Microsoft has removed the photo viewing feature from the Link to Phone app in Windows 11. Instead, users are encouraged to use File Explorer, which displays media files from their smartphone as if they were on a removable drive. Windows Central reports this.
In the updated application interface, a notification appeared about the transfer of functionality to Explorer, which has an improved interface with support for watching videos and managing files through multiple selection, copying and dragging. At the same time, the basic capabilities of “Connect to phone” remain the same – notifications and smartphone control from the computer still work.
For many users, this change became inconvenient because the built-in photo viewer allows users to quickly open full-screen photos directly from the app. Now, when you click files in Explorer, they will be launched through a separate Windows Photos app. To use your smartphone as a peripheral, Microsoft recommends an alternative tool called Mobile Devices.
