Windows 11 is getting "Hand Off" feature that lets you resume work from phones to PCs—even from iPhones

Microsoft is testing a new “Hand Off” feature in Windows 11, which lets you easily continue whatever it is you’re doing on your Android and/or iPhone to your PC.

Folks in the Windows insider community have spotted this undocumented change in the KB5043186 update, or Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.4225, for the Beta channel that arrived not too long ago.

Courtesy of eagle-eyed insider @techosarusrex on X, as seen above, there’s a “Hand off” toggle in Windows 11’s settings after the update akin to what Apple users have been enjoying. But still, it’s currently hidden behind a system flag that can be enabled using ViVeTool.

It builds up from OneDrive’s “Continue from Phone” feature that was tested back in July in the KB5039327 update for the Beta channel. As reported, the feature lets you easily resume work on OneDrive files from your phone to your PC, picking up where you left off.

Back in May, Google also introduced a somewhat similar cross-device feature on Android.

The cross-device services from Google included Call Casting and Instant Hotspot. As the names suggest, you can transfer video calls between devices using Google Meet, while Instant Hotspot allows sharing mobile data with other Android devices and Chromebooks (excluding Samsung phones).

Microsoft has been working to make the phone-to-PC experience a lot smoother, especially between Android and iPhone. The Phone Link app has now been available for iOS for quite some time, and Microsoft is also making it easier for you to share files between Android and PCs.

Speaking of the KB5043186 update, Microsoft also updated the dedicated Copilot key on Copilot+ PCs. Soon, it will let you open any MSIX-packaged app, not just the Copilot side panel on Windows 11. It also has a bunch of other improvements here and there.