Microsoft extends links to OnePlus, OPPO and Realme Android phones

Microsoft’s Link to Windows enables deeper integration between PCs and mobile devices and will eventually work with more Android phones. A new update means you'll soon be able to sync your messages, calls and notifications between Windows 11/10 and Android phones made by OnePlus, OPPO and Realme.

For those who don’t know, Link to Windows is not a new feature. It debuted in 2019 with the Galaxy Note 10. Microsoft and Samsung have been close partners, collaborating on exclusive features including the Link to Windows settings shortcut.

This shortcut works with Microsoft’s Phone Link app for Windows 11, allowing users to sync their clipboard, transfer files, stream audio, and more without having to physically interact with a Samsung phone. Link to Windows is similar to the existing Microsoft companion app for Android, but it offers better performance and deeper Windows 11 integration.

In an update to the support documentation, Microsoft confirmed that most Link to Windows or Phone Link features are no longer exclusive to Samsung, Surface Duo, or Honor. You'll soon be able to reply to text messages, answer calls, and open Android apps on your Windows PC without unlocking your OnePlus, OPPO, and Realme phones.

Microsoft’s updated documentation states that three of Windows 11 Phone Link’s flagship features — “Link to Windows,” “Phone Screen,” and “Apps (Mirroring)” — will appear on Windows 14 with ColorOS 14 On newer OnePlus, OPPO and Realme phones.

This change was also highlighted in an update to another document on "Linking to Windows".

While all Samsung-exclusive features will work on other Android phones, the RCS integration in the Messages tab of the Phone Link app only works if the phone's default messaging is Samsung Message.

This may also change in the coming months, as RCS functionality is entirely dependent on the default messaging app you use on your phone and its integration with Windows 11 Phone Link integration.

When can you try Link to Windows on OnePlus, OPPO and Realme phones?

Microsoft won't tell us when the feature will arrive on these mobile devices, but Windows Latest understands that Link to Windows (the Quick Settings shortcut) cannot be added to your Android phone via a sideloaded APK.

It requires new software updates from these OEMs as the feature needs to be integrated at the firmware level, which is why sideloading Samsung's Link to Windows on other phones could break the device.

The feature is expected to arrive with the ColorOS 14 update, but it’s unclear which models will have “Link to Windows” in their quick settings.

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