Microsoft launches new Windows 11 feature for Samsung mobile users
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Key notes
- Samsung mobile users that have Windows 11 on their phones are in luck.
- Microsoft released a Phone Link app feature specific to macOS devices.
- Check out everything there is to know about it and what you need for it.
Apart from releasing new Windows 11 preview builds in the Dev and Beta Channel, Microsoft announced a much-needed improvement for the Phone Link app.
This was a highly requested feature, especially by the users that use both macOS and Windows as operating systems.
And, if you are a Windows 11 user, make sure to check out what’s new with version 22H2, and all the bugs that affect it.
Windows 11 gets one of macOS’s best features for Samsung
If you are wondering what the novelty is, the Phone Link app now copies one of macOS’s best features to make enabling mobile hotspots in Windows 11 much easier and faster.
As you might know, macOS and iPadOS let you turn on the mobile hotspot without pulling out a phone, while your iPhone’s hotspot sits on standby in the list of available Wi-Fi networks, just one tap away.
Now, the same feature is finally on its way to Windows 11 by means of the Phone Link app, so this must be pretty exciting.
Thus, you can simply open the network flyout and select your phone to launch the mobile hotspot feature without typing passwords or searching for hotspot settings.
There always has to be a catch, so, unfortunately, like some of the best Phone Link capabilities, the instant hotspot feature in Windows 11 is available only to those having select Samsung smartphones.
According to the Redmond-based tech giant, you need to the following:
- A Samsung smartphone with One UI 4.1.1 and newer
- A PC with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and Windows 11 build 22621 or newer
- A cellular plan that supports hotspots
- Phone Link version 1.22082.111.0 or newer
- Link to Windows app on your Samsung device with version 1.22081.142 or newer
However, confusingly enough, the instant hotspot feature is not available even on Microsoft’s Surface Duo smartphones with their latest and greatest Android 12L update containing all the Windows 11-like design bits.
So, hooray for Samsung mobile users for getting this useful feature. Have you tested it yet? Share your experience in the comments section below.
