Phone Link woes

Question

Phone Link woes

Dale Webb 0

Phone link 1.26022.64.0

Version 25H2 (0S Build 26200.8246)

Samsung S26 Ultra OneUI 8.5, Android 16 S948U1UEU1AZCF

Been having BIG problems with Phone Link, particularly since Samsung and Microsoft made them 'system aps.'

Right now, I have 50 messages in my PC Phone Link message list and ZERO messages on my the Phone Link app on my phone.

Copilot nor ChatGPT has solved the problems, in spite of making extensive suggestions. Been ALL over both OSs.

Can someone suggest possible solutions?

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2 answers

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Answer 1

Hendrix-V 14,845 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi Dale Webb,

Thank you for sharing the details of your setup.

Based on your description, the behavior where messages appear in Phone Link on your PC but not within the messaging app on your Samsung phone can occur due to how recent Android / OneUI versions manage SMS content. In many cases, messages that are filtered (e.g., spam, blocked, or archived) may be hidden from the phone’s main inbox but still exist within the device’s SMS database, which Phone Link can read for syncing purposes.

Please start by checking messaging filters on your phone

Open your default messaging app
Review:
- Spam
- Blocked
- Archived
If the conversation is found there, delete or restore it directly from the phone.

Here are some additional checks that you can try in this situation:

1, Clear Link to Windows Cache

On the phone, go to Settings > Apps > Link to Windows > Storage
Tap Clear Cache
Restart the phone

2, Refresh Phone Link on Windows

Go to Settings > Apps > Installed Apps > Phone Link > Advanced Options
Then select Terminate > Repair

3, Verify Router Settings (If Both Devices Use Same Wi‑Fi)

Access your router settings and ensure: Wireless Isolation / AP Isolation is disabled
This setting can prevent local device communication required for syncing

I appreciate your patience, and hope this helps improve message consistency between your phone and PC moving forward.

Let me know if you need further assistance, feel free to ask me by clicking "Add Comment" or "Add Answer" if you cannot add comment so your response will be visible. Thanks for your effort.

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Dale Webb 0 Reputation points

2026-04-18T16:10:02.28+00:00

I REALLY don't know what's going on, but PL is AFU. Please take ownership and fix the problem. I have done pretty much everything suggested with Copilot and ChatGPT; failed miserably.

Additionally, whatever Microsoft has done to SMTP access, but you have basically prevented ANY third party email clients from accessing outlook accounts. I finally had to give up on my outlook account. No longer use it. That MAY have been your whole point, to force the use of the Outlook app on users.

Frankly, I'm disgusted.
Hendrix-V 14,845 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-19T03:47:58.88+00:00
Hi Dale Webb,

I’m really sorry to hear how much time you’ve already put into this. It’s completely understandable to feel fed up when you’ve gone through multiple rounds of troubleshooting and nothing has changed.

From what you’ve described, this no longer sounds like a basic pairing or cache issue. When Phone Link continues to show message data that does not match what’s visible on the device, even after re‑pairing and resets, it usually indicates that the sync service on the Android side is not consistently refreshing the message catalog that Phone Link depends on.

In newer Android / OneUI builds, the Link to Windows component is integrated more deeply as a system service. In some cases, background optimization or permission state changes may prevent it from maintaining an active sync, even though the overall connection between the phone and PC still appears to be working.

At this stage, you may try the following checks on your Samsung device:

1, Exclude “Link to Windows” from Battery Optimization

Settings > Apps > Link to Windows > Battery

Set to Unrestricted

This ensures the background sync service is not suspended by system resource policies.

2, Confirm Background Data is Allowed

Settings > Apps > Link to Windows > Mobile Data & Wi‑Fi

Ensure:

Allow background data usage is enabled

Allow app while Data Saver on is enabled (if applicable)

3, Check Notification Access Permission

Phone Link message sync may rely on this permission layer:

Settings > Apps > Special Access > Notification Access

Confirm that Link to Windows is turned on

Regarding Outlook third‑party access, Outlook accounts can still be used with third‑party email clients via IMAP / SMTP. However, successful sign‑in may require that the client supports modern authentication (OAuth 2.0). Some older mail apps may not support this updated method and therefore may be unable to connect successfully using legacy credential prompts.

I truly appreciate your patience in working through this, and I hope this helps stabilize the Phone Link sync experience going forward.
Allyson Moisan 0 Reputation points

2026-04-20T20:41:53.1566667+00:00

I am having the same issues, and I also have a Samsung Device, a Samsung Galaxy 25 Ultra. For the past few days, Link to Windows on the device and Phone Link on the computer have not been working. I have tried everything listed here. I've tried restarting my computer and device. I have force-stopped and restarted both the app and the app service on my device. I have removed devices on both Link to Windows on the Phone and Phone Link on my computer. Now it's trying to add the computer, but every time it stalls after I enter the code from Phone Link into Link to Windows. Just an endless spinning wheel on both the computer and the device. I have all the suggested settings on my phone turned on. I've even toggled them all. There is nowhere for me to remove Phone Link on my computer and re-add it because it's now a system app. Same with Link to Windows on my phone. All I can do is disable and re-enable it. I still have the same problem. I enter the code for them to link, and nothing happens.
Dale Webb 0 Reputation points

2026-04-20T20:55:42.4766667+00:00

Both Microsoft and Samsung have converted the app into system files. In the process, it's not working correctly. Neither side will take ownership. I think we (all) are at their mercy to fix it. Until then, we will be unable to use Phone Link.
Charlene Davis 5 Reputation points

2026-04-21T15:33:22.84+00:00

Stop pointing fingers and fix what you broke
Dale Webb 0 Reputation points

2026-04-21T21:10:07.47+00:00

1, Exclude “Link to Windows” from Battery Optimization- Unrestricted

2, Confirm Background Data is Allowed- Background data allowed

3, Check Notification Access Permission- No permissions denied

Still not fixed. Please get PL fixed.
Ian-T 7,745 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-04-23T02:33:21.1333333+00:00

HI everyone

Thank you for your response.
I have found a thread that people experiencing Microsoft Apps not working on Android Samsung devices. Please feel free to check them out and apply the workarounds that is Marked Answer. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5862178/my-microsoft-apps-have-stopped-working-on-my-samsu

Additionally, you can help providing your feedback via https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback as well.

Please note that this is a user-to-user support forum. Moderators and contributors, including external Microsoft employees, are not allowed to directly interfere with Microsoft product features or access back-end systems. Our role is limited solely to providing technical guidance on reported incidents, requests, or ideas.

Thank you for your patience and time

Answer 2

Based on the available information, try the following targeted steps that address common Phone Link sync and connection issues between Windows 11 and Samsung Android devices:

Fully unlink and relink the phone

On the Samsung phone:

Ensure Link to Windows is updated to the latest version from Galaxy Store/Play Store.
Open Link to Windows.
Tap the Microsoft account name under Linked account.
Go to Account settings > Sign out and unlink account.
Confirm by tapping Unlink when prompted.

On the Windows 11 PC:

Open Phone Link.
Go to Settings > Devices.
Select Add new device and follow the on‑screen steps to pair the Android phone again.
If the app does not respond correctly after this, close it completely and restart Phone Link.

This clears stale pairing data that can cause mismatched message lists between PC and phone.

Check Wi‑Fi/router isolation if using same network

If both devices are on the same Wi‑Fi but messages or other features are not syncing reliably:

Sign in to the router’s admin page.
Look for Wireless > Advanced Wireless Setting (or similar).
Make sure Wireless Isolation / AP Isolation is disabled.

When AP Isolation is enabled, devices on the same Wi‑Fi cannot communicate, which can break Phone Link features.

Confirm both apps are up to date

If an “Update Required” page appears or features behave inconsistently:

On Windows 11, update Phone Link via Microsoft Store.
On the Samsung phone, update Link to Windows.

The “Update Required” page will indicate which side needs updating; update that app to clear the block and restore normal behavior.

Use feature‑specific troubleshooting if messages remain out of sync

If, after unlinking/relinking and updating, messages on PC and phone still do not match, use the dedicated troubleshooting guidance for messages and other features from the Phone Link help hub:

Messages: see “Troubleshoot messages” under Troubleshooting features in the Phone Link.
If other features (photos, calls, apps, notifications, phone screen, content transfer) also misbehave, use the corresponding troubleshooting articles listed under Troubleshooting features in the Phone Link.

If reconnection keeps failing

If the linked device cannot be found and Phone Link repeatedly prompts for QR code reconnection:

On the phone, open Link to Windows.
Sign out (if signed in), confirm, let the app close.
Reopen Link to Windows, sign in again with the same Microsoft account used on the PC.
Follow the on‑screen steps to relink.
Provide feedback with logs if the issue persists

If none of the above resolves the mismatch between PC and phone message lists, submit feedback with details so the product team can investigate:

On the Samsung phone:

Open Link to Windows.
Tap Settings.
Tap Provide feedback and include that messages show on PC but not on phone, plus device/OS versions.

On Windows 11 PC:

In Phone Link, go to Settings > Feedback & Community.
Fill out the form with details of the message sync discrepancy and steps already tried.

References:

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