Advice for first time WP8 users and Outlook.com converts...

[NurzeScott]

Hello all!

I recently made a complete switch to the Windows 'ecosystem'. I went all in and got a new .outlook email and transferred all my files/pics from Dropbox to SkyDrive. I decided to take the plunge after seeing the Lumia 928 was coming to Verizon. I completely setup my calendars and contacts so that when I did get the phone it would be ready to go. I made a huge blunder though when trying to link my Xbox gamer tag to my new outlook account and ended up with a new one. From my searching online it seems it is going to take a couple months to correct that with a couple of transfers with the gamertag to get it associated with my newly formed account. Anyone considering the switch please pay attention when setting things up with your Xbox account! (If anyone knows an easy way to fix I'd welcome the suggestions.)

Another big thing I advise is that you keep the device (especially if your first time with a Windows Phone) for a few days before you return it if you think you don't like it. I had decided after one day that I was going to take it back and go back to android, but luckily was too lazy to drive back to the store. I really believe that it is something that you need to really use for 4-5 days before making a decision. This won't always apply...you might just hate it and nothing will change that. I found that the more I used it in everyday situations the more I started to appreciate the way the OS is setup and functions. It just plain works and makes sense. There are somethings that I miss and a couple of apps that I wish were available, but it has overwhelming swayed me to stick with it.

Bottomline.....you may hate it no matter how long you have it; I suggest you put it through its paces during your normal usage routines for a few days before you give up on it.

 

[cwbcpa71]

Thanks for the post. I have to go get a phone tomorrow morning. I have been using my wife's old iPhone 4S and I have now sold it and need to ship it tomorrow so I have to pull the trigger on something. It's either the GS4 or the 928. I have a significant amount of both iOS and Android apps, but having ruled out iPhone 5 and not being impressed with the GS4 I am strongly leaning towards the 928. I have never used a Windows Phone, but I have been in the store and played around for a total of probably 2 hours now. I really like the UI and I think I will give it a go.

I have a hotmail account that I use with my Xbox and I also have a Gmail account that I use for my main email as well as calendar and contacts. Do you think it is best to get that set up in outlook prior to setting up the phone?

What is the best way to have all of that come over smoothly? I don't want to loose my calendar and contacts in the process. Those, along with email, are the most important things to me. Thank you for any advice.

 

[Daniel Ratcliffe]

Thanks for the post. I have to go get a phone tomorrow morning. I have been using my wife's old iPhone 4S and I have now sold it and need to ship it tomorrow so I have to pull the trigger on something. It's either the GS4 or the 928. I have a significant amount of both iOS and Android apps, but having ruled out iPhone 5 and not being impressed with the GS4 I am strongly leaning towards the 928. I have never used a Windows Phone, but I have been in the store and played around for a total of probably 2 hours now. I really like the UI and I think I will give it a go.

I have a hotmail account that I use with my Xbox and I also have a Gmail account that I use for my main email as well as calendar and contacts. Do you think it is best to get that set up in outlook prior to setting up the phone?

What is the best way to have all of that come over smoothly? I don't want to loose my calendar and contacts in the process. Those, along with email, are the most important things to me. Thank you for any advice.

Your Hotmail will already have been upgraded to the Outlook service. Just start changing emails so they go to your Hotmail and keep using the gamertag on that. When I originally used WP I had a Hotmail.com email too, worked a treat. Have since transferred my Gamertag to an Outlook email which I now use.

 

[mattb13]

Thanks for the post. I have to go get a phone tomorrow morning. I have been using my wife's old iPhone 4S and I have now sold it and need to ship it tomorrow so I have to pull the trigger on something. It's either the GS4 or the 928. I have a significant amount of both iOS and Android apps, but having ruled out iPhone 5 and not being impressed with the GS4 I am strongly leaning towards the 928. I have never used a Windows Phone, but I have been in the store and played around for a total of probably 2 hours now. I really like the UI and I think I will give it a go.

I have a hotmail account that I use with my Xbox and I also have a Gmail account that I use for my main email as well as calendar and contacts. Do you think it is best to get that set up in outlook prior to setting up the phone?

What is the best way to have all of that come over smoothly? I don't want to loose my calendar and contacts in the process. Those, along with email, are the most important things to me. Thank you for any advice.

When you set up your WP8 device, it will ask you if you have a Microsoft Account or if you need to create one (similar to Google account on Android). Just use your existing Hotmail account that your Xbox gamertag is linked to and you'll be fine. The issue that sometimes happens, and happened to me, is more for people that have their Xbox gamertag linked to a non-Microsoft email. When I got my first WP7 device, I already had Xbox linked to gmail. Since I had to create a Microsoft account from scratch for my phone, it automatically created a new Xbox account for that email. The only way to remove an existing gamertag from an email is by downloading the profile to your console, and switching the linked email to an different email address that doesn't have one (within the setting on the Xbox itself). The problem is, they won't let you until the gamertag has been on the console for at least 30 days. I understand it is for protection, but they should really create a different solution. Either allow us to verify the account a different way to change it immediately (especially since the account we are trying to remove is brand new with zero use -- obviously not a 'stolen' account), or allow the phone to link a gamertag that isn't necessarily the one linked to the phones Microsoft account. What a pain in the *** for somebody having their first Windows Phone experience. I wouldn't be surprised if it has resulted in people returning and going back to iOS or Android.

Cliffs: If your Xbox gamertag is already linked to a Microsoft email address (outlook.com, live.com, hotmail.com, etc...) you'll be fine if you use that email when prompted for a Microsoft account via setup on your new phone. If you currently have Xbox linked to a non-Microsoft email, I would suggest creating an outlook.com email address on your computer (since it won't auto-create an Xbox tag that way), and change your gamertags linked email to that via Xbox console BEFORE setting up your new phone. Will save plenty of headache.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Thanks for the post. I have to go get a phone tomorrow morning. I have been using my wife's old iPhone 4S and I have now sold it and need to ship it tomorrow so I have to pull the trigger on something. It's either the GS4 or the 928. I have a significant amount of both iOS and Android apps, but having ruled out iPhone 5 and not being impressed with the GS4 I am strongly leaning towards the 928. I have never used a Windows Phone, but I have been in the store and played around for a total of probably 2 hours now. I really like the UI and I think I will give it a go.

I have a hotmail account that I use with my Xbox and I also have a Gmail account that I use for my main email as well as calendar and contacts. Do you think it is best to get that set up in outlook prior to setting up the phone?

What is the best way to have all of that come over smoothly? I don't want to loose my calendar and contacts in the process. Those, along with email, are the most important things to me. Thank you for any advice.

Make sure you disable iMessage on the iPhone before you ship it. Otherwise, you probably will not receive text messages.

 

[cwbcpa]

Make sure you disable iMessage on the iPhone before you ship it. Otherwise, you probably will not receive text messages.

Yes. Thank you for the reminder. I made that mistake once before.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Wobblin30]

NurzeScott,

What apps specifically are you missing from Android? Considering a switch to the 928 and have been looking for feedback on moving over.

 

[mattb13]

NurzeScott,

What apps specifically are you missing from Android? Considering a switch to the 928 and have been looking for feedback on moving over.

Might be easier for you to check to see if the ones you need are available. You two may have different app needs.

http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store

 

[NurzeScott]

NurzeScott,

What apps specifically are you missing from Android? Considering a switch to the 928 and have been looking for feedback on moving over.

I'm not missing anything that is a deal breaker; the switch made me really look at what apps I used and needed. I only had two apps that I looked for in the store that if were missing would have canceled my switch....BofA and Wordfeud. I know many would scratch their head at the idea no Wordfeud would kill it for me, but I've had games going daily with friends from back home for the past 2-3 years. That really highlights what someone else said in the thread; you need to see what are must haves for you specifically. When I really narrowed it down for me I just don't need or use all the apps I had on my GS3. This is coming from a guy who constantly downloaded apps and flashed new ROMs almost every other day.

I've always thought the debates about what phone model and OS are better become ridiculous and childish at some point. A reviewer or user can let me know what the specs are and how it performs in their eyes, but at the end of the day the only person who knows what phone is best for them is that person. Make a list of the apps you must have and see if they (or a version) are available Wobblin30.

At the end of the day I really use my phone for a few things: calls, texting, emailing, pics. The 928 does these things flawlessly for me and in a very usable and intuitive way. All of the other stuff I do like checking sports, news and gaming are extra. The 928 lets me do them as well. I must admit it is nice having a phone that not everyone else does and hearing how cool it is when I let them play with it for a few minutes when the initial reaction is 'a windows phone...why??'.

 

[jleebiker]

This is coming from a guy who constantly downloaded apps and flashed new ROMs almost every other day.

Good Lord! How did you get anything done???

You hit the nail on the head though. For me, this device is to compliment my life. It's supposed to help me. Not make me a slave to IT. I have an old X2 that I play with. It's basically a toy for me. Holy HECK does it need baby-ing. I'm not talking about the hardware. That's fine, it's just that to do this or that, I had to do this, got there, click that, swipe that way... With the Windows phone and live tiles, I tap a couple of times if I even need to do that, otherwise, I can just LOOK at it and I know what is going on. How simple is that???

Welcome to the still-rather exclusive club. =)

 

[Wobblin30]

I'm not missing anything that is a deal breaker; the switch made me really look at what apps I used and needed. I only had two apps that I looked for in the store that if were missing would have canceled my switch....BofA and Wordfeud. I know many would scratch their head at the idea no Wordfeud would kill it for me, but I've had games going daily with friends from back home for the past 2-3 years. That really highlights what someone else said in the thread; you need to see what are must haves for you specifically. When I really narrowed it down for me I just don't need or use all the apps I had on my GS3. This is coming from a guy who constantly downloaded apps and flashed new ROMs almost every other day.

I've always thought the debates about what phone model and OS are better become ridiculous and childish at some point. A reviewer or user can let me know what the specs are and how it performs in their eyes, but at the end of the day the only person who knows what phone is best for them is that person. Make a list of the apps you must have and see if they (or a version) are available Wobblin30.

At the end of the day I really use my phone for a few things: calls, texting, emailing, pics. The 928 does these things flawlessly for me and in a very usable and intuitive way. All of the other stuff I do like checking sports, news and gaming are extra. The 928 lets me do them as well. I must admit it is nice having a phone that not everyone else does and hearing how cool it is when I let them play with it for a few minutes when the initial reaction is 'a windows phone...why??'.

Thanks for the input

 

[AR2186]

Hello all!

I recently made a complete switch to the Windows 'ecosystem'. I went all in and got a new .outlook email and transferred all my files/pics from Dropbox to SkyDrive. I decided to take the plunge after seeing the Lumia 928 was coming to Verizon. I completely setup my calendars and contacts so that when I did get the phone it would be ready to go. I made a huge blunder though when trying to link my Xbox gamer tag to my new outlook account and ended up with a new one. From my searching online it seems it is going to take a couple months to correct that with a couple of transfers with the gamertag to get it associated with my newly formed account. Anyone considering the switch please pay attention when setting things up with your Xbox account! (If anyone knows an easy way to fix I'd welcome the suggestions.)

Another big thing I advise is that you keep the device (especially if your first time with a Windows Phone) for a few days before you return it if you think you don't like it. I had decided after one day that I was going to take it back and go back to android, but luckily was too lazy to drive back to the store. I really believe that it is something that you need to really use for 4-5 days before making a decision. This won't always apply...you might just hate it and nothing will change that. I found that the more I used it in everyday situations the more I started to appreciate the way the OS is setup and functions. It just plain works and makes sense. There are somethings that I miss and a couple of apps that I wish were available, but it has overwhelming swayed me to stick with it.

Bottomline.....you may hate it no matter how long you have it; I suggest you put it through its paces during your normal usage routines for a few days before you give up on it.

I went through hell trying to get it fixed, got my phone in November and it didnt get fixed until the end of April. I've got a few windows 8 computers, a 360, an 8x (at the time, now 928) and a Surface RT, so you would think they would try to take care of me... Even with all of that, support was terrible (one time I was even routed to Microsoft UK). After the 5th month, 20+ hours on the phone with them and a really helpful rep, they finally got me to the "Xbox Customer Care Advocacy Team" which was a higher level support team with admin rights to Microsoft Accounts and Xbox Gamertags. They fixed it within about a week, but its a really small team with a lot of requests so it may take a little longer for you.

If I recall correctly, the higher levels of customer support will not actually transfer you to them, but will open up a ticket with them and they will reach out to you via email or the phone after a few days (and if they don't, make sure you get the reference number and keep calling). Once I started emailing/speaking to them, they were great and fixed it very easily.

Hope this helps

 

[RapidTurtle]

Good Lord! How did you get anything done???

You hit the nail on the head though. For me, this device is to compliment my life. It's supposed to help me. Not make me a slave to IT. I have an old X2 that I play with. It's basically a toy for me. Holy HECK does it need baby-ing. I'm not talking about the hardware. That's fine, it's just that to do this or that, I had to do this, got there, click that, swipe that way... With the Windows phone and live tiles, I tap a couple of times if I even need to do that, otherwise, I can just LOOK at it and I know what is going on. How simple is that???

Welcome to the still-rather exclusive club. =)

I love your line, "it is supposed to help me, not make me a slave to it". I think this sums up the Lumia 928 for me also. I have been an android guy for the past 3 years, and have had this 928 for about 4 days now. I really like the software on the Windows phone. It is stylish, slick, and fast, without being overwhelming. There are a ton of apps for this thing in the store, so I don't know why people complain about lack of apps. This phone is just simple to use, and yet advanced enough to satisfy all.

 

[KrightonX]

I would recommend REMOVING EVERYTHING OF VALUE from your Skydrive. Microsoft has been caught sniffing around in people's ****. Which is NOT ok.

Whether you're a pedophile(I'm not saying you are so calm down) or just a photographer of for magazines (for adults) your pictures are being looked at. Period. end of discussion, no further debate.

Microsoft turned in a guy for child pornography. while that's great. Despite he was not hurting himself or anyone else (as long as was not the one taking the pictures of course) Microsoft was looking and found his photos, turned him in.

It's bull****. It'll be a cold in Hell Microsoft see's anything of importance that belongs to me.

Watch the Movie AntiTrust. Kinect etc.. is in it in one form or another. Terrifying ****. I don't break the law, or keep anything illegal, however, I'm concerned that my companies' private documents, sales tactics, etc are at risk of being copied and stolen by the new world order.

 

[nufan947]

Dude seriously? You realize possession of CP is just as illegal as anything else, right? Good for MS for catching a creep. I'm not stoked about people looking through my s*** either, but I've kind of accepted it. Like you said - if you aren't doing anything against the law, it will most likely never affect you.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[baaahthesheep]

Does anyone have experience with using an outlook.com alias? I have my gmail account as my primary email for my Microsoft account and an outlook.com alias I created for it. On outlook.com, I have no problem sending emails from my outlook.com alias. However, I can't send emails from my outlook alias from my wp8.

I have my Microsoft account and outlook emails set up on my phone. On my Microsoft account, I receive emails that are sent to my outlook address, however, I can only send emails from my gmail email address. On my outlook account, I also receive emails sent to my outlook address, but all of the emails I send are from a custom email address: "hotmailxxxxx@live.com" on behalf of "xxxx@gmail.com." Does anyone know how to send emails from an outlook email address on wp?

 

[nicastro78]

I would recommend REMOVING EVERYTHING OF VALUE from your Skydrive. Microsoft has been caught sniffing around in people's ****. Which is NOT ok.

Whether you're a pedophile(I'm not saying you are so calm down) or just a photographer of for magazines (for adults) your pictures are being looked at. Period. end of discussion, no further debate.

Microsoft turned in a guy for child pornography. while that's great. Despite he was not hurting himself or anyone else (as long as was not the one taking the pictures of course) Microsoft was looking and found his photos, turned him in.

It's bull****. It'll be a cold in Hell Microsoft see's anything of importance that belongs to me.

Watch the Movie AntiTrust. Kinect etc.. is in it in one form or another. Terrifying ****. I don't break the law, or keep anything illegal, however, I'm concerned that my companies' private documents, sales tactics, etc are at risk of being copied and stolen by the new world order.

Although I don't like the thought of Microsoft, or any company for that matter, looking through my files. Understand that those files were being hosted on Microsoft's equipment and they have a legal obligation to report CP to the authorities or they could also be held liable for that material.

 

[NurzeScott]

This completely got off topic of the OP, but privacy in our times is fairly extinct. If you want complete privacy disconnect totally from the 'online' world...it is that easy.

 

[nufan947]

This completely got off topic of the OP, but privacy in our times is fairly extinct. If you want complete privacy disconnect totally from the 'online' world...it is that easy.

Agreed. Anybody who thinks they are exempt from someone, somewhere knowing what (and watching) everything they do online is simply oblivious or refuses to acknowledge the truth. Google, Microsoft, Apple, whomever. That's just how it is.

Probably should get back on topic though.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[Daniel Ratcliffe]

Agreed. Anybody who thinks they are exempt from someone, somewhere knowing what (and watching) everything they do online is simply oblivious or refuses to acknowledge the truth. Google, Microsoft, Apple, whomever. That's just how it is.

Probably should get back on topic though.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4 Beta

Even in the offline world people know who or where you are. Speed cameras, bus tickets, bank accounts, workplace, birth certificate, etc. There is no way to escape it.