How to Show Any Phone Screen on a Windows Computer

Mirror or even control your phone’s screen on your PC

What to Know

• On Android, open the Your Phone app, set up Link your phone and PC. Open the Your Phone Windows 10 app to complete the connection.
• iOS devices require the use of third-party mirroring apps.

This article explains how to use the Your Phone app to connect an Android phone to a Windows 10 computer, as well as third-party software you can use for screencasting.

Your Phone for Windows 10

In 2018, Microsoft released an app called Your Phone that, when paired with the Your Phone Companion app for Android, supports Wi-Fi pairing to let Your Phone interact directly with the mobile operating system.

These instructions apply to Windows 10 PCs and Android devices with Android 7.0 (Nougat) or above.

After installing the Your Phone app, make sure your PC and Android device are nearby, turned on, and connected to Wi-Fi.

Open the Your Phone app on your phone.

Select Link your phone and PC.

Sign in to the Your Phone Companion app using the same Microsoft account you’re using on your PC if prompted. Select Continue.

Select Continue and choose Allow to enable permissions.

Return to the PC to finish linking your phone with the Windows 10 app.

In the Windows search box, type your phone and select the Your Phone app from the results.

Select Get Started.

Sign in to your Microsoft account if prompted.

You’ll need to sign in to the same Microsoft account on your phone and your PC to link the devices successfully.

Follow the guided setup process.

Wait while the app links to your phone.

Select the items from your phone that you want to see on your computer.

The Your Phone app can:

• Display Android notifications to the Windows Notification List.
• Send and receive text messages through the phone using the Windows app.
• Display device photos and manage drag-and-drop file access between the phone and Windows.
• Mirror the Android screen in real-time, and support remote control of the phone through the app.
• Send and receive calls through Windows, using the phone as a pass-through device, provided the phone supports a specific (and new) form of Bluetooth connectivity.

For select Samsung devices, the Link to Windows companion app is already installed. Access it by going to Settings > Advanced features > Link to Windows.

Screen mirroring with Your Phone requires the Link to Windows feature, which is available in a limited number of test markets for Android 9 and more widely in Android 10.

Screen Casting

Apple does not prioritize interoperability between iOS and iPadOS with Windows 10. To cast an iPhone or iPad screen to a Windows display, you’ll need special software that translates the AirPlay standard.

For Android, the picture is a bit fuzzier. The Miracast technology that supports screen sharing is built into some Android phones but not others. Google, for example, has been removing the feature from Nexus devices because it competes with Chromecast.

If your Android’s Settings app includes a Cast or a Wireless Display feature, then running the built-in Connect app on Windows 10 allows Windows to display the screen. If those Android options are absent, though, Windows cannot display the phone’s screen.

Third-Party Apps

A broad ecosystem of apps bridges the gap between Android, iOS, iPadOS devices, and Windows 10 computers. These apps vary in capability and price points. Because these programs do the heavy lifting of serving as an intermediary, they tend to work regardless of which specific release of an operating system you have. Options include:

Screen Mirroring on Windows 10: How to Turn Your PC Into a Wireless Display

Windows 10 has offered the ability to mirror your screen to any dongle or device (streaming box, TV) compatible with the popular Miracast standard since its launch in 2015. Microsoft’s OS now lets your PC become the wireless display, receiving Miracast signals from a phone, tablet or other Windows 10 laptop or desktop.

If you have a small Windows 10-powered computer hooked up to your TV, it can now double as a wireless display dongle for your phone or laptop. When you’re mirroring from a Windows 10 computer, you can extend rather than duplicate the screen so you can, for example, play a movie on the receiving display while you send emails on the primary one. Just imagine taking a Windows 10 tablet, propping it up next to your laptop and using it as a second monitor on the road.

While most modern devices with Wi-Fi have the ability to send out a Miracast signal, compatibility is spotty at best. Sometimes you have to try casting your screen three or four times before the process works. So be patient. If you accidentally rotated your screen while attempting to extend your display, we have a quick fix for that.

Looking to do screen mirroring on Windows 10? Here’s how to turn your Windows 10 PC into a Miracast-capable wireless display:

1. Open the action center. It’s represented by the speech bubble icon in the lower right corner of the screen.

2. Click Connect.

3. Click Projecting to this PC.

A settings window appears.

4. Select «Available Everywhere» or «Available everywhere on secure networks» from the top pulldown menu.

5. Select «First time only» or «Every time» under «Ask to project to this PC.» I recommend picking «first time only,» unless you’re really worried that some rogue person is going to grab your phone and project to your computer without your permission.

I recommend leaving «Require PIN for pairing» off since you have to grant permission on the receiving computer anyway. You can also decide whether you want your PC to receive projection requests only when it’s plugged in.

6. Click Yes when Windows 10 alerts you that another device wants to project to your computer.

The Windows connect app will launch in its own window. You can drag, resize or maximize the window. We found that videos played smoothly in a connection between a Surface Pro 4 and a ThinkPad T440s. Also, if the sending device is a Windows 10 PC and allows it, you can use the keyboard and mouse on the receiving computer to remotely control the sender.

How to Mirror Your Windows 10 Screen to Another Windows 10 Device

Here’s how to broadcast your screen from the sending device, if it’s a Windows 10 computer. Android devices have different wireless display menus.

1. Open the action center.

2. Click Connect. A list of available receiving devices appears and your other computer should be on it.

3. Select the receiving device. You may have to wait a minute or longer for the devices to pair. It may also fail and you’ll need to try again.

4. Toggle «Allow input» to on if you want to let the receiving device control your PC with its keyboard and mouse.

5. Click «Change projection mode» and select «Extend» from the menu that appears if you want to use the wireless display as a second desktop, rather than a mirror of your current desktop.

6. Click Disconnect when you want to terminate your connection.

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.