The shortest path
The iPhone and a Windows PC do not share a clipboard, so a link you copy on the phone cannot simply be pasted on the PC. The fastest workaround is a page that both devices can open. With the online clipboard, the steps are:
- On the iPhone, open Safari or any browser and go to this site.
- Paste the link into the Send text box. If the link is in another app, copy it there first (in Safari, tap and hold the address bar and choose Copy).
- Choose an expiry. 10 minutes is plenty for a link you will use right now.
- Tap Save to clipboard. You get a 6-digit code, a short link and a QR code.
- On the PC, open the same site, select Receive text, and type the code. (The QR code is for scanning with a phone camera, so it saves typing when you go the other way, from the PC to the iPhone.)
- Press Copy, paste the link into your browser’s address bar, and press Enter.
There is no app to install, no sign-in and no Apple or Microsoft account involved. It works the same on a work PC, a library computer or a friend’s laptop.
Why not just use AirDrop or Phone Link?
AirDrop only talks to Apple devices. A Windows PC does not appear in the share sheet, so there is nothing to tap. Phone Link on Windows 11 can connect to an iPhone, but its iPhone support covers messages, calls and notifications over Bluetooth, not links and not the clipboard; see what Phone Link can do with an iPhone. Universal Clipboard, the feature that lets you copy on an iPhone and paste on a Mac, is Apple-only as well.
So for iPhone to Windows, you need a middle step, and the question is only which one is quickest for your situation.
Other ways to send a link, compared
| Method | Good for | Catch |
|---|---|---|
| Online clipboard | A quick one-off, any PC | The clip expires, so it is not for keeping |
| Message to yourself (WhatsApp, Telegram, LINE) | Links you want to find later | The link stays in your chat history |
| Email to yourself | Longer text and attachments | Slow, and you must sign in to your mailbox on the PC |
| Same browser account on both | Tabs you want to continue reading | Needs the same browser signed in on both devices |
| A notes app on both | Things you will keep and edit | Needs an account and sign-in on the PC |
If you send a link to yourself often, a message or a synced notes app is more convenient. For a link you only need once, especially on a PC that is not yours, the clipboard method leaves nothing behind.
Sending more than a link
The same steps work for an address, a tracking number, a verification code, a snippet of text, a recipe or a few lines of code. One clip can hold up to 100,000 characters, which is far more than a link needs. If you want the text as a document afterwards, you can convert it to Word or to PDF on the PC.
Make it quicker next time
- Add the site to the iPhone Home Screen. In Safari, tap the share button and choose Add to Home Screen. It then opens in one tap, like an app.
- Use the QR code in the other direction. When you send from the PC to the iPhone, scanning the QR code on the PC screen with the iPhone camera is faster than typing six digits.
- Keep the PC tab open. Leave the Receive text tab ready, so you only have to type the code.
- Share a code, not the link itself. If you give the code to a colleague, they can open it on their own computer too.
Keep private links private
A clip can be opened by anyone who has the code until it expires. For a harmless link that is fine. For a private link such as a document, a login page or a shared folder:
- Set the shortest expiry that works.
- Turn on delete after first view, so it disappears once you have opened it on the PC.
- Add a password. The text is then encrypted in your browser before it leaves the iPhone, so only someone who knows the password can read it.
- Do not read the code out loud in a public place.
Troubleshooting
- “No text was found for this code.” The clip may have expired or been deleted after the first view. Check the digits and make a new one.
- The QR code will not scan. Increase the screen brightness, hold the phone a little further away, or type the code instead.
- Copy does nothing on the PC. Some work browsers block clipboard access. Select the text in the box and press Ctrl + C.
- The link opens as plain text. That is normal; paste it into the address bar.
For more ways to move text between these two devices, see the guide to copying text between iPhone and Windows, and for a method that avoids Apple’s cloud entirely, see iPhone to Windows without iCloud.