Microsoft Band, Android phone might soon unlock your Windows 10 PC

Ron

If you take a look at the Windows 10 roadmap site, it showcases several features of Windows 10 that are currently in development, like enhancements to Microsoft Passport to improve functionality in enterprise environments, and the ability to use your phone to unlock your Windows 10 PC. The interesting thing about this feature is that you can use an Android device (not just a Windows Phone) to unlock your Windows 10 PC. This feature sounds promising!

Use your Windows Phone or Android phone as remote credential store which can be used to unlock any of your Windows 10 PCs and authenticate with apps and services that support Windows Hello and Microsoft Passport based authentication.

Another feature in development for Windows 10 is the ability to use your Microsoft Band 2, or other devices that integrates with Windows 10 Companion Device Framework to unlock your Windows 10 PC.

Use your Microsoft Band 2, or other devices that integrates with the Windows 10 Companion Device Framework (CFD), as companion device for Microsoft Passport based authentication. With this a device like the Microsoft Band 2 or other third party devices, they can become an external second factor of authentication which can be used to unlock your Windows 10 PCs.

Again, these features are currently in development and may not make it to the final release. Windows 10 Anniversary Update is expected in July, and a second update to Windows 10 (codename Redstone 2) is slated for a 2017 release.