Microsoft has been working on making Phone Link a bigger part of Windows 11, and one of its latest additions could also be one of the most useful.
The company appears to be testing new remote power controls for the Link to Windows app on Android. These would allow users to shut down or restart a connected Windows 11 PC directly from their phone, alongside options for sleep and installing pending updates before restarting or shutting down.
For anyone who has left their PC running after leaving home, this could be a very handy addition.
Your phone could become a remote for your PC
Phone Link already allows Android users to access messages, calls, notifications, photos, and files from a Windows PC. Microsoft has also been working on deeper smartphone integration with Windows 11, including more phone information in the Start menu and additional controls in the system tray.
The new power options would work in the other direction, giving the phone more control over the PC. Restart and shutdown are the obvious additions, but the option to install a pending Windows update before doing either could also save some time and frustration.
Microsoft also appears to be adding confirmation messages before some commands are carried out. Restarting or shutting down a PC could cause unsaved work to be lost, while putting the computer to sleep would disconnect it from the phone until someone wakes it again.
This is one feature I could actually use
Microsoft has added plenty of cross-device features to Phone Link over the years, but remote shutdown is one of the easiest for me to see myself using regularly. I have left home in a hurry more than once and realized hours later that my PC was still running. Being able to open Link to Windows and shut it down from wherever I am would solve that problem in a few seconds.
It also fits nicely with Microsoft’s wider push to make Android phones work more closely with Windows 11. Some of the company’s other ideas, including better clipboard syncing and deeper phone controls inside Windows, could make the two devices feel more connected. Remote power controls are much simpler, but they are also immediately useful.
The feature has not reached users yet. Windows Latest found the controls inside an August 25 build of Link to Windows, where they are currently disabled. Microsoft has not announced when, or if they will roll out the feature publicly.