Intel Unison alternatives after the shutdown

By Hamza · October 11, 2026

Intel Unison connected Windows PCs with Android phones and iPhones, and was pitched as a more universal alternative to Microsoft’s Phone Link.^[1] Intel discontinued it. Dell’s support notice gives June 30, 2025 as the date the app became unavailable to download and was discontinued, after which it no longer functions correctly; Dell recommends uninstalling it.^[2] Reporting at the time said Lenovo Aura Edition PCs were to keep the service through 2025.^[1]

No single app replaces everything Unison did, so pick by the job you miss most.

Replacements by job

What you miss	Android phone	iPhone
Texts, calls and notifications on the PC	Phone Link	Phone Link
Sending photos and files to the PC	Quick Share for Windows; Phone Link for recent photos	LocalSend, PairDrop
Links and text between phone and PC, with history	fwd (through Chrome on Windows)	Not covered by fwd

Phone Link

Microsoft’s Phone Link is the closest overall replacement. It supports Android 10 or later and iPhone with iOS 16 or later. For Android it covers texts, calls, notifications and recent photos, with the phone and PC on the same Wi-Fi; for iPhone it lists texts, calls and notifications, over Bluetooth.^[3]

Quick Share for Windows (Android)

For sending files from an Android phone to a PC, Google’s Quick Share for Windows needs 64-bit Windows 10 or later with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on, and is meant for non-Samsung PCs.^[4]

LocalSend and PairDrop (iPhone and everything else)

Phone Link lists only texts, calls and notifications for iPhone; iPhone file sharing has been in Windows Insider testing since December 2024.^[5] Until it ships, iPhone users need another route for files. LocalSend has apps for iOS, Windows and other platforms and moves files over your local Wi-Fi, encrypted with HTTPS.^[6] PairDrop does it in the browser, peer to peer, and can pair devices to reach them on other networks.^[7]

fwd (Android and the browser)

I’m building fwd (pronounced “forward”) for one part of what Unison did: getting links, text and small files between your phone and computer. On Windows it runs as a Chrome extension alongside an Android app. It delivers over the internet, so the two devices don’t need to be on the same network, and every push is kept in a searchable history. It doesn’t mirror texts, calls or notifications, and there’s no iPhone app.

Where it runs: a Chrome extension that also loads in other Chromium browsers (so Windows, Mac and Linux desktops through Chrome), an app for Android 8.0 and later, and a menu bar app for macOS 14 and later that receives while the browser is closed, as long as it is running and the Mac is awake and online. There is no iPhone or iPad app.
What it sends: links, text and files up to 25 MB, to one device or to all your other devices, whether or not they are on the same network. A device that is offline gets the push when it reconnects.
History: sent and received pushes sync across your devices and are searchable on each one.
Privacy: content, file names and device names are encrypted end to end. The service stores and relays only ciphertext, and sees operational metadata such as your email, which device sent to which and when, and item sizes. How the encryption works.
Availability: a free private beta with up to 5 devices and 1 GB of account storage. Invitations haven’t started yet; there’s a waitlist.

If links and text are the part of Unison you miss, join the waitlist.

Related guides

Sources

Checked on October 11, 2026.

Intel is Killing its Unison App and Service. Thurrott.com.
Intel Unison End of Service Announcement. Dell Support.
Phone Link requirements and setup. Microsoft Support.
Quick Share app: Android to Windows PC file transfer. Google.
Sharing files between your iPhone and Windows PC rolling out to Windows Insiders. Windows Insider Blog, December 11, 2024.
LocalSend: Share files to nearby devices. LocalSend.
schlagmichdoch/PairDrop. GitHub.