Windows 11 could soon let you shut down or restart your PC from your phone

• Microsoft is developing remote Restart, Shutdown, and Sleep controls for Link to Windows on Android.
• The feature also includes Update and Restart and Update and Shutdown commands.
• An August 25 debug build confirms the controls exist, but Microsoft has not enabled them for testers yet.
• Remote shutdown and restart could make Phone Link more useful, while Sleep would disconnect the phone from the PC until it is woken.

Microsoft is working to build the “Link to Windows” app with remote controls that could let Android users restart, shut down, or put Windows 11 to sleep from their phone. The controls were discovered in the Android app’s code and aren’t currently available, but a debug build dated August 25, 2026, shows Microsoft is actively working on the feature.

The addition would build on the existing ability to remotely lock a computer using the Link to Windows app. It could also solve a simple but surprisingly common problem. Realizing your device is still running after you have already left home or the office.

Link to Windows is getting remote power controls

While examining the Link to Windows Android APK, Windows Latest found unused strings connected to a component called RemoteControlManager.

The strings include commands for “Restart,” “Shut down,” and “Sleep,” along with separate options for “Update and restart” and “Update and shut down.”

The update-specific commands are particularly useful. They suggest the company wants Link to Windows to recognize when Windows Update requires a restart or shutdown, rather than simply sending a generic power command.

A debug log from the August 25 build shows isRemotePcControlsV2Enabled set to enabled=false, while experimentEnabled is also disabled. That means the functionality is present in the app but has not been enabled for testers.

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There are also confirmation dialogs designed to prevent accidental actions. Microsoft warns that restarting or shutting down remotely could cause unsaved work to be lost.

Remote sleep comes with an important catch

Sleep is slightly different. The discovered warning tells users that the computer will be disconnected from the phone after entering sleep and will need to be woken up directly from the device.

That limitation makes sense. A sleeping computer may no longer maintain the connection required for Link to Windows to communicate with it.

For that reason, I suspect restart and shutdown will be the more useful options for most people. They solve the “I forgot to turn off my PC” problem without leaving you unable to reconnect to the machine.

Another practical upgrade for Phone Link

Link to Windows and Phone Link have quietly become some of Microsoft’s more useful cross-device tools. They already connect Android phones and Windows 11 setups for notifications, file transfers, clipboard synchronization, and remote locking.

Microsoft has also recently added a way to permanently remove old computers from the linked-device list, fixing another long-standing annoyance.

These improvements are not particularly flashy, but they make the software more practical. Remote power controls follow the same pattern by addressing something users can actually run into during everyday use.

Samsung is also expanding its Galaxy Connect software to support devices running Windows 11, although the report found Phone Link more reliable for basic features such as cross-device copy and paste.

The new controls could therefore give Microsoft’s solution another useful advantage.

The feature isn’t available yet

There is currently no interface to test because Microsoft has not enabled the remote shutdown or restart controls for testers.

The presence of specific commands, update-aware options, warnings, and feature flags suggests development is relatively advanced, but the company could still change the implementation before release.

For now, Android users will have to wait.

Pureinfotech’s Take

This is exactly the kind of feature I want Microsoft to add to Phone Link. Not because shutting down a computer remotely is technically impressive, but because it fixes one of those little problems that can nag at you for hours. I have left a computer running before and remembered it only after I was already too far away to do anything about it.

The option to update and restart is even more useful. The operating system has a habit of telling me an update needs attention at the least convenient time, and being able to deal with it from my phone would save a trip back to the computer.