Switching platforms? | Thinking of leaving?...comment here!

[Derek Halcyon]

After nearly 5 years with various WP (7-8.1, and even some 10 if you count my wife's phone) and on different carriers, I feel somewhat ashamed to admit it but I may be jumping ship. My WP journey started with the HTC Trophy on Verizon. I ordered it the same day it was released, and once getting it, I fell in love with the OS. That phone lasted until just shy of my two year upgrade, and even survived a flight off of a roller coaster! I loved it, it was sturdy, it ran great. Anyway, at the time, Verizon had no other WP available, so I made the jump to AT&T with my first ever Lumia 920. Oh man was that phone amazing! Then came a replacement 920, and then a 1020. I was so impressed with the camera on that 1020, that I used it exclusively as my honeymoon photo shooter. The shots we got were amazing. I replaced the 1020 with the HTC One (M8) WP, and then jumped ship to Android this past summer, with a Galaxy S6. Hated the thing, and luckily my mother-in-law wanted an Android, so I convinced her to take over payments for my S6, and I went back to my old 1020, which coincidentally I had to replace prior due to the random-shut offs and not allowing calls in. I missed too many client calls and alarms in the morning and it needed to be replaced. When I turned it back on and updated it, it worked fine for about 4 months, but now the battery hardly lasts half a day for me, the screen gets random hues of blue, and the camera no longer focuses on close in shots. Not to mention it turns itself off and on, without warning, all by itself. It needs replacing. Which brings me to my dilemma.

I awaited a WP10 device, just like so many others on here, and I was excited to see the 950 had come out on ATT, but disappointed to see that the 950xl had not. My wife immediately purchased a 950, she didn't care, she loves WP too (possibly more than I do, which is sad since I converted her from Android back with the 920). She's had battery problems, failed updates, calls not coming through and texts too. She doesn't care, and she loves it regardless. I want a stable WP10 device, with a good camera, but I just don't see it yet.

Sadly, I can't wait, as my 1020 battery drops roughly 20% every 20-30 minutes spent on the phone or browsing forums on the internet. Am I being fickle and should I suck it up, and just purchase the 950 from ATT? I can't really afford 700ish all at once for the 950xl from the MS Store, so my first choice is out.

Or should I give in and try another Android and see if it's any more enjoyable than my previous Androids (Original Droid, Droid Turbo, S6)? If I do this I'll be getting either a LG G4, or a LG V10.

Or should I go to the really dark side and spring for something I've never tried before, and jump on an iPhone 6s+ (I honestly can't believe I even said this out loud)?

 

[Chris_Kez]

Just found out my company is moving to Google For Work; while Office "won't be removed" but people will be strongly encouraged to adopt Google. FML. Crying into my Lumia 930 right now.

I was actually looking at a Nexus 5X earlier this week (prior to the news), but now that I feel like I'll be forced to drop WP I'm kind of upset.

 

[Jomon]

From ****** to hater. I've had it.

I've been with windows phone since WP7. I loved WP8. Windows M10 has been a disaster for me so far and I've had it. I've lost count on how many times my phone rebooted while doing basic stuff like taking a picture or answering a call or sending a text. Here are the issues I constantly have to deal with

1) Rebooting while taking a picture
2) Taking a picture and getting an error message that won't go away until I reboot the phone
3) Rebooting while on a call
4) SMS crashing when attaching stuff
5) Rebooting while opening messaging app
6) Excessive battery drain. I have a 1520 and I've been recharging before my workday is over. Seriously? This phone used to last twice as long!
7) Here Drive became absolutely unusable. I was forced to purchase copilot.
8) Volume control thinks my phone is connected to my car's bluetooth when it is not. I can't adjust the volume when this happens and need, guess what, a reboot.
9) Why do I have to wait a few seconds for my newly taken pictures to appear on the photos app?
10) Groove music listing the same songs 3 or 4 times. Come on! I've completely stopped using this POS and I am now on spotify
11) Editing a picture on 3rd party apps like camera360 and the picture gets competely corrupted. Seriously?

There are great things about the OS as well, especially Cortana but the horrible experience I've had performing basic stuff like taking a photo is what kills it. It's been fun being a part of this small community of loyal WP fans but it's time for me to move on. I may come back to WP camp one day if things get better but for now, I am moving to iOS. Yes, I'll be an iSheep soon.

 

[marratj]

Well you just could go back to 8.1 where everything works fine for you and wait a few more months before upgrading to 10 again in the hope bugs will get ironed out until then.

Why change a working system without the need to do so?

 

[xandros9]

Why change a working system without the need to do so?

Because the 8.1 working system has remained static.
And 10 isn't working either.

OP I understand and acted similarly last year, I no longer use an iPhone as of now, but I think you'll be satisfied. iOS has impressed me with 8.1-grade reliability.

 

[DCTF]

Kind of at my wits' end with Windows Phone at this point. I really want to continue using it, but it's not easy.

I'm sitting here right now, looking at my 930 plugged into my PC, thinking about whether to go back to 8.1 or not. I lost a really important video because I was unaware that recent builds have a bug that messes up audio recording on my model, so a major momento is now kind of useless. I'm angry, to be honest. I know, I know, "test build", "own risk", blah blah - but I don't think that should be true anymore. We now have proper WP10 phones on the market, and that excuse shouldn't apply now.

I love the look and feel of WP10 but, aside from the video/audio recording bug, I'm fed up with the day-to-day hassles with this thing.

1) Your screen is off, you get a message via Whatsapp/Twitter/anything. Screen lights up, and you click the notification bar. The app can't open. You have to shut the app and maybe even restart the phone to get it working.

2) You were playing a long podcast on Groove and paused it. You bring up the screen again later to play the rest, but Groove isn't functional anymore. You have to restart your phone to make it work, and then find your position.

3) New email alert, click to open, Outlook is not functional. Restart, etc.

4) Edge is just effing useless with all kinds of webpages

5) My favourite of all: you get a PHONE CALL and you can't answer because, like all apps, WP10 can't deal with periods of inactivity. I have to call people back after restarting my phone.

I don't really want an Android phone, and I certainly won't buy an iPhone because I might as well open my wallet and invite Apple to dip in there whenever they feel the need, but I'm really fed up with Windows now. And yeah, I'm looking at that recovery tool so I can at least get video recording to work, but then I remember how miserable the old email app was, especially with long email chains, and I shudder. I've always supported the move to WP10 because I knew WP8.1 was not the stable workhorse that so many superfans insisted it was; it's irritating and buggy too.

 

[Chris_Kez]

Just found out my company is moving to Google For Work; while Office "won't be removed" but people will be strongly encouraged to adopt Google. FML. Crying into my Lumia 930 right now.

I was actually looking at a Nexus 5X earlier this week (prior to the news), but now that I feel like I'll be forced to drop WP I'm kind of upset.

Nexus 5X arrived today. Will be a few days before I can really set it up. Feels weird to be so ambivalent about a new device, rather than the usual exuberance.

 

[jasqid]

I pulled the trigger. Moved to T-Mobile and got iPhone 6s pluses for the family. Taking a break from VZW and WP with the issues from both. So far so good.

 

[DCTF]

No longer thinking about it - my 930 is gone, and my new LG G4 is on its way. Maybe I'll come back to WP at some point.

 

[jasqid]

No longer thinking about it - my 930 is gone, and my new LG G4 is on its way. Maybe I'll come back to WP at some point.

Yeah. Got my iPhone 6$ plus last Friday. Its been bitter sweet. Kinda miss cortana. Siri is not the same. Hate the maps and even though I downloaded here maps I cannot make it default. Miss unishare. Miss live tiles. Endless icons are great. #smh

Well... At least there's no app gap and I can take a picture of a check and deposit it through my bank app!

 

[qbrick]

To be honest, the switch to Android didn't require me to readjust that much, because I'm using it on tablets since Icecream Sandwich.

And the Galaxy S5 Neo is a great phone: Huge battery runtime (even compared to the L640), fast and responsive interface (with TouchWiz degreased a lot), a fantastic looking AMOLED display and the device being weatherproof with IP-67.
Actually, there isn't a lot I miss (maybe the text-focused interface of Win8.1, but this is about to be changed with Win10 in favour of Hamburger menus anyway).

 

[k12000lt]

Re: Reason for coming back to WP from IOS/Android

I am in the verge of moving back to another platform from windows phone after using it for 3 years. I have never used an android/ios before and jumped to wp8 from nokia Symbian 3 years back when 920 launched with wp8. My expectation was that the OS will evolve as it looked promising with its concept of live tiles and some great nokia apps too. I saw new apps coming in over the years but at this point the situation is very bad with almost many apps still missing and very bad support for many of the existing apps. Forget local promising apps as they never came nor will come to wp with such given situation. So my question here is if there is someone who shifted from windows phones to android due to such or different problem but later decided to come back to windows phone itself due to some reasons please help me with those reasons as it might help me over consider my decision to move away from this OS which looked promising and looks dead for me now.

This exactly. I too moved to WP from Symbian hoping that it will be huge step forwards with Symbian as a core. But it's a total mess. Symbian felt so powerful and complete. WP can never give the same feel. I never used android before but now I am totally into android after trying WP for 2 years. The only thing I went to WP was the name Nokia. I liked Symbian before and I love it now. But WP doesn't give the same feel. Android neither, but it is little close to Symbian. I never liked Android but I have no other option. It has it's flaws and shortcomings, but at lease it has all what I need.
And the most funny thing here is no one is accepting the facts. No one is even ready to listen.

 

[Byrese]

After years with WP two things r apparent.

1. I'm really starting to feel the app gap. Its REAL. But i digress.

2. Mature and reliable software experience. While i luv certain features of W10M, it just isn't reliable. 8.1 was better but still not as mature as the competition. I miss calls, texts, emails, etc. not everyday but enough so that it matters.

These two critical points make me wonder what I'm missing in a smartphone experience. Everytime I go into a store and look at phones it would seem to be a lot.

"IF" I left WP what would I use? I honestly don't know. While IOS handles both of these problems I don't like following sheep . And how mature really is Android (that's like a real question cause I dunno).

Right now I'm using a 930 on ATT prepaid. When my current card runs out in Feb something is gonna have to give. We'll just have to see what that is.

Just my thoughts.

 

[wolfpack219]

Really sad that Microsoft is losing so many customers in mobile. I really enjoy my Lumia 735 with W10. However I see so many posts with problems it's crazy. Maybe I'm just not diving deep enough into the OS to experience such things? Anyhow, at the rate Microsoft is losing customers mobile may have to go....... I mean the market share is small already and getting smaller. I don't know what kind of resources can be dedicated to mobile which probably loses money at this point. Microsoft loves to release **** before its ready (see Xbox one) only to become great or superior later. I'm patient enough to go through growing pains if I trust Microsoft enough to pull through in the near future (Xbox One is amazing now and getting better). But I don't know that I trust Microsoft with mobile because it seems like a black hole at this point and I personally wouldn't blame them for pulling out. Hopefully they push through and make W10 mobile a formidable OS that other manufacturer's will implement on their devices also.

 

[libra89]

After years with WP two things r apparent.

1. I'm really starting to feel the app gap. Its REAL. But i digress.

2. Mature and reliable software experience. While i luv certain features of W10M, it just isn't reliable. 8.1 was better but still not as mature as the competition. I miss calls, texts, emails, etc. not everyday but enough so that it matters.

These two critical points make me wonder what I'm missing in a smartphone experience. Everytime I go into a store and look at phones it would seem to be a lot.

"IF" I left WP what would I use? I honestly don't know. While IOS handles both of these problems I don't like following sheep ��. And how mature really is Android (that's like a real question cause I dunno).

Right now I'm using a 930 on ATT prepaid. When my current card runs out in Feb something is gonna have to give. We'll just have to see what that is.

Just my thoughts.

It seems like Android varies with which flavor you have. A lot of people say that TouchWiz is bad with Samsung.

 

[vinscg]

just went back to 8.1... feels like home... but im wondering how long i will be able to stay.. thinking about a 4 inch iphone .
or maybe an android with MS launcher Arrow?

 

[Ian Legarda]

just went back to 8.1... feels like home... but im wondering how long i will be able to stay.. thinking about a 4 inch iphone .
or maybe an android with MS launcher Arrow?

Arrow launcher is terrible. Used it on my Note 4 for a few days and deleted it. Went back to Nova prime.

 

[millercrew5]

Can't decide been
Between staying out going back to Android! Love my nexus but do like the 950! Wish I could testdrive the 950.

 

[yourguitarhero]

Gave up on Windows Mobile, went to Android

Been a long time Windows Phone user - got a Lumia 800 when they came out, then a 520, 735 and finally 930 with W10M on it
But I've given up and got a Nexus 5X

Just thought I'd leave my thoughts here for anyone else considering it.

I'm finding Android to be really good. The Nexus 5X is a good phone. Nice screen, runs quickly, camera is faster and takes better pics than the 930 and the fingerprint scanner is a good feature.

So, apps. It's not that there are just a lot more of them, the android apps are better than the windows ones. Even the Microsoft ones!
I still use all the Microsoft online services (Outlook.com, Onedrive, Onenote) personally and for work and there's no problem with them on Android.

It's also handy to get more specific apps - for my camera, my guitar pedals, strava for cycling, my bank, local buses etc

Windows Phone is OK, but you always feel it's behind the curve. I liked the interface and the tiles, but it just felt like I was making life hard for myself by sticking with it. Plus the 930 was pretty buggy with W10 - poor reception, random restarts, very slow focus on the camera

Saying that, I'm still using my Surface RT for work haha! Though it's perfect for what I do (going and giving training to loads of different organisations).

So long, and thanks for all the fish!

 

[Steve Adams]

Re: Gave up on Windows Mobile, went to Android

Been a long time Windows Phone user - got a Lumia 800 when they came out, then a 520, 735 and finally 930 with W10M on it
But I've given up and got a Nexus 5X

Just thought I'd leave my thoughts here for anyone else considering it.

I'm finding Android to be really good. The Nexus 5X is a good phone. Nice screen, runs quickly, camera is faster and takes better pics than the 930 and the fingerprint scanner is a good feature.

So, apps. It's not that there are just a lot more of them, the android apps are better than the windows ones. Even the Microsoft ones!
I still use all the Microsoft online services (Outlook.com, Onedrive, Onenote) personally and for work and there's no problem with them on Android.

It's also handy to get more specific apps - for my camera, my guitar pedals, strava for cycling, my bank, local buses etc

Windows Phone is OK, but you always feel it's behind the curve. I liked the interface and the tiles, but it just felt like I was making life hard for myself by sticking with it. Plus the 930 was pretty buggy with W10 - poor reception, random restarts, very slow focus on the camera

Saying that, I'm still using my Surface RT for work haha! Though it's perfect for what I do (going and giving training to loads of different organisations).

So long, and thanks for all the fish!

Wait until about 3 months or so when the android OS is bogged down, Then let us know how you really feel. I am using my android phone right now as my screen cracked on my 1020. I am dying with how slow and buggy android is. I am checking my mail 10 times a day waiting for my replacement screen....I cannot wait to get my phone back!