[searitus]

By which I mean, do I just go ahead and download the update and install it in my phone? Do I need to perform a factory rest first, or after, in order to avoid potential issues further down the line? And what data is kept - I'm going to back up all things like photos, music etc, but contacts should be fine if they are part of the outlook account registered on the phone isn't it?

[Gaurav Bhattacharjee]

All data linked to your Microsoft account (like contacts and sms) is backed up online so no need to worry about that.

Yes, do backup your media files and what not onto another device before updating.

Make sure you have enough internal memory freed up for the update to unpack properly, or else you'll receive an error.

Download and install the update from "settings > phone update". Then do a factory reset to remove any hiccups you might have. If you have any, that is. Otherwise, its not an issue.

[searitus]

Excellent, thanks very much.

How much exactly is enough internal memory though? And also, do apps need to be reinstalled after the update is done, or would I need to go back and reinstall each one?

[Gaurav Bhattacharjee]

Apps are reinstalled automatically. All this and more happens during the migration stages of the installation process. Note that the update process does not wipe your phone data but personal files (videos, music, pics and whatever else) need to be backed up just in case something goes awry.

As to how much internal memory, 3GB will be enough. I had 3.6GB free when I did the WP8.1 update. It wont take that much space for unpacking, though, but no harm in keeping a buffer eh? ;)

And whatever happens, DO NOT PANIC if the process seems stuck. It will complete eventually.

[searitus]

Cool, thanks for your responses!