How to Get Android Notifications on Your Windows PC - Lifehacker

Screenshot: Brendan Hesse (Your Phone Android app)

Jumping back and forth between your phone and your PC can be annoying. Some messaging apps have web clients, so you don’t have to open your device to carry on a conversation. But there’s an easier way to reply to messages, check notifications, and open your Android device’s screen without having to take your eyes off your PC.

Thanks to a recent update, Microsoft’s Your Phone app now lets users view their Android notifications and reply to messages directly from a Windows 10 PC. The update initially launched for Windows Insiders, but is now rolling out to all users. And it couldn’t be any easier to set up:

1. On your PC, install Your Phone from the Microsoft Store by clicking “Get” to start the download.
2. After Your Phone is installed, click “Launch” from the store page, or from the Windows start menu.
3. Click “Get started.”
4. Sign in with (or create) your Microsoft account, then click “Continue.”
5. Click “Link phone.” This sends an app link to your Android via text.
6. On your android phone, open the text and tap the Google Play Store link for the Your Phone Companion app. Tap “Install.”
7. Open the Your Phone Companion app on your Android device.
8. Sign in with your Microsoft account in the phone app.
9. Follow the on-screen instructions to finish the pairing.

Once your devices are synced up, you can see texts, photos, notifications, and preview your phone’s screen by clicking the side menu tabs in the PC app. Push notifications from your phone will also show up as a desktop notification on your PC. (You can also adjust notification behavior in the app’s settings menu, if they’re getting to be a bit much.)

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Screenshot: Microsoft

You still can’t take action on the notifications you receive just yet, but you can at least manage them: anything you dismiss on your Windows PC will also disappear on your Android device. (Microsoft is currently testing screen mirroring for Android apps, which would eventually allow you to access your Android device’s apps directly from your PC).

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If you aren’t seeing these device notifications at all. don’t worry—Microsoft says the feature’s full rollout should be complete by July 9. You’re still able to at least read and reply to texts in the meantime, which is a big time-saver.

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https://lifehacker.com/how-to-get-android-notifications-on-your-windows-pc-1836078297

2019-07-03 18:15:00Z
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