Phone Link (23H2)

Windows 11 provides a Phone Link app you can use to access key iPhone and Android phone features from your PC. These can include, among other things, interacting with notifications, making and receiving text messages, making and receiving phone calls, controlling media playback on the phone, viewing, sharing, and saving phone-based photos, and more.

This is a fantastic idea in theory, but the capabilities vary by phone type, and there is a lot of underlying complexity to deal with.

If you have an iPhone, Phone Link is particularly problematic: You will receive only basic functionality and the experience is buggy, incomplete, and frustrating. Android users will have a better experience, with many more features and deeper integration, especially if you have a recent Samsung flagship phone.

The complexity you will face with Phone Link isn't entirely Microsoft's fault: Apple, in particular, limits how third parties can access its closed digital ecosystem, and so the iPhone is locked down in ways that ensure it only works well with Apple's software, services, and other devices. But even Android users will face a daunting list of challenges when using Phone Link, in particular during initial configuration. And Phone Link is buggy and unreliable, no matter which phone you use.
Understand the complexity of Phone Link
Before you start using Phone Link, you need to understand the underlying complexities noted above. There are three pieces to this puzzle.

Phone Link. You use the Phone Link app in Windows 11 to interact with your smartphone, with the feature set differing depending on which model you use. During initial set up, you will link the phone to your Microsoft account, pair the phone to the PC using Bluetooth, and connect the phone to this instance of the Phone Link app. You will also need to navigate a set of permissions--with Android, many, many permissions--so that Phone Link can access individual phone features.

Link to Windows. Microsoft provides a Link to Windows mobile app for iPhone and Android that you must install before using Phone Link. Once it's configured, Link to Windows doesn't "do" much, but the app must run in the background on your phone at all times for Phone Link to work.

Select Samsung, Honor, OnePlus, and other Android flagship phones have an integrated Link to Windows experience preinstalled. This makes it a bit easier to configure the phone with Phone Link, but it may not be obvious that this feature is available. (And, if desired, you can still install the standalone mobile app instead.)
Bluetooth & devices. When you configure your phone to work with Phone Link, you are prompted to pair the phone with your PC using Bluetooth, and Phone Link won't work until this happens successfully. You can view your phone with the Bluetooth & devices page in the Windows 11 Settings app. If you wish to unpair the phone, click the "More options" ("...") link in its tile there and choose "Remove device" ...