Setting up and using phone screen in the Your Phone app

Phone screen allows you to interact with all your favorite Android apps and device content directly on your PC, through a Wi-Fi connection.

To use phone screen, you’ll need:

A PC running Windows 10 October 2018 Update or later. However, we always recommend updating to the latest version available.

To check and update your Windows version, on your PC go to Settings > Updates & Security > Check for update.

To confirm you are running Windows 10 October 2018 Update (or later), on your PC go to Settings > System > About and check your version number under Windows specifications. It should read either 1809 or higher).

Your PC also needs to be using a graphics card (GPU) that supports DirectX11. Learn how to check your version of DirectX

Your Android device and PC must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network.

You will need to have a supported Android device. Check the list of supported devices to verify yours will work.

Open the Your Phone app and go to Phone screen.

Follow the setup instructions. You may receive a permissions request to access information on your Android device. Allowing these permissions lets the Your Phone app display content from your device.

If you encounter issues while setting up Phone screen, these troubleshooting tips may help.

What devices are supported?

Phone screen is available on Android devices in select markets running Android 9.0 or greater that have Link to Windows installed (for some devices, it may be preinstalled).

Here are some examples of devices that have Link to Windows installed and will work with Phone screen:

Samsung Galaxy Note9 series

Samsung Galaxy S9 series

Samsung Galaxy Note10 series

Samsung Galaxy S10 series

Samsung Galaxy S20 series

Samsung Galaxy Note20 series

Samsung Galaxy Fold

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip

How do I interact with Phone screen?

You can use your PC’s mouse, trackpad, keyboard, or touch-enabled screen to open, type, scroll, and interact with apps.

Tips for interacting using mouse and keyboard:

Single click will behave as any single touch tap interaction

Right click anywhere on your Android device screen to navigate to the previous page

Click and hold to open a context menu

Click and hold and drag for text selection

Mouse scroll to move screen vertically

Some games and apps might not respond to interactions from a mouse or keyboard connected to your PC. You’ll need to use a touch-enabled PC to interact with them.

For your Surface Duo:

Gestures such as the ones used to navigate back or to the home screen on the device can be replicated with your mouse on your PC by clicking and dragging quickly from the edge of your Android device screen window. If you have trouble replicating them, we recommend turning on 3- button navigation:

You can enable 3-button navigation on your Surface Duo for easier interaction. In your device Settings, go to System > Gestures > System navigation and turn on 3-button navigation.

How do I switch keyboard language or layout?

When you type using your PC’s keyboard the layout and language is controlled by a setting on your Android device for physical keyboards. It won’t be affected by the language of the keyboard you’re using on your PC.

You can click on the keyboard language button when you are using the phone screen feature. This will launch the keyboard language settings where you can choose the language of your preference.

When you are using a physical keyboard with the Your Phone app, you can also manually change your language or layout settings at any time.

On your Android device:

Open your Settings > General Management > Language and input.

If you have a Surface Duo, go to Settings > System instead.

Under keyboards, tap Physical keyboard.

Select the keyboard that you’re using on your Android device (E.g. SwiftKey, Microsoft Virtual Keyboard, or Samsung Keyboard).

Choose a language or layout.

You’ll need to change this setting whenever you want to type using another layout or language.

Tip: When using Phone screen, if you have multiple languages or layouts added, you can use the keyboard shortcut Shift + Space to switch languages.

Why has my device’s screen turned off while using phone screen?

We provide you with the option to have your Android phone screen turn black while connected in phone screen. In this state, your screen will appear to be off—this is to protect the privacy of your personal phone content and minimize battery consumption.

How to interact with the black screen

There are several ways you can dismiss the black screen if you need to interact directly with your Android phone:

Press the power button

Swipe your device screen

However, if you receive a call while the black screen is active, your screen will appear as normal.

How to disable the black screen

If you’d like to use phone screen without the black screen showing, follow the steps below.

In the Your Phone app, open Settings.

In the Phone screen section, find the option to “Hide my Android device’s screen while it’s connected to my PC.” Turn this toggle off. You can change this setting at anytime if you’d like the black screen to show again.

Note: This setting is not available for Surface Duo.

How to close apps in Windows Phone 10.

Replies (8) 

How to close apps in Windows Phone 10. The app remains open in the bacground when do back arrow. In windows 8 it closed it.

Yep a new behavior to learn here. If you want to clean up some apps

Press and Hold the Back Arrow

Either press the X on the app you want to close OR Swipe it down toward the bottom of your phone screen

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How to close apps in Windows Phone 10. The app remains open in the bacground when do back arrow. In windows 8 it closed it.

Yep a new behavior to learn here. If you want to clean up some apps

Press and Hold the Back Arrow

Either press the X on the app you want to close OR Swipe it down toward the bottom of your phone screen

Yes this worked for me!

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But it opens the same app again and again. Should it not have only 1 instance of Mail etc. But everytime I go to Mail it opens a copy of the app. So When I Press and Hold the back arrow I see Mail opened several times. This is a very odd behavior. Microsoft should look into this.

Which application are you using for mail? That is odd behavior.

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I have the same issue as the original op. Your solution works. However, I would prefer not to have to constantly hard press the arrow button and individually close each app.

I would like to find out how to have the same functionality that was available in windows 8 phone, i.e. when I am in an app and press the back arrow, the app closed (it did not keep running in the background). if I wanted the app to keep running in the background then I would hit the windows button to go back to the start screen and keep the app running in the background.

one side note. I have noticed that many of the non-MSFT apps (e.g. Alaska airlines app, Avis app) will exit when I press the back button. seems like the issue my be related only to the Windows apps.

Like someone else said, I don’t want to do a hard press on the back button and have every screen shot I’ve looked at displayed. it’s a pain to constantly have to do the manual closures.

thanks in advance to anyone that can share how to get the functionality back, or confirm it is not available.

Troubleshooting calls in the Your Phone app

There are a few common issues that can prevent calling from working. To troubleshoot, start by trying this:

Make sure F ocus assist is turned off. To do this: right click the Action Center icon on the taskbar, select Focus Assist, then Off.

Close the Your Phone app and reopen it.

If none of above work, please reboot your PC.

On your Android device:

Turn Bluetooth off and on again. To do this, swipe downward from the top of your screen to reveal the Android Notification panel, tap the Bluetooth icon to turn it off/on.

If calling still isn’t working, continue on to additional troubleshooting below.

Your Android device and PC may have failed to automatically connect via Bluetooth. From your Android device, try to connect your devices manually by:

Swiping downwards from the top of your screen to reveal the Android Notification panel. Tap and hold the Bluetooth icon.

A list of nearby devices will be displayed. Locate the name of your PC in this list and tap on it.

You should see notifications on both your Android device and Windows 10 PC. Tap or click on these toasts to confirm.

The connection process should now be complete, and you’ll be able to use the Calls feature.

If you’re still unable to use Calls, make sure the Your Phone app on your PC is closed, then do the following:

On your Android device:

Open your device Settings.

Tap Connected devices > Connection preferences > Bluetooth.

Make sure Bluetooth is turned On.

Next to the paired device that you’d like to change, tap Settings.

Select Unpair (or ‘forget’).

Select Start > Settings > Devices > Bluetooth & other devices.

Select your Android device from the list.

Select Remove device.

Confirm the removal.

If there’s another entry for your Android device, make sure you unpair it, too, by following steps 2-4. Make sure your Android device is not on the list.

Open the Your Phone app and set up Calls again.

For some Android devices, your Battery Optimization settings may interrupt your connection. We recommend turning it off for the companion app on your Android device (either Your Phone Companion or Link to Windows). Here’s how to turn it off based on which companion app you have:

If you have Your Phone Companion*:

Open Android Settings > Apps & notifications > App info > Your Phone Companion > Advanced > Battery > Manage Battery Usage > Battery optimization. Scroll down to Your Phone Companion and select Don’t optimize.

If you have Link to Windows*:

Open Android Settings > Apps > Link to Windows Service > Battery > Optimize battery usage. Select All from the drop-down list, scroll to find Link to Windows service, and turn the toggle Off.

*Note: These steps may vary based on your Android device model.

Some apps may be interfering with making calls. What does this mean?

This error is appearing because you may have paired your Android device to your PC with a third-party app, or your devices may be paired through a pre-installed app from your hardware manufacturer (like Dell Mobile Connect or Virtoo by LG). Some of these apps conflict with being able to make calls, so we recommend uninstalling them, then unpairing your Android device and pairing it again with Calls.

To uninstall apps, go to Windows Settings > Apps > Apps & features. Select the app you want, then Uninstall.

To unpair your Android device from your PC, go to your Windows Settings > Devices > Bluetooth & other devices > Other devices. Select your device from the list, then Remove device. Then, in the Your Phone app, go to Calls and pair your devices again.

Why doesn’t calls doesn’t work after changing my Android device name?

Start by unpairing your Android device from your PC. Go to Start > Settings > Devices > Bluetooth & other devices > Other devices). In your Android device settings (typically under the About your device page), change the name to the one you want. Then, go back to your PC’s Bluetooth settings and pair your phone again to establish the connection with your phone’s updated name.

Why can’t I use my Bluetooth headphone on my PC to get calls from the Your Phone app?

The Your Phone app does not currently support relaying a phone call from your Android device to a headset over Bluetooth.

Can I choose which SIM to use with calling if I have dual SIM capability on my Android device?

The Your Phone app doesn’t support dual SIM options. Your call will be placed or received using your primary SIM.

I’m experiencing audio quality issues while making calls

There are a few things you can do to improve your audio connection while making calls:

If you’re using a Bluetooth mouse or accessory and experiencing poor quality during a call, try temporarily disconnecting it to see if your audio quality improves.

If you’re experiencing a bad echo, try using a wired headset to improve the experience.

Prevent Photos app from opening when connecting your Phone to Windows 10 PC

Whenever you connect your devices like Android Phone, iPhone, or iPad to a Windows 10 PC, the Photos app launches instantly. It does this to allow you to import all the media, but this is not the desired course of action one expects every time. Because, many times, users plug the phone for charging and not for synchronization. This condition can be fixed via a simple change in settings.

Stop Photos app from opening when connecting Phone to PC

To prevent the Photos app from opening itself automatically, when connecting an iPhone or Android phone to a Windows 10 PC, you have two ways:

1. Disable AutoPlay in Settings
2. Disable AutoPlay using the Group Policy Editor

When you plug in a removable device such as a USB or a memory card into your computer, you’ll find ‘AutoPlay’ popup appearing on your computer screen. Its main purpose is to detect the kind of media plugged in and automatically act on your behalf. But if you do not like it, try any one of the below-mentioned ways to get rid of it.

1] Disable AutoPlay option in Settings

Click on the ‘Start’ button and choose ‘Settings’.

Under ‘Windows Settings’ select ‘Devices’ and scroll down to ‘AutoPlay’ section in the left pane.

Next, configure ‘AutoPlay’ defaults. For this, choose Apple iPhone and hit the drop-down arrow adjacent to it.

Select any one of the following options,

• Take no action
• Ask me every time.

This should work.

2] Disable AutoPlay using Group Policy Editor

Press Win + R simultaneously to open the Run dialog box. Type ‘gpedit.msc’ in its search bar and hit ‘Enter’.

Next, go to ‘Computer Configuration’ > Administrative Templates > Windows Components”.

Under ‘Windows Components’ find and select ‘AutoPlay Policies’.

In the right-hand side details pane, select ‘Turn off AutoPlay’ and disable AutoPlay on all drives.

After completing the above steps, the Photos App will be stopped from opening itself automatically anytime you connect your phone.

Date: October 28, 2019 Tags: Photo

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A post-graduate in Biotechnology, Hemant switched gears to writing about Microsoft technologies and has been a contributor to TheWindowsClub since then. When he is not working, you can usually find him out traveling to different places or indulging himself in binge-watching.