- Microsoft is rolling out new features for the Link to Windows app
- Now Allows Android Users to Lock Their Windows 11 PC Remotely
- Other new features include sharing clipboard content (images or text), mirroring your phone screen with a single touch to the desktop, and more.
Windows 11 users who have connected their Android smartphone to the operating system can now benefit from some nifty new features, including the ability to lock their PC remotely with their phone.
Windows Latest reports that starting the second week of December, Microsoft is rolling out these new capabilities and you can get them by updating the Link to Windows Android app to the latest version.
This introduces a large ‘Lock PC’ button on the Android device, which when pressed does exactly that – locks your Windows 11 system even if you are not near it. Windows Latest notes that this happens in just a few seconds, so it’s pretty fast.
There are new buttons to send a file from your phone to the PC and mirror your phone’s screen to the desktop. You can also send files from Windows 11 PC to Android phone and freely share clipboard contents between the two devices (including images and text you’ve copied).
On top of that, there’s a recent activity panel that contains all the files or links that have been shared recently, so you can see them at a glance.
The Android app now also shows a couple of key details about your PC (which are updated in real time, give or take, every minute or so). These are the battery level (for laptops) and Wi-Fi signal strength, which could be useful to know.
How to get these nifty new skills
This significantly develops the Link to Windows app for Android, and is a significant step forward for those who use it alongside the Phone Link app on PC. The ability to easily share clipboard content and the PC lock feature are the highlights here. It’s also convenient to have screen mirroring at your fingertips with the touch of a button.
We had previously seen this functionality in testing and it was present in a beta version last month, but now we are reportedly rolling out the full update to all Phone Link users. If you want to get the benefit, update your Link to Windows app now, although it may still take a little while for these new benefits to arrive, as always with the rollout of any new feature.
To check for updates for the Android app, as instructed by Microsoft, go to your phone’s Settings panel and navigate to Advanced Featuresand then tap Link to Windows. Select the ellipsis (three dots) in the upper right corner and tap About linking to Windowswhere you can check for updates and install one if available.
If you haven’t started with Phone Link for Windows 11 (and Link to Windows) and want to, we have an explanation on how to get started. It’s not difficult to set up, and there’s surprisingly powerful cross-device functionality available (and Phone Link now has its own side panel outside of the Start menu, too).
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