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Can't disable Phone Link from starting automatically

Hi,

So I've run into this weird problem that when I turn on my laptop, Phone Link starts to run in the background. The app doesn't appear in the Startup tab in Task Manager, and it's not in the folder that opens if I run "shell:startup". In the app itself, I can't see any options to disable automatic startup either.

I would be grateful if you could help me find a solution for disabling Phone Link from starting automatically.

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Looks like there currently is no way to disable this. It starts up regardless of settings.

Edit (this appears to have worked for me):

Settings->apps->apps&features, scroll down to "phone link", click the 3 dots->Advanced Options, Select never for "let this app run in the background". I then rebooted and it disappeared.

I'd assume with Windows Updates this will eventually reset and come back. MS really should have a way to uninstall some of these built in apps nobody wants/needs.

thank for that! i'll give it a try

It worked for me. Thank you.

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It appears that people were having problems earlier, but now it seems simple:

Open Settings - Apps & Features - Phone Link - Advanced options

Turn off "Background Apps" permission.

There's also an option to turn off "Runs at log-in", but mine was already off.

Click Terminate, which kills the background processes after a short delay.

The "Uninstall" option was disabled.

My system is running Windows 10 Home 21H2.

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Last updated April 25, 2025 Views 70,014 Applies to: