PhoneExperienceHost.exe high CPU usage when pc idle

Anonymous

Hi,

When I come back to my laptop and it's gone into idle mode (screen off) I can hear the fans running fast, but as soon as I move the mouse the fans die off. I tried to figure out for a while what was happening and eventually set up perfmon to record what processes were running. I discovered that runs at 50% CPU continuously while the machine is in idle which is ridiculous for something that shouldn't be doing anything much (I'd upload a screenshot but there doesn't seem to be an option anywhere). Looking at details in Task Manager the PhoneExperienceHost.exe process has used twice as much CPU in total than any other app, even though I haven't used it in the foreground.

I do use Phone link to connect to my phone, but it's in the background (system tray icon only) and shouldn't be doing anything most of the time.

There's nothing related in Event viewer and I can't see anything in Scheduler which might trigger it.

I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling the Phone Link software.

The machine says it is up to date for patching.

I've searched for anything related to this issue and found nothing helpful so either it's only my machine, or other people don't realise it's happening as it only happens when they can't look at it!

Any ideas on how to fix this so it stops using my power (obviously uninstalling is not an option)? (TBH though, I expect it's something built into the software and can only be fixed by MS)

Thanks,

Jon W

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55 answers

Anonymous

2023-07-13T16:00:22+00:00

Well, another new version of Phone Link, and the problem still remains. This update is version 1.23052.122.0, running on updated Windows 10.

How have you still not fixed this issue, Microsoft? This is pathetic!
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Anonymous

2023-08-03T20:03:43+00:00

Another update and the same issue. It's clear that Microsoft has no intent of actually fixing the issue. Pitiful...
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Anonymous

2023-08-03T21:31:13+00:00

It was fixed for me. Not sure what update when. I see typical CPU usage while it's not actively giving me notifications of 0.3-0.8%. Not sure if it could make a difference but I'm pretty sure it was fixed a couple months ago when I was running Windows 10 but that was just based on not hearing my laptop fan running slow constantly. I didn't actually examine the task status that closely multiple times. Since then I'm now on Windows 11 starting about 3 weeks ago so my current observation could be unique to running on Windows 11 unless other Win11 users are seeing high idle CPU usage?
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Anonymous

2023-08-03T21:39:34+00:00

I confirmed with Process Monitor that it indeed still Phone Link that is using the CPU. As soon as I close my laptop lid (which tells Windows that the laptop is idle), the CPU usage for Phone Link jumps up, and the fans start spinning soon afterwards. Once the lid is opened, the CPU usage goes back down and the fans stop soon afterwards. This is with an up to date Windows 10 install.
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Anonymous

2023-08-03T22:19:41+00:00

I'm running Win11 Home and the issue is not there for me anymore. I too am not sure when it was fixed because I was closing out the Phone Link in the Task Manager whenever I stopped using it. I also have it set NOT to turn on when I start Windows. It is only active when I need it to either answer/write a message or transfer a photo. I stopped closing it in Task Manager and haven't been bothered by it ramping up the CPU fan or temp when the PC is idle and the screen is blanked for at least 2 months. I didn't make a post here as I figured it was now okay for everyone.
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