Phone Link ignores some conversations

Question

Phone Link ignores some conversations

Rick Calder 0

Phone link stopped tracking most conversations from friends a little while ago, around the time that privacy change was made where it won't show messages from banks and stuff. It still shows me businesses, like my cell provider, or Instacart. But even if I start a conversation with a friend in the app, it will not receive the messages back from my friend.

I have removed my device from Phone Link and reconnected it, all to no avail.

This is very frustrating. Thoughts?

Windows 11 Home version 25H2

Google Pixel 9 Android 17, fully up to date.

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1 answer

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Answer 1

Welcome Rick Calder,

I understand how frustrating it can be when Phone Link is only syncing some text message conversations on your Google Pixel 9, while messages from many personal contacts are no longer appearing or updating in the Phone Link app on Windows 11.

Before proceeding, I would like to narrow down the issue:

Are the missing conversations using standard SMS/MMS, or are they RCS chats in Google Messages?
Do the missing conversations appear correctly in the Google Messages app on your Pixel, but not in Phone Link?

In the meantime, you can try these steps below to troubleshoot the issue:

Option 1: Verify Phone Link permissions on the phone

Open Settings > Apps > Link to Windows > Permissions
Ensure SMS, Contacts, Notifications, and Phone permissions are allowed

Option 2: Check battery optimization settings

Open Settings > Apps > Link to Windows
Select Battery
Set to Unrestricted or exclude it from battery optimization

Option 3: Refresh Phone Link message synchronization

Open Phone Link on the PC
Go to Settings > Features > Messages
Turn Messages off, wait a few minutes, then enable it again

Option 4: Update related apps

Update Phone Link from Microsoft Store
Update Link to Windows and Google Messages from Google Play Store

Option 5: Reset Phone Link on Windows

Open Settings > Apps > Installed apps
Find Phone Link > Advanced options
Select Repair, then Reset if Repair does not help

I hope the steps above help you deal with your issue.

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