Gone Back to Black

[JamesPTao]

This version of 8.1 is version 2 so apart from some minor bug fixes and changes.. this is what we're getting in Cyan.. my reasons for this thread is just to get peoples perspective on whether they like it or not.. Why not join in.. Do you like 8.1, is there anything you dont like?



Good to hear people are liking it though.. Maybe Im just getting old.. haha.. and we oldies dont like change, it just feels very clunky to me. But i do know that a new software update can take 2 or even 3 battery charge cycles and re-starts to organise itself in the rom and settle along with updates and new file structures.

Cyan is the firmware update not the os update. They are separate. Cyan will fix many things as those with dev preview 8.1 are running a new os version with old drivers, hence the random bugs.

 

[cbreze]

i'm on WP8.1 and Lumia black so I don't know what that means, gone back to black

Obviously there is no black to go back to, just wp8 which is where alot of people having issues went

 

[DaddyG73]

Luckily, I don't appear to have had many of the problems that others on this board have experienced with 8.1 and overall I'm happy with the way it works. What I'm NOT happy with though isn't a bug but what seems to me the beginning of the gradual erosion of the Windows Phone 'identity'. With previous updates, all changes to the UI were consistent with their own design language and fitted with the OS well even if it meant that the features worked differently from the way they do on other platforms (that's what I liked about it, to be honest).

Now, I feel they've decided to trade the WP identity for a path where the OS is beginning to look and feel like an Android OS in an attempt to grab some of their market share. The Notification Centre, for example, although it works well enough, just doesn't look like it belongs in WP. The hubs too were an extremely important part of the WP 'identity' and the recent loss of most of those (with the 8.1 update), coupled with the increased reliance on (often inferior or poor quality) apps to fill the hole they left, all strip away what, for me, made it a true alternative to the 'big two'. Perhaps though, I'm wrong as uptake clearly hasn't been as great as expected thus far. I haven't even mentioned the rumoured adoption of Android apps running in WP which I believe would be the final nail in the WP coffin.

As a WP adopter from the beginning of the WP7 reboot - these things make me slightly sad (not too much - it's only a smartphone after all) and I'm wondering now, come my next upgrade, what my incentive would be to not just switch platforms and enjoy the extra features and apps that I'll be able to enjoy that are, in a lot of cases, not available to me now. I'm aware that the grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence and that all the platforms have their foibles but even so...

 

[NightOrchid]

i'm on WP8.1 and Lumia black so I don't know what that means, gone back to black

Thats actually a fair point, but I did mean back to WP 8.0, however, Black is 8.0 on the 1520. Ive actually read todays new articles, which has given me new hope for 8.1 Cyan in that.. the issues that some of us are having is due to lack of Cyan drivers to run functions on 8.1 and even some thnings are not activated because they require the Cyan drivers and firmware.

Lumia Cyan | Windows Phone Central


Plus I wanted to share the XDA flash back link, for other people.

As I mentioned in an earlier post above.. I wonder if the issues vary from model to model whether carrier or unbranded. Im in UK and have an unbranded 937, and its the jumping stuttering menus and selections instead of a scroll.. which to me. is annoying.

 

[drtek]

I wish they would not have disabled BT LE in 8.1. Can't get my head around why they would do that.

 

[wprocks]

Looks like I have similar problems with my device. I also reverted back to latest WP and removed DVP 8.1. My 1520 have been acting up lately. Freezing, launching Cortana/bing all the time. Even after restore problem is not fixed so it seems hardware issue. I am sending this for repair to Nokia Care.

 

[DL Durand]

No problems with 8.1 on my 920 or 1520. I still get 2 days (no-GPS) on a charge. I was real happy with 8 but I can see how some would really love features of 8.1. I like being able to fit more on my screen due to the compactness of it. And Wordflow(Swype) is great! That was the main thing I missed from Android. I'm looking forward to the tweaks that Cyan will bring.

 

[greythorne]

I want to know how you use the Nokia software recovery tool. It keep saying could not find data on my phone.

 

[NightOrchid]

I want to know how you use the Nokia software recovery tool. It keep saying could not find data on my phone.

Its all in this thread:

[How To] Unbrand (flash) all Nokia Windows Phone 8 [XDA News] - XDA Forum

Make sure you read some of the replies as well as they address what your talking about. You do this at your own risk though.

 

[derek533]

Loving 8.1. Had it on my 920 before upgrading to the 1520, and the very first thing I did was put on 8.1 without even trying Black on the 1520. The only annoying thing is having to go into settings to turn off location in order to get back to the standard search vs. Cortana. Sometimes, I want to use the built in QR reader and that's the only way I know of to get back to it.

I'm getting amazing battery life though, here's a screenshot:

 

[MDMcAtee]

I went back as well..overheating issues was the main reason with IE...

I certainly do hope that Cyan fixes everything with this phone,and Microsoft makes some fundamental changes to allow different browsers to run with out being tied to IE as it is,but I fear that they won't.

The other issues should be corrected like the WiFi disconnects and cellular issues and that's a big plus and I will certainly try it again..but I will wait for awhile to see what is being said before upgrading..

I do wonder if we will still be able to revert back with the Nokia Care Suite to 8.0 or if they will only allow the current version when it is out

 

[leo74]

I will go back I guess. I had absolutely no issue with running the 8.1 DP on my 1520, but ever since I went and installed the official version with Cyan and WP 8.1, my phone overheats, freezes on loading or resume screens and is overall not reliable. I'd doesn't seem to load emails reliably anymore. I tried hard reset but nothing helped. Something with the upgrade rendered my 1520 effectively useless..

 

[leo74]

It looks like I found out what the issue was. Glance was enabled by default. After disabling Glance, the phone seems as snappy as before. Haven't seen lagging or freezing and it is no longer heating up. Of course this is just the observation of about half a day so far, but it is clearly noticeable.

 

[TripsG]

I finally reverted back to 8.0 to see if it would fix my issues. Got the phone upgraded and it just lost its mind. Would not stop restarting over and over. Did this for well over an hour. I drove to the MS Store where I bought it and they gave me a warranty replacement (yellow phone looks nice). Sat in the store, loaded everything, downloaded 8.1 and Cyan, got it all going, pinned Cortana to my screen and all of my problems started again. So I obviously have an app that is causing my problems. I've deleted all apps that are not normally used and am trying to find the problem because I really want to use Cortana, but I can't have my phone rendered useless when I try to wake it from sleep. Hoping to get this sorted as it's become quite frustrating. This is the absolute first time I've ever had a problem with MS/Nokia and software.

 

[WDavis4692]

I reverted to 8.0 but not due to problems with 8.1. I reverted due to the bitlocker thing. I don't use bitlocker, I just want cyan sooner, if you catch my meaning.

I actually have less problems with 8.1 DP than I do with 8.

The tap bug on my 1520 was completely fixed by the latest display (or glance, I don't remember) update, but since rolling back to 8, the tap problem is back again. It's always been a software-based issue; probably to do with the CPU 'lagging' as it switches the tap sensor from high-to-low priority threads due to some kind of programming error. Why else would it have occurred worse during certain 'heavy apps' than it did on the regular OS screens?

I have experienced a couple of random camera opens and could swore I didn't touch the camera button. I've also had two or three random restarts - one of which followed a lock-up. Battery drain is higher in 8.1 DP, but at around 1.5% /hr while on standby, this is more than acceptable drain. Back in 8, I could wake up the next morning having taken it off the charger before going to bed, and it'd still be at like 98%. I would hazard a guess the primary reason battery drain is higher in 8.1 - aside from Cortana which I don't have yet - is due to the notifications system 'scanning all the time' rather than 'intermittently'. To illustrate this point, my messenger notifications only came every few minutes in 8, rather than as they arrive in 8.1. I'd happily trade a bit of battery life for speed in this regard.

Apart from that, loving the new features. You only realise how useful the action centre is AFTER you roll back. I really miss the ability to pull down the shade and check my battery/wi-fi signal or adjust my brightness/rotation lock on-the-fly. You may say it makes the phone feel like 'more Androidy' but at the end of the day it's a highly useful addition to the OS and I welcome it despite this.