How to Turn off Phone Link feature in Windows 11

In this post, we will show you how to switch off the Phone Link feature in Windows 11 using the Settings app.

What is the Phone Link feature on Windows 11?

The Phone Link feature in Windows 11 is a useful feature that lets you quickly access your Android (Samsung, HONOR, OPPO) and iOS devices from your PC. To complete the setup, you must use the Link to Windows app on your Android or iPhone and the Phone Link app on your computer. Once your phone and PC are linked, you can access your phone calls, messages, apps, and photos on your computer.

How do I stop my phone from being linked to my computer?

You can simply switch off the Phone Link feature to prevent your phone from being linked to your computer. To do so, you can disable the Phone Link app linking feature using Group Policy Editor. Open Group Policy Editor, navigate to the Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Group Policy location, and disable the Phone-PC linking on this device policy. You can also use Registry Editor to do the same.

How to Turn off Phone Link feature in Windows 11

To turn off the Phone Link feature with the help of the Windows Settings app, you can follow the below simple steps:

Open Settings.
Go to Bluetooth & devices.
Click on the Phone Link.
Turn off the toggle.

First, press the Win+I hotkey to launch the Settings app.

Now, move to the Bluetooth & devices tab from the left side pane. After that, click on the Phone Link option present in the right side pane.

Next, switch off the toggle associated with the Phone Link option.

This will disable the instant access of your mobile device from this PC.

Read: Troubleshoot Phone Link app problems & issues on Windows.

How do you disable Phone Link from opening on startup?

You can also stop the Phone Link app from launching at startup so that it doesn’t automatically start linking your PC and phone. This way, you can use the app whenever you want to. There are multiple methods to stop the Phone Link app from opening at Windows startup. Here are those methods:

Modify the Phone Link settings to prevent it from opening at startup.
Prevent the Phone Link app from opening on startup via Settings.
Use Task Manager to disable Phone Link on startup.

1] Modify the Phone Link settings

You can change the Phone Link setting to disable it from launching at startup. It provides a dedicated option to launch the app at system startup that you can switch off. Here’s how to do that:

First, open the Phone Link app using the Windows Search feature or from the system tray (if already running).
Now, click on the Settings (cogwheel) icon present at the top-right corner of the window.
Next, from the General tab, disable the toggle associated with the Start Phone Link when I sign in to Windows option.

Read: Phone Link Stuck on connecting Android or iPhone

2] Prevent the Phone Link from opening on startup via Settings

Another method to stop the Phone Link app from automatically opening on system startup is to use the Windows Settings app. Here are the steps to do that:

First, launch the Settings app using Win+I.
Now, go to the Apps tab and then choose the Startup option.
After that, locate the Phone Link app in the list and switch off the toggle associated with the app.

See: How to record mobile screen on PC via Phone Link in Windows?

3] Use Task Manager to disable Phone Link on startup

Task Manager is Windows’ default app to manage running tasks and monitor the system. It also lets you manage your startup apps using which you can prevent Phone Link from running on system startup. Here are the steps to do that: