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If Phone Link works until you restart your PC and then needs a reset every time, the practical answer is to work through Microsoft’s documented recovery steps from the least disruptive upward, and to stop as soon as the connection holds. Microsoft’s pages describe how to reconnect, reset, and report problems, but they do not explain why one failure repeats after each reboot. The cause has to be narrowed down on your own setup.
What the official guidance covers, and what it does not
Microsoft’s troubleshooting material for Phone Link covers general reconnection, account, network, and reset procedures. Several of its reconnect and reset instructions are written specifically for Android phones, and the steps can differ by feature and by Windows release. Settings labels may not match your screen exactly, so treat the names below as a guide and follow the closest match.
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What Microsoft’s pages reviewed here do not contain is an explanation for a failure that returns after every restart. Possible contributors such as a Windows update, background restrictions on the Android side, a Bluetooth driver, router behavior, or a Phone Link app regression are all plausible, but none is confirmed by the official guidance for this pattern. A user report on Reddit describes the same symptom in its title, but it is a single anecdote and does not show how common the problem is or what causes it.
Step 1: Record your setup and the exact symptom
Before changing anything, note the details that decide which recovery step is appropriate. Microsoft’s guidance is organized around these variables, and they are also what you will need if you report the problem later.
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- Phone platform: Android or iPhone. Most of Microsoft’s reset and reconnect procedures described here are for Android.
- Windows version and build number, which you can find under Settings > System > About.
- Versions of the Phone Link app and the Link to Windows app on the phone.
- The feature that fails after the reboot, such as Phone screen, messages, or calls.
- Whether the phone shows as offline, or whether Phone Link asks you to pair again with a new QR code.
- Any error text shown on the PC or the phone, copied exactly.
Requirements also vary by feature. Microsoft’s Phone Link requirements and setup page is the reference for what each feature needs before you troubleshoot it.
Step 2: Confirm the app and account state on both devices
For Android reconnection, Microsoft recommends making sure Link to Windows is up to date and that the phone is signed in to the same Microsoft account as the PC. A mismatch here can produce a connection that looks normal until a restart breaks it. Check both points before moving on, using the Microsoft troubleshooting page for Phone Link, which describes this sequence.
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Step 3: Check the connection conditions
Phone Link depends on a working link between the two devices, and some features depend on the network more than others. Microsoft’s Phone screen troubleshooting page says both devices must be turned on and able to communicate, and that they must be on the same Wi-Fi network. It also flags two common traps:
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- A router that offers separate 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks, with the PC and phone on different ones.
Microsoft’s general troubleshooting also recommends checking whether Battery saver is turned on, and notes that some router configurations stop devices on the same network from communicating with each other. These checks matter most for network-dependent features. They are not a requirement for every Phone Link function, so confirm which feature is failing before you assume the network is the cause.
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Step 4: Choose the recovery step by how much it disturbs your setup
Microsoft’s recovery actions fall into three levels of scope. Start at the top and move down only when the lower-impact step does not hold through the next reboot.
| Step | What it resets | Disruption | Use it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toggle Phone Link off and on in Bluetooth & devices, then reopen it (Microsoft calls this a soft reset, per the Android reset guide) | The Phone Link session on the PC | Low. No re-pairing needed. | This is the first attempt after a reboot failure. |
| Unlink the account on the phone, then add the device again in Phone Link on the PC, and restart Phone Link if the issue persists | The account link on the phone and the pairing on the PC | Medium. The devices must be paired again. | The soft reset does not restore the connection. |
| Force-stop Link to Windows, remove the device from the Microsoft devices page, unlink the PC in Windows settings, reset Phone Link in its app settings, then pair again | Link to Windows on the phone, the device record in the Microsoft account, the PC pairing, and the Phone Link app settings | High. Both devices are reset and paired from scratch. | The lighter steps fail and the connection breaks again after the next restart. |
Step 5: Run the full reset and re-pair
Use this sequence only if the soft reset and unlink-and-re-add steps have not held. It follows the Android procedure in Microsoft’s reset guide.
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- On the Android phone, force-stop Link to Windows from the app settings screen.
- Remove the linked PC from the Microsoft devices page, signed in to the same Microsoft account.
- On the PC, unlink the phone in the Windows Settings app.
- Open Phone Link on the PC and reset it from its app settings.
- Pair the phone again from Phone Link, following the on-screen steps.
- Restart the PC and confirm the connection is still working before you assume the problem is solved.
A full re-pair takes you through the pairing prompts again, so have the phone unlocked and nearby when you start.
Diagnosing a repeat failure after reboot
Because the official pages do not confirm a cause, use the reboot test itself as your diagnostic. After a fresh pair, restart the PC once and check whether the connection survives. If it works after the pairing and fails only after the restart, the failing point is the startup path rather than the pairing itself. Record which of these candidates changed around the time the failure began, and test one at a time:
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- A recent Windows update or a change in the Windows build number.
- Background or battery restrictions applied to Link to Windows on the phone.
- A Bluetooth driver update or a change in the adapter that the PC uses.
- A router change, firmware update, or change to the network isolation or band settings.
- An update to Phone Link or Link to Windows, which may point to an app regression.
Each candidate is a hypothesis until a test supports it. Do not assume a fix works permanently until it has survived at least one reboot.
If the problem continues, collect details and report it
When the full re-pair still breaks after the next restart, report it. Microsoft’s troubleshooting page directs users to the Feedback & Community section in Phone Link and to Feedback Hub. Include the same details from Step 1, plus three observations: when the failure starts, which feature stops working, and whether a fresh pair works until the next reboot. A report with these details is far more useful to the engineers than a general complaint that Phone Link stopped working.
Every step in Microsoft’s documented recovery sequence is a software or settings change. None requires buying a Bluetooth adapter, a new router, or a different phone.
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