Phone Link is generally reliable once it’s set up, but the initial pairing and the odd sync hiccup are where most people run into trouble. Here’s how to fix the most common issues, for both Android and iPhone.
Phone Won’t Pair / QR Code Won’t Scan
- Check Bluetooth is on on both devices — Phone Link needs Bluetooth for the initial handshake even on Wi-Fi-based connections.
- Make sure both devices are on the same Wi-Fi network. Phone Link can struggle to establish a connection if your phone is on mobile data or a different network to your PC.
- Update the app. On Android, make sure Link to Windows is fully updated from the Play Store. On Windows, check for updates via the Microsoft Store.
- Restart both apps and try scanning again — a surprising number of pairing failures clear up with a simple restart.
Notifications Aren’t Showing Up
This is almost always a permissions issue on Android:
- Go to your phone’s notification access settings and confirm Link to Windows has permission.
- Check battery optimisation settings — if your phone is aggressively closing background apps to save battery, Link to Windows may get killed and stop forwarding notifications. Exempt it from battery optimisation.
- On iPhone, remember notification mirroring isn’t supported at all — this isn’t a bug, it’s an Apple platform restriction.
Messages Not Syncing
- Confirm your phone has an active internet or mobile signal connection — Phone Link relies on your phone actually being able to send/receive, it doesn’t send messages independently.
- On Android, check that Link to Windows has SMS permission granted.
- Try unlinking and relinking the device from the Phone Link app’s settings if messages have stopped syncing entirely rather than just being delayed.
Calls Not Working or No Audio
- Check your PC’s default microphone and speaker settings — Phone Link routes call audio through whatever Windows has set as default, which may not be what you expect if you have multiple audio devices connected.
- Confirm Bluetooth is still connected — call functionality specifically relies on the Bluetooth link, even if messages and notifications are working over Wi-Fi.
Connection Keeps Dropping
- Keep both devices on the same Wi-Fi network and avoid switching between Wi-Fi and mobile data during use.
- Disable any VPN on either device temporarily to rule out network routing as the cause.
- Router settings that isolate devices from each other (sometimes called AP or client isolation, common on guest networks) will block Phone Link entirely — check this if it worked at home but not elsewhere.
App Mirroring Not Available (Samsung)
Full app mirroring is limited to specific Samsung Galaxy models and requires both the phone and Windows to meet certain version requirements. If you don’t see the option at all, check your specific model is on Samsung’s supported device list — it isn’t available on most non-Samsung Android phones or any iPhone.
Still Not Working?
If none of the above resolves it, unlinking the device completely (from both the Phone Link app on Windows and the Link to Windows app on your phone) and setting the pairing up again from scratch resolves the majority of persistent issues that individual fixes don’t.
Related Guides
- What Is Phone Link? Microsoft’s Windows-Android Linking App Explained
- iPhone Wi-Fi Not Connecting: How to Fix It
