Phone Link: Missing notifications on the taskbar icon

Anders Strand-Holm 100 Reputation points
2026-11-09T15:24:09.4266667+00:00

I have noticed that Phone Link shows no notifications on the task bar icon, when notifications are present in Phone Link on my PC. Phone Link is configured to start when I sign into Windows.

When I open Phone Link the new messages are present, and first then the task bar icon shows the number of notifications matching the number of messages present.

I have checked all settings on Phone Link in Windows and everything is correctly configured.

The number of notifications received, should appear on the task bar icon, when new messages are received on my Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, linked to Phone Link in Windows.

How to fix this issue?

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Connect Phone and PC
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Answer accepted by question author
Thomas4-N 23,265 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
2026-11-11T08:17:48.7333333+00:00

Hello Anders Strand-Holm,

Since the notification count appears correctly as soon as you open Phone Link, I'd like to narrow down whether the issue is with background synchronization or just the taskbar icon updating.

Could you check one thing?

When Phone Link is running in the background and a new message arrives on your Galaxy S25 Ultra, do you still receive a Windows notification banner, even though the taskbar icon doesn't show the count? Or do both only appear after you open Phone Link?

This would help distinguish whether notifications aren't being delivered in the background or whether only the taskbar badge isn't refreshing.

For reference, Microsoft covers Phone Link synchronization and notification behavior here:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/apps/phonelink/troubleshooting-the-phone-link

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