How to enable or disable Start menu mobile sidebar on Windows 11

On Windows 11, the Start menu includes a sidebar that brings quick access to your phone’s battery status, notifications, messages, calls, and pictures, and in this guide, you will learn the steps to turn the feature on or off.

What’s the mobile sidebar?

Microsoft has not assigned an official name to the Start menu’s mobile integration sidebar on Windows 11. However, this feature is an extension of the Phone Link application that provides quick access to your Android or iPhone’s notifications, messages, calls, and photos directly from the Start menu. Around the web, it is commonly referred to as the “Phone Link sidebar” or “Phone Link integration in the Start menu.”

The experience is nothing more than a floating sidebar that appears to the right of the Start menu. The interface can dynamically surface notifications from emails and messages and some phone details, but that’s about it.

When you click any of the items, the Phone Link app will open instead of that specific feature. In short, this integration is nothing more than a quick glance at your phone’s information.

Setup requirements

The feature is still in preview and has some system requirements:

• OS: Windows 11 build 22635.4805 or higher in the Beta Channel or 26120.3000 or higher in the Dev Channel.
• Phone Link: Version 1.24121.30.0 or higher.
• Microsoft Account: Same account on PC and phone.
• Bluetooth LE Support: Support Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) for optimal connectivity.

If you want to connect your phone with the Start menu, you will first have to connect your Android or iPhone device to your computer using the “Phone Link” on Windows 11 and the “Link to Windows” app on your phone. Also, since the feature is rolling out gradually, you may have to enable it manually using ViveTool.

In this guide, I will explain the steps to manage the mobile sidebar experience in the Start menu of Windows 11.

To enable the sidebar in the Start menu, connect your iPhone and Android to your computer, and then use these steps:

1. Open Settings.

2. Click on Personalization.

3. Click the Start page.

4. Turn on the “Show mobile device in Start” toggle switch to enable the feature.

Once you complete the steps, the next time you open the Start menu, the sidebar will be available from the right side with the latest information about your phone and messages.

You can interact with any of the elements, but they will open directly into the Phone Link app.

If the feature isn’t available, make sure that the phone is fully connected to your computer. You can do this by opening the Phone Link, checking the device is connected, and confirming the app has permission to access messages, calls, and photos on your phone.

Enable sidebar from ViveTool

If you’re still unable to set up this feature, you have to enable the experience manually in the operating system using the ViveTool:

1. Open GitHub website.

2. Download the ViveTool-vx.x.x.zip file to activate the Start menu sidebar feature.

3. Double-click the zip folder to open it with File Explorer.

4. Click the Extract all button.

   

5. Click the Extract button.

6. Copy the path to the folder.

7. Open Start.

8. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.

9. Type the following command to navigate to the ViveTool folder and press Enter:

   cd c:\folder\path\ViveTool-v0.x.x

   In the command, remember to change the path to the folder with your path.

10. Type the following command to enable the Start menu sidebar and press Enter:

    vivetool /enable /id:48697323,48433719

11. Restart the computer.

Once you complete the steps, the feature will be available as an option on the “Start” settings page.

To disable the sidebar in the Start menu, use these steps:

1. Open Settings.

2. Click on Personalization.

3. Click the Start page.

4. Turn off the “Show mobile device in Start” toggle switch to disable the feature.

   

After you complete the steps, the sidebar will no longer be available on the right side of the Start menu.

Disable sidebar from ViveTool

If you want to turn off the feature in the operating system, use these steps:

1. Open Start.

2. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.

3. Type the following command to navigate to the ViveTool folder and press Enter:

   cd c:\folder\path\ViveTool-v0.x.x

   In the command, remember to change the path to the folder with your path.

4. Type the following command to disable the Start menu sidebar and press Enter:

   vivetool /disable /id:48697323,48433719

5. Restart the computer.

Once you complete the steps, the feature will be available as an option on the “Start” settings page.