With Microsoft aiming to shut down Windows Phone, it has increased its focus on other Mobile platforms in the market. Features like ‘Continue on PC’ are constantly being developed and added to Android and iOS apps. Windows 11/10 now lets you link your Android or iOS phone with your PC.
Link Android or iPhone to Windows PC
The feature is straightforward and is easily accessible. You can easily add a Phone via the Settings app. To start setting up your phone, go to ‘Settings’ and then select ‘Phone’.
Now click on ‘Add a Phone’ to start the linking process.
Another window will pop up that will guide you through the entire process. As a first step, you need to enter your mobile number to which a text message containing a link will be sent.
Now on your mobile phone, using that link install the application from Play Store or iOS App Store. On Android, the link will take you to ‘Cortana’ for Android (in my case at least) which is still in beta as of now, but it is fully functional. As another step, you can download and install ‘Microsoft Apps’ and ‘Microsoft Launcher’ which includes ‘Continue on PC’ functionality.
Read: Phone Link App lets you easily mirror content from iPhone or Android phone to Windows PC
Cortana on Android/iOS
To enable this linking feature, make sure you log in using the same Microsoft Account on all the devices. Once you’ve installed Cortana on your phone, you can connect it to your PC.
You will see a dialogue in the ‘Upcoming’ section that you can connect Cortana to your PC. Hit ‘Connect’ to establish the connectivity. To verify that your phone is linked to your PC, you can go to ‘Settings’ -> ‘Phone’ and confirm that your device shows up here.
On your Phone, go to settings in ‘Cortana’ and then select ‘Cross Device’. Here you can manage your notifications synchronization across devices. You can enable notifications sync so that you are reminded about messages and calls on your PC while your phone is away. Apart from that, you can enable notifications for all the other applications installed on your phone.
Continue on PC
To enable ‘Continue on PC’, you’ll have to download ‘Microsoft Apps’. Microsoft Apps adds a ‘Continue on PC’ option to the device’s sharing menu. So, anything that is opened on your phone can be directly sent to your PC by simply hitting the share button.
I tried this feature with web pages, YouTube videos, photos, and more. It works flawlessly well with most of the content.
To share something, you only need to hit the ‘Share’ button and select ‘Continue on PC’. Wait till the list of your devices is loaded and then select the PC you want to continue your work on. Also, there is also an option to Continue Later which will send particular information to Action Center on all your PCs.
You can also use Microsoft Launcher as it has built-in capabilities to directly send something to your PC.
This post may show screenshots of Android devices, but all the steps are almost similar for iOS devices as well.
Curious, does this require signing in to a Microsoft account on the PC and/or the Android phone? I ask because I don’t have a MS account.
Yes you need to be logged in with same Microsoft account on both the devices.
Thanks.
Now when exactly can we expect this feature and say Cortana to be used (even in English) from Finland?
Such interesting updates but seems to me nothing can be used. Phone linking went all fine until it prompted to install Edge browser on phone (from the link in sms) and it’s not available in my country… What gives?