Fix: Your Phone App is not working in Windows 10

December 18, 2020 By Sambit Koley

Some Windows 10 users are complaining about a problem with the Your Phone application on Windows 10. According to them, the notification features as well as the automatic syncing process is not working on their computer. If you are facing the similar kind of problem with Your Phone, don’t worry. Just follow these solutions on your computer and the problem should be over in no time. But before going ahead, make sure to attempt some simpler work arounds for this problem.

Initial workarounds–

1. Check the battery level of your smartphone and do the same for the laptop. Enabling battery saver mode in any of these device may restrict background activity which in turn hampers the performance of Your Phone.

2. If this is the first time you are facing this problem, reboot the phone and the computer and check if the problem solved.

3. Check if there is any updates are pending for Your Phone in Microsoft Store. Update the application if required.

4. Make sure ‘Do not Disturb‘ option is disabled on your phone. Along with that, notifications for ‘Your Phone’ are enabled on your phone.

If any of these workarounds didn’t work out for you, go for these fixes on your computer

Fix-1 Enable Share across devices-

1. Click on the Search box, just beside the Windows icon and type “Share across devices“. Now, click on “Share across devices” in the elevated search result.

2. Under Shared Experiences in Settings window, toggle the “Shared across devices” to “ON“.

Now, check if the Your Phone is working or not.

Fix-2 Check if you are using the same Microsoft account-

If you are not using the same Microsoft account on both of Your Phone and Your Phone Companion application you may face this problem.

To check ‘Account’ setting in Your Phone on your phone-

1. Open “Your Phone Companion” on your phone.

2. Now, tap on the gear shaped icon on the top right corner.

3. Now, tap on the “Accounts” to open the account settings on your phone.

4. Now you will be able to see the Microsoft account you are logged in with on your Your Phone along with the gmail address.

Close Your Phone Companion.

To check ‘Account’ setting on your computer-

1. Press Windows key+I to open Settings. Now, click on “Accounts“.

2.On the left hand side click on “Your info“. You will be able to see Microsoft account with which you have logged in.

Now, check if the account you have seen on Your Phone app and the account on your Windows 10 device are the same or not. If they are not same-

a. Log out from your account in Your Phone Companion application.

b. Log in with the account which you are using on Windows 10.

Your problem should be solved.

Fix-3 Use Windows App troubleshooter-

Using Windows application troubleshooter may fix the problem for you.

1. Press Windows key+I to open Settings window. Now, click on “Update & Security” in Settings window.

2. In the Settings window, click on “Troubleshoot” on the left hand side. Scroll down in Settings window and click on “Windows Store Apps” and click on “Run the Troubleshooter“.

3. The troubleshooter will run on your computer and it will detect any kind of problem of the application and will suggest solutions for the problem. Click on “Next” to attempt the probable solution to your problem.

Your computer might be restarted. After rebooting try to check if the syncing problem is still there or not.

Fix-4 Allow background applications-

If the background running of Your Phone on your computer is disabled, Your Phone won’t work smoothly.

1. Click on the Search box just beside Windows icon and type “background apps“. Now, click on “Background apps” in the elevated search result.

2. Under Background apps on the right hand side of Settings, scroll down to find “Your Phone“. Make sure, Your Phone is toggled to “ON“.

Close Settings window on your computer.

Reboot your computer. After rebooting check if the Your Phone is functioning properly or not.

Fix-5 Reset Your Phone app-

Resetting Your Phone application may work out for you.

1. Press Windows key+I to open Settings. Now, click on “Apps” to open it on your computer.

2. In Settings window, click on the “Apps & features” on the left hand side, and on the right hand side of the same window scroll down and click on “Your Phone“. Now, click on “Advanced options“.

3. In Your Phone settings window, click on “Reset” to reset the application on your computer.

After resetting the application, application should be set to default. Your problem should be solved.

Sambit is a Mechanical Engineer By qualification who loves to write about Windows 10 and solutions to weirdest possible problems.

Troubleshooting the Your Phone app

Data syncing and connectivity issues

To keep your devices synced, your Windows PC and Android device need to be on, connected to the Internet, and we recommend having Battery saver turned Off (it may interfere with important notifications for the app).

Yes, you can use your mobile data to sync with your PC. However, if you’re concerned about the effect on your data allowance, we recommend remaining on a Wi-Fi connection.

On your Android device:

Open the Your Phone Companion app.

Select Sync over mobile data.

Turn this option On.

To ensure the fastest, most reliable connection, your Android device and PC must be connected to the same trusted Wi-FI network. This optimization isn’t possible on a public connection—for example, in a coffee shop, hotel, or airport.

When you first connect to a Wi-Fi network through Windows 10, you’ll be prompted to set it as public or private (trusted). You can also change it at any time.

These changes might not always be possible—for example, if your workplace controls your network connection.

Before we begin to change settings, we recommend quickly running through the following checks:

Double-check you’re using the same Microsoft account to sign in to both the Your Phone app and the companion app on your Android device.

Ensure Battery saver isn’t running on your PC or Android device, as this might affect connectivity.

You have an active Wi-Fi connection. Can you open your browser and navigate to your favorite website?

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.

Still not working? Continue with the following troubleshooting advice.

Check if the Your Phone app can run in the background.

Select Start (or press the Windows logo key on your keyboard), then select Settings > Privacy > Background apps.

In the list Choose which apps can run in the background, ensure Your Phone is enabled.

Ensure nothing is stopping you from sharing across devices.

Select Start (or press the Windows logo key on your keyboard), then select Settings > System > Shared experiences.

If you see Fix now in Accounts, select it and follow the instructions.

On your Android device:

Make sure you can receive app notifications.

Go to your Android device Settings > Apps (or Apps & Notification on some devices) > Your Phone Companion and check that notifications are enabled.

Make sure Do not disturb is turned Off.

Go to your Android device Settings > Sounds (on some devices this may be Sounds & Vibration or Sounds & Notifications) and check that Do not disturb is turned Off.

If you’re still having trouble, follow the steps to unlink your Android device.

If both of your devices are using the same Wi-Fi network but you still see an error message, this could be caused by a setting on your router.

Many routers have a Wireless isolation feature that allows you to lock down the network. If this Wireless Isolation (or AP Isolation) is enabled, then all devices connected to the Wi-Fi network will be blocked from communicating with other.

To disable Wireless/AP Isolation:

On most routers look for the Wireless > Advanced Wireless Setting, and uncheck/toggle AP Isolation.

Updates

Updates will be installed automatically if this option is enabled on your Android device/PC. To ensure a smooth experience to we recommend updating to the latest version where available. Before doing this, ensure both your Android device and PC are connected to Wi-Fi.

On your Android device:

Open the Your Phone Companion app.

Tap Check for Updates.

Wait for the update to complete successfully, then close and reopen the Your Phone app.

Open the Microsoft Store.

Search for Your Phone.

If an update is available to you, you will see an Update button. Select Update and wait for the update to complete successfully, then select Launch.

You can also try this:

Open the Microsoft Store.

Select More … (located next to your Microsoft account picture).

Select Downloads and Updates.

If a Your Phone update is available, you will see an Update button. Select Update and wait for the update to complete successfully, then select Launch.

Note: It can take a few minutes for the updates to be recognized by the app. If the Your Phone app is still in an “update state,» wait a few minutes, then restart your Android device. On your PC, close and reopen the Your Phone app.

After updating to Android 10, if you are unable to launch permissions for features (notifications, messages, photos) please complete the following steps:

To get photos and messages working:

Go to Settings on your Android device.

Search for App Info and tap on it.

Tap on See all apps.

Find Your Phone Companion and tap on it.

Tap on Permissions and allow the following:

To get notifications working:

Go to Settings on your Android device.

Search for “ Notification access.”

Find Your Phone Companion in the list and tap to toggle off/on.

A pop-up will appear; select Allow when prompted.

Troubleshooting features in the Your Phone app

If you’re looking for troubleshooting for a specific feature in the Your Phone app, find it in the list below:

How do I check I’m using the same Microsoft account for all my devices?

In order to successfully link your PC and Android device, you should sign in to the same Microsoft account on both. You can check this by following these steps:

Open your browser and visit accounts.microsoft.com/devices/android-ios. Sign in with your Microsoft account.

Check if you Android device is listed under your account information.

On your Android device:

If you have the Your Phone Companion app:

Go to Settings > Accounts.

If you have the Link to Windows app (for select Samsung devices):

Go to Settings > Advanced features > Link to Windows.

Review the email address under Microsoft account.

I’m having issues with the Your Phone app when using Samsung DeX at the same time

Having both the Your Phone app and DeX open may cause issues with both apps. To ensure the best experience, only have one of these apps open at a time.

Why can’t I use the Your Phone app as a non-default user or two phone mode user (available in Korea only)?

You may encounter two phone mode if your mobile provider is in Korea. The Your Phone app does not currently support two phone mode or multiple profiles mode. Please contact your mobile provider to disable two phone mode so you can use the Your Phone app.

If you have multiple profiles on your mobile device, the Your Phone app will only work if your mobile device is set to the default profile.

Provide feedback

We’re still actively working on making the Your Phone experience the best we possibly can and we welcome your ideas and insights.

On your Android device:

Open the Your Phone Companion app or the Link to Windows app, depending on your device.

Select the Provide Feedback option.

Open Your Phone > Settings > Help & Feedback.

Fill out the form with as much detail as you can provide.