Microsoft Phone Link update makes it even easier to send files to your PC

Microsoft is on a mission to make Android phones work better with Windows PCs. In recent weeks, the company has pushed out a slew of updates to its Phone Link app on Windows and its Link to Windows app on Android with the goal of simplifying file sharing. The latest update simplifies file transfers even further by putting your Windows PCs directly on the Android share sheet.

A few weeks ago, Microsoft rolled out an update that made Android file sharing much easier. The update made it possible to initiate a file transfer from the share sheet of your Android phone. All you need to do is select a file in your favorite app, tap the share button, and then select “Link to Windows [Send to PC]” in the share sheet. This opens a menu that lets you choose which Windows PC you’ve connected via Link to Windows to send the file. The file is then wirelessly transferred to your Windows PC and stored in the “Phone Link” directory under the Downloads folder.

While this change certainly made it easier to access your Android phone files, there was still room for improvement. If you don’t pin the “Link to Windows [Send to PC]” button to the top of your share sheet, you might need to scroll through an extensive list to find the button every time you want to share files. Plus, whenever you tap that button, it opens the file share menu within the Link to Windows app instead of immediately sharing files. With a recent update to the Link to Windows app for Android, though, you no longer need to scroll through the share sheet for the button or go through the app’s file share menu.

Earlier today, I noticed that the Windows PCs I connected to my phone via Link to Windows were appearing at the top of the Android share sheet. I was able to tap one of these options to immediately initiate a file transfer to the PC of my choice. It appears that Microsoft is now making use of the Android API that lets apps provide Direct Share targets to the system share sheet. This is the same mechanism that Google’s own Quick Share uses to show devices that you frequently share with at the top of the share sheet.

I don’t know which version of the Link to Windows app added these Direct Share targets, but they weren’t appearing for me a few weeks ago. Microsoft says the seamless file transfer feature requires Link to Windows app version 1.24032.518.0 or later on your Android 9+ device and Phone Link version 1.24032.156.0 or later on your Windows 10+ PC, so we can assume those are the minimum required versions for this feature to work.

Microsoft has also been working on simplifying file transfers from your Windows PC to your Android phone. The company recently rolled out a Windows update that adds a “My Phone” icon in the Windows share menu, and it also rolled out an update that lets you manage your Android phone files right from the Windows file explorer. It’s clear that Microsoft wants to make Windows the best PC OS to pair with your Android phone, and these file-sharing changes go a long way in making the two platforms work better together.