How to Link Your iPhone to Windows 11 With Phone Link

To link your iPhone to Windows 11, turn on Bluetooth on both devices, open the Phone Link app on your PC, choose iPhone, and scan the QR code with your iPhone’s Camera app. Confirm the matching pairing code on both screens, then turn on Show Notifications, Sync Contacts, and Share System Notifications for your PC in the iPhone’s Bluetooth settings. Setup takes about five minutes.

These steps cover current Windows 11 with the latest Phone Link app from the Microsoft Store and an iPhone on iOS 16 or later, including iOS 27. Once linked, you can read and reply to texts, make and answer calls, and see iPhone notifications on your PC. Phone Link does less with an iPhone than with an Android phone, so check the limits below.

If you need a USB cable or a hotspot connection instead, follow the steps for connecting a phone to a Windows 11 laptop.

What You Need

• A Windows PC. Microsoft’s Phone Link setup guide lists Windows 11, or Windows 10 with the October 2022 update or later, and recommends the latest Windows 11. Windows 10 itself reached end of support on October 14, 2025, so it no longer gets security updates.
• Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). Microsoft says the iPhone and PC connect over Bluetooth LE. Most laptops from the last several years have it. Some older desktops and plug-in Bluetooth adapters don’t, and those can pair with an iPhone but won’t work in Phone Link.
• An iPhone running iOS 16 or later. Check in Settings > General > Software Update.
• A personal Microsoft account. Phone Link doesn’t support work or school accounts.
• Optional: the Link to Windows app from the App Store. Pairing can run through a small App Clip that opens from the QR code, so the full app isn’t required to start. Install the full app if you want file sharing.

How to check for Bluetooth Low Energy

1. Right-click Start and select Device Manager.
2. Expand Bluetooth, right-click your Bluetooth adapter (not a paired device), and select Properties.
3. Open the Details tab and choose Bluetooth radio supports Low Energy Central Role from the Property menu. If the value is true, your PC supports BLE.

Before You Start

1. Update Windows in Settings > Windows Update.
2. Update Phone Link: open the Microsoft Store, select Library, and select Get updates.
3. Turn on Bluetooth on your PC in Settings > Bluetooth & devices, and on your iPhone in Settings > Bluetooth.
4. Keep the iPhone unlocked and next to your PC.

Can’t find Phone Link? Open Settings, search for Phone Link, select Enable or disable Phone Link, turn it on, and select Install if asked.

How to Link Your iPhone to Windows 11 With Phone Link

1. Open the Start menu, type Phone Link, and open the app. Sign in to your Microsoft account if Phone Link asks.
2. Under Pick your phone, select iPhone. If the button is grayed out, your PC’s Bluetooth is off or doesn’t support BLE.
3. A QR code appears on your PC. Open the Camera app on your iPhone and point it at the code, then tap the link that appears. The code expires after a few minutes, so scan it right away.

4. If a Link to Windows card pops up, tap Open to continue, then tap Continue.
5. On your iPhone, tap Allow when asked to let Link to Windows use Bluetooth.
6. A six-digit pairing code appears on both your PC and your iPhone. Make sure the numbers match, then select Pair on both devices.

7. On your iPhone, open Settings > Bluetooth, tap the i next to your PC’s name, and turn on Show Notifications, Sync Contacts, and Share System Notifications. Tap Allow on each prompt.

8. Go back to your PC. When Phone Link says you’re all set, choose whether it should open automatically when you sign in to Windows.

If you can’t scan the QR code, select the option to continue without a QR code on your PC. Phone Link shows a web address to open in your iPhone’s browser instead.

If the Camera app doesn’t react to the code at all, these tips on how to scan a QR code on an iPhone can help.

What each iPhone permission unlocks

• Share System Notifications: notifications and messages on your PC.
• Show Notifications: messages.
• Sync Contacts: messages, contacts, and call history.

Some features need more than one permission, so turn on all three for the full experience.

Link from the Start menu instead

On recent Windows 11 builds, the Start menu can show a panel for your phone. Microsoft’s Mobile device in Start menu page says you open Start, select iPhone in that pane, and follow the same on-screen pairing steps. It needs Phone Link version 1.25032.82.0 or later and is rolling out gradually, so not every PC shows it yet. To hide the panel, go to Settings > Personalization > Start and turn off Show mobile device in Start.

What You Can Do Once Your iPhone Is Linked

• Texts: select Messages to reply to a text or start a new one with the new message button.
• Calls: select Calls to call a recent contact or use the dialer. When a call comes in, select Accept in the notification. A small call window lets you mute, use the keypad, or move the call back to your phone.
• Notifications: your iPhone’s alerts appear in Windows notifications, and you can dismiss them from your PC. Leave Phone Link running in the background so new alerts keep arriving.
• Battery and music: Phone Link shows your iPhone’s battery level and can pause or skip music playing on the phone.

Sending files between your iPhone and PC

Sending files is one of the iPhone features of the Start menu phone panel, but it’s still reaching PCs gradually, and it needs the full Link to Windows app on the iPhone. When it’s available:

• iPhone to PC: tap the Share button on a photo or file, tap Link to Windows, and choose your PC.
• PC to iPhone: right-click a file in File Explorer, select Share, and choose My Phone (or Phone Link if My Phone isn’t listed).

What Phone Link Can’t Do With an iPhone

These limits come from Microsoft’s Phone Link messages troubleshooting page and setup guide:

• Only texts sent or received while linked show up. Your older message history doesn’t appear, and texts you send from the iPhone itself don’t show in Phone Link.
• No group texts. Phone Link can’t send to group chats. If it can’t tell a message came from a group, it shows it in the one-on-one conversation, and your reply goes only to that person.
• No typing or read indicators.
• No photo gallery. Unlike on Android, you can’t browse your iPhone’s camera roll in Phone Link. Photos is an Android-only feature. To get pictures onto the computer, transfer them from your iPhone to the PC another way.
• No screen mirroring or iPhone apps on the PC. Phone Link can’t show your iPhone’s screen.

To keep group messages out of your one-on-one chats, open Phone Link, select Settings > Features, and turn off Show messages to group chats in individual conversations.

If file sharing hasn’t reached your PC, look at the closest AirDrop alternatives on Windows 11, including cable, iCloud and OneDrive options.

Documents, PDFs and videos can be transferred from an iPhone to a PC in several ways, including Phone Link’s Link to Windows share option.

What If Pairing Fails?

1. In Phone Link, go to Settings > My Devices and remove your iPhone if it’s listed.
2. On your PC, go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices, find your iPhone, and select Remove device.
3. On your iPhone, go to Settings > Bluetooth, tap the i next to your PC, and tap Forget This Device.
4. Turn Bluetooth off on both devices, wait about 10 seconds, and turn it back on.
5. Open Phone Link on your PC and start pairing again from the beginning.

If your iPhone pairs in Windows Bluetooth settings but never appears in Phone Link, your PC’s Bluetooth adapter probably doesn’t support BLE. Check with the Device Manager steps above. If Bluetooth doesn’t work at all, update your Bluetooth driver in Windows 11.

Messages or notifications are missing

• Make sure all three Bluetooth permissions are on for your PC in the iPhone’s Bluetooth settings.
• Close the Messages app on your iPhone. Messages can go missing in Phone Link while Messages is open on the phone.
• Remember that texts from third-party apps, such as WhatsApp, appear only as notifications, not in the Messages tab.
• Check that Windows isn’t hiding them: go to Settings > System > Notifications, make sure Phone Link is turned on, and turn off Do not disturb.
• Keep the iPhone within Bluetooth range of your PC, usually the same room.

How to Unlink Your iPhone

1. On your PC, open Phone Link and go to Settings > My Devices.
2. Select Remove next to your iPhone.
3. On your iPhone, open Settings > Bluetooth, tap the i next to your PC, and tap Forget This Device.

To turn off just one feature, go to Settings > Features in Phone Link instead of unlinking the whole phone.

Frequently Asked Questions