How to fix PhoneExperienceHost.exe error in Windows?

PhoneExperienceHost.exe is the background part of Microsoft Phone Link, the app once called Your Phone, and it starts with Windows even if you never linked a phone. The usual error, "the specified file is not in a registry file format", means the app's own settings file is damaged, not Windows. Reset Phone Link first.

Facts checked on 14 October 2026. Steps written for Windows 11 (25H2 and 26H2) and Windows 10 22H2.

What is PhoneExperienceHost.exe and is it safe?

PhoneExperienceHost.exe is the process that keeps Phone Link running in the background. Phone Link is Microsoft's app for using an Android phone or an iPhone from the PC: messages, calls, photos and notifications. Until 2022 it was called Your Phone, which is why its package is still named Microsoft.YourPhone.

File name

PhoneExperienceHost.exe (people also search "phone experience host", "phoneexperiencehost" and "phone expirence host")

Real location

C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.YourPhone_<version>_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\PhoneExperienceHost.exe. A reader on Microsoft Q&A posted exactly this path with version 1.22062.536.0.

Package

Microsoft.YourPhone, publisher Microsoft Corporation, installed and updated through Microsoft Store

Its data folder

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.YourPhone_8wekyb3d8bbwe, one per Windows account

Needs a phone?

No. Phone Link is preinstalled on most Windows 10 and Windows 11 PCs and starts at sign-in whether or not a phone is linked.

A file with this name in its WindowsApps folder is Microsoft's own program, not malware. A copy anywhere else, for example in Downloads, Temp or AppData\Roaming, is not where Microsoft installs it and should be scanned (Fix 6). Ending the process in Task Manager is harmless: Phone Link simply stops until it starts again.

What the PhoneExperienceHost.exe error means

The error window has no friendly title. Its title bar is the full path of the program, and the one line of text is a standard Windows error message. Microsoft lists these messages in its table of system error codes, so the text tells you exactly what failed even though Phone Link itself says nothing.

Why a registry message from an app? Every Microsoft Store app keeps its private settings in a file called settings.dat in its Settings folder. Google Project Zero, in its research on the Windows registry, describes these files as application hives that Windows loads like small registries. When that file is broken, loading it fails with exactly the 1017 message, and the app cannot read its own settings.

Why the PhoneExperienceHost.exe error appears, most likely first

• Most often: a damaged settings.dat in Phone Link's data folder. That is what the 1017 and 1009 messages say. Microsoft Learn states that local app data "reliably persists through app updates", so a newer Phone Link keeps loading the same broken file. A reset or a fresh settings folder fixes it (Fix 1, Fix 4).
• Often: Phone Link runs although you never use it. It is preinstalled and starts at sign-in. If you do not need it, turning it off ends every PhoneExperienceHost.exe message and its CPU use for good (Fix 2).
• Sometimes: a faulty build of the app. The wave of reports on Microsoft Q&A, Spiceworks and Reddit started in August 2022 with versions 1.22062.536 to 1.22062.543. The Microsoft Q&A thread has 700 or more "same question" votes. A Store update replaces the program files (Fix 3).
• Rarely: the install of the package itself is broken, for example after a failed update. Removing and installing Phone Link again replaces everything (Fix 5).
• Very rarely: a fake file with the same name outside the WindowsApps folder (Fix 6), or damaged Windows files that also break other Store apps (Fix 7).

How to fix the PhoneExperienceHost.exe error

Start with Fix 1 if the window shows the registry message and you want to keep Phone Link. Start with Fix 2 if you never use a phone with this PC. The later fixes are for the cases where those two did not help.

Fix 1. Repair, then reset Phone Link

3 minutesLow riskThe window shows the registry file message and you want to keep using Phone Link.

Reset deletes Phone Link's data on this PC, and the damaged settings.dat is part of that data. Repair is tried first because it keeps your linked phone; Reset is what removes the broken file.

Phone Link is a Microsoft Store app, so it has Terminate, Repair and Reset buttons in its advanced options. Select Terminate first, so that PhoneExperienceHost.exe is not holding the file while Windows repairs it. Microsoft's own Phone Link support page lists Advanced options > Reset as the way to start Phone Link over.

1. Open Installed apps. Select Start > Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
2. Open the app's advanced options. Find the app in the list, select the three dots next to it and select Advanced options. Some apps do not have this option: for those, see the section about desktop programs below.

   

3. Repair first. On the page that opens, select Repair if it is there. The app's data stays. Open the app and check whether it works.

   

4. Reset if Repair did not help. Select Reset. This deletes the app's data on this PC, including sign-in details and settings. Open the app and set it up again.

These steps were written for Windows 11 25H2 and 26H2. The full page with the other versions and what each result means: How to repair or reset an app in Windows

• Find the app as Phone Link. On some older Windows 10 installs it may still be listed as Your Phone.
• On Windows 10 the path is Settings > Apps > Apps & features > Phone Link > Advanced options. The buttons are the same.
• After Reset, sign in again and link your phone again if you use it. Messages and photos stay on the phone.

Fix 2. Turn Phone Link off if you do not use a phone with this PC

2 minutesNo riskYou never link a phone to this PC and only want the error or the background process gone.

The error only appears when PhoneExperienceHost.exe starts and loads its settings. If Phone Link is off and not allowed to run in the background or at sign-in, the process has no reason to start, so there is nothing to fail.

1. Windows 11: open Settings > Bluetooth & devices, select Phone Link and turn the Phone Link toggle off. Microsoft's support page also reaches it by searching Settings for Enable or disable Phone Link.
2. Open Settings > Apps > Installed apps, select the three dots next to Phone Link and then Advanced options.
3. Under Background app permissions, set Let this app run in background to Never.
4. Open Settings > Apps > Startup and turn Phone Link off if it is listed.
5. Windows 10: set the same in Settings > Privacy > Background apps and Settings > Apps > Startup.
6. Restart the PC and open Task Manager > Details to check that PhoneExperienceHost.exe is not in the list.

Both settings are standard Windows procedures with screenshots: background apps Stop apps from running in the background and startup apps Stop apps from opening at startup. A reader on Microsoft Q&A reported that turning Phone Link off under Startup alone made the message stop on Windows 10 21H2.

Fix 3. Update Phone Link from Microsoft Store

5 minutesNo riskPhone Link crashes with Application Error, or the error started right after an app update.

A crash inside the program is fixed by new program files, and only a Store update replaces them. The 2022 wave of reports was tied to the 1.22062.x builds, so an old version is worth ruling out first.

1. Open Microsoft Store and select Library in the lower left corner.
2. Select Get updates and wait until the list is done.
3. If Phone Link is in the list, let it update. You can also check from inside the app: Phone Link > Settings > About > Updates, as Microsoft's troubleshooting page describes.
4. Open Settings > Windows Update and install what is offered, then restart.
5. If the error appears again, do Fix 1: the update does not touch the settings file.

Microsoft Learn states that local app data persists through app updates. That is why an update alone rarely ends the registry file message, and why Fix 1 comes first for that message.

Fix 4. Rename Phone Link's damaged settings folder by hand

5 minutesLow riskReset is missing or greyed out, fails, or the registry message returns after Reset.

This does by hand the part of Reset that matters here: it moves the damaged settings.dat out of the way. Renaming instead of deleting keeps the old folder, so the step can be undone.

1. Open Settings > Apps > Installed apps > Phone Link > Advanced options and select Terminate. Or end PhoneExperienceHost.exe in Task Manager > Details.
2. Press Win + R, paste the path below and press Enter.

   %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Microsoft.YourPhone_8wekyb3d8bbwe

3. Right-click the folder Settings and rename it to Settings.old.
4. If Windows says the file is in use, restart the PC, do not open Phone Link, and rename the folder right after you sign in.
5. Restart the PC and wait two minutes after you sign in.

Fix 5. Remove Phone Link for your account with PowerShell

10 minutesRead the warningYou want Phone Link gone, or Fixes 1 to 4 did not help and you want a clean reinstall.

Removing the package deletes the program and all its data for your account, so neither a broken settings file nor a broken install can remain. This is the fix an independent advisor gave on Microsoft Q&A, marked as the accepted answer.

1. Right-click Start and select Terminal (Admin) on Windows 11 or Windows PowerShell (Admin) on Windows 10. Select Yes.
2. Check that the package is there. The output shows its full name and version.

   Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.YourPhone | Select-Object Name, Version, PackageFullName

3. Remove it for your account.

   Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.YourPhone | Remove-AppxPackage

4. Restart the PC.
5. To install it again later, search Settings for Phone Link, select Enable or disable Phone Link, turn the toggle on and select Install, as Microsoft describes. Or install Phone Link from Microsoft Store.

The general method for built-in apps, with the all-users variant and its limits, is here: Remove built-in Windows apps with PowerShell. If Get-AppxPackage returns nothing but Microsoft.YourPhone folders still exist under WindowsApps, as one reader found on Microsoft Q&A, the package belongs to another account on the PC.

Fix 6. Check where PhoneExperienceHost.exe runs from and scan it

10 minutesNo riskYou doubt the file is genuine, or it runs from a folder other than WindowsApps.

Malware sometimes borrows the names of Windows processes. The real PhoneExperienceHost.exe can only live in Phone Link's package folder, so its path settles the question in seconds.

1. Open Task Manager with Ctrl + Shift + Esc and select Details.
2. Right-click PhoneExperienceHost.exe and select Open file location.
3. The folder must be C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.YourPhone_<version>_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe. If Windows denies access to WindowsApps, that is normal and also a good sign.
4. Or print the path of every running copy in PowerShell.

   Get-Process PhoneExperienceHost -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select-Object Id, Path

5. If any copy runs from another folder, run a full scan with Microsoft Defender: How to scan for malware with Microsoft Defender

Fix 7. Repair Store apps and Windows files when other apps fail too

20 minutesLow riskPhone Link is not the only Store app that fails to start or reset.

If Photos, Calculator or Microsoft Store fail as well, the problem is shared by all Store apps, not Phone Link's settings. Re-registering the apps and repairing Windows files covers that shared layer.

1. Re-register the Store apps for your account: How to re-register Microsoft Store apps with PowerShell
2. Repair Windows system files with DISM and SFC, then restart: Run DISM and SFC to repair Windows system files
3. Do Fix 1 again for Phone Link after both have finished.

Still seeing the PhoneExperienceHost.exe error: where the details are

1. Press Win + R, type eventvwr.msc and press Enter.
2. Open Windows Logs > Application and select Filter Current Log on the right.
3. Enter 1000 as the event ID and look for entries that name PhoneExperienceHost.exe.
4. Note the Faulting application version, the Faulting module name and the Exception code.

A reader on Reddit's sysadmin forum quoted such an entry: faulting application PhoneExperienceHost.exe, version 1.22062.543.0. The version tells you whether Fix 3 brought a new build. If the faulting module is a file from another program, that program is the cause.

• What to send to Microsoft support or Microsoft Q&A: the exact line of the error window, the Phone Link version from Settings > About, the Event ID 1000 details, and which fixes you tried.
• Feedback from the app: Microsoft points to Feedback Hub > Give new feedback for Phone Link problems.
• When it is not software: if many apps report damaged files and chkdsk finds errors, the disk may be failing. Back up your files first.

How to keep the PhoneExperienceHost.exe error from coming back

The policy is Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Group Policy > Phone-PC linking on this device. Microsoft's Policy CSP page says that when it is disabled, the PC is not allowed to be linked to phones and removes itself from linked phones. Microsoft does not say that it stops PhoneExperienceHost.exe from starting, so combine it with Fix 2.

Frequently asked questions

What is PhoneExperienceHost.exe?

PhoneExperienceHost.exe is the background process of Microsoft Phone Link, the app that was called Your Phone until 2022. It shows phone notifications, messages and calls on the PC when a phone is linked. It sits in C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.YourPhone_<version>_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe and is installed and updated by Microsoft Store. Phone Link is preinstalled on most Windows 10 and 11 PCs, which is why the process runs even if you never linked a phone. People who ask "phoneexperiencehost.exe que es", "o que é", "was ist das", "co to" or "nedir" are asking the same thing: it is this Microsoft program.

Is PhoneExperienceHost.exe a virus?

No, not when it runs from the Microsoft.YourPhone folder under C:\Program Files\WindowsApps. That folder is protected and only Microsoft Store packages are installed there. A file with the same name in Downloads, Temp, AppData or any other folder is not part of Phone Link and should be scanned with Microsoft Defender. To check, open Task Manager, select Details, right-click PhoneExperienceHost.exe and select Open file location, or use the PowerShell command in Fix 6. An error window that names the WindowsApps path is a sign of a damaged Phone Link setting, not of malware.

Why does PhoneExperienceHost.exe run when I have no phone connected?

Phone Link is set to start when you sign in and may run in the background, whether or not a phone is linked. On many PCs it is allowed to run in the background by default. That is why the reader in our question saw an error from an app they never used. If you do not need it, turn the Phone Link toggle off in Settings, set its background permission to Never and turn it off under Startup apps (Fix 2). After a restart, the process should no longer appear in Task Manager.

How do I disable PhoneExperienceHost.exe?

You cannot disable the file itself, but you can stop Phone Link, which is what starts it. On Windows 11, turn off the Phone Link toggle under Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Phone Link, set Let this app run in background to Never in its Advanced options, and turn it off in Settings > Apps > Startup. On Windows 10, use Settings > Privacy > Background apps and Settings > Apps > Startup. To stop it for every user of a business PC, an administrator can also disable the policy Phone-PC linking on this device. Ending the process in Task Manager only stops it until the next sign-in.

Why does PhoneExperienceHost.exe use so much CPU or memory?

Phone Link syncs messages, photos and notifications from a linked phone, and short bursts of CPU use while it does that are normal. Users also report high CPU use on PCs without a linked phone, usually right after sign-in or after an app update. Microsoft has not published a cause for that. If you use Phone Link, update it from Microsoft Store and reset it (Fix 3 and Fix 1). If you do not use it, turning it off (Fix 2) removes the load completely, because the process no longer starts.

Can I uninstall Phone Link completely?

Not from Settings. Microsoft's Phone Link FAQ says it "can't be uninstalled" because it is integrated into Windows for cross-device features, so it has no Uninstall button. The PowerShell command Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.YourPhone | Remove-AppxPackage still removes it for your account; an advisor gave this as the accepted answer on Microsoft Q&A. We could not confirm whether a later Windows feature update installs Phone Link again, so check after big updates. Turning it off (Fix 2) is the gentler choice.

How do I get Phone Link back after removing it?

Microsoft describes the way: open Settings, search for Phone Link, select Enable or disable Phone Link, turn the toggle on and select Install in the window that appears. You can also search for Phone Link in Microsoft Store and install it from there. The app arrives as the newest version, with empty settings, so you sign in with your Microsoft account and link your phone again. On the phone, the Link to Windows app may also need to be linked again under its account settings.

Will a Windows update or a newer Phone Link fix the registry file error?

Usually not on its own. Microsoft Learn states that an app's local data reliably persists through app updates, and the damaged settings.dat is local data. A new Phone Link version therefore loads the same broken file and shows the same message. Updates help with crashes in the program itself (Application Error), which is what Fix 3 is for. For the message "the specified file is not in a registry file format" the fix is to reset the app or move its settings folder aside (Fix 1 or Fix 4).

Is Phone Link the same as Mobile devices in Windows 11 Settings?

No, Microsoft documents them as two features. Phone Link (Microsoft.YourPhone, the process PhoneExperienceHost.exe) is the app window and background service for messages, calls and photos. Newer Windows 11 builds also have phone features built into Settings under Bluetooth & devices > Mobile devices, such as using the phone as a webcam or showing it in File Explorer. Microsoft documents that page with its own toggle, Allow this PC to access content and capabilities from your mobile devices. Microsoft documents the two on separate pages with separate switches, and we could not confirm that one switch turns off the other. This guide is about PhoneExperienceHost.exe, the Phone Link process, only.