What is Microsoft Phone Link, and why is it not on a Mac?
Phone Link is a Microsoft app that connects an Android phone or an iPhone to a Windows PC, so you can use texts, calls, photos, and notifications from the computer. It is not on a Mac. Microsoft's requirements page opens with "Phone Link lets you connect your Android or iPhone to your Windows PC", and the words Mac and macOS do not appear on it. If you own a Mac, Phone Link is not a tool for you, but the idea behind it has Mac equivalents.
Publisher note: The Relay publishes this guide and is one of the products discussed. Details about other products come from each maker's own pages, checked on 26 October 2026. Prices and features change, so confirm before you buy.
What is Phone Link in plain terms?
Think of it as Microsoft's answer to what Apple's Continuity features do for an iPhone and a Mac. A companion app on the phone and the Phone Link app on a Windows PC find each other, and the PC then shows some of what is on the phone. The phone-side app is named Link to Windows. Microsoft's page describes the experience as one that "starts on your Windows PC". Microsoft's page does not mention a price, so we say nothing about cost.
What can it do?
Microsoft lists these features for an Android phone:
- Read and reply to text messages.
- View recent photos from the phone.
- Use your favorite mobile apps on the PC.
- Make and receive calls.
- Manage the phone's notifications on the PC.
For an iPhone, the page lists only texts, calls, and notifications. The photos and mobile-apps features appear under Android alone.
What does it need?
| Item | Android | iPhone |
|---|---|---|
| Computer | Windows 10 (October 2022 update or later) or Windows 11 | Windows 10 (May 2019 Update or later) or Windows 11 |
| Phone | Android 10 or later | iOS 16 or later |
| Network or radio | Phone and PC on the same Wi-Fi network | A PC with Bluetooth Low Energy support |
Those are Microsoft's own numbers, as of 26 October 2026. The key row is the computer. Both columns start with Windows.
Why is there no Phone Link for Mac?
Microsoft's page does not explain why, and we will not guess at its reasons. What the page shows is that the whole design starts on a Windows PC. A Mac is not a supported computer, so the phone app has nothing on macOS to pair with. Our guide to Phone Link for Mac goes through the closest equivalent for each feature, and Phone Link alternatives for Mac compares them.
Running Windows inside a Mac is a separate question. Microsoft's page says nothing about virtual machines, so we cannot say whether it would work. It would also link the phone to the Windows side, not to macOS.
What do Mac owners use instead?
Each Phone Link job has a free tool, with its own quirks.
- Texts: Google Messages for web in a browser, which, per Google's help page, needs Android 5.0 or higher and sends texts through your phone.
- Screen and apps: scrcpy, described in mirroring Android to a Mac.
- Notifications, files, and clipboard: KDE Connect, covered in KDE Connect on a Mac.
Where does The Relay fit?
The Relay is built for the same gap, for an Android phone and a Mac. You install it on both and pair by scanning a QR code on the Mac. It then handles notifications, calls, incoming texts and login codes, the clipboard, files, links, and the phone as a webcam, over your own Wi-Fi network with Bluetooth as a fallback.
It does not match Phone Link on two points. It cannot send texts from the Mac, and it has no screen mirroring, so phone apps do not run on the Mac. It needs Android 8.0 or later and macOS 13 Ventura or later. The Relay is one subscription through Google Play that covers your phone and your Mac, with a 7-day free trial. A side-by-side is in The Relay vs Phone Link. If you want to try it, the trial starts at /download.
Questions people ask
Is Phone Link the same as Link to Windows?
They are the two halves of one system. Phone Link is the app on the Windows PC, and Link to Windows is the companion app on the phone.
Does Phone Link work with an iPhone?
On Windows, yes, with fewer features than Android according to Microsoft's page. It changes nothing for a Mac.
Does Phone Link need the same Wi-Fi network?
For Android, yes. Microsoft's page says the phone and the PC both need to be connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
Will Microsoft release Phone Link for Mac?
Its page makes no promise either way. We would not plan around it.
KEEP READING
Phone Link for Mac: Does It Exist, and What to Use Instead
Microsoft Phone Link is a Windows app and has no Mac version. Here is what Phone Link does on a PC and the closest match for each feature on a Mac with Android.
Phone Link Alternatives for Mac: A Ranked Shortlist
Moved from Windows and Phone Link to a Mac? A ranked shortlist of Phone Link alternatives for Mac, with each Phone Link feature matched to what replaces it.
Phone Link vs The Relay on a Mac: Feature by Feature
How The Relay on a Mac compares with Microsoft Phone Link on Windows, feature by feature: texts, calls, notifications, apps, clipboard, webcam, price, and platforms.
Android Notifications on Mac: Every Way to Get Them
How to get Android notifications on a Mac: KDE Connect, AirDroid, web apps, and The Relay, plus the notification access permission every one of them needs.