How To Upgrade Windows Phone 8.1 To Windows 10 Mobile
LINK === https://ssurll.com/2sXFw5
The time has come, it really has. If you've been putting off that upgrade from Windows Phone 8.1 to Windows 10 Mobile then perhaps the imminent cessation of Skype support (it still works as I write this, but is in its last days on WP8.1) and the also imminent demise of the BBC iPlayer application will prompt you to leap into action. It may be that your phone is now so old (2012/2013) that it's not supported for the upgrade, but for anything newer then now is the time. Here's how to make sure things go smoothly.
Aside from keen Insiders playing with the OS for a year previously, the official Windows 10 Mobile upgrade became available almost a year ago, through the slightly unusual route of needing to install a dedicated Upgrade Advisor utility from the Store. The idea here was partly that the OS and interface jump was big enough that users would get thrown if it suddenly appeared, uninivited, and partly that some checks needed to be made on the user's phone, mainly to do with free space on the internal storage.
One of the things Upgrade Advisor will check for is free space on internal storage - this is by far the biggest obstacle to the OS upgrade. From my own tests, you need at least 3.5GB free on 'Phone' or about 2GB free on the phone and 3GB free on microSD - since the phone needs somewhere to store the new OS installer and then working space to unpack it all. If you don't have this free space, especially on the internal storage of your phone, then here are some ideas for clearing some room:
Once you've cleared some space (3.5GB free on the 'phone' is my recommended minumum) then it's time to check off a few house keeping things. There's no point in doing a 'back up' per se because you're upgrading to a whole new OS - you shouldn't lose anything in the upgrade and content and applications will still be around, but accidents will happen, especially in the tech world.
* PS. Do be patient. And keep your phone plugged in if you can, since you don't want it to run out of power. Maybe even remove your SIM and put it in a backup phone while your upgrading phone sorts itself out? After the basic upgrade is done, there's another bug OS update/patch, the 'Anniversary Update', to download and install, and this will take a while, plus at least one reboot cycle. In addition, in the Store, look on the menu for 'Downloads and Updates' - there will be (typically) over 50 updates waiting for you, perhaps as many as 100 if you have lots of third party applications installed, so be prepared for a wait. It'll be worth it though.
The upgrade advisor app was the official way install Windows Mobile 10 in supported phones but when you try to connect to the store using a Windows Phone device to download it, you will see the following message:
Even though this mobile operating system is deprecated most of the available devices are still good feature phones and most of them can still be used with Continium (if manually installed) that provides a desktop experience from your mobile.
What you get after updating a Windows Phone to Windows 10 Mobile is still an old phone. Windows 10 Mobile went out of support in December 2019, which means no new fixes or support. At the moment, though, photos you take still get automatically uploaded to OneDrive and that should work until the end of 2020. Microsoft says that a Windows 10 Mobile you're using now won't create device backups that you can use to set up a new device with all the same apps and accounts, but we're seeing backups with today's date being created and they still restore. That means you can also still use existing device backups to set up a new phone: you can't do that as part of the OTC update but once the phone is upgraded to Windows 10 Mobile you can use Settings, System, About to reset it and that lets you pick an older backup to restore from when you first sign in (again, that should work through the end of this year).
Maybe you need an emergency handset to get email and make phone calls with: we sent a failed Samsung phone that was in warranty off to the mobile operator it came from seven months ago and it still hasn't been sent back or replaced. Maybe a simple drawing game would amuse a toddler for a few minutes and give a busy parent a quick break (and if they drop an old Windows Phone, it doesn't matter as much). Maybe one more screen is just useful right now, and if you're mostly at home, you can use it on Wi-Fi so you don't even need to put a SIM in it.
Windows 10 Mobile aimed to provide greater consistency with its counterpart for PCs, including more extensive synchronization of content, Universal Windows Platform apps, as well as the capability, on supported hardware, to connect devices to an external display and use a desktop interface with mouse and keyboard input support (reminiscent of Windows on PCs). Microsoft built tools for developers to port iOS Objective-C apps with minimal modifications. Windows Phone 8.1 smartphones are eligible for upgrade to Windows 10 Mobile, pursuant to manufacturer and carrier support.[12] Some features vary depending on hardware compatibility.[13]
Some Windows Phone 8.1 smartphones can be upgraded to Windows 10 Mobile, pursuant to hardware compatibility, manufacturer support, and carrier support. Not all phones can receive the update nor support all of its features.[12][63] Microsoft originally stated that stable upgrades for Windows Phone 8.1 devices would be released in December 2015; however, the release was ultimately delayed to March 17, 2016.[69][70] Among first-party devices, only the Lumia 430, 435, 532, 535, 540, 635 (1 GB RAM), 640, 640 XL, 735, 830, 929, 930 and 1520 are supported. The only third-party devices supported are the BLU Products Win HD w510u and Win HD LTE x150q, and the MCJ Madosma Q501. Windows 10 Mobile does not officially support any HTC devices (HTC One M8 for Windows, HTC Windows Phone 8X, HTC Windows Phone 8S), although the HTC One M8 for Windows could be upgraded to the public release version of Windows 10 Mobile through the Windows Insider program. While Microsoft stated that the Nokia Lumia Icon may be upgraded at a later date, the company stated that there will not be a second wave of officially supported devices. Microsoft also removed statements which promoted the BLU Win JR LTE as being compatible with Windows 10.[71][72][73]
Microsoft originally stated that all Lumia smartphones running Windows Phone 8 and 8.1 would receive updates to 10, but Microsoft later reiterated that only devices with the "Lumia Denim" firmware revision and at least 8 GB of internal storage would receive the upgrade.[52][60] In February 2015, Joe Belfiore stated that Microsoft was working on support for devices with 512 MB of RAM, (such as the popular Nokia Lumia 520),[63] but these plans have since been dropped.[74] Upon the official upgrade release, some Lumia models, particularly the Lumia 1020 and 1320, were excluded despite meeting the previously announced criteria. Microsoft cited poor user feedback on the performance of preview builds on these models as reasoning.[75] On October 17, 2017, Nearly 2 years after the Windows 10 release, Microsoft released an Over-The-Cable (OTC) Updater tool to bring all Lumias up to date to the latest supported Windows 10 build, even older 512 MB and 1 GB RAM unlocked devices such as the 520, 620, 720, 925, 920 etc. which were updated using the tool to Build 10586 (November Update).[76]
On October 8, 2017, Microsoft executive Joe Belfiore revealed that the company would no longer actively develop new features or hardware for Windows phones, citing its low market share, and the resultant lack of third-party software for the platform. Microsoft had largely abandoned its mobile business, having laid off the majority of Microsoft Mobile employees in 2016,[102] sold a number of intellectual property and manufacturing assets (including, in particular, the Nokia feature phone business) to HMD Global and Foxconn (which began producing Android-based smartphones under the Nokia brand)[103] focused software efforts on providing apps and services compatible with the incumbent Android and iOS instead, and having since released dual-touchscreen Android smartphones under the Surface Duo brand.[104] Development of Windows 10 Mobile would be limited to maintenance releases and patches.[105][106][107] By December 2018, Statcounter had reported Windows 10 Mobile's market share to be 0.33%.[108]
Windows Phone 8.1 is the third generation of Microsoft's Windows Phone mobile operating system, succeeding Windows Phone 8. Rolled out at Microsoft's Build Conference in San Francisco, California, on April 2, 2014, it was released in final form to Windows Phone developers on April 14, 2014 and reached general availability on August 4, 2014.[4][5][6][7][8] All Windows Phones running Windows Phone 8 can be upgraded to Windows Phone 8.1,[9] with release dependent on carrier rollout dates.[10]
Users can now automatically upgrade existing phone calls to Skype video calls from within the phone call UI, which has also been revamped with larger buttons. In addition to a large photo of the contact, text with the user's name and phone number now appear at the top of the screen instead of directly above the dialer. Skype calls can also be directly initiated from Cortana.[34]
The keyboard was touted for its speed and accuracy, and brought fame to Microsoft's research division when fifteen-year-old Lakeside School student Gaurav Sharma, using a Nokia Lumia 520 equipped with Windows Phone 8.1 and the "Word Flow" keyboard, broke the Guinness World Record for the world's fastest typing on a mobile phone, which was previously held by a Samsung Galaxy S4 user, by eight seconds.[43][44] This record was short-lived, which was subsequently beaten a month later by Marcel Fernandes, who finished a quarter of a second faster using the Fleksy Keyboard, a competing keyboard available on iOS and Android.[45] However, as Flesky relies on predictive text algorithms rather than swiping gestures, it is fair to say that "Word Flow" remains the world's fastest "swipe" keyboard on a mobile phone. 2b1af7f3a8