Cross-device connectivity has been one of the big focus points for Microsoft with Windows 11, with Phone Link functionality expanding greatly over the past few years. While Phone Link is good, however, it's not the best solution there is for using your phone and PC together, especially considering all the limitations it has when using non-Samsung phones.

Thankfully, there are plenty of options out there for using your phone and Windows PC in conjunction at least to some extent, or simply use Android apps on your PC. If you don't want to set up Microsoft's Phone Link, here are a few apps you might want to check out as alternatives.

5 KDE Connect

Not the most intuitive, but it's great for privacy

One of the potential downsides of linking your phone and PC with Phone Link (and admittedly, most other apps on this list) is that you often need to sign in with an online account, which you may not want to do. KDE Connect is an app that works completely account-free to connect your phones and PCs within the same local network, enabling a host of features across devices.

The big one you'll likely be interested in is the ability to send files from one device to another (though in my testing, I wasn't able to send files to my phone), as well as the content of your clipboard. But you can also use your mouse as a remote control for your PC (and vice versa), pause and play media on another device, and even run commands on your PC from your phone.

It's not a great overall replacement if you're not willing to learn its quirks, but if you have the time to invest in order to use an open-source and privacy-friendly alternative, there's a lot you can do with KDE Connect.

4 Bluestacks

Do you need your phone, or just your apps?

While some users may actually want to connect their phones to their PC to access the content on that phone, I suspect many more users may just want to run some Android apps on their PCs, something Microsoft used to offer in Windows 11 but recently discontinued. Thankfully, there are plenty of alternatives, and Bluestacks is one of them.

Bluestacks, which comes in a couple of different flavors, is an Android emulator mostly designed for gaming, but you can use it to run most Android apps. Bluestacks does run an older version of Android, so specific apps may not be supported, but for the most part, you should be good to go. Whether it's mobile games or an app that you need frequent access to on your PC, you can use it all right there, without needing to use your phone, which helps preserve its battery.

3 GlideX

Did you know Asus makes one of these apps?

GlideX is a cross-device connectivity service developed by Asus that surprisingly works on a lot of devices. You can use it on any Windows PC and even on Mac, but there are some features that are exclusive to Asus PCs and phones. Still, even without that, GlideX supports some big features.

For one thing, you can mirror your phone's screen on your PC and control it from your PC, using your mouse as input, which means you can use any app from your phone on your computer. You can also use your phone or tablet as a second screen for your PC, extending the available space so you can upgrade your workflow.

What's even more interesting is the "unify control" mode, though, which, instead of mirroring your screen, creates a sort of KVM where you can move your mouse across your PC and phone and control both devices with the same keyboard and mouse. Your phone sort of acts as a second screen in that you can move your mouse to it naturally, but it operates independently from your PC. This feature even enables easy file sharing by dragging and dropping, though there is also a dedicated file sharing feature that doesn't require this connectivity.

Unfortunately, things like handling calls and messages from your PC require an Asus computer, and the app streaming feature requires an Asus phone. But there's stioll a good set of features here without that, and it works pretty well.

2 Intel Unison

Send files, make calls, and more

Intel Unison is a solution introduced in recent years that allows you to connect your phone to the majority of Windows PCs out there. It's supposed to be exclusive to Intel-powered PCs, but last time we tested it, it actually worked on any Windows PC, and it offers a ton of features. You can see your phone's gallery and easily share files between your PC and phone, plus you can also use it to handle your phone calls and SMS from your PC.

One of the big upsides of Intel Unison is that it's not exclusive to Android phones, either. Most features are supported on iOS, which is uncommon for apps like this since iOS is typically a bit more restrictive. With that in mind and considering all the features on offer, this is an easy-to-recommend option.

1 AirDroid

All the features you need in one app

AirDroid is one of the oldest solutions for linking your Android phone and a Windows PC, but these days, it works with iOS and macOS, too. AirDroid can be used in different ways, but it has some useful features in both scenarios. You can use AirDroid on the web on your desktop to mirror your Android phone's screen, browse files, manage installed apps, and more. AirDroid web also doesn't require an account, so you can use it without providing any data to this service.

However, you can also go further and use the dedicated desktop app for Windows or macOS, and this lets you do things like control your phone directly from your PC, get phone notifications on PC, and make calls. Some of these features may not work on iPhone, and you do need to use an AirDroid account for some of them, but it's still the most complete feature set out there. With screen mirroring and control, file sharing, the ability to see your phone's camera on PC, and more — all for free — it's hard to complain. This is the ultimate way to connect your Android phone and Windows PC.

Linking your phone and PC can be easy

While Phone Link offers some of the functionality you may want when linking your phone and PC, these apps offer better or more secure alternatives to Microsoft's solution that don't need a Microsoft account and, in many cases, work better with the majority of phones. I've personally used Intel Unison a good bit in the past and liked it a lot, though some of these other solutions also worked very well during my testing.