aka.ms/PairPC — link your Android phone to Windows (no QR code)

Your PC is showing aka.ms/PairPC after you chose "Continue without a QR code." Here's exactly how to finish pairing your Android phone — the reliable, no-camera way.

Tested on Android · Link to Windows 1.26071.104.0 · Phone Link 1.26071.164.0 · Verified August 30, 2026

⚠ This link goes on your phone, not your PC

You're seeing aka.ms/PairPC on your PC — but it's meant to be opened on your Android phone. Don't type it into your computer's browser; nothing useful happens there.

Open it on your Android phone and it launches the Link to Windows app to finish pairing.

Do this — on your Android phone

Finish pairing with the code method

  1. On your Android phone, open a browser and go to aka.ms/PairPC. It opens Link to Windows (or installs it from the Play Store first).
  2. Sign in with the same Microsoft account shown on your PC — this is the step people get wrong. It must match exactly.
  3. Accept the linking prompt, then enter the code your PC is displaying (it contains letters and numbers and expires in 10 minutes).
  4. Back on your PC, select Continue. Work both screens together until it says connected.
Continue to setupaka.ms/PairPC →

✔ Before you start: put both devices on the same network — same Wi-Fi or the phone's hotspot. In my testing this made pairing instant and stopped transfers from stalling. Why →

✅ Good news about this method: pairing without a QR code does not ask you to save a passkey — so it skips the "your session has expired" passkey error that the QR method can hit. This is the path I recommend when pairing is being stubborn.

Watch the full Android pairing — start to connected
Video transcript — tap a line to jump to that moment
Tested · setup timing

Setting up during Windows' first-run (the out-of-box experience)? Skip Phone Link at that stage and set it up once Windows is fully activated and loaded on the desktop. In my testing, pairing during OOBE is far more confusing and prone to half-connecting, glitching, or failing outright — it goes smoothly nearly every time once you're past setup.

The full walkthrough — every screen, no QR code needed

The complete no-QR journey on Android, screen by screen, as it actually happens — I've run this flow on real devices and these are the genuine screens and texts.

  1. PC — the instructions screen. After clicking Continue without a QR code in Phone Link (open it on the PC via www.aka.ms/LinkPhoneQR or ms-phone: if it isn't already up), your PC shows "Link mobile device to your account" with three steps: open aka.ms/PairPC on your mobile device, install or open Link to Windows, sign in with the account shown. Buttons: Continue and Cancel, plus a Link with a QR code option to go back. Press Continue now — this is the step most walkthroughs skip, and nothing else works until you do: pressing it is what puts the pairing code on your PC screen, the code your phone asks for in step 6. The three instructions stay on screen, so you can leave the PC here and pick up your phone.
    PC — "Link mobile device to your account"
    PC — "Link mobile device to your account"
  2. Phone — open the link. In your Android browser go to aka.ms/PairPC. It opens Link to Windows — or the Play Store first if it's not installed. The welcome screen pitches the features (calls, conversations, notifications on your PC; control your PC remotely; share files) with Sign in below.
  3. Phone — "Microsoft account found." If your phone has a saved Microsoft account, it shows "Microsoft account found — tap continue to sign in". Only continue if it's the same account as on your PC. Otherwise tap Sign in with a different account and use the right one. This mismatch is the number-one silent failure.
    phone — "Microsoft account found — tap continue to sign in"
    phone — "Microsoft account found — tap continue to sign in"
  4. Phone — verify your email (read it carefully). The screen says "We'll send a code to your email address to verify this is your email. Enter it here." Don't run to your inbox yet — type the full email address first, press Send code, then the 6-digit code is sent. The next screen, "Enter your code," accepts it automatically as you type. Check spam — that's where it landed most often in my testing; press "Didn't get the code" to resend if needed.
    phone — "We'll send a code to your email address to verify this is your email. Enter it here."
    phone — "We'll send a code to your email address to verify this is your email. Enter it here."
  5. Phone — linking consent. "By continuing, your device will be linked to your Microsoft account…" Tap Continue.
    phone — "By continuing, your device will be linked to your Microsoft account…"
    phone — "By continuing, your device will be linked to your Microsoft account…"
  6. Phone — "Enter the code shown on your PC." Look at your PC: it displays a short code of letters and numbers that expires in 10 minutes. Type it on your phone promptly.
    phone — "Enter the code shown on your PC."
    phone — "Enter the code shown on your PC."
  7. PC — select Continue. Then work both screens together — prompts alternate between devices, and acting on only one side desyncs the flow.
  8. Phone — connecting, then "Share optional diagnostic data." A few "connecting your devices" screens cycle, ending on the diagnostic-data choice (it doesn't include your name, file contents, or unrelated app data). Accept or decline.
    phone — connecting, then "Share optional diagnostic data."
    phone — connecting, then "Share optional diagnostic data."
  9. Connected. Your phone now shows your PC's wallpaper, device type, current internet connection, battery and last-online, with Lock PC, Send files, Mirror to PC — plus the received-files and clipboard panes below (clipboard needs a one-time PC-side toggle). The profile icon (top-left) shows your PC name, account, Linked PCs and an Add PC button.
    phone — the connected screen, showing your PC name, battery and last-online
    phone — the connected screen, showing your PC name, battery and last-online
No passkey on this path — that prompt belongs to the QR method, which is exactly why the code method is the reliable one when pairing is being stubborn.

Find your exact problem

Most common mistake

"Wrong account" or it won't link

The phone must sign in with the exact same Microsoft account displayed on your PC's pairing screen. If your phone already has a different Microsoft account saved, choose "Sign in with a different account" and use the one from the PC. A mismatch is the number-one reason pairing silently fails here.

Hidden trap

"Verify your email" on Android — type the address, not the code

During sign-in Microsoft shows: "We'll send a code to your email address to verify this is your email — enter it here." Almost everyone skims it and rushes to their inbox to find an OTP. That's a dead end. Microsoft wants you to type the full email address shown in the mask first, then press Send code. Only then is the 6-digit code actually sent.

On your phone — read carefullyVerify your email We'll send a code to your email address to verify this is your email. Enter it here. [ type the full email ] ( Send code )
Symptom

The verification code never arrives

After you enter the email and press Send code, the 6-digit code should arrive in seconds. In my testing it often landed in spam/junk — check there first. If it never comes, press "Didn't get the code" to resend. You don't tap a button to submit it — once the correct code is entered, it accepts automatically.

Where's the code?

"Enter the code shown on your PC"

Your phone asks for a code — but it's displayed on your PC, not sent to you. Look at your PC's pairing screen for a short code of letters and numbers (for example something like TW96T4). It expires in 10 minutes, so type it promptly. If it expires, restart the step for a fresh one.

PC — the alphanumeric pairing code with "expires in 10 minutes"
PC — the alphanumeric pairing code with "expires in 10 minutes"
The mistake almost everyone makes

Phone says connected, PC still stuck on "Check your mobile device"

Setup prompts appear on both the phone and the PC. If you keep tapping Continue on only one device, the flow desyncs — one side shows "connected" while the other sits frozen on an earlier screen. Work both screens together.

Tested trick: if it's already stuck, fully close (X) the frozen app and reopen it — in my testing it frequently reopened already connected. If not, restart the phone, then the PC; that clears the stuck session more reliably than any cache reset.
side-by-side — phone connected vs PC frozen on "Check your mobile device"
side-by-side — phone connected vs PC frozen on "Check your mobile device"

Once it connects

You'll get a "Share optional diagnostic data" prompt — accept or decline, your choice; it doesn't affect linking. Then your phone shows your PC's wallpaper, name, battery and connection status, with options to Lock PC, send files and mirror. To turn on cross-device copy-paste later, see enabling clipboard sync (aka.ms/MobileDeviceSettings). Curious what Android can do that iPhone can't? Full comparison →.

Don't skip past that screen — it does more than it used to. Since December 2025 the Link to Windows app is a real control surface for your PC, not just a pairing tool: send files to the PC, watch its battery drain from across the room, sync your clipboard with a history you can delete from, and start mirroring from the phone instead of the PC. What the phone app can do now →

A note on privacy

Linking shares the features you choose (messages, calls, notifications, photos) — not your files' contents or unrelated app data. To limit data collection, use Microsoft's privacy & opt-out settings; review or clear stored data in the Microsoft Privacy Dashboard. Official reference: Microsoft's Phone Link support page.

Known limits of the no-QR pairing route

  • Same network = far better. On the same Wi-Fi or hotspot, connecting was instant and transfers were reliable; on different networks, pairing dragged and big transfers stalled. Details →
  • Outdated apps break pairing. An old Link to Windows or Phone Link won't match Microsoft's rotating pairing signature — update both first. More →
  • Borderline hardware lags. Both apps are resource-hungry; minimum-spec devices struggle. Recommended specs →
  • Two transfer paths, two limits. Via File Explorer the phone works like a USB drive with no practical size cap (a 2.08 GB video moved fine in testing); the older share/send-files method caps at 100 files per batch and 512 MB per file. More on the features page →
  • Lock PC only locks — unlocking still happens at the keyboard. More on what the phone can and can't drive →
  • Mirroring works; opening single apps is hit-or-miss — mirror the full screen first, then open the app.

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FAQ

My PC is showing aka.ms/PairPC — do I type that into the PC?

On your Android phone. It's shown on your PC but it's meant to be opened on the phone, where it launches the Link to Windows app.

Is aka.ms/PairPC safe?

Yes — aka.ms is Microsoft's official URL shortener and the link opens Microsoft's own Link to Windows app to complete pairing.

Where is the letters-and-numbers code my phone is asking for?

On your PC's pairing screen — it's a short code of letters and numbers that expires in 10 minutes. It isn't emailed to you.

Does this method need a passkey?

No. Pairing without a QR code skips the passkey prompt, which is why it avoids the "session expired" error the QR method can hit.

I'm on an iPhone — is this the right page?

No. iPhone uses https://aka.ms/startLinking and pairs over Bluetooth. See the iPhone setup guide.

The code from my email isn't arriving.

Make sure you typed the full email and pressed Send code first, then check spam where it often lands. Press "Didn't get the code" to resend.

Aaron Kransdorf, founder of SyncYourDevice

Aaron Kransdorf

A curious techy from Traverse City, Michigan. I built SyncYourDevice.com after running into these pairing failures myself — if someone comfortable with tech was getting stuck, most people were getting stuck worse. I keep this updated from my own rigorous testing — every fix is one I've reproduced myself in the actual problem environment. Community discussion (Reddit, Microsoft Forums) is sometimes a starting lead, never an untested source; I also lean on official Microsoft documentation and report issues to Microsoft directly.

Tested on: Link to Windows (Android) 1.26071.104.0 · Phone Link (Windows) 1.26071.164.0 — verified August 30, 2026.

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Article updates

August 2026

  • Fixed a gap in the walkthrough: the instructions screen described the Continue button without telling you to press it — and pressing it is what puts the pairing code on screen.
  • Updated the pairing-code lifetime: on this no-QR route the alphanumeric code now expires in 10 minutes, not three (the QR route is still three).
  • Refreshed the no-QR pairing walkthrough and clarified the alphanumeric code that Android asks you to type.
  • Verified against Phone Link 1.26071.164.0, Link to Windows 1.26071.104.0 (Android) and 1.26081.28 (iOS).
  • Tracking what changes across the apps themselves? That lives on the what's new in Phone Link timeline.

July 2026

  • Reviewed and updated for the current Phone Link and Link to Windows versions.