[tpapictures]

Does this process delete any saved data (game saves, settings, contacts, photos, homescreen, etc) or is it JUST an update of the system which doesn't affect your saves? I don't like the idea of having to wipe so many important things.

[ven07]

The update to 8.1 does NOT remove any of your previous data... But the more data you have the longer the migrating part of the installation might take..
However that shouldn't be an issue

[JamesPTao]

I did lose data from one of my note taking apps completely but it was an extremely basic app with no backup to OneDrive feature. That was the only thing i lost and I have something ridiculous like 104 apps loaded.

[tpapictures]

Thanks, guys. I'm still a bit confused about the region thing though. Are all the developer preview apps the same in any regional store? Or is the one I download from France different from the one in other countries?
I get that Cortana needs US region to run but I'd rather the time zone and weather were local to me in Paris. I guess there's no way to do that then? Right now I have it set to all English with the UK as my region because of wanting everything to appear in English.

[ven07]

You will still get the weather for your own country :) I live in South-Am and still get my own weather and can use my own maps.. The US region thing is just because Cortana is only set to listen and react to commands given in English..

[tpapictures]

Thanks again,
I was really looking forward to doing this but after reading more and finding the long list of bugs here, plus the horrible battery life that I keep hearing about, I've decided to pass on it.

[JamesPTao]

Thanks again,
I was really looking forward to doing this but after reading more and finding the long list of bugs here, plus the horrible battery life that I keep hearing about, I've decided to pass on it.

Your call. Keep in mind 9 out of 10 people with complaints will tell everyone. Maybe 1 out of ten people with good experiences might tell 3.

[tpapictures]

Your call. Keep in mind 9 out of 10 people with complaints will tell everyone. Maybe 1 out of ten people with good experiences might tell 3.

Very good point. :) A fact I learned in customer service training years ago. Do you think all the hard resetting is necessary?

[JamesPTao]

Very good point. :) A fact I learned in customer service training years ago. Do you think all the hard resetting is necessary?

I've only had to do it once. And when I did it really wasn't needed the bug didn't effect anything functional, just annoyed me. Call it me being ocd. Yes I think it was worth it.

[tpapictures]

I've only had to do it once. And when I did it really wasn't needed the bug didn't effect anything functional, just annoyed me. Call it me being ocd. Yes I think it was worth it.

I guess if I knew I could go back to 8.0, I'd feel more secure. Although with the hard reset, Windows Phone can back up everything anyway, right? Saves, contacts, photos, apps, homescreen. So there's nothing lost or hours of work to get things back how you had them?

[JamesPTao]

I guess if I knew I could go back to 8.0, I'd feel more secure. Although with the hard reset, Windows Phone can back up everything anyway, right? Saves, contacts, photos, apps, homescreen. So there's nothing lost or hours of work to get things back how you had them?

Yes you can revert back to wp8 there are threads on how to do so. The only thing I Lost were notes in an extremely basic note app. Everything else came back with extreme minimal work. It even saved my pined tile configuration as I had it.

[tpapictures]

Yes you can revert back to wp8 there are threads on how to do so. The only thing I Lost were notes in an extremely basic note app. Everything else came back with extreme minimal work. It even saved my pined tile configuration as I had it.

Ok, as long as it's doable. Have you seen this? Seen it yourself?

[JamesPTao]

Ok, as long as it's doable. Have you seen this? Seen it yourself?

If you're referring to the revert no, but it should be quite simple as it would be like a hard reset but reloading wp8 instead. If you mean have I seen how it behaves with a normal hard reset yes.

[tpapictures]

If you're referring to the revert no, but it should be quite simple as it would be like a hard reset but reloading wp8 instead. If you mean have I seen how it behaves with a normal hard reset yes.

No, I was referring to the freezing and shutting off.

[JamesPTao]

No, I was referring to the freezing and shutting off.

Although I have heard others in the forum mention this, this has not happened to me even once.

[tpapictures]

Although I have heard others in the forum mention this, this has not happened to me even once.

Cool, thanks. I guess I'll see if it works out smoothly for me. If not, everything is backed up to Windows Phone's servers anyway and it 's only a matter of waiting for everything to reinstall.

[JamesPTao]

No problem. When you do the update have your phone plugged in, or on qi pad. Don't freak out of the low batt icon comes up it does it everytime. If needed power the phone back up manually but wait a few minutes first. It doesn't actually drain the battery down that much I think its just a quirk of the update, the phone can't read battery level until it starts processing the update. It effects nothing just wanted to prevent the suprise or worry.

[tpapictures]

No problem. When you do the update have your phone plugged in, or on qi pad. Don't freak out of the low batt icon comes up it does it everytime. If needed power the phone back up manually but wait a few minutes first. It doesn't actually drain the battery down that much I think its just a quirk of the update, the phone can't read battery level until it starts processing the update. It effects nothing just wanted to prevent the suprise or worry.

Cool, thanks. Doing it right now. It's in the preparing to install phase...

[JamesPTao]

Enjoy, play around with it. I recommend going through each settings category and discovering and playing with all the new goodies.

[JamesPTao]

So what are your initial thoughts?

[tpapictures]

So what are your initial thoughts?

Hey, first of all thanks for the help. :)
The process, while lengthy, was straight-forward. So, the details after two full days...
- phone is incredibly smooth, nothing has been lost there
- snappy new transition animations all work fine, no lag, no jitters and look very nice
- not a single, even momentary, battery issue neither on mine or my wife's phones. Same exact battery life as before (14hrs-16hrs)
- all apps run smoothly, internet explorer runs smoothER
- no overheating issues whatsoever, except a little warming up when I searched for too long on 'E'dge for Metro directions online while underground and that happens all the time with any search that you're forcing your phone to do on bad connection.
The fact is, it functions just fine, just as smooth, and I'd say the UI is now more seamless from one element of the phone to the other. Just my opinion, of course. I know people love the hubs. I didn't mind them but didn't think they did a lot to make the phone necessarily easier or 'better'. It was just one way of doing things, and this is another and I find this way more seamless and less cluttered by "look". Don't know how else to describe it.
What I haven't done is try Cortana. The only reason is because I was a little hesitant after reading that someone had gone through the process of switching regions, downloading language packs, etc and even though they later went back to their region, the phone was still plagued by issues Cortana had created. Also, I'm not sure how to delete the few hundred MB of US English files it downloads when you switch to that region and I hate having stuff on my phone taking up space that I don't use. If I'm wrong or there's a way to avoid this, I'd love to know about it.

[JamesPTao]

I'm glad you love it same experience with mine. Nit extremely versed in Cortana, I'm in the us so haven't had to switch regions. I do really like that cortana allows me to add notes to contacts or places so when that person calls me or I arrive at destination the note pops up. I also love quiet time which for some reason requires Cortana i believe. Now when I go to bed I can leave the volume all the way up without being worried about being woken up by notifications or someone calling. And since I can add contacts to get through I know that family or work can still get ahold of me if its an emergency. Beyond these things I haven't really explored corrana much. Glad to hear its working out well for you. I love the new design as well. Set my 920 to 3 medium tiles wide so I can fit everything I use daily to the screen with no scrolling. Glad I could be of help. I would search the forum for your Cortana questions though, I'm sure there are many out there that can answer your questions.