Microsoft Phone Link completely dropped the ball, but here's what I use instead
…Sign in to your XDA account Windows 11 can be a pest, reminding you to link your phone to the OS using Phone Link, but I gave up on that utility years…
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Windows 11
Optimize your OS with the latest Windows 11 performance tweaks, security updates, and news on Microsoft’s AI-driven Copilot pivot.
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Where does one really need to go?
Windows 11 still feels like two, three, or four operating systems stitched together without a clear plan for which one should take priority. You've got the modern Settings app, which looks great and covers the basics well enough. Then, you have that old Control Panel, which is still very much alive, still very necessary, and still hiding critical functionality that never made the jump. This creates a weird scavenger hunt where you'd be constantly bouncing between generations of UI just to complete a single task. Between power plans, advanced network settings, and optional features, you'll have
Windows 11 buries its best features for power-users deep behind the worst menusI disabled these 7 background services to boost Windows performance
…disable. Windows will start the service each time you reboot. So, to ensure there isn’t usage data, I turn off “Connected User Experiences and Telemetry” and “Device Management Wireless Application Protocol…
My Windows PC became my homelab's control center with these 5 free tools
…These tools are not transformative on their own, but together they make Windows feel better suited for administration work. Microsoft PowerToys OS Windows 10/11 See at Github See at Microsoft Store…
The best OLED convertible for most people is now $400 off
…Asus ProArt PZ13 $900 $1300 Save $400 8 /10 Operating System Windows 11 Home for Arm CPU Snapdragon X Plus X1P-42-100, 8 Core, 3.4GHz (single-core) / 3.2GHz (8…
Your phone's USB-C port can let you run a full desktop, and most people never try it
Jasmine Mannan Jun 20, 2026, 11:00 AM EDT Jasmine is Software and PC Hardware Author at XDA with years of tech reporting experience ranging from AI chatbots right down to gaming…
I got tired of hunting through Windows for every setting, so I built my own control center
…There are full pages for services, scheduled tasks, drives, drivers, power plans, gaming toggles, privacy toggles, and the taskbar mess in Windows 11. Every one of those is something that I find…
Valve isn't ditching Windows or x86, but it's quietly making both optional
…Valve added FEX-2604 for Arm64EC builds in Proton 11.0 Beta, opening the door to running x86 Windows games on Arm Linux through Steam itself. If you look at any one…
Someone made a literal credit card-sized ESP32 computer, and so can you
Simon Batt May 8, 2026, 11:47 PM EDT Simon is a Computer Science BSc graduate who has been writing about technology since 2014, and using Windows machines since 3.1. After…
Need a dirt-cheap laptop? This one from Lenovo just dropped to $299
…There's also Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 onboard for wireless connectivity. This laptop comes preloaded with Windows 11 Home, so you won't need to spend any extra on…
Wi-Fi 7 will not fix what's actually wrong with your home network
Tanveer Singh May 11, 2026, 1:30 PM EDT After a 7-year corporate stint, Tanveer found his love for writing and tech too much to resist. An MBA in Marketing and…