You can now control your Android phone from Windows 10 (with a little tinkering)

Why is it we still can’t control our smartphones with our computers? It’s 2015, guys – this should be an added feature, but the differences in platforms slows things down a bit. With the upgrade to Windows 10 spreading and introducing Cortana, though, it is now possible to send commands to your phone (and other things) from your PC.

Sadly, this is not exactly an included feature and will require a few software downloads. The set-up process is not the smoothest, either, but once you get things right it will be possible to do some amazing things. Possible actions include managing your smart products (lights, thermostat, etc.), controlling music, adjusting Android notification settings and more. The possibilities are only limited by what Tasker can and can’t do.

The process was put together by João Dias, a very popular Tasker plug-in developer. As expected, you will need Tasker installed in your smartphone in order to use these Cortana voice commands, as well as AutoVoice and AutoRemote. In addition, your Windows 10 machine will need to have the AutoRemote Chrome Extension installed.

Once all is in place, the user needs only enable Cortana commands, as well as allowing for sending Cortana commands to your devices. Once that is done, simply import this profile to Tasker, on your Android smartphone. Setting Chrome as your default browser is also a requisite, so make sure to do that if you haven’t.

That’s not too bad, right? If you haven’t been scared away by these instructions and want in on the action, go ahead and give it a try. Just keep in mind getting this functionality won’t come free. The Tasker Android app costs $6.49, and AutoRemote is priced at $3.35. All other software is free, though.

Are any of you doing this? Sadly, I am still on the wait-list for the Windows 10 upgrade, but please hit the comments and let us know how it’s all working for you!