Can't remove an old phone from PhoneLink.

Anonymous
2024-09-30T04:21:04+00:00

I have an old phone in my PhoneLink that I cannot disassociate with my account. The Microsoft official instructions are to go to my microsoft account and unlink it there, but none of my android devices show up there (not even under android/ios devices). This includes my current phone. So, kind of hard to unlink something that doesn't show up as a device under my account even though it does show up on my PhoneLink Windows App. The phonelink app doesn't have a process for removing an old device, either.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Connect Phone and PC

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GsN5034 - IA 77,270 Reputation points Independent Advisor
2024-09-30T06:39:50+00:00

Hello James,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Community and I'll be glad to assist you today.

The new versions of Link to Windows, aka Phone Link, now allow you to delete redundant devices in the Phone Link app.

https://yourwindowsguide.com/2026/07/remove-device-in-the-phone-link-app.html

The steps for the same are below:

  • Open the link to the Windows App on your Phone.
  • Click your Profile icon on the top left.
  • Subsequently, click Settings.
  • Under Device control, switch to the device you want to remove, then press the Gear button.
  • Click Remove device.

Best regards,

Gunasekar NA Windows MVP writes content on the above website, so it is safe. However, do watch out for the ads. It should translate into your Browser language automatically.

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  1. Anonymous
    2024-11-21T20:32:41+00:00

    I am having exactly the same issue. I just bought a Samsung 22 Ultra and recently have begin running into an issue with Phone Link, prompting me to reset the linking services on both devices. My account is still retaining my Samsung Note 9 too.

    I had phone-link functioning~4 days ago via Desktop connected to my Samsung 22 Ultra (s22u). It stopped displaying the phone screen, giving me an error. Troubleshooting began, Followed Windows Support page instructions. Now I can't even get the s22u to link via QR, nor code.

    1. Unlinked the account on both the Note 9 and the s22u via Link to Windows (LtW) settings.
    2. Signed out of Phone Link (PL) on the PC.
    3. Restarted PC and s22u.
    4. Updated the, previously uninstalled, LtW s22u.
    5. Reactivated all permissions for LtW on the s22u.
    6. Gave LtW admin permissions on the s22u.
    7. Signed back into PL on PC. (noticed the phones where NOT removed like the Windows help pages says they should have been)
    8. Repeated 1-7 with the same results.
    9. Repeated 1-7 AND Terminated and Repaired the PL in addition to step 2. (same results)
    10. Repeated 1-7 AND Terminated and Reset of PL (same result but also can't link anymore at all)
    11. Repeated 1-7 + 10 AND removed devices from registered devices.

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  2. Anonymous
    2024-12-05T15:10:06+00:00

    I'm having the same issue after reloading my phones software to the device. I cannot remove the old devices listed, and it keeps looking for that device. I've reset the app, removed the app, reinstalled the app using powershell, but it retains all of the data from the previous versions.
    I know MS keeps thinking it's helping people by removing options and choices, but all this does is dump-down the apps, and makes them harder to use.

    Please stop removing options

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  3. Anonymous
    2024-12-12T12:01:06+00:00

    First of all, my Phone Link app looks nothing like that. Second, I no longer have access to the previous device, so I can’t unlink it from either the phone or the PC. Also, the page https://account.microsoft.com/devices/android-ios doesn’t show any devices, as if I have none linked to my Microsoft account. However, I still have two duplicate entries for the same phone and seven entries for the exact same laptop.

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    10+ people found this answer helpful.
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  4. Anonymous
    2025-01-21T23:56:13+00:00

    I have dead phone that can't be powered on to unlink. How do I proceed?

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    6 people found this answer helpful.
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