Windows Phone 8 Tip: Manage Your Phone Online

Microsoft offers great online resources for Windows Phone users, including a web version of the Windows Phone Store, a Find My Phone service, and ways to manage all of the company’s services that you access on the device.

You can find the main Windows Phone web site at www.windowsphone.com.

My Windows Phone

The My Windows Phone page is a front-end to your device, with links to the other tools mentioned here as well as related services such as the Windows Phone Store, Xbox LIVE, Office and SkyDrive, Hotmail, and Find My Phone.

Windows Phone Store on the web

The web version of Windows Phone Store offers some interesting capabilities, in addition to the obvious ability to browse and search for apps and games.

For starters, you can remotely install apps and games to your phone from the web site. Just click the Install button on the app’s landing page and sign-in. The site will explain that the app is being delivered to your phone wirelessly.

The web version of the Store also maintains a list of all of the app and game purchases and downloads you’ve made. So you can use this Purchase history page to reinstall any apps or games you previously downloaded.

Find My Phone

Find My Phone uses the location services on your device to help you find it in the event of loss or theft. You can ring the phone, remotely lock or erase it, and find it on a map.

Account information

If you mouse over your phone name in the upper right corner of the site, a pop-up menu will appear, giving you access to various other options.

Among those options is Account settings. From this page, you can remove a phone and view and edit the billing information associated with your phone.

You can also use the My Family link in the menu to access a feature which lets you associate phones with a child’s Microsoft account and manage their app and game download settings. You can learn more about My Family on the Windows Phone web site.