Serious dislikes with the 8.1 upgrade.

[cthulhucometh]

(for a device you paid for which had a limited OS)

THIS!!!! I love my Windows phone, have had 7 and 8 and 8.1 BETA and 8.1 feels like a full OS now. I've stuck with them though all the OS changes (because I actually liked 7 and 8 as well) and 8.1 feels like the OS we were all hoping for, that would put WP directly in competition with Apple and Android.

 

[timppa_k]

....
To the guy who said I was "too old for this S#&$" well, I'm 54 & you'll be there someday too so be nice to us "old folks" young fella! OK?

I am 68 and some day you will be the same. But I'm still learning to use my phone and I hope I will be learning WP9.0 and 10.0 !!!

 

[Alonso-Star]

I have an Eye side, One of the most problems to me that they make the keys smaller. I chose my phone Nokia 1320 coz it's big and will be good for typing. I dont use games and all of this stuff. my usage are pretty normal and texting is important issue. Plz if someone know someway to make the keys of the keyboard looks bigger plz let me know. I also lost some futures I dont know how such as tiles editing look in Start+them I only can change background but no making this tile and much more stuff but most important for me is the keys.

 

[Jazmac]

Well, I've read all of your replies and I thank you for the feedback.

Many of you said I need to give it more time, learn the features before complaining, etc. I understand.

I think maybe I was a little spoiled before because when I had my Nokia 900 & 920 those phones were so easy to operate and understand. I felt the same way when I got my 1520 & I guess I just assumed the 8.1 upgrade would be a total cakewalk for me after reading all the great reviews on it.

Seeing so many of you who love it, I must be wrong in my initial assessment of it. I'll give it some time for sure.

Someone said it's apparent the OP (me) just doesn't know how to use his phone. Well gee, that's my point. Before the upgrade I found my phone easy to use & not so much now.

All that being said, I agree with you all that I've formed a negative opinion on 8.1 much too early & need to give it more time.

At any rate I see my post generated a lot of interest & discussion & that's a good thing.

I didn't find anyone's comments to me or about me to be offensive. No hard feelings.

To the guy who said I was "too old for this S#&$" well, I'm 54 & you'll be there someday too so be nice to us "old folks" young fella! OK?

Peace to you all.

Don't be tempted into rolling back. Take your time and learn the new stuff. You'll find it matches up perfectly with what you already know about WP. The changes are worth it. You'll see. Besides the fact that you're here proves you have the chops for it. You'll be fine in no time.

 

[FaisalST32]

I think WP 8.1 solved many of the existing problems of WP 8. Some features were absolutely essential. Volume controls, saving apps to SD Card, action center, and many more, are what make WP able to compete in the mobile OS race. Sure some changes are stupid, but overall, its a lifesaver.

 

[bbobeckyj]

I recently got a message on my phone saying my 1520 had updates available. I updated to 8.1 & honestly I am beyond disappointed. Not for nothing, but I don't know why everyone wants so badly to upgrade to 8.1. It sucks! The calender changed & I liked it the way it was before when I had 8.0. My camera changed with the 8.1 upgrade & I'm having a hard time understanding how to use it. I can take pictures, yes, but the settings, etc. are very hard to understand now. With 8.0 I could touch the screen anywhere & it would take a picture. Now, there's only a small spot you have to touch. With 8.0 I could turn off the flash whenever I wanted. I have no clue how to do it now. Honestly, I hate everything about 8.1. I enjoy my phone much less. And, what is Cortana & how come it won't allow me to delete it from my phone? I wish it would just go away! Is there a way I can go back to 8.0? I really loved my 1520 when I bought it. I've owned a 900 & I still own a 920 but 8.1 has ruined my 1520. What is so great about 8.1? I can't even scroll to the next day on my calender like I used to with 8.0. No! It stops at 11pm! My tasks are harder to access as well. Who designed this dog of an update? Give me back 8.0!!!

I didn't read every reply in detail, but I think I can help with the spefifc complaints in your OP.
Camera, you were using the MS camera, and now have the Nokia Camera set as the default. Change this in the camera settings.
Cortana can be turned off, it's the first option in Cortana's settings. But I would advise against it as it is only Bing with a different GUI and a few features added. The search field being at the bottom, on it's own would be a feature to have me leave it on, even on a smaller screen.
Calendar, swipe left/right to the adjacent day, when it stops at 11pm, or at any time.
Tasks, were hard to access anyway, (why are they not shown in the calendar?) I use Cortana instead, and adding tasks or calendar events is easier with Cortana than going into the Task/Calendar app to do so.

 

[Rob00000]

I tried Swype for the first time yesterday on my 1520! Wow! I'd never heard of it before till one of you mentioned it here. It's pretty neat & works good. I'm typing this message with it. Thanks for all the information and encouragement everyone. Wow! Swype even spelled encouragement!

 

[BaritoneGuy]

Apple did the same thing in iOS 7...screwed up the calendar, took away views that many people (including business people) relied on, but ultimately, after enough people griped and complained, they brought those views back to calendar.

Personally, I'd like to see an Outlook for Windows Phone. One integrated app that has all your info that you already have in Outlook on your PC or Mac. Those with Exchange accounts would finally have a seamless experience from desktop to phone. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that...I wonder if one is in the works?

Personally, I like the new calendar and the fact it is unbundled from the OS. My favorite is the week view. As someone who has a difficult calendar to manage I find it quite a step forward. At work we are on Exchange 2013 and the features for forwarding, replying to, deleting events are the best of any OS in my opinion.

I do agree that I would like a better tasks experience.

 

[Noahma]

I tried Swype for the first time yesterday on my 1520! Wow! I'd never heard of it before till one of you mentioned it here. It's pretty neat & works good. I'm typing this message with it. Thanks for all the information and encouragement everyone. Wow! Swype even spelled encouragement!

Just keep on going. Others have posted some links to help files they may be of some use to you. Test out Cortana as well, it has saved me tons of time setting alarms, finding different businesses. and other general stuff, plus she is fun to ask silly questions to.

 

[princeegli]

I got the 8.1 preview for developers....and like it better than 8.0.but I don't see a great reason to go to cyan....defiantly not enough to go through the hassle of downgrading to 8.0 just to get it,ill wait til MS lifts their block they have going,to get cyan on phones running 8.1 PD ......then ill decide if I want it

 

[neo158]

Just keep on going. Others have posted some links to help files they may be of some use to you. Test out Cortana as well, it has saved me tons of time setting alarms, finding different businesses. and other general stuff, plus she is fun to ask silly questions to.

I also use Cortana to dictate text messages as well, works really well with the inner circle. OP, the Help+Tips (beta) app that someone posted the link to earlier might help you with learning the new features, there's always the rest of us on here who are happy to help (even if we don't own the same device as you) :wink:

 

[Jazmac]

I tried Swype for the first time yesterday on my 1520! Wow! I'd never heard of it before till one of you mentioned it here. It's pretty neat & works good. I'm typing this message with it. Thanks for all the information and encouragement everyone. Wow! Swype even spelled encouragement!

Look at you!! Like I said, you'll be fine in no time Rob000000. Already you are making new friends. I love word flow. Glad to finally get it.

 

[AngrySprintUser]

It's a toss up for me. I got the DP for my Ativ S Neo. Lost data usage so Sprint had to give me a new phone. I'm back at at 8.0, and there's many things I like about 8.0 but also some things I miss about 8.1.

I miss the notification center, and task manager to X things out. I also miss having Cortana. What I love about 8.0 is the integration with the People's Hub which is gone with 8.1. I like having everything integrated and not having to have app launch. A shame they can't combine both, but I do want Cortana back so I want 8.1, but it's not available with Sprint, and the DP will render data useless.

 

[bryanibuan]

The things you hate, are the things I love about the update. The calendar is way much better, even the stock camera app as it now allow you to make shortcuts for the functions I use often, the stock camera app is a pain to use if you make changes with the camera settings, but does win in simplicity. I guess you just need someone to teach you about the changes and you'll love it.

 

[Geddeeee]

The only thing I really despise about WP8.1.1 is Cortana. A complete waste of memory in my opinion!!!! Luckily she can be turned off, and is!!!
Everything else only enhances the great WP8.1 experience

 

[saveferris77]

I kind of agree .
I really like that is has a action center now as without it the phone is just a pain to use .
That's about all that's good with 8.1. Way too many things have got a lot worse here is a short list that have made this phone pretty damn poor:

1 first up and by far the most important is now my phone will not connect to my pc , I plug it in as I've always done and it charges says Lumia 1520 in connected but nada .. No access to files no drag and drop like windows is supposed to
Done all the advice like uninstalling drivers and reinstalling ect rebooting phone and pc ..and sometimes it does connect .. But no files visible.
This is a very big problem as you can imagine.

2 I think I read somewhere that the Bluetooth version was updated . Well that's great in theory but all its done is make my bt headphones turn off after about 1 minute if I pause a song so I have to turn them back on take phone out of my pocket unlock open app to carry on playing .. But ofc it isn't from where I paused it but back at the start.. Not so bad in a song you say .. But very bad in a 2 hour long audio book chapter.

3 since 8.1 its reread my sim card and put all the numbers back on my phone that I deleted ..well not so bad except no way to delete them
again ..

4 alarms don't go off ..pretty basic thing for a phone to do yet now this "flagship"phone is just random if it works or not.

5 various excel files I use for work now cannot be accessed asking if I have the correct file path...

6 the actual phone sometimes won't work as a ....phone :/ yup I call out it rings and i get no answer that fine you think till I talk to my wife later and I get nah baby you didn't call ..check logs on both phones sure enough I have a call logged she does not so I call again side by side speakerphone .. Rinnnnng. Rinnnng yeah it says it is but it ain't same with incoming calls too
That has only happened a couple of times but am I supposed to restart my phone before I'm sure I'm actually calling someone.

7 camera has changed ..besides the fact that sometimes all you get in your album is blackness . The ui has changed for the worse
Granted its still usable but am I wrong in thinking it should be better than only just works

8 games that ran fine before like asphalt 8 now are laggy plus lots of other apps now just close as soon as you open them

So they are the main points I guess although there are lots of other niggles with the platform as a result whole line as I type this I type about 5 letters before then even show on screen.
I really did want to like this phone and tbh I do like the Nokia Lumia 1520 I just hate windows phone on it which is a real shame .
I will wait till the end of the year before I decide which phone to buy next I guess its gonna be a n android as I really really dont want an iphone ..but if it works then I guess its better than this.
Regards from a sad wp user

S

 

[Timbre70]

Downgrade back to 8.0, but it will wipe your phone, so use the backup settings first
FAQ - FAQ - How can I recover/reset/restore my phone software? - Nokia - UK

I tried your link as per above. However, it is re-installing latest version 8.1 and not 8.0. There's no menu to choose which version to install. How to go about to install 8.0 instead of 8.1?

 

[csiguy1]

Really like 8.1, that is what keeps me on a WP. Cortana, Office Lens, and tight integration with Office. Great phone and will get even better. Love the way Cortana does flight updates etc. and all of my interest.

 

[David P2]

I tried your link as per above. However, it is re-installing latest version 8.1 and not 8.0. There's no menu to choose which version to install. How to go about to install 8.0 instead of 8.1?

You would have to acquire an older ROM from somewhere and flash it yourself, if the recovery tool is now restoring Cyan+8.1 (as that appears to now be the current commercial release for the 1520).

 

[Timbre70]

You would have to acquire an older ROM from somewhere and flash it yourself, if the recovery tool is now restoring Cyan+8.1 (as that appears to now be the current commercial release for the 1520).

OK thanks, I decided to maintain at 8.1 since my front facing cam is alive again. Lol...... (was thinking to revert to 8.0 to see if it works).