Microsoft testing Phone Link remote PC shutdown and restart features

Microsoft appears to be building remote power controls into Phone Link, the cross-device tool that links Windows 11 PCs to Android phones. According to external sources, strings uncovered inside the Link to Windows Android app point to new commands that would let a paired phone lock, sleep, restart, or shut down its connected PC, expanding a feature set that currently covers notifications, messaging, calls, a shared clipboard, and using a phone as a PC webcam.

What the code reveals

The commands are tied to a component called RemoteControlManager. Alongside standard restart and shutdown options, two additional labels, "Update and restart" and "Update and shut down," suggest Microsoft is linking the controls to Windows Update, letting a pending update install as part of a remote restart or shutdown rather than as a separate step.

Restart and shutdown actions are paired with a confirmation dialog warning that unsaved work could be lost. Sleep works differently: a separate warning tells users that putting the PC to sleep will disconnect it from Link to Windows until it is woken up manually at the machine itself since a sleeping PC drops its network connection.

Not live yet

None of this is enabled for testers. Third-party media reviewing a debug log from a build found the feature disabled internally, with both the underlying flag and its experiment toggle set to false. Microsoft has not activated remote power controls in any public or Insider build, and no release date or delivery method has been confirmed.

External sources tie the feature specifically to the Android version of Link to Windows. Phone Link's iPhone support has historically lagged behind its Android feature set, and there is no indication yet that remote power controls will extend to iOS.

If it does ship, the feature would build on Phone Link's existing lock function, letting users handle a PC left running at home or shut one down remotely once a background task finishes, without needing separate remote-desktop software or additional hardware.