Microsoft's Your Phone App for Windows 10 can no longer be uninstalled

[Humza]

What just happened? Microsoft's phone mirroring service, the Your Phone app, is now an integral part of the Windows 10 experience. For those unaware, it is part of the company's efforts to enable multiple cross-device experiences, by mirroring a smartphone to the PC over Bluetooth. Since Your Phone is now deeply incorporated in the OS with more features to come in the future, it's now deemed a feature and the app itself can no longer be uninstalled.

In March, Microsoft launched a beta of its Your Phone App for Windows Insiders. The idea behind it being to increase productivity of users, preventing them from being distracted by their phones by bringing its content to their Windows PC and offer an experience similar to one enjoyed by iPhone users with macOS. The service launched with limited support for Samsung Galaxy devices with more models, including Apple's iPhone, for wider compatibility in the future.

Whether the app has gained any traction with the Windows community remains to be seen. Microsoft now considers it an important part of the Windows 10 experience and explicitly stated that the app cannot be uninstalled, as reported by BleepingComputer.

"The Your Phone app is deeply integrated into Windows to light up multiple cross-device experiences now and in the future. In order to build more of these experiences between phones, PCs, and other devices, the app can't be uninstalled."

Currently, Android users can do various tasks with the Your Phone app. These include screen mirroring, viewing notifications, replying to SMS texts and transferring photos over the phone's Bluetooth connection. iOS users on the other hand can only continue reading web pages on their PC that they have opened on the Microsoft Edge browser on their iPhone.

While the app would be useful to many, some users may still want to uninstall it, be it after a clean installation of Windows 10 or viewing Your Phone as an another unwanted app. That option is now gone, with the remaining solution to just ignore it by either unpinning the app from the Start menu and/or the taskbar as it's now considered a built-in Windows application by Microsoft.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/80245-microsoft-phone-app-windows-10-can-no-longer.html

 

[Skjorn]

I find Win10 fairly easy to use but these non- uninstallable apps are ridiculous.

Can the Pro versions uninstall it?

I'd like a Win10 Functional edition. None of the social crap.

 

[Fearghast]

I find Win10 fairly easy to use but these non- uninstallable apps are ridiculous.

Can the Pro versions uninstall it?

I'd like a Win10 Functional edition. None of the social crap.

You can uninstall it, just like most of the crap in Windows 10.
Sadly not the easy way via remove (uninstall) button.

 

[netman]

How about a registry hack?...I am sure there is a way to disable it.

 

[Uncle Al]

Uninstallable? Oh, that's sounds like a challenge to me! I give 'em 30 days max!

 

[m4a4]

Just don't set it up? It's not a bloated app (taking up valuable space), so easy to ignore.

Though I personally will use it (as it's easier to type texts on a full keyboard lol).

 

[Nobina]

Shame. They should've went the other way and give us the choice to remove all preinstalled apps individually. Idk about others but I would like Windows to be just a platform on which I install programs of my choice because nobody uses their bloatware anyway.

 

[StarDog2]

This is a service that sounds interesting to me, however, I can't stand Outlook. Does anyone know if I'd have to use that POS for any reason? That sounds like something they'd make us do.

 

[Cycloid Torus]

No problem. No phone.

 

[Markoni35]

Maybe I can copy Notepad.exe over that executable? Then on each startup I'll have a copy of Notepad in RAM, for faster loading.

 

[Bullwinkle M]

"the app cannot be uninstalled, as reported by BleepingComputer."

But the app CAN be uninstalled using CCleaner as reported by a BleepingComputer commenter!

.and if that doesn't work.....
Windows 10 can be Uninstalled!

 

[DukeJukem]

Oh I'll more than just get it uninstalled. I'll make sure every file aspect is deleted just like I have with windows defender. windows defender is only present on this computer in my registry which is meaningless if no files exist to correlate. considering I disable windows update completely I will also be dealing with this during my time when I see fit, if I want to. depends if I feel like it. try me microsoft.

 

[Dyson Parkes]

The app isn't marked as 'nonremovable' when you query it with get-appxpackage, so I'd say it's definitely removable. I expect it'll be added to the debloater script at some point.

 

[ShadowDeath]

Not like you can get it working in the first place.

 

[Knot Schure]

I find Win10 fairly easy to use but these non- uninstallable apps are ridiculous.

Can the Pro versions uninstall it?

I'd like a Win10 Functional edition. None of the social crap.

Windows Server 2019 Standard Edition...

 

[lazer]

Win7 forever! and with NO updates.....

Last windows that was worth having....
next on to Linux.....

 

[seeprime]

I find Win10 fairly easy to use but these non- uninstallable apps are ridiculous.

Can the Pro versions uninstall it?

I'd like a Win10 Functional edition. None of the social crap.

I used portable ccleaner's uninstall tool to remove this app and many, many others. I kept Store app since I might someday change my mind (not likely).

 

[loki1944]

Shame. They should've went the other way and give us the choice to remove all preinstalled apps individually. Idk about others but I would like Windows to be just a platform on which I install programs of my choice because nobody uses their bloatware anyway.

They are trying to get the app storefront cash cow thing going like apple; problem is that unlike apple a significant portion of MS users were gained via their previously open platform relative to apple. Their (MS) current approach of throatslamming apps at users while taking away freedom could backfire. Without the free upgrades W10 would be a dumpster fire like Vista or W8.

 

[IAMTHESTIG]

See this BS is exactly why some of us sysadmins and power users are HATERS of Windows 10. In my work environment, we must have the ability to control every aspect of the OS. What we used to be able to control and prevent access to via group policy back in Windows 7 days is not available for Windows 10 group policies. M$FT is really making the lives difficult for us.

Windows used to be about control and customization, from either the user or admin, or both. This is going away, and it is now becoming ONE MICROSOFT WAY. Ironically enough, this their street address in Redmond. Coincidence?

 

[Dyson Parkes]

For those who haven't encountered the tool I mentioned earlier - the windows debloater is a powershell tool found on Github. It's pretty well done, and does its job very well.
https://github.com/Sycnex/Windows10Debloater/