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Android users can now shut down or restart a Windows laptop remotely

No more walking back to the desk. Android users in the Link to Windows beta can now shut down, restart, or sleep their Windows PC — and install pending updates — from anywhere in the house.

By Clock Speed

The Computing Desk · (16 Oct 2026)

Reported fromoutlet, credited1
Link to Windows app interface showing Power menu with Lock, Sleep, Shut down, and Restart options
Link to Windows app interface showing Power menu with Lock, Sleep, Shut down, and Restart optionsPhoto via Android Headlines

Link to Windows beta now lets Android users shut down, restart, or sleep their Windows PC remotely — no third-party app needed. The feature rolled out in version 1.26101.103.0, available to beta testers as of October 15, 2026. It replaces the old ‘Lock PC’ button with a new ‘Power’ button that opens a menu: Lock PC, Sleep PC, Shut down, and Restart.

A warning appears before any irreversible action, reminding users unsaved work may be lost. And yes, it also handles pending Windows updates: tap ‘Install updates and restart’, and the PC closes apps, installs the latest build, then reboots. All from an Android phone. No Windows laptop required at the moment of action.

Just Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, and the Link to Windows app running on both ends. The update does not change how the app works for calls, messages, photo sync, or file transfer. Those stay intact. This is strictly about remote power control and update execution.

Microsoft hasn’t announced a stable release date. But since the beta is live, rollout to all Android users could follow within weeks. No price change: Link to Windows remains free on Google Play. Works with Windows 10 and Windows 11 PCs, no mention of Windows Server or ARM-based Windows devices in the reporting.

Users searching ‘windows laptop’ or ‘windows 10’ will find this relevant: the feature targets exactly those machines. Not phones. Not tablets. Not Chromebooks.

Windows laptops and desktops. The kind people leave running in another room, or forget to update before heading out. Now they don’t have to walk back. Or wait.

Or install something sketchy from the Play Store. Microsoft just built it in.

TopicsWindows 11remote-controllink-to-windowsWindowsWindows 10android

Reported from

How this story was made

Written by the Hitechreports desk from the reporting credited above, with facts attributed to their original publishers. We do not test devices ourselves; anything about performance, battery life or cameras comes from the outlets that did. Prices are as reported at the time of writing. Editorial policy · Report an error

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Filed by The Computing Desk

Laptops, desktops, processors, graphics cards and the operating systems that run on them.

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