Why wait for WM10 on older phones?

[HoosierDaddy]

Now this demand has changed to Windows Mobile on older phones. Does Microsoft really have to provide updates for older phones?

Don't know but I don't have much use for a company that would not do something just because they don't have to.

What's driving me away is a seemingly mad dash to the lowest common denominator. Lets not be exceptional. iOS or Android doesn't do something we do, so lets stop.

 

[Rugish Dapeca]

Should Microsoft be forced to provide an OS update for older phones? No, I don't think so. Forcing a company into providing a service like this for devices that do not have the minimum hardware required to support it would be ridiculous. Imagine if Apple was forced into providing their latest OS for an Apple ][+, or Microsoft to make Windows 10 available to run on an 8088 based PC. The limiting factor here is; can the hardware easily support the OS and can the OS easily support the hardware? Older phones that don't meet the minimum hardware requirements should not officially receive the updates. Adding legacy code to the OS to support that kind of older hardware just creates a bloated OS that will end up having more issues in the long run. Maintaining all those legacy kludges would be a serious waste of time.

Having said that; should Microsoft allow older phones that do meet the minimum hardware requirements to run the OS a chance to upgrade at the user's discretion? Yes, I think they should. Most of the current Windows phones in use have enough RAM, on-board storage, CPU power to run the current OS. Obviously some features like Continuum will not run on the older phones due to hardware limitations. Other phones like the Lumia 520 don't have a built-in flash, but they can still use the camera app. The OS has been coded to handle things like this so far, and I don't think it's really much of a legacy kludge to do so.

Where the future takes us is uncertain at this point. Will the phones of the near future have more internal memory and storage, faster CPUs, and generally more cool hardware in them? No question about it. And when those phones become the norm, and the OS grows to accommodate the hardware, I would expect the older phones of today like the Lumia x20 series to slowly slip below that minimum hardware requirement level and no longer be officially supported.

Microsoft seems to have drawn the line in the sand about where they stand with the current hardware requirements. We've already heard that devices with only 4GB of internal storage or no fall-back ROM image will not get the OTA update. Does this mean those devices absolutely cannot be upgraded? Probably not, as many have already successfully done so by way of the Insider program. Should Microsoft be forced into making the OTA update available to those devices? No. But as long as the Insider program allows those devices to be updated at the users own risk, then there is a path for them to take if they decide to use it.

 

[Aziz Abdurachman]

I feel they should not provide upgrade for older phones and only provide newer phones with new OS. I say this mostly because the older phones are not designed for newer OS and those who are requesting for newer OS on older phones will complain in the future that the OS is buggy without understanding that they have installed the OS on an older phone.

I fully agree on this, I am Lumia 620 user and I join insider program but I never feel the W10M never work well on my device. I rather stay with WP8.1 on my Lumia 620, it's seems W10M the OS alone is too heavy to handle, I can't play games, unlocking screen give some delay but not too long in lastest build.

 

[Jean Claude Lopez]

Microsoft has always been nicer to their customers than Apple. Even if the OS does not run well, MS allows you to use WDRT to roll back. You can never expect that from Apple, because they will tell you to go **** yourself and buy a new iPhone

 

[FaisalST32]

I'm a L730 owner and have been eagerly waiting for W10M. Given the recent reports of the OS being delayed until February, I don't want to wait. I'm planning on joining the Insider program to get the OS now. I just gave two questions. Should I join the Dast or Slow ring as I'm not too tolerant of the usual bugs? And should I hard reset my phone before I do so?
P.S. Do the builds that are released to Slow ring have lesser number of bugs than the ones released to fast ring or are they just delayed without any further bug squashing?

 

[ajayden]

I'm a L730 owner and have been eagerly waiting for W10M. Given the recent reports of the OS being delayed until February, I don't want to wait. I'm planning on joining the Insider program to get the OS now. I just gave two questions. Should I join the Dast or Slow ring as I'm not too tolerant of the usual bugs? And should I hard reset my phone before I do so?
P.S. Do the builds that are released to Slow ring have lesser number of bugs than the ones released to fast ring or are they just delayed without any further bug squashing?

Yes you should hard reset before you upgrade to the insider build. You should join the slow ring if you wish have lesser bugs and better OS experience.

 

[ajayden]

Just a little bit of info to add to this thread.

Only the following models were really designed & planned to be upgraded to Windows 10

1) Lumia 735 - Nokia Lumia 735 - Full phone specifications

2) Lumia 930 - Nokia Lumia 930 - Full phone specifications

3) Lumia 1520 - Nokia Lumia 1520 - Full phone specifications

Rest of the models were never planned to be upgraded.

 

[FaisalST32]

Yes you should hard reset before you upgrade to the insider build. You should join the slow ring if you wish have lesser bugs and better OS experience.

Thanks. What build is the slow ring on currently?

 

[ajayden]

Thanks. What build is the slow ring on currently?

You will be running 10586.29 or 10586.36 on slow ring.

 

[FurY2007]

Interesting thread, running WM10 on my L1020 without any issues at all, though it is noticeable at times that the hardware is lacking in comparison with newer phones I am enjoying WM10 much more than WP8 or 8.1. If I wouldn't be waiting for the 'surface' phone to see what it brings to the table I would have upgraded already to a 950XL.

Should MS give customers the possibility to install WM10 for older phones? Heck yes, those who want to try are the ones able to roll back of things turn out not to work, and even if you're not experienced it isn't hard to do a roll back. Having the option to upgrade to WM10 is what makes (for me) MS stand out for their philosophy towards customer care.

 

[Gaurav Tiwari]

My phon is L 640xl upgradeable to W10. When w10 available for my phone?

 

[Chintan Gohel]

My phon is L 640xl upgradeable to W10. When w10 available for my phone?

when MS says it is ready

 

[neo158]

You might want to read the number of negative posts by users in the forum. That is what prompted me to think that older phones are not to be updated.

That's because most people don't do the sensible thing of a factory reset when things stop working properly. Go watch the W10M device specific videos by Rich Woods from For the love of tech on YouTube and you'll see that the only device that struggles with running it is the Lumia 520.

 

[Greg Wenzler]

Been to a Cricket store lately? They have Windows Phones front and center in their phone lineup and they have 635 and 640 devices that you can try out on display! It's awesome!!

Even their TV ads during the holiday season had the Lumia 635 in them as what they called a "Lightning fast 4G Windows phone"

Last time I was in there the girl working told me that Windows phones are selling really well for Cricket and in most cases out selling Android and iOS devices. Is that just in my area or just at that store? I don't know, but it was still great to hear!

Well, Cricket is AT&T. AT&T owns them, and makes all the decisions with regards to what Cricket carries. It is kinda cool walking in their stores and at least seeing WP stuff. I put three family members (non-techies) on 635s there, and all are happy.

I, however, am not happy. I bought a 640 on the day that Cricket released it (last April). Nice phone, pretty blue shell. An interesting piece of promotional material next to the display from Microsoft. Cool! Says my 640 gets a free upgrade to Windows 10, when available*. I look at the asterisk and it says *late summer 2015 release. I'm a happy camper.

9 1/2 months later, no signs of W10M in sight. When Microsoft announced in December that it would not come until 2016 first qtr, I bailed and went to Android. That phone spent the equivalent of half it's life waiting for an upgrade that didn't come.

THIS IS WHY W10M HAS TO BE RELEASED TO OLDER PHONES THAT HAVE THE HARDWARE TO HANDLE IT. Those of us that post here are the tiny, tiny minority. The bulk of WP users will say..."where is my shiny new operating system I was promised? NEVER AGAIN!" Microsoft will never, ever have a chance to sell those people another phone. They spent a lot of time pushing the low end stuff out the last two years, they cannot abandon those users they just recently brought into the fold.

It's all a shame, cause WP had unlimited potential, and Microsoft continues to smack itself in the forehead and fritter it all away.

 

[Chintan Gohel]

The bulk of WP users will say..."where is my shiny new operating system I was promised? NEVER AGAIN!" Microsoft will never, ever have a chance to sell those people another phone. They spent a lot of time pushing the low end stuff out the last two years, they cannot abandon those users they just recently brought into the fold.

It's all a shame, cause WP had unlimited potential, and Microsoft continues to smack itself in the forehead and fritter it all away.

I beg to differ, the a good number (say 35% or more) don't even know that there is something called windows 10 mobile. And again for those that do know are primarily with the second phase of devices like 520, 1020, etc

 

[Greg Wenzler]

I beg to differ, the a good number (say 35% or more) don't even know that there is something called windows 10 mobile. And again for those that do know are primarily with the second phase of devices like 520, 1020, etc

So we leave them on a version that has been abandoned both in terms of the OS and the apps.

The difference is the same.

 

[Keith White Jr]

Well, Cricket is AT&T. AT&T owns them, and makes all the decisions with regards to what Cricket carries. It is kinda cool walking in their stores and at least seeing WP stuff. I put three family members (non-techies) on 635s there, and all are happy.

I, however, am not happy. I bought a 640 on the day that Cricket released it (last April). Nice phone, pretty blue shell. An interesting piece of promotional material next to the display from Microsoft. Cool! Says my 640 gets a free upgrade to Windows 10, when available*. I look at the asterisk and it says *late summer 2015 release. I'm a happy camper.

9 1/2 months later, no signs of W10M in sight. When Microsoft announced in December that it would not come until 2016 first qtr, I bailed and went to Android. That phone spent the equivalent of half it's life waiting for an upgrade that didn't come.

THIS IS WHY W10M HAS TO BE RELEASED TO OLDER PHONES THAT HAVE THE HARDWARE TO HANDLE IT. Those of us that post here are the tiny, tiny minority. The bulk of WP users will say..."where is my shiny new operating system I was promised? NEVER AGAIN!" Microsoft will never, ever have a chance to sell those people another phone. They spent a lot of time pushing the low end stuff out the last two years, they cannot abandon those users they just recently brought into the fold.

It's all a shame, cause WP had unlimited potential, and Microsoft continues to smack itself in the forehead and fritter it all away.

I know AT&T owns and runs Cricket, that's why I went to Cricket in the first place lol. But you will see a lot more Windows Phone promotional material and display units in a Cricket store than you ever will in an AT&T (or any other cell phone carrier) store was my point.

So you bailed on Windows as a phone because WM10 didn't come in December as originally planned by Microsoft? Why not just download the insider preview? I have it on my 640 and it runs wonderfully on that phone.

 

[Johnny Tremaine]

So we leave them on a version that has been abandoned both in terms of the OS and the apps.

The difference is the same.

I agree. Leaving the majority of the user base on a version of the OS----8.1----- that won't have developer app support going forward is not a good strategy. Android and Apple could always afford to leave some users behind, as they'll always spring for the shinier new version, on a new whiz bang device.
Windows phones, with their <3% global share, doesn't have that luxury. They abandon their users on an unsupported OS, at their peril. That already happened with 7.8, and it nearly killed the platform. If they pull this again, there won't be a 'nearly' about it.

 

[GazooAz]

Personally I am waiting for a new flagship phone from Blu or Alcatel to come out and hopefully be a less expensive alternative to Microsoft with some high end specs.

 

[Greg Wenzler]

I know AT&T owns and runs Cricket, that's why I went to Cricket in the first place lol. But you will see a lot more Windows Phone promotional material and display units in a Cricket store than you ever will in an AT&T (or any other cell phone carrier) store was my point.

So you bailed on Windows as a phone because WM10 didn't come in December as originally planned by Microsoft? Why not just download the insider preview? I have it on my 640 and it runs wonderfully on that phone.

I did run on the Insider Preview. I had several problems with it, but that wasn't why I bailed. I bailed because I don't think WP will be around in a year or two, and I wanted to build my app library on a platform that will stay around. It was mostly an app-based decision.