The new Phone Link version won't advance beyond receiving my PIN

shinai jakar 20 Reputation points
2026-08-21T13:29:48.0466667+00:00

This morning when I booted my pc, the new update of Phone Link launched and asked for my PIN (which I never remember happening before). I entered my PIN, clicked the Continue button, but nothing happened. I tried again and again and again, with no luck. I went through the troubleshooting steps of Terminating and Repairing the link with no success. I then reset the link, logged into my Live account and made sure the phone was not listed as a device, removed the link on my phone, and rebooted my pc, but I encountered the same problem: Phone Link asks for my PIN, receives it as the correct PIN, but then does nothing.

Is there anything I can do to use Phone Link?

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Connect Phone and PC
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Answer accepted by question author
EmilyS_726 28,150 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
2026-08-21T20:53:56.5866667+00:00

This appears to be a widespread issue occurring today, August 21, rather than a problem specific to your PC or phone.

A rapidly growing number of users are reporting the exact same Phone Link behavior today: the Continue button does nothing, account switching does not work, and in some cases Link to Windows also fails to sign in. Users have already tried Repair, Reset, reinstalling Phone Link, clearing caches, and even testing different Windows profiles or PCs without success. See this other thread: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5982147/phone-link-stuck-on-use-your-mobile-device-from-yo

There are also independent reports from users in different locations experiencing the same failure today. https://www.reddit.com/r/PhoneLink/comments/1vu7wp9/phone_link_not_letting_me_sign_in (note, non-Microsoft source)

This strongly suggests a Microsoft-side Phone Link authentication/service issue. I have not found an official Microsoft acknowledgement yet, so I would avoid reinstalling Windows or making extensive system changes for now. Report the problem through Phone Link > Settings > Feedback & Community or Feedback Hub (Win+F) and wait for Microsoft to resolve or acknowledge the issue.

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