Recently, Microsoft announced that their Phone Link app will start working with iPhones, which will also allow you to use iMessage on your Windows PC or Laptop. Earlier, the phone link service was exclusive only to Android Phones which allowed the user to pick up calls, check notifications, reply to messages, etc. directly from their Windows PC but now can do that on your iPhone too.
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Right now, the feature is available only to Windows insider users with Windows 11; for the iPhone, it should be running iOS 14 and above. Now with the requirements out of the way let’s get into the guide for using iMessage on your Windows machine.
To begin with, you need to be in the Windows Insider program which you can do by going to Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider Program and choosing any of the three available insider Channels on your Windows 11-based machine.
- Download the Microsoft Phone Link App on your Windows Machine using the Microsoft Store.
- On your iPhone, download the Link to Windows by Microsoft.
- Now, open the Phone Link app on your Windows Machine and select the iPhone option on the first screen.
- Now, sign in with your Microsoft account in the Phone Link app on both your Windows Machine and iPhone.
- Now, your iPhone will now show a prompt to enable Bluetooth, enable that and pair it with your Windows computer.
- Once the pairing is successful, scan the QR code shown on your Windows Machine using the Phone Link app on your iPhone.
- Your iPhone will now ask for some permissions, which you can review as per your preferences.
- Your iPhone is now successfully linked with your Windows machine and you can start using iMessage on Windows.
Limitations of iMessage on Windows using Phone Link
Even though Microsoft Phone Link lets you send messages using iMessage from your Windows Machine it however does not sync older iMessage messages from your iMessage history. The Phone Link service only works when your iPhone and Windows Machine are paired together via Bluetooth.
Images, Multimedia and attending calls are also not supported when using iMessage from the Phone Link app on Windows. This means the Phone Link app generates iMessage conversations based on your iPhone’s notification history and you can only reply to those conversations which means the functionality is minimal although this is a step in the right direction by Microsoft.
However, it’s likely that the calling service will come to this very soon as the Phone Link app preview images on the Apple app store show that you will be able to take and answer calls on your iPhone on your Windows computer.
That was it for this guide on how to use iMessage on your Windows Laptop. If you found this helpful do share it with your family and friends and if there are any doubts do ask in the comments below!
