Upgrading from Lumia 930 to Lumia 950: Is it worth it ?!

[Boris NevermorE]

@SirDubbleB Yes you can, because Lumia 930 IS a natural windows phone 8.1 device, it was build with WP8.1 in mind. Here is a safe method how to do it.
How to roll back your smartphone from Windows 10 Mobile to Windows Phone 8.1 | Digital Citizen

P.S. Trust me, once you go W10M with your 930, a new world will open to you. It will be hard as hell to go back. Consider yourself warned, lol If you need any other assistance, please write back

 

[MadeforVermont]

I still love my Lumia Icon (929) and it runs great on Windows 10 Insiders Preview. I was so disappointed when I stopped receiving updates after build 10.0.15063.251. I would upgrade, but I'll have to move to AT&T because Verizon only has the Lumia 735. I keep hoping Microsoft will get their act together AND get Verizon on board.

 

[SirDubbleB]

@Boris NevermorE
Oh great news, I am thrilled.. Thank you so much for the link, it's detailed enough to guide me through this. I will definitely test and get back to you when I have a question, thank you so much for your generous tips. Cheers mate
@MadeforVermont
Man, the L930 is still one of the best Windows Phones out there, I wish it was possible to install the Creators Update withouth the registery hack. Let's hope that MS'll upgrade their game.

 

[Boris NevermorE]

@SirDubbleB Glad I helped you bro, anytime

 

[Sebastian Belanger1]

I just got the 950. Works great. Needs updates and rebooting at first, but then works great. Was hesitant at first but im really happy with it.

 

[Drael646464]

Dude, I ran every single update out there.. gone through 3 updates until I reached the Creators one and I kept checking till no more updates were available. So it is the CU, I am sure abt it. It could be a faulty hardware, but I said earlier, the problems I encountered were listed by other people as well. So I don't think all of us got a faulty hardware/software L950. About MS dropping skype, have a look at this tweet:

View attachment 136207

@SirDubbleB

Oh I realise they have stopped supporting skype as an alternative to the messaging app, but skype itself is still supported for win10m. Part of the shift to UWP I imagine, merging with the desktop preview.

As for the updates, Are you positive, that it was the OS build, did you ever do a hard reset, and then take it right up to insiders preview?

I've got a 950, runs like a dream (apart from slight lag on FBs badly written app). I'll admit the factory build was terrible, and there are known hardware issues with removeable battery pin connector issues (not windows specific), such as resets, when the battery doesn't contact well.

Because I got my phone recently, and more or less updated it straight away to insiders preview (insiders preview because since CU, its been nothing but bug fixes, so that seemed like the best build to go for), I've never experienced any of the issues people complain about, apart from the first day on stock.

Then again, the reset problem is nothing to do with software, its about the battery pins, same thing happens on blackberries with removeable batteries, you have to do things like prop up the battery with folded paper, clean the connections etc (unless you wanna replace the pins).

But yeah, runs clean for me. I do know some people have weird issues, that are usually resolved by either fixing the battery contacts, or hard resetting to fix some kind of breakdown in the OS, but neither of those are exclusive to win10m, the former happens to any phone with removeable batteries, and the later certainly happens on android.

IDK, I mean I guess there are probably faulty devices, but CU on win10m, on the 950 is great for me. So it cannot be regarded as an OS problem AFAIK, if everyone on the update, and the same hardware doesn't experience those issues. If everyone experience those issues, it could be considered an OS issue.

These kinds of issues aren't win10m exclusives. Android users have to do hard resets sometimes to fix some kind of OS corruption. Anyone with a removeable battery has good odds of encountering the dreaded bad pin connection. But they maybe I'm just chill about it, because my phone is all good...

 

[SirDubbleB]

@Boris NevermorE
Thank you so much for your help, here is the deal: After trying the OS for almost a week now, it works great.. Love the UI, so beautiful, fluid enough for my taste, great UWP apps, loved design language, they look more modern.. But unfortunatly, I had to roll back, the camera app is so slow, it takes shots instantely but takes forever to finalize the shot, I always get 'Applying finishing touches' and I couldn't figure out to make 'Living images' show up like on windows phone 8.1, how do you show 'Living images' on the microsoft camera ? I had it activated but I couldn't find out how : /.. And is there any hack to manually install the Lumia camera alongside ?? It's quicker and snappier at taking photos. Another bug I encountered, I couldn't send images from the 'saved images' folder on WhatsApp? Is it just me or it's a general issue?
Thanks in advance for your help bro, I really appreciate it !!!

@Sebastian Belanger1
Thank you so much for making an account just to recommend me a L950, but seems that you forgot a purchase link haha.. Come on MS, you're better than this hahaha #ORM #Wink

@Drael646464
Thank you for your generous feedback, about my experience with the L950; actually I didn't hard/soft reset.. I was so disappointed that I only thought of taking it back to the store and get a L930 instead, and the device wasn't on the insider program, nor a 'fast' neither a 'slow' ring.. It was running the CU, I'm 100% sure man .. All I can say is the device might be faulty and I hope it was haha. You are so lucky with you device, trust me if you had the one I had, you could've thrown it right away .. Is the insider program stable enough to use on your daily drive ? are you a fast or a slow ringer ? Do apps behave like on stable builds ?

 

[Drael646464]

@SirDubbleB

I would say insiders preview is THE most stable build. As I said, because feature2, since CU, has been entirely bugfixes, not new features or changes, I believe the insiders preview is the best, at least for supported phones.

My BT wasn't working correctly on the regular CU. Nothing else was wrong, but it wasn't discovering right.

I installed insiders preview, and it works now like a charm. I think the mobile teams main focus, since CU, ATM is tightening up all the little issues. Fast ring, I think still have their share of issues, being on the front line.
I've had no real problem with apps. I will say that the FB app is incredibly slow, so I just use a web wrapper in the form of slimsocial, and use the FB app just for the live tile. But that's because the FB app is terrible on mobile ARM.

Everything else, sweet as a cherry. Just got a wireless charger for it, that's real nice. And continuum hub will probably arrive tomorrow.

Often troubleshooting is frustrating, and patience testing. And a product that does work out of the box, when you are busy with life, can sometimes be the straw that breaks the camels back. My wireless charger didn't work - it was the included cable. Replaced it, and bingo it worked. But took me awhile to work that out lol. In the meantime I was thinking - how do I get my money back dammit!

 

[Boris NevermorE]

@SirDubbleB As far as I know, the famous Lumia Camera from WP8.1 is actually the main camera app on W10M. Check if in your settings RAW imaging is checked or HDR (uncheck them) those options if ON took more time to snap a shot. Or better, can you make me a screenshot from your main camera settings? All of them. I'll tell you then how to set the cam app for better experience with it.
As for Insiders rings, Slow ring is your best option. Over 90% of the Fast Ring Insiders have those builds on their second (testing) device, not on their main. For the main device Slow Ring is best, cuz is way more polished and is closest to Official Releases.
For other issues, Google is your best friend, just make sure to write the right question. For example for the living images:
- How to show living images in windows 10 mobile?
or
- Are living images supported in windows 10 mobile?
These are just an examples how. Good thing about Google is you can actually ask him questions and you get best results.
Or, visit XDA-Develpers web site, you can find tons of tweaks, solutions, etc for WP8.1 and W10Mobile.
Hope this will help you a bit.
Cheers mate.

 

[calwolfe]

I have had the Lumia 950 XL for almost 2 years. It is the best phone I have ever had. It is too bad it is connected to Microsoft, who could care less about mobile users. If Microsoft does not take a different mobile stance within the next year, they will lose me forever as a customer for anything they sell or promote.
Near the end of my rope in Arkansas.

 

[skydiverian]

If you can afford it, have to suggest the 950 simply because you'll get support for longer. WP8.1 supports ends on July 11th - just 16 days away - so if you have a problem, you can't phone Microsoft and request assistance, it'll be a job for the forums. You'll also not get any more security patches.

Win 10 gets updated every month with security and bug fixes - and that will continue on both a 930 with Anniversary and 950 with creators update. Keep in mind that, officially speaking, you won't get the creators update for the 950 (though you'll probably still get security updates for another year). The 950 is still properly supported and I'd be surprised if it doesn't get the "fall" creators update and maybe one more feature update as well.

Short answer - if you can afford it, get the 950.

 

[sd4f]

Short answer - if you can afford it, get the 950.

Having used the L950 for a month now, I'd strongly discourage it.

Microsoft's strategy appears to now be to put their weight behind the next thing. Problem is, they're letting everything run down in the meantime. With the feature2 branch for W10M phones, the talk is that it'll get security updates, but no new features. Big thing is the OS is still quite buggy, and that's probably not going to be addressed.

I personally think that the overarching mobile strategy has gone past the point of no return. They can't fix it, there's nothing they can possibly bring out that will compel users to adopt it in the numbers they want. Phone hardware hasn't mattered for the last few iterations. The big problem is and will be, how do they get users and developers to support the platform, when they currently won't. The ecosystem is the critical part which MS can't really do much about.

The only thing I think that MS can do is make the platform profitable for developers, where iOS and android is not. After all, that's what developers want; to make money for their work.

 

[Drael646464]

Big thing is the OS is still quite buggy, and that's probably not going to be addressed.

Literally every week or so they are rolling out new bugfixes to insider builds. What are you talking about?

 

[hankster1988]

Agreed. Running new 950 for just over a week now. With the insider slow ring, phone is stable and doing great!

 

[sd4f]

I'm not on insider, I'm on regular production build, and it's nowhere near as stable as WP8.1 was, I got a reboot last night, and bluetooth is ******* me off, doesn't sync properly with my car always. Again, this didn't happen with WP8.1 for me. I get severe slow downs, and at times audio issues. Even something like a headphones remote doesn't work all the time properly, if I press too fast it doesn't register as a double or triple click.

Other apps run buggy too, but I get the feeling that's the app, not the OS.

 

[Drael646464]

I'm not on insider, I'm on regular production build, and it's nowhere near as stable as WP8.1 was, I got a reboot last night, and bluetooth is ******* me off, doesn't sync properly with my car always. Again, this didn't happen with WP8.1 for me. I get severe slow downs, and at times audio issues. Even something like a headphones remote doesn't work all the time properly, if I press too fast it doesn't register as a double or triple click.

Other apps run buggy too, but I get the feeling that's the app, not the OS.

Get on insider preview. Or slow ring. Its much better. Bluetooth for me was completely broken till I went insider preview. I guess all these bugfixes will come to production eventually, but why wait?

 

[dj_hetick]

I love all the way 930. But it stop working couple of weeks ago, sent it to authorized service. Brought Brand New 950, use it for a weeks, here is my opinion. Still love the way I use 930, the way I hold it in my hand. So sturdy, comfort size, great design. The only things that makes me feel better is, 950 run faster than my 930, thats it. And the only reason I choose 950 is, I have no choice. I cannot go with the same 930 (old product), and I cannot go with something better then 950 (forget about Android).

 

[ManofGod1000]

Well, I went ahead and switched back to my Lumia 950 for one week but, one week only. If all your using it for is a phone, text, facebook, email and stuff, you would be fine. If you rely on Bluetooth working reliably in anyway, just forget it. I was on 15228 insider preview and Bluetooth sort of mostly worked. When I upgraded to 15230, everything went down hill quickly from there.

Basically, the Garmin Vivoactive HR+ failed to work mostly at all anymore. Also, it had issues on my in car Bluetooth system. How can a simple OS update break Bluetooth of all things. How hard is it really to leave the Bluetooth stack alone? I am now back on my Honor 6X and everything just works.

 

[Elky64]

Well, I went ahead and switched back to my Lumia 950 for one week but, one week only. If all your using it for is a phone, text, facebook, email and stuff, you would be fine. If you rely on Bluetooth working reliably in anyway, just forget it. I was on 15228 insider preview and Bluetooth sort of mostly worked. When I upgraded to 15230, everything went down hill quickly from there.

Basically, the Garmin Vivoactive HR+ failed to work mostly at all anymore. Also, it had issues on my in car Bluetooth system. How can a simple OS update break Bluetooth of all things. How hard is it really to leave the Bluetooth stack alone? I am now back on my Honor 6X and everything just works.

Like you say, your Honor 6X just works, same with my S7 & S7 Edge.

My 830/650/950 all work too but for me, their limitations in functionality soon become apearant real quick. Yes every phone has it limits but imo, WP/WM is by far the worst, gets frustrating feeling like you're always the passenger and never the driver.

 

[khaled22]

im thinking also to buy 950 since my 930 is having issues. But what price should i consider is good for this 950?

For alternative im thinking asian android brand but im very skeptical about mediatek helio cpus.

I would rather stay on WM as more as possible