
• Settings app method: Open Settings, go to Bluetooth & devices, select Mobile devices, and toggle the Phone Link switch.
• Group Policy method: Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Group Policy and adjust the “Phone-PC linking on this device” setting. This requires admin privileges.
• Registry method: Modify the Mobility or EnableMmx values in the Windows Registry. This requires admin privileges and affects either the current user or all users.
• Restart might be needed: After using the Group Policy or Registry methods, you may need to restart your computer for changes to take effect.

Feel free to refer to this guide whenever you need to manage the Phone Link feature on your Windows 11 system. If you encounter any issues or have additional insights, please share them in the comments below.

Frequently Asked Questions