The hard reset feature on Windows Phone is a mixed blessing.
On the one hand, you're thankful it's there when your device barfs up on itself and you need to go the thermonuclear route and start over....on the other hand, it kind of sucks that Windows Mobile seems to barf up on itself so frequently that the reset button has to be there at all.
I've been the not-so-proud owner of a 950 for nearly a year now.
In that time I've had to perform a hard reset 8 times.
For the record, I always reset to factory settings and avoid doing a restore in case the glitch is still lurking in the backup. It's a serious, big time pain to have to set up your phone from scratch, especially if it's primarily used for business, which mine is. Even with cloud sync and being able to retrieve all my emails, contacts, messages and data it's still a couple of very unproductive and frustrating hours spent messing about.
The reasons for these resets vary. At one point the maps app refused to work. Or, more accurately, the gps wouldn't work so the map had no idea where I was. Then there's been the times when the phone would freeze or become too sluggish to use.
It's latest party trick is what I like to call the Black Screen Of Fury. It's a humdinger of a glitch and goes like this. You're on the phone, the call ends, you take the phone away from your ear and are met with a black screen...and no way to end the call. The screen stays stubbornly black for anything up to 10 seconds. The Black Screen of Fury also works very well when you try to wake your phone up. It's great fun when you need to use your phone in a hurry and find yourself pressing the power button again and again while your device switches from glance screen to pitch blackness over and over. Oh, Lumia, you old tease you...
The Black Screen of Fury is a glitch that also existed on my 1520 and Microsoft are well aware of it, but give them some space because they've only had 2 years to sort it out...
So, what have I done to help myself? Well, I've replaced the hardware and am now onto my second 950. The same problems exist on two phones from different suppliers. That doesn't totally rule out hardware as a possible issue, but it does make it less likely.
Then there's the apps. I figured maybe it's one or more specific apps that cause the issues. So I've catalogued each app as I've downloaded it, and if problems begin to surface I delete any apps I've recently added to my collection and monitor to see if the glitch continues. I'll tell you right here, having to do this kind of thing is a royal pain in the backside. Keeping track of each app and trying to figure out what you have running on your phone at the moment when it starts to glitch is a lot of homework that no end user should have to get caught up in.
For what it's worth, I'm now convinced that the apps aren't the issue. There's simply no emerging pattern that correlate's to a downloaded app and the phone barfing.
It's Windows 10 Mobile all the way.
This OS has been out for close to a year. It's had a major update. It should be leagues ahead of where it is right now.
Please don't get me wrong. This is not a Microsoft/Windows bashing post. I've used enough Android devices to know that they are the king of glitch. Even the iPhone isn't above going a bit spastic every now and then.
But Microsoft are really pushing the productivity line. They want to differentiate themselves as being the go-to guys when you need to get important stuff done quickly and easily.
Yesterday I had to find a location, create a one note, share it with a colleague and text him an address.
Instead of doing that I spent 3 hours hard resetting my phone because it wouldn't wake up.
Time Wasting 1, Productivity 0
I'm a Windows Phone fan and I'm praying to the tech gods above that the HP Elite and whatever phone Wharton Brookes or Microsoft launch does well in the market. But they have to give these devices a fighting chance with an OS that stands up to the plate and hits a home run every time, because that's what productivity in the business place needs and demands.
On the one hand, you're thankful it's there when your device barfs up on itself and you need to go the thermonuclear route and start over....on the other hand, it kind of sucks that Windows Mobile seems to barf up on itself so frequently that the reset button has to be there at all.
I've been the not-so-proud owner of a 950 for nearly a year now.
In that time I've had to perform a hard reset 8 times.
For the record, I always reset to factory settings and avoid doing a restore in case the glitch is still lurking in the backup. It's a serious, big time pain to have to set up your phone from scratch, especially if it's primarily used for business, which mine is. Even with cloud sync and being able to retrieve all my emails, contacts, messages and data it's still a couple of very unproductive and frustrating hours spent messing about.
The reasons for these resets vary. At one point the maps app refused to work. Or, more accurately, the gps wouldn't work so the map had no idea where I was. Then there's been the times when the phone would freeze or become too sluggish to use.
It's latest party trick is what I like to call the Black Screen Of Fury. It's a humdinger of a glitch and goes like this. You're on the phone, the call ends, you take the phone away from your ear and are met with a black screen...and no way to end the call. The screen stays stubbornly black for anything up to 10 seconds. The Black Screen of Fury also works very well when you try to wake your phone up. It's great fun when you need to use your phone in a hurry and find yourself pressing the power button again and again while your device switches from glance screen to pitch blackness over and over. Oh, Lumia, you old tease you...
The Black Screen of Fury is a glitch that also existed on my 1520 and Microsoft are well aware of it, but give them some space because they've only had 2 years to sort it out...
So, what have I done to help myself? Well, I've replaced the hardware and am now onto my second 950. The same problems exist on two phones from different suppliers. That doesn't totally rule out hardware as a possible issue, but it does make it less likely.
Then there's the apps. I figured maybe it's one or more specific apps that cause the issues. So I've catalogued each app as I've downloaded it, and if problems begin to surface I delete any apps I've recently added to my collection and monitor to see if the glitch continues. I'll tell you right here, having to do this kind of thing is a royal pain in the backside. Keeping track of each app and trying to figure out what you have running on your phone at the moment when it starts to glitch is a lot of homework that no end user should have to get caught up in.
For what it's worth, I'm now convinced that the apps aren't the issue. There's simply no emerging pattern that correlate's to a downloaded app and the phone barfing.
It's Windows 10 Mobile all the way.
This OS has been out for close to a year. It's had a major update. It should be leagues ahead of where it is right now.
Please don't get me wrong. This is not a Microsoft/Windows bashing post. I've used enough Android devices to know that they are the king of glitch. Even the iPhone isn't above going a bit spastic every now and then.
But Microsoft are really pushing the productivity line. They want to differentiate themselves as being the go-to guys when you need to get important stuff done quickly and easily.
Yesterday I had to find a location, create a one note, share it with a colleague and text him an address.
Instead of doing that I spent 3 hours hard resetting my phone because it wouldn't wake up.
Time Wasting 1, Productivity 0
I'm a Windows Phone fan and I'm praying to the tech gods above that the HP Elite and whatever phone Wharton Brookes or Microsoft launch does well in the market. But they have to give these devices a fighting chance with an OS that stands up to the plate and hits a home run every time, because that's what productivity in the business place needs and demands.
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