This browser is no longer supported.
Upgrade to Microsoft Edge to take advantage of the latest features, security updates, and technical support.
![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(160, 5%, 25%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3EA9%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Once a day, Microsoft Cross Device Service takes up 15-20GB of ram and I have to end the process in task manager. Why does this happen? I've tried repairing and resetting the Phone Link app in settings, neither helped. I tried clearing the cache in AppData\Local\ConnectedDevicesPlatform but that didn't help either (after having to boot into cmd because it wouldn't let me delete it otherwise)
![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(144, 4%, 23%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3EJV%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
I am having similar issues. My PC is constantly using upwards of 90% of its available RAM. Most of the time its the top 1 consumer of RAM. I've tried everything the other user mentioned to no avail. Please fix, I actually use the Cross device service a lot, but I do not like at all my PC to be slow, so I ocassionally end the task.
![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(185.6, 93%, 27%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3EHL%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Dear Adam
Thanks for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A Foum. I'm Haien from Microsoft Q&A.
I understand you are experiencing a significant resource consumption issue with the Microsoft Cross Device Service on your Windows 11 system, where it consumes an excessive amount of RAM (15-20GB) until you manually end the process. You've already taken excellent steps by trying to repair and reset the Phone Link app and clear its associated cache. The Microsoft Cross Device Service is a system component designed to facilitate continuity and synchronization between your PC and mobile devices, primarily powering the Phone Link app. Features include cross-device clipboard, notification sync, and app continuity ("Resume").
Since you are using Windows 11, please consider my suggestions and keep me updated with anything new that you are trying so I can follow up your case easier:
Quick Checks First: Ensure Windows and Phone Link are fully updated: Go to Settings > Windows Update > Check for updates, and in the Microsoft Store, search for Phone Link > Update if available
Get-AppxPackage *YourPhone* -AllUsers | ForEach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"} Please keep me updated with anything new that you were try to each option.
If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".
Note: Please follow the steps in Change your Microsoft Q&A preferences | Microsoft Learn to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.
This sounds like it would disable phone link entirely, I still want to use it, I just don't want it to eat up all my RAM.
I tried these steps even though I wanted to keep using it because it just got too annoying. It didn't work though, it still starts up randomly and takes all my RAM.
Dear Adam-9306
Thanks for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A Forum.
Thank you for your update and for trying the suggested steps. The high RAM usage by the Cross Device Service likely stems from its background syncing processes (e.g., notifications, clipboard, or app continuity) becoming overactive, possibly due to corrupted data or conflicts with connected devices.
Could you let me know your Windows 11 build number (Settings > System > About) and whether you’re syncing with a specific device (e.g., Android/iOS, and its OS version)? This will help me pinpoint if it’s device-specific. Also, does the RAM spike occur at a specific time or after certain actions (e.g., opening Phone Link)?
Please consider trying these suggestions and please let me know anything news from it:
Option 1:
net stop CDPUserSvc to stop the service.C:\Users\<YourUsername>\AppData\Local\ConnectedDevicesPlatform in File Explorer.net start CDPUserSvc.Option 2:
Test the System: Please monitor your RAM usage for the next 24 hours. If the usage remains stable, slowly re-enable only the features you need within the Phone Link app to see which one triggers the issue.
If it still fails, Re-register Phone Link with a Clean Install
Get-AppxPackage *YourPhone* -AllUsers | Remove-AppxPackage to uninstall Phone Link.Note: Resetting or uninstalling Phone Link may clear synced messages/photos from the app. If you’ve backed up important data elsewhere, this shouldn’t be an issue.
If all of the above steps fail, consider taking your computer to the manufacturer's store for support in upgrading the RAM and removing any potential viruses from your computer.
We appreciate your comments that can improve Microsoft's limitations and at the same time contribute to the Microsoft Windows user community. You can contribute your comments through the instructions of the following link so that Microsoft's team can develop more software to support your needs: Send feedback to Microsoft with the Feedback Hub app - Microsoft Support
If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".
Note: Please follow the steps in Change your Microsoft Q&A preferences | Microsoft Learn to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.