The good thing about Apple devices is that it’s easy to connect them together. For example, connecting iPhone to Mac is a kid’s job, but when it comes to other platforms like Windows, Apple devices start to have tantrums. However, there is an app that lets you connect your iPhone to Windows. Let’s see how to connect Microsoft’s Your Phone app on Windows to iPhone.
You must have heard of the Microsoft Your Phone app from your Android friends. They praised the app so much that you wanted to try it on your iPhone. But is it worth all the praise on the iPhone? We will find it.
Here we will tell you how to connect iPhone and Windows via Microsoft Your Phone app and what happens after connecting. Lets start.
How Does the Microsoft Your Phone App Work with iPhone?
If you’ve connected your Android phone to the Your Phone app, things will look very different for the iPhone. This is because the app has many limitations in case of iPhone. You can’t get as much power as possible for Android phones. So you can’t sync messages, notifications or even photos like on Android. Then what does the app do?
It allows you to send links from your iPhone to Windows PC from supported apps like web browsers, YouTube, Pinterest and more. Doing so will open links directly on your system. For example, if you’re reading an interesting article in any browser on your iPhone, you can continue reading on your computer using the Your Phone app.
Besides sharing links, you can also keep track of pages visited via the Edge browser on iPhone. This is done through the Timeline feature in Windows. If you click on a web page in the Timeline, it will load on your PC.
Timeline also allows you to view recently opened/edited Microsoft files from Excel, Word etc on iPhone. The files must be saved in the cloud and only then can you view them in the Timeline. Clicking a file in the Timeline opens it directly on your PC, without the need to open another application.
In short, it connects iPhone and Windows differently than Android.
How to Connect Microsoft Your Phone App to iPhone?
If your system is running Windows 10 October 2018 Update and above, you don’t need to install anything as your Phone app comes pre-installed. But if you are using an older version, install the app from the link below.
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Now on the iPhone side, if you search for the Microsoft Your Phone app in the App Store you won’t find anything. Because he doesn’t exist. Shocked? So what to do?
You need to download Microsoft Edge in PC app from App Store on your iPhone or Continue.
Note:
Once downloaded, functionality differs in each app. Let’s see how and what happens after connecting them. Also, you don’t need to do anything on the Windows side in either case, except install the Your Phone app if it’s not available. The application is just a medium.
Continue Connection to Windows on iPhone on PC
Open the Resume app on PC on your iPhone. An instruction screen will greet you. Swipe left to check all screens. Finally, you will see the Try now button. There is nothing beyond that. You can tap on it, but that will only open the browser.
This app does not have any built-in functionality. It just adds a new feature to the share menu. Here’s how to use this app.
Stage 1: Launch any browser on your iPhone and open a web page. Browser Google Chrome, Safari etc. it could be. Then, whenever you want to open that webpage on your Windows PC, tap on the share icon in the browser. Swipe left on the app icons and tap Continue on PC.
step 2: If the Continue option on PC is not available, tap More. Enable the toggle next to Continue on PC. This will add the shortcut to the main share menu. It is a one-time step. Tap on Done.
Stage 3: Tap Continue on PC in the Sharing menu.
Step 4: If you are using it for the first time, you will be asked to sign in with your Microsoft account. Use the same account that is linked to your Windows 10 computer.
step 5: After connecting, you will be prompted to select a computer to share the web page with. You can choose to open the page directly on the computer or send it as a notification so you can check it later. Use the appropriate option.
The notification will be found in the Action Center of Windows. Click the link to open.
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Apart from sharing web pages on PC, you can use the Continue app on PC to continue working on online copies of Microsoft files from Word, Excel, and more. So, if you are editing such a file on your iPhone, you will find the same file in Windows PC’s Timeline. Click on the file to start editing immediately.
Click the Task View icon on the taskbar to view the Timeline. If it is missing, right-click on the taskbar and select the Show Task View button.
Scroll down in Task View and you will find recent files on your iPhone. Click See all activity for all recent files.
Connect Microsoft Edge on iPhone to Windows
Using this method to connect iPhone to Windows limits its functionality to Edge only. In other words, you cannot share pages from other browsers or applications.
Anyway, once the browser is loaded, launch it and follow these steps:
Stage 1: You will be prompted to sign in to your Microsoft account. Use the same account that is connected to your Windows computer.
Step 2: You will be asked for permission to ‘Share information about websites you visit’ and ‘Share usage data for personalisation’. Grant both permissions. If you skip this, you can enable them from Edge browser Settings > Privacy & security.
Stage 3: Open a web page and tap the Continue on PC icon located at the bottom of the Edge browser. Next, select the computer to which you want to send the web page right now. Tap Continue later to send it as a notification. This is the only step you need to take. The first two should only be done once.
Although this method limits the functionality to the Edge browser, it provides an additional feature. That is, you can view recently opened web pages in the Edge browser on iPhone on your Windows PC through the Timeline feature of Task View. To do this, open the Task View as shown in the method above, scroll down and click on the web pages indicated with the text Microsoft Edge if you want to open them on your PC.
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As you can see, the functionality is limited when it comes to the iPhone. The Apple ecosystem is conservative and restricted. Also, the Resume on PC feature does not work at times. If you are also facing the same issue, check how to fix it. If the app has let you down, you can try other alternatives like SHAREit and Feem.
Next: Do you have a Samsung phone? Learn the difference between the Microsoft Your Phone app and Samsung Flow. Find out which one to use to connect your Android phone to Windows from the given link.
