GoKawiilTushar Mehta / Android Authority
TL;DR Microsoft is working on a Link to Windows feature that would let you shut down, restart, or put your PC to sleep with your Android phone.
Remote shutdown and restart commands will be accompanied by warnings that the user could lose unsaved work.
If you’re putting your PC to sleep, you’ll receive a warning that your phone will be disconnected and you’ll have to wake your PC up manually.
Microsoft has been very busy working on Windows 11’s integration with Android. In July, we learned that the company was prototyping several features, including a standalone Messages app you can pin and access from the Start menu. Just a few weeks ago, Windows Insiders gained access to a new Phone Link experiment that provides more information at a glance. If that wasn’t enough, code recently found in the Link to Windows app, the Android companion app for Phone Link, hints at another feature that could come our way.
The code hiding in Link to Windows was found during an APK teardown conducted by Windows Latest. According to the strings of code, the app could soon let you remotely shut down, restart, or put your PC to sleep with your Android phone. Specifically, there are commands to restart, put to sleep, shut down, update and restart, and update and shut down your PC.
Link to Windows currently allows you to lock your computer from your phone. However, there aren’t any options at the moment to shut down, restart, or put your PC to sleep. These newly discovered commands are meant to build on the existing lock function.
Depending on which option you choose, the app may send you a notification. For example, shut down and restart commands are accompanied by a warning that you could lose unsaved work. Putting your PC to sleep will bring up a warning that your phone will be disconnected from Phone Link, so you’ll have to wake your PC up manually.
If you try to shut down or restart your computer while it’s updating, you’ll get the following alert: A restart is needed to finish an update on your PC. Any unsaved work in open apps from your PC will be lost. Since you’re away, you won’t be able to save it from here. Do you want to restart anyway?
These features are not currently activated in the Link to Windows app. As with any APK teardown, there’s no guarantee that these features will roll out officially.
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