Lumia 1520 unlocked Hong Kong version. I had already switched my region, language, keyboard, and speech to English US.
Firstly, when I began he Preview Install, I never saw a prompt for connecting to wifi so all my data was migrated via mobile data
- The Lag
My first observation was the extreme lag. This was expected because of all the background app downloads and syncing going on simultaneously. My phone was slow and as responsive as molasses for about an hour, all while overheating and killing battery life (Faster than the USB port on my laptop could charge it)
- The heat
I've owned a Lumia 920 and I'm no stranger to the overheating issues but I'm scared with the 1520 because of how thin it is, sometimes i take it out of the protective case to let it cool down. It gets so hot I can SMELL it.
- Touchscreen calibration
It's very awkward to hit keys located close to the edge of the screen.
- Text messaging LAG
After typing a message and pressing the paper plane to send, the textbox background goes grey and the typed text is stuck there. Repeated presses of the paper plane (send button) yields no result. I had to quit the application and restart it to resend the text. The same issue occured but I noticed that there is a send lag which lasts as long as 4 seconds. The message still goes through.
Also the Text Message notification tone is now a regular notification tone and I have no option to change the tone back to Nokia Text tone.
- Unable to save screenshots.
At least that's the error I'm receiving after I attempt to take a screenshot. It begins with the usual "Saving tot Screenshots" then transitions to "Unable to save Screenshot" Someone else mentioned turning OneDrive off so I'll try that and report back.
- Back Button from App list
Doesn't work anymore. This has been mentioned and I've read that the Windows Key takes you back to Homescreen. Also, you can just simply swipe right. After months/years of muscle memory, that'll be kinda awkward. Minor Inconvenience.
- Office Hub
The Office app has disappeared from the Store and that disappoints me somewhat. I have a text document containing all the wifi passwords at every access point that I've connected to in order to copy and paste extra long string passwords. Since there's no more Office app, I have to access this file either through Files or OneDrive. When I tap on the text file, the icon acknowledges that it was pressed but nothing happens. No word app opens to display the document. what makes it even weirder is that every time I press the text document's icon, an instance of Microsoft word (from office) appears in the Task list but the screen is black. If I were to tap on any of those instances in Task List the the window acknowledges that it was pressed but does not open.
Is there another app to replace Office (Like Outlook Mail now replaces all the other mail inboxes)?
- Outlook Calender
There is no option to display my Facebook Calender (Events and Birthdays). The only available accounts that I can connect are my Microsoft and Google accounts even though my Contacts are set with Facebook as an account and Facebook contacts show up in Contacts. I'm aware that the work around is to manually add the Facebook calendars to Outlook via a PC and I've already done that. My problem is that an imported Facebook iCalender synced with Microsoft shows me my reminders 24 hours out of sync. eg; Today (April 21st) is my birthday, and the Task corresponding to my Birthday doesn't show up till tomorrow (Wednesday). This is not specific to Windows Phone 10 because it's been happening ever since and it is an inconvenience.
- Photo hub
Photo Hub is extremely slow (8.1 Update 2 was slow as well and crashed when trying to share pics FROM (instead of TWO) inside a 3rd party app). I like that most recent pics are at the top of the screen and scrolling down goes back in time, however, only the top 3 rows of pics show visible thumbnails. All the other pics thumbnails are grey.
- Sounds
No option to change the tone/sound of text messages, IMs, and email.
- Cortana
I've read the complaints so far but i haven't had a chance to check her out (not that I utilize Cortana much anyway). I'm not sure if I have to do over changing the Speech, Language, and Keyboard languages all to English US. I'll have to check.
- AIRPLANE MODE
Airplane Mode refuse to toggle. Clicking it from the extended quick keys at the top of the screen has no result. Going ot the actual Airplane mode screen yields no result when I press the switch. The switch responds when I swipe it but once I release my finger off the screen the switch springs back to OFF mode.
- LOCKSCREEN
Bing Lockscreen is supposed to Refresh every 24 hours but sometimes the same photo remains the lock screen for days even though the caption changes on the Lock screen menu page. This has been going on since 8.1 denim.
Also, the six slots at the bottom of the Lock Screen Menu are empty. Clicking on any of the plus sign slots to select an app status to display at the bottom of the lock screen opens a grey screen with a gear symbol at the top left side there is nothing on the grey screen and clicking the gear returns you to settings. Also the app to display in detail button gives rise to a one field/row drop down box which so happens to be blank.
- Battery
I still experience the same rapid discharge that I was experiencing with Denim. On the bright side, my phone charges rapidly, jumping from 36% - 84% in about 1 hour 10 minutes. I'm fully aware that the battery readings cannot be trusted but I'm also conflicted about whether the rapid discharge is a result of faulty software/firmware or if I need a new battery.
- CALLS
I've attempted to make phonecalls and I can see the Contact but at mid screen there is a grey horizontal bar cutting across the in-call contact display pic. The phone said dialing but i heard no tones. Apparently she answered twice but there was no audio or no indication that the call had even connected from my end. Upon putting my phone in my pocket I accidentally dialed someone else and that call went through.
I'm fully aware that this is just a preview trial for developers so I won't fuss about the bugs. In time they will all be cleared out. I'll eventually copy and paste this entire post to the Microsoft Feedback page. I'm actually looking forward to see what Windows 10 can do. I've always been a Nokia user and was skeptical about this whole Windows Phone OS but I'm a believer. I'm also fully aware that the most recommended quick 'fix' is to do a hard reset after backing up then reinstalling each app from scratch rather than utilizing backups. That will be my last resort before using the Nokia Recovery tool.