Microsoft to Remove “View Photos from Phone” Feature in Windows 11’s Phone Link App, Shifting to File Explorer Access
. According to tech site Windows Latest, Phone Link — the “Connect your phone” app in Windows 11 — is phasing out its built-in “view phone photos” capability. In the future, users will access their mobile photos via File Explorer instead.

Microsoft explains that showing the same content in two places no longer makes sense, noting that although originally users could view mobile photos only in the Phone Link app, the feature was later added to File Explorer.
Now, when users open Phone Link and go to the “Photos” tab, they see a prompt stating that the photo-viewing feature is being migrated to File Explorer. Microsoft describes the change as an “upgrade,” pointing out that File Explorer supports more advanced operations — such as multi-select, copy/paste, and drag/drop.

It’s important to note that this change may require manual activation: if users don’t see their phone appear in File Explorer, they must go into Phone Link → Manage Phone (or Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Mobile Devices) and turn on the option “Show mobile device in File Explorer.”

While the Phone Link app is designed with a more mobile-style experience (leveraging Android’s MediaStore API to show DCIM, Screenshots, and Downloads folders combined like a mobile gallery), browsing these folders in File Explorer may feel less intuitive (for example, you may need to locate each folder manually rather than see a unified gallery view).

The above content is compiled by ModeZone, a fashion and entertainment magazine.