Robert Triggs / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Microsoft Phone Link will soon let you broadly access your phone from Windows File Explorer.
- The new feature of Microsoft’s Cross Device Experience Host looks set to bring the same accessibility to files from your phone as from an external drive.
- It’s not yet known when the feature will become widely available.
The next generation of Microsoft’s Phone Link feature may soon allow you to access your Android phone files from File Explorer on your Windows 11 device. The useful development would give you wirelessly access to your phone from your PC as easily as if it were an external hard drive with a wired connection to your computer.
This is the latest reported utility of the new Cross Device Experience Host from Windows, which looks set to subsume Phone Link as it rolls out more fully. Its clear aim is to make the connection between Windows and your Android phone more seamless, with features such as using your phone as a webcam and copying text from your phone’s photos coming to light earlier in the year.
The new feature was first spotted by PhantomOcean3 (@PhantomOfEarth) on X. The user posted a screenshot of the Manage mobile devices settings from Cross Device Experience Host on Windows 11, showing a toggle in the app that enables the mobile device to be shown in File Explorer.
The feature isn’t officially available yet, with no confirmation from Microsoft as to when it will be rolled out, but it’s a long-awaited development. Unlike some of the previously reported attributes of this Windows tool, the ability to explore all files on your phone beyond photos and videos this easily is likely to receive a warm welcome.