What's happened to all of my contacts?

[Doctor_Who]

Tonight I've joined the Windows Insider program for my phone. (A Lumia 640.) Then I joined the Release Preview Ring. The upgrade went OK, except for the fact that I've lost all of my contacts. Totally empty. Why did that happened? How do I get them back?

 

[RumoredNow]

I had the same when upgrading... Open People > ellipses (...) > Settings > Add Account > add your account(s), mine failed to migrate.

If that does not work; did you do a reset after the upgrade?

 

[Doctor_Who]

I tried doing that before. In fact I thought I had. Now I'm not sure it has or not. Trying it again. It's at the screen where is says, "Help us protect your account" and it's trying to do some sort of verification. I've not been at this screen

What does the Import from SIM mean? Is that relevant or not?

 

[Doctor_Who]

Oh, sorry, you also asked if I did a reset after the upgrade. No, I didn't. Should I have? And if so, how?

 

[RumoredNow]

What does the Import from SIM mean? Is that relevant or not?

Probably not... Unless you purposely imported contacts to SIM. It's not automatic anymore. It's an archaic holdover from Flip Phones.

Sounds like you are stuck in 2 step authorization for your account. Try and choose the SMS option ti get your code. Easiest method.

Oh, sorry, you also asked if I did a reset after the upgrade. No, I didn't. Should I have? And if so, how?

The usual software method is fine. Settings > System > About > Reset your phone

 

[Doctor_Who]

RumoredNow, is a reset the same thing as a "Soft Reset"? Where you simultaneously hold down the power and volume control buttons until it reboots? If so, I've done that. Not sure what its supposed to do now as I've seen no difference nor improvement.

 

[Davide Carozza]

No, he's suggesting a hard reset (= factory reset), not soft reset. He gave you the path above to do a hard reset. Many, though not all, people believe that hard resets after upgrades fix/smooth out a lot of problems. Might be worth a shot.

 

[RumoredNow]

Soft Reset just reboots with a cleared out RAM/cache. It solves glitches. Minor hiccups and odd irritants.
[NOTE]Hold the Volume Down + Power buttons until the phone vibrates and reboots (about 10 seconds).

You do not loose data, your system memory is refreshed.[/NOTE]

Hard Reset reflashes your Phone with the last OS and Firmware stored in your recovery partition of Internal memory. This is the button push method.
[NOTE]Power off the phone > hold Volume Down > press Power > keep holding Volume Down until you see the exclamation (!) screen, then immediately release the Volume Down

Now tap Volume Up / Volume Down / Power / Volume Down


You should see the spinning gears and your phone will reflash the last OS version held in recovery. You do loose data, but get your phone back. Sign into your Microsoft Account and restore your backup during the set up.[/NOTE]

Most often on these forums they talk only of Soft and Hard Resets... Many use Hard Reset to mean the button push method or the software method. I believe this muddies the waters. I think that the software method should have the traditional name given on other platforms, Factory Reset. This also reflashes your Phone with the last OS and Firmware stored in your recovery partition of Internal memory.
[NOTE]Settings > System > About > Reset your phone[/NOTE]
I have no direct evidence, just an instinctual feeling that Factory Reset is not as hard on your phone as a Hard Reset. If you do a Factory Reset (software method), the system can prep itself preparatory to flashing from recovery. If you do a Hard Reset (button push method), the phone has no warning and it is more like suddenly shifting the transmission of a car while the engine is revving. IMHO, Factory Reset is preferable then to Hard Reset and the button push method should not be your go to, but be reserved for those times your phone is unresponsive.


See also: http://forums.windowscentral.com/ge...set-types-uses.html?highlight=soft+hard+reset


I'm suggesting a Factory Reset (software method) as WDRT will not deliver you 10, only 8.1 ATM.

 

[stocktiki]

Yes, had the same issue with all three 640s I upgraded to Windows 10 using Windows Insider. Something about the upgrade doesn't carry over the Microsoft Account settings right - so contacts were missing and email didn't work.

A hard reset on these phones fixed the issue. Windows 10 runs great on the 640 - after doing a hard reset.

A little surprised Microsoft hasn't fixed this. Might explain why AT&T hasn't released it yet?

 

[Doctor_Who]

No, he's suggesting a hard reset (= factory reset), not soft reset. He gave you the path above to do a hard reset. Many, though not all, people believe that hard resets after upgrades fix/smooth out a lot of problems. Might be worth a shot.

I'm sorry I having responded sooner. During the week I have very little time to get onto my computer and do anything.

Anyway, I'd like to know about this factory reset. That sounds drastic, as in start over as if this is a brand new phone still in the box. Before I go to that extent I want to know, will it work?

 

[stocktiki]

Yes, the hard reset makes the phone like a brand new one. Make sure your files are backed up - either to your computer or OneDrive.

Here's information to help: Yes, you should do a hard reset for the best Windows 10 Mobile experience | Windows Central

 

[Doctor_Who]

Given the discussion which has gone in this thread, I think I'd like to try the Factory Reset, that RumeredNow has discussed. But before I take that plunge I've got another question. I have a microSD in my Lumia 640. (Heck, it only comes with 8 GB of storage.) Most of my apps, music, etc. are on the microSD card. I would assume that doing a Factory Reset would mean that the phone, once it (hopefully) comes back in in Windows 10 Mobile Release Preview, that it won't know anything at all about what's on the microSD card. Should I completely empty it before doing the Factory Reset? Or do I do that afterwards? I'm assuming I'll only confuse the OS once I start downloading my apps, music, etc. again.

 

[RumoredNow]

Given the discussion which has gone in this thread, I think I'd like to try the Factory Reset, that RumeredNow has discussed. But before I take that plunge I've got another question. I have a microSD in my Lumia 640. (Heck, it only comes with 8 GB of storage.) Most of my apps, music, etc. are on the microSD card. I would assume that doing a Factory Reset would mean that the phone, once it (hopefully) comes back in in Windows 10 Mobile Release Preview, that it won't know anything at all about what's on the microSD card. Should I completely empty it before doing the Factory Reset? Or do I do that afterwards? I'm assuming I'll only confuse the OS once I start downloading my apps, music, etc. again.

Apps that are installed on SD will be "forgotten" and need to be downloaded again anyway.

I'd empty out my Apps from SD, safely eject the card from inside Storage App and then physically remove it after powering down. Restart and reset the phone with the Software Method.

After setup, power down and insert the card, it will scan all your pics and media and it will be the same as it was before the reset. Download any missing Apps to SD.

 

[521520635]

I had a similar problem after using Transfer My Data. Don't know why. Maybe because IP is not yet "totally approved" yet for the 640. A factory reset did the trick and everything I've tried on the phone works great so far.

At least I hadn't installed any additional apps at that point.

Give it a shot and let us know if it resolved the issue.

 

[Doctor_Who]

OK, I'm giving the software reset a shot now. This is going to take hours, to reestablish my apps and credentials. I'll tell ya, this isn't something that as a normal user I'd ever want to mess with. I'm surprised I'm having to resort to this with the Release Preview, which I thought was sort of like a last release candidate.

 

[Doctor_Who]

OK, it's finished restarting. Now I've got the arduous task of trying to re-establish everything. But one thing I do not understand is what in heck this meaningless text message is that I get. I remember getting something similar when I first downloaded the Windows Insider app and ran it on my phone. The text message has simply a url (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=<some seemingly random number> <another random number>)

What in heck am I supposed to do with that??

 

[stocktiki]

You are right. The fact a hard reset is needed is very sloppy. I upgraded three 640s - and all three had this missing contacts problem. Seems like something the Insiders could have alerted Microsoft to. Really hope this is fixed before my mother gets her OTA upgrade from AT&T - if that ever happens.

 

[stocktiki]

I've never seen that text message. I've gotten one saying "welcome to windows 10" or something like that. You should be able to ignore.

Getting set up shouldn't take too long. Just enter your Microsoft account and redownload your apps and you'll be off to the races.

 

[Doctor_Who]

You are right. The fact a hard reset is needed is very sloppy. I upgraded three 640s - and all three had this missing contacts problem. Seems like something the Insiders could have alerted Microsoft to. Really hope this is fixed before my mother gets her OTA upgrade from AT&T - if that ever happens.

I completely agree. I'm more tech savvy than the average person, so I think that if the average user were to have to go through this, they'd take the phone back to the store where they bought it and ask for a different phone.

 

[Doctor_Who]

I've never seen that text message. I've gotten one saying "welcome to windows 10" or something like that. You should be able to ignore.

Getting set up shouldn't take too long. Just enter your Microsoft account and redownload your apps and you'll be off to the races.

It does seem to have resolved my problem. It looks like I've got all of my contacts back, calendar and so on. Downloading my apps isn't the hard part, its going through entering my credentials that's the time sink.