Phone Link is a free Microsoft app that connects your PC to your phone. Text Your List uses it to send texts through your real number on Windows.
Text Your List handles your contact list and message sending. Phone Link is the wireless bridge to your phone. Nothing goes through a third-party texting service. Messages come from your real number.
Phone Link is a free app made by Microsoft. It comes pre-installed on Windows 11 and is available for free on Windows 10 from the Microsoft Store. It wirelessly connects your PC to your phone so you can read and send texts, see notifications, and more, all from your computer.
Text Your List uses the messaging part of Phone Link. When you click Send, Text Your List types your message into Phone Link's messaging window. Phone Link then sends it through your phone over Bluetooth. The text arrives at your recipient looking exactly like any text from your number.
Click the Start menu, type Phone Link, and press Enter.
On older Windows 10 computers, it may be called Your Phone (same app, older name).
Phone Link will ask you to sign in. Use any Microsoft account: Outlook, Hotmail, or a Microsoft work/school account all work. If you don't have one, you can create a free one during this step.
Android: Phone Link will show you a QR code. On your Android phone, open the Camera app, point it at the QR code, and tap the link. This opens the Link to Windows app in the Play Store. Install it and follow the steps.
iPhone: No app needed. Phone Link will guide you through a Bluetooth pairing instead. Follow the on-screen steps to approve the Bluetooth connection on your iPhone.
Phone Link needs permission to read and send your texts. When prompted on your phone, tap Allow for:
Once connected, Phone Link will sync and show your recent text conversations. This can take a minute or two the first time.
When you see your conversations, Phone Link is ready.
Before using Text Your List, confirm Phone Link works on its own. In Phone Link, click Messages, start a new conversation, and send a quick test text to yourself or a friend.
If that works, you're ready to use Text Your List. If the test text doesn't go through, fix Phone Link first. Troubleshooting is below.
Click any item to expand.
This is normal. Phone Link requires a Microsoft account. You can use an existing Outlook, Hotmail, or Microsoft account, or create one free at account.microsoft.com. Your phone doesn't need to have a Microsoft account. Only your PC sign-in to Phone Link does.
On iPhone, sending texts needs a messaging permission set on the Bluetooth paired screen, not inside Phone Link. If it's off, Phone Link connects fine but silently fails to send, so Text Your List just sits there. To fix it:
iPhone uses Bluetooth only, so physical proximity matters:
If Phone Link works on its own, the issue is likely with how Text Your List interacts with it. The most common causes:
See the full Windows setup troubleshooting guide for more.
This means the connection between Phone Link and your phone has dropped.
Phone Link can manage multiple phones, but only one is active for messaging at a time. To check or change which phone is active:
Email us and we'll help you get set up: [email protected]