Serious dislikes with the 8.1 upgrade.

Status
Not open for further replies.

Timbre70

New member
Jul 10, 2014
934
0
0
Visit site
Another feature which is sorely missing is the missing icons for various system functions in settings. I mean how complicated can it be to include icons since the right side of the screen is almost bare? How much system resources needed just to add simple but elegant icons? It will help when looking up the long list of system functions as it currently does not arrange in any alphabetically order or by any logic.
 
Last edited:

nicfromwales

New member
Apr 15, 2014
330
0
0
Visit site
What Dazzi is trying to say is, it was much easier in W8.0 to block off background tasks = just tap tap tap on the list of apps you want to switch off. In W8.1, you need to tap which will bring you to another screen, from there you slide the toggle switch.........................

Since background tasks are usually a long list, it can be quite a time-consuming task to do this for the whole list.


It can be time consuming, but I only had to do it once (and occasionally for a newly downloaded app), and considered this part of the phone set up. I can't understand going back and forth to switch background tasks on and off. They're on for the apps which require being on, and off for those which don't. Why make it harder on myself by turning one off which I know I'll need on again later? It probably takes up more battery to do that than the app would take running in the background anyway.
 

Dazzi

New member
Apr 13, 2013
222
0
0
Visit site
It can be time consuming, but I only had to do it once (and occasionally for a newly downloaded app), and considered this part of the phone set up. I can't understand going back and forth to switch background tasks on and off. They're on for the apps which require being on, and off for those which don't. Why make it harder on myself by turning one off which I know I'll need on again later? It probably takes up more battery to do that than the app would take running in the background anyway.
I shall tell you why my dear friend, it's because for the last 2 months I've been use my phone a lot during the day. And if I didn't disable certain apps I would have to charge my phone at least twice per day -- which I don't want to do. Granted, everybody uses their phone differently, but unfortunately for me this is the reality of the situation.

Furthermore, since the new update my battery drains a lot faster than before. Therefore, the old way of doing things is greatly missed, as it is a ball-ache having to manually do things when it was automatically done before. Regards
 

nicfromwales

New member
Apr 15, 2014
330
0
0
Visit site
I shall tell you why my dear friend, it's because for the last 2 months I've been use my phone a lot during the day. And if I didn't disable certain apps I would have to charge my phone at least twice per day -- which I don't want to do. Granted, everybody uses their phone differently, but unfortunately for me this is the reality of the situation.

Furthermore, since the new update my battery drains a lot faster than before. Therefore, the old way of doing things is greatly missed, as it is a ball-ache having to manually do things when it was automatically done before. Regards

I can understand wanting to increase your battery life. Since 8.1 there's been a noticeable reduction in the amount of hours I can run my phone. But in my experience, the vast majority of apps, when switched on in the background, use such a tiny amount of battery, it's hardly worth bothering to switch them on and off. Some don't use ANY battery in the background, at least nothing the Battery Saver app can pick up on. There are exceptions like IE and WhatsApp; fortunately I can switch IE off, but WhatsApp needs to stay on. But for the most part, I think I save more battery life, and more years of my own life not lost to stress, if I leave background tasks on in certain apps where needed. This is the benefit of 8.1's deeper customisability.
 

anon(5973126)

New member
May 8, 2013
35
0
0
Visit site
You know before going to upgrade u have to read the update description...It your fault for installing the update anyway u can revert to WP8 by using nokia recovery tool...Good luck and make sure to backup before reverting...
seriously.. with all the blogs yapping about how great WP8.1 is everyone would want to give it a try.. with regard to features.. they come at a price STABILITY.. WP8.0 was a more stable OS compared to 8.1, when you click on an app it used to just show up and we can start using now its either the splash screen or 'resuming...' or 'loading..' or just blank screens for a few seconds then the content actually starts loading(which takes a few seconds after that)..
it used to be a fast and fluid OS.. now its just slooooooooowwwww and irritating to use
 

mjrtoo

New member
Sep 28, 2011
896
0
0
Visit site
seriously.. with all the blogs yapping about how great WP8.1 is everyone would want to give it a try.. with regard to features.. they come at a price STABILITY.. WP8.0 was a more stable OS compared to 8.1, when you click on an app it used to just show up and we can start using now its either the splash screen or 'resuming...' or 'loading..' or just blank screens for a few seconds then the content actually starts loading(which takes a few seconds after that)..
it used to be a fast and fluid OS.. now its just slooooooooowwwww and irritating to use
Infuriating, really? There are a lot more things to get rightfully upset about, don't get infuriated over a phone.
 

Huime

New member
Oct 30, 2012
1,019
0
0
Visit site
I feel for you mate, but I think the new calender is way better -- I can see everything at a glance. However, what I don't like is as follows:

It seems like Microsoft has tried to fix things that aren't broken, while trying to implement new features. This has resulted in a mess in some parts of the OS. One example is the new toggle to stop apps running in the background -- it's stupid which makes simple tasks take longer, and I'll tell you why.

As far as I'm aware, now I have to go to:

settings > battery saver > usage > click app > toggle switch off.

Whereas, before it was:

settings > swipe applications > background tasks > app > block > tick box to turn background tasks back on, when the app is reopened.

Some members may look and say the new way has one less step.

However, in reality it isn't. For example, when I use MetroTube I like to lock my screen when I'm only listening to lectures, as I don't need to watch the video. The updated way of doing things doesn't allow it, if it's toggled off. So I have to go back through all those steps to enable background tasks, so MetroTube plays the video in the background. This means it takes 10 steps to do what it took 6 to do before the update -- because it automatically enabled background tasks.

I hope I'm wrong and somebody can show me a simpler way of doing things with new way, than the the old method. If not, this proves Microsoft have messed it up by not studying real life usage. Therefore, this isn't making my life easier, which I thought it would do.
You are just one of them get used to whatever they throw on you, which is a complement.

But in fact, the new categorizing is much more straight forward to the mass.

However I do agree they changed other things which is not essential while left out the most wanted.
 

Paul Verizzo

New member
Jul 20, 2013
497
0
0
Visit site
You too old for this s#&%. :)

Are you supposed to be funny? And old folks are not justified in having a well detailed opinion?

Were you even born when I started using computers? (1988) Or, cellular services in a car phone? (1985)

Oh, and let me correct your grammar. That should be "You're", not "You."

Pretty arrogant for someone still dribbling snot from their nose.
 
Last edited:

Lance_WPCentral

New member
Nov 22, 2013
1,451
0
0
Visit site
I recently got a message on my phone saying my 1520 had updates available. I updated to 8.1 & honestly I am beyond disappointed. Not for nothing, but I don't know why everyone wants so badly to upgrade to 8.1. It sucks! The calender changed & I liked it the way it was before when I had 8.0. My camera changed with the 8.1 upgrade & I'm having a hard time understanding how to use it. I can take pictures, yes, but the settings, etc. are very hard to understand now. With 8.0 I could touch the screen anywhere & it would take a picture. Now, there's only a small spot you have to touch. With 8.0 I could turn off the flash whenever I wanted. I have no clue how to do it now. Honestly, I hate everything about 8.1. I enjoy my phone much less. And, what is Cortana & how come it won't allow me to delete it from my phone? I wish it would just go away! Is there a way I can go back to 8.0? I really loved my 1520 when I bought it. I've owned a 900 & I still own a 920 but 8.1 has ruined my 1520. What is so great about 8.1? I can't even scroll to the next day on my calender like I used to with 8.0. No! It stops at 11pm! My tasks are harder to access as well. Who designed this dog of an update? Give me back 8.0!!!
After reading what ever you have said, I don't think you would cope well with WP going forward as you aren't flexible with changes. I think you need to switch to another OS. Please don't get me wrong, but WP8.1 is infinitely better to WP8.
 

James8561

New member
Dec 3, 2012
1,282
0
0
Visit site
huh? you're the first person that say they don't like 8.1 compared to 8.0 and every single major thing 8.1 improved you hated.
sounds like you're very change-averse and doesn't want to learn new things.
 

TechFreak1

Moderator
May 15, 2013
4,611
5
38
Visit site
From reading your post, I think your actual gripe is not knowing how to use the windows 8.1 and its changes. I would suggest looking up several how to's, there are plenty of article on Wpcentral. I have taught many users like yourself (The got a new laptop thus running Windows 8.0+ when their previous pc / laptop ran XP or 7 or upgraded from a feature phone to Windows phone [you may say that was a bias recommendation :winktongue:]) and trust me when I say - you will enjoy your device even more and it's new features when you know how to utilise them.

I would suggest you spend the time going through the following
Lumia Cyan | Windows Phone Central

By downgrading your actually devaluing your phone by a large margin, 8.1 adds an insane amount of features. Furthermore by downgrading and remaining on 8.0 you will no longer get any GDR updates as they will be installed on Windows phone 8.1 as a base core. In addition to this your favourite apps may require windows phone 8.1 in the future.

As for ticking off "automatically download updates" does not mean you will not get pestered about the update - you will receive a notification per day about the pending update. (I have Build 12400.899 and get error 0x8088308 which means I cannot update to GDR1 until MS address it - I have automatically downloads updates turned off).

To turn Cortana off or uninstall (delete), do the following:
1) Turn on Location
2) Go to Settings - Applications - Cortana - turn off
3) You will need to restart the phone and upon the restarting the phone you should be promoted to either to turn off or delete if not go back into the same settings under applications (if you choose the latter option other than a hard reset I'm not sure who else you may get her back - if you changed your mind)

wp_ss_20140809_0001.png
 

Hankerin

New member
Jul 18, 2012
8
0
0
Visit site
However, in reality it isn't. For example, when I use MetroTube I like to lock my screen when I'm only listening to lectures, as I don't need to watch the video. The updated way of doing things doesn't allow it, if it's toggled off. So I have to go back through all those steps to enable background tasks, so MetroTube plays the video in the background. This means it takes 10 steps to do what it took 6 to do before the update -- because it automatically enabled background tasks.

I hope I'm wrong and somebody can show me a simpler way of doing things with new way, than the the old method. If not, this proves Microsoft have messed it up by not studying real life usage. Therefore, this isn't making my life easier, which I thought it would do.

If understand you correctly, all you need to do is slide down to bring up the notification screen. Then select "Rotation Lock" in the upper right.
 

manicottiK

New member
Nov 24, 2011
660
0
0
Visit site
I recently got a message on my phone saying my 1520 had updates available. I updated to 8.1 & honestly I am beyond disappointed. Not for nothing, but I don't know why everyone wants so badly to upgrade to 8.1. It sucks! The calender changed & I liked it the way it was before when I had 8.0. My camera changed with the 8.1 upgrade & I'm having a hard time understanding how to use it. I can take pictures, yes, but the settings, etc. are very hard to understand now. With 8.0 I could touch the screen anywhere & it would take a picture. Now, there's only a small spot you have to touch. With 8.0 I could turn off the flash whenever I wanted. I have no clue how to do it now. Honestly, I hate everything about 8.1. I enjoy my phone much less. And, what is Cortana & how come it won't allow me to delete it from my phone? I wish it would just go away! Is there a way I can go back to 8.0? I really loved my 1520 when I bought it. I've owned a 900 & I still own a 920 but 8.1 has ruined my 1520. What is so great about 8.1? I can't even scroll to the next day on my calender like I used to with 8.0. No! It stops at 11pm! My tasks are harder to access as well. Who designed this dog of an update? Give me back 8.0!!!

Honestly, this strikes me as snark, but I'll give it the benefit of doubt. Here are some specific answers/responses:

Calendar day switching: the 8.0 app treated time as a single linear list. As such, moving forward two days involved lots of scrolling. Now, the calendar is two dimensional instead of one. To see the next days, swipe left or right. This should be obvious for a WP user because the calendar app looks just like any pivot app where left/right swiping is used. The new calendar now provides usable week and month views and tapping on a day expands it to show the details of the day, sort of like the old Agenda view.

Tasks (in calendar): Since the calendar now uses left/right swiping to switch days, the Tasks list isn't something that you can swipe to. As you've already seen, it's in the Pp menu that you get by tapping the ... menu at the bottom of the screen. I would hope that Microsoft makes it possible to have Tasks pinnacle as a tile.

Cortland vs Bing: (someone already addressed this)

Camera use: I don't know what they were thinking, but recall that you have a physical camera button.
 

Zachary Boddy

Staff member
Aug 3, 2014
2,372
11
38
www.windowscentral.com
This is a strange thread, and I think it's derived from the habits you gained from using 8.0. 8.1 only improved 8.0, and while there are several problems and bugs, you must remember that this is a new update. The future updates are expected to fix these problems, and things such as greater battery drain are down to optimization. This new interface hasn't been quite polished to the point 8.0 was, but again, new update!
I suggest at least trying it out. Take some time to go through the Settings and trying out all the new features. Play with Cortana and use her to schedule things on your calendar, and so on. If you don't like her turn her off, but she can be darn useful. Play with the Action Center and set things to notify you and set quick settings. Take a nice picture of something(avoid anything with white in it) and set it as your background. Get to know your way around the more customizable and flexible interface of 8.1 and let it become polished. If you don't like it after actually using it, go back to 8.0, but you'll practically nullify your phone and make it obsolete.
Give it a chance first.
 

TechFreak1

Moderator
May 15, 2013
4,611
5
38
Visit site
This is a strange thread, and I think it's derived from the habits you gained from using 8.0. 8.1 only improved 8.0, and while there are several problems and bugs, you must remember that this is a new update. The future updates are expected to fix these problems, and things such as greater battery drain are down to optimization. This new interface hasn't been quite polished to the point 8.0 was, but again, new update!
I suggest at least trying it out. Take some time to go through the Settings and trying out all the new features. Play with Cortana and use her to schedule things on your calendar, and so on. If you don't like her turn her off, but she can be darn useful. Play with the Action Center and set things to notify you and set quick settings. Take a nice picture of something(avoid anything with white in it) and set it as your background. Get to know your way around the more customizable and flexible interface of 8.1 and let it become polished. If you don't like it after actually using it, go back to 8.0, but you'll practically nullify your phone and make it obsolete.
Give it a chance first.

People do no like what they do no understand or comprehend as it is foreign or alien to them. Once they have had a chance to process, understand and ultimately learn, in this case the flow of actions to accomplish certain tasks. They ease up, relax and learn to appreciate the new functions thus beginning the cycle of exploration and experimentation in social enviroments (getting a miracast adapter and using "project my display" to show photos, videos on their tv to family members for example). As it builds their confidence with-in one self, which is key to anything imo as without confidence there is no motivation or desire to learn or understand.
 

HeyCori

Mod Emeritus
Mar 1, 2011
6,860
67
48
Visit site
My camera changed with the 8.1 upgrade & I'm having a hard time understanding how to use it. I can take pictures, yes, but the settings, etc. are very hard to understand now. With 8.0 I could touch the screen anywhere & it would take a picture.

It sounds like Nokia Camera has become the default camera app. The standard camera app (which is still listed as Camera) still allows you to tap anywhere on the screen. You can change the default camera in the settings menu.
 

Al4video

New member
Jun 8, 2014
155
0
0
Visit site
I recently got a message on my phone saying my 1520 had updates available. I updated to 8.1 & honestly I am beyond disappointed. Not for nothing, but I don't know why everyone wants so badly to upgrade to 8.1. It sucks! The calender changed & I liked it the way it was before when I had 8.0. My camera changed with the 8.1 upgrade & I'm having a hard time understanding how to use it. I can take pictures, yes, but the settings, etc. are very hard to understand now. With 8.0 I could touch the screen anywhere & it would take a picture. Now, there's only a small spot you have to touch. With 8.0 I could turn off the flash whenever I wanted. I have no clue how to do it now. Honestly, I hate everything about 8.1. I enjoy my phone much less. And, what is Cortana & how come it won't allow me to delete it from my phone? I wish it would just go away! Is there a way I can go back to 8.0? I really loved my 1520 when I bought it. I've owned a 900 & I still own a 920 but 8.1 has ruined my 1520. What is so great about 8.1? I can't even scroll to the next day on my calender like I used to with 8.0. No! It stops at 11pm! My tasks are harder to access as well. Who designed this dog of an update? Give me back 8.0!!!

I hate to say it but just the rant about the camera tells me you have no clue how to operate your own phone.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
322,913
Messages
2,242,887
Members
428,004
Latest member
hetb