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Phone Link Notifications Not Working? Try These Fixes

Get Android notifications showing in Phone Link again: check battery and Focus assist on the PC, notification access, battery optimization and app settings.

Updated 6 min read

Quick Answer

If your Android notifications stopped syncing to Phone Link, open Settings on your phone, search for Notification access, turn Link to Windows off and on again, and select Allow. Then open Phone Link on your PC, choose Notifications and wait for them to refresh. If you don’t see any notifications at all, check that your laptop battery isn’t low, Battery saver is off and Focus assist is off.

Common causes

  • Low laptop battery or Battery saver turned on
  • Focus assist turned on
  • Android battery optimization interrupting the Link to Windows connection
  • Notifications from an app turned off or muted in Phone Link
  • Apps saved in a Samsung Secure Folder
  • Android 15 or later hiding sensitive notifications
  • Notifications that can’t be dismissed on the phone

Step-by-Step Solutions

Work through the steps in order, starting with the checks on your PC and phone, and leave the resets for last.

  1. Step 1: Make sure notifications are set up

    Phone Link shows your Android notifications after you finish setup and give permission on your phone.

    On your PC, open Phone Link and go to Notifications. If you haven’t set up this feature yet, you’ll be prompted to.

    After you finish setup and provide permission on your Android device, notifications from your phone appear on your PC.

  2. Step 2: Check your PC’s battery, Battery saver and Focus assist

    You won’t see any notifications if your laptop battery is low, Battery saver is on or Focus assist is on.

    Check that your laptop battery isn’t low and that Battery saver hasn’t been turned on.

    Check that Focus assist, previously known as Quiet Hours, is turned off.

  3. Step 3: Turn Link to Windows notification access off and on

    If notifications have stopped syncing, resetting the notification permissions should start the syncing process again.

    On your Android device, go to Settings and search for Notification access. Find Link to Windows in the list and turn it off, then on again. When a popup appears, select Allow.

    On your PC, open Phone Link and choose Notifications. Wait for your notifications to refresh.

    Good to know

    Notifications work independently of other Phone Link features like messaging and photos.

  4. Step 4: Turn off battery optimization for Link to Windows

    On some Android devices, Battery Optimization settings may interrupt your connection, so Microsoft recommends turning it off for Link to Windows.

    Open Android Settings, then Apps & notifications, App info, Link to Windows, Advanced, Battery, Manage Battery Usage and Battery optimization. Scroll down to Link to Windows and select Don’t optimize.

    On select Android devices, the steps differ. Open Android Settings, then Apps, Link to Windows, Battery and Optimize battery usage. Select All from the drop-down list, scroll to find Link to Windows and turn the toggle off.

  5. Step 5: Check which apps can send notifications

    In Phone Link’s settings, you choose how each app’s notifications appear, or disable them.

    On your PC, open Phone Link and go to Settings, then Features, then Notifications. Click View apps at Choose how apps show notifications to see the apps that have sent notifications to your PC through Phone Link.

    For each app, you can choose the notification feed, Feed and Banner, or disable its notifications.

    If you turned off notifications from an app with Turn off notifications from phone, you can turn them back on at any time in Phone Link Settings. Mute pauses an app’s notifications for the length of time you choose.

    Good to know

    An app that hasn’t sent a notification yet may not appear in the list.

  6. Step 6: Check for apps in a Samsung Secure Folder

    On a Samsung device, apps and files saved in a Secure Folder don’t display notifications in Phone Link.

    If you use Secure Folders on a Samsung device, notifications from apps saved there appear only on your Android device. Check those notifications on your phone.

  7. Step 7: Check sensitive notifications on your phone

    On Android 15 or later, notifications marked as sensitive can’t be displayed in Phone Link.

    Android 15 introduced Sensitive Notifications, which uses an algorithm to identify and hide certain notifications. It affects notifications that contain two-factor authentication codes and other sensitive content.

    Your phone replaces the content of these notifications with the message “Sensitive notification content hidden”. They are currently blocked in Phone Link, so check them directly on your phone.

    Good to know

    This affects all Android devices running Android 15 or later.

  8. Step 9: Reset the apps on your phone and PC

    If the soft reset doesn’t work, Microsoft says you’ll need to reset the apps on both devices.

    On your Android device, go to Settings, then Apps (or Apps & Notifications on some devices), then Link to Windows. Tap Force Stop and confirm when prompted.

    On your PC, open your browser, sign in with your Microsoft account on its page of linked Android and iOS devices, and for each phone select Show details, then More actions, then Unlink this phone.

    Select Start, then Settings, then Phone, then Unlink this PC. Select Back to return to Windows Settings Home, select Apps, then in Apps & features select Phone Link. Select Advanced options, then Reset.

    When you’re done, open Phone Link on your PC and follow the setup process to establish a new link.

    Good to know

    These steps unlink your phone, so you’ll need to set up Phone Link again afterward.

Still no notifications on your PC?

If Phone Link still has persistent connectivity issues after the other steps, Microsoft’s next step is the reset in the last two steps: a soft reset first, then resetting the apps on both devices and setting up a new link.

Before you reset Phone Link: Resetting the apps unlinks your phone from your PC, and you’ll need to follow the Phone Link setup process again to establish a new link.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does “Sensitive notification content hidden” mean?

On Android 15 or later, notifications your phone marks as sensitive, such as ones with two-factor authentication codes, have their content replaced with that message. They can’t be displayed in Phone Link, so check them on your phone.

Will every notification from my phone show up on my PC?

Apart from notifications that can’t be dismissed on your Android device, Microsoft says all notifications will be displayed on your PC. Apps in a Samsung Secure Folder and notifications Android marks as sensitive stay on the phone.

Why do messages and photos work in Phone Link but not notifications?

Notifications work independently of other Phone Link features like messaging and photos. When they stop working, Microsoft says resetting the notification permissions for Link to Windows on your phone should start the syncing process again.

Why isn’t an app listed in Phone Link’s notification settings?

The list under Choose how apps show notifications shows the apps that have sent notifications to your PC through Phone Link. An app that hasn’t sent a notification yet may not appear there.

If I dismiss a notification on my PC, is it dismissed on my phone too?

Yes. Dismissing a notification on your PC also dismisses it from your Android device, and the other way around.

Sources & review

This guide was checked against Microsoft’s official support instructions on October 6, 2026. Device options can change with software updates.

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