[jammytech]

I love 8.1 BUT the gaming performance is awful compared to 8. With windows 8 fifa 14 didn't lag at all. With 8.1 every 10 seconds it lags so badly for a couple of seconds like its playing in slow motion. Soft and hard reset didn't do anything and its not on SD card.

[Conan143]

hey Rob00000 just take your time in mastering the windowsphone 8.1 to its full potential and i am sure u will never want to go back to wp8...Everyone here says the same thing....and Good luck

[colinkiama]

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!!!

Change the default camera back to Microsoft camera in the settings. Cortana can be disabled by going to the settings then scrolling left to apps and tapping Cortana. You have a notifications center now. Slide down from the top of the screen to show it. You even have quick toggles for wifi,Bluetooth and others that are customizable. You even have quick access to the settings from there. You can now you shape writing which is basically just like Swype. Just swipe on the keyboard what you want to say. You can manage every single app in battery saver now. And you can see how the apps use your battery. This is the best update ever. You just need to get used to it. This gave me hope in wp.

[Rob00000]

Well, I've read all of your replies and I thank you for the feedback.

Many of you said I need to give it more time, learn the features before complaining, etc. I understand.

I think maybe I was a little spoiled before because when I had my Nokia 900 & 920 those phones were so easy to operate and understand. I felt the same way when I got my 1520 & I guess I just assumed the 8.1 upgrade would be a total cakewalk for me after reading all the great reviews on it.

Seeing so many of you who love it, I must be wrong in my initial assessment of it. I'll give it some time for sure.

Someone said it's apparent the OP (me) just doesn't know how to use his phone. Well gee, that's my point. Before the upgrade I found my phone easy to use & not so much now.

All that being said, I agree with you all that I've formed a negative opinion on 8.1 much too early & need to give it more time.

At any rate I see my post generated a lot of interest & discussion & that's a good thing.

I didn't find anyone's comments to me or about me to be offensive. No hard feelings.

To the guy who said I was "too old for this S#&$" well, I'm 54 & you'll be there someday too so be nice to us "old folks" young fella! OK?

Peace to you all.

[Great deal]

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!!!

Agree on the calendar point. The pros do outweigh the cons heavily though, the notification centre, sype keyboard, VPN, overall speed and bug busting etc

Camera - You cant touch the screen to take pics, aside from that in Nokia Camera Pro the settings seem the same as in 8.

Cortana - personal assistant - great for speaking to it in natural language, if you don't want it just turn it off. Go to settings, swipe right, click Cortana and off. Its part of the OS so you cant delete it (not sure the reason you want to tbh)

Calendar...what a piece of S**T I cant believe how BAD it was in 8.0 and in 8.1 they have added a week view and completely screwed the tasks up. I run 2 companies and calendar and tasks is fundamental core to ANY company and the pitiful excuse for calendar/tasks is beyond belief. The 3rd party ones are not good enough.

However, MS will be focussing on enterprise (thank god) going forward and will give them one last chance to sort the basics out else I will revaluate in order to be able to get things done.

In all honesty I would like to line the team/managers/testers who designed the calendar/tasks app and run down the line slapping them as I go. They need to do what the Xbox Music team are doing and focus on bi weekly updates to make it remotely usable.

[Paul Verizzo]

I do not suffer fools gladly. Arrogance and narcissism are among the worst ways of being a fool. I was put on this earth to point out such stupidity. OK, just kidding.

Whether to change OS and phone or not is a personal decision. Overkill for you or me, proper course of action for others.

[EC Translating Services]

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!!!

Rob you can go back to 8 if you so wish but you're actually losing several new functionalities and other things 8.1 offers you (for a device you paid for which had a limited OS). I took the time to read all your post and, please take this with all the humbleness you can imagine, the issues you're complaining about (except smaller keys which may be an issue for some users) the others appear to be a sort of "change crisis". The OS changed so much that left you irritated and disoriented. I have been on the Betas so like others here we got the Beta before others and all what you are seeing is no news. Now there is Beta with Update 1. And i can tell you the phone only got better for me. They even allow me to open password protected files with Office from the SD card, something 8 and 8.1 DP could not do. I can't edit but that's another thing.

Take your time to get used to the new things and get ready for more changes to come. My advice is just to spend some time getting acquainted with changes without losing your temper.

Have a nice day.

[Miska Hietala]

8.1 update gave me lag in most transitions. From Nokia camera to gallery takes about ten seconds to get. Don't know why..
Sent from my NeverAndroidAgain**1020** via Tapatalk

[lancorp]

Calendar...what a piece of S**T I cant believe how BAD it was in 8.0 and in 8.1 they have added a week view and completely screwed the tasks up. I run 2 companies and calendar and tasks is fundamental core to ANY company and the pitiful excuse for calendar/tasks is beyond belief. The 3rd party ones are not good enough.

Apple did the same thing in iOS 7...screwed up the calendar, took away views that many people (including business people) relied on, but ultimately, after enough people griped and complained, they brought those views back to calendar.

Personally, I'd like to see an Outlook for Windows Phone. One integrated app that has all your info that you already have in Outlook on your PC or Mac. Those with Exchange accounts would finally have a seamless experience from desktop to phone. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that...I wonder if one is in the works?

[cthulhucometh]

Sorry you feel that way, but I got 99 problems and WP 8.1 isn't one of them. I personally love it.

[cthulhucometh]

(for a device you paid for which had a limited OS)

THIS!!!! I love my Windows phone, have had 7 and 8 and 8.1 BETA and 8.1 feels like a full OS now. I've stuck with them though all the OS changes (because I actually liked 7 and 8 as well) and 8.1 feels like the OS we were all hoping for, that would put WP directly in competition with Apple and Android.

[timppa_k]

....
To the guy who said I was "too old for this S#&$" well, I'm 54 & you'll be there someday too so be nice to us "old folks" young fella! OK?

I am 68 and some day you will be the same. But I'm still learning to use my phone and I hope I will be learning WP9.0 and 10.0 !!!

[Alonso-Star]

I have an Eye side, One of the most problems to me that they make the keys smaller. I chose my phone Nokia 1320 coz it's big and will be good for typing. I dont use games and all of this stuff. my usage are pretty normal and texting is important issue. Plz if someone know someway to make the keys of the keyboard looks bigger plz let me know. I also lost some futures I dont know how such as tiles editing look in Start+them I only can change background but no making this tile and much more stuff but most important for me is the keys.

[Jazmac]

Well, I've read all of your replies and I thank you for the feedback.

Many of you said I need to give it more time, learn the features before complaining, etc. I understand.

I think maybe I was a little spoiled before because when I had my Nokia 900 & 920 those phones were so easy to operate and understand. I felt the same way when I got my 1520 & I guess I just assumed the 8.1 upgrade would be a total cakewalk for me after reading all the great reviews on it.

Seeing so many of you who love it, I must be wrong in my initial assessment of it. I'll give it some time for sure.

Someone said it's apparent the OP (me) just doesn't know how to use his phone. Well gee, that's my point. Before the upgrade I found my phone easy to use & not so much now.

All that being said, I agree with you all that I've formed a negative opinion on 8.1 much too early & need to give it more time.

At any rate I see my post generated a lot of interest & discussion & that's a good thing.

I didn't find anyone's comments to me or about me to be offensive. No hard feelings.

To the guy who said I was "too old for this S#&$" well, I'm 54 & you'll be there someday too so be nice to us "old folks" young fella! OK?

Peace to you all.

Don't be tempted into rolling back. Take your time and learn the new stuff. You'll find it matches up perfectly with what you already know about WP. The changes are worth it. You'll see. Besides the fact that you're here proves you have the chops for it. You'll be fine in no time.

[FaisalST32]

I think WP 8.1 solved many of the existing problems of WP 8. Some features were absolutely essential. Volume controls, saving apps to SD Card, action center, and many more, are what make WP able to compete in the mobile OS race. Sure some changes are stupid, but overall, its a lifesaver.

[bbobeckyj]

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 didn't read every reply in detail, but I think I can help with the spefifc complaints in your OP.
Camera, you were using the MS camera, and now have the Nokia Camera set as the default. Change this in the camera settings.
Cortana can be turned off, it's the first option in Cortana's settings. But I would advise against it as it is only Bing with a different GUI and a few features added. The search field being at the bottom, on it's own would be a feature to have me leave it on, even on a smaller screen.
Calendar, swipe left/right to the adjacent day, when it stops at 11pm, or at any time.
Tasks, were hard to access anyway, (why are they not shown in the calendar?) I use Cortana instead, and adding tasks or calendar events is easier with Cortana than going into the Task/Calendar app to do so.

[Rob00000]

I tried Swype for the first time yesterday on my 1520! Wow! I'd never heard of it before till one of you mentioned it here. It's pretty neat & works good. I'm typing this message with it. Thanks for all the information and encouragement everyone. Wow! Swype even spelled encouragement!

[BaritoneGuy]

Apple did the same thing in iOS 7...screwed up the calendar, took away views that many people (including business people) relied on, but ultimately, after enough people griped and complained, they brought those views back to calendar.

Personally, I'd like to see an Outlook for Windows Phone. One integrated app that has all your info that you already have in Outlook on your PC or Mac. Those with Exchange accounts would finally have a seamless experience from desktop to phone. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that...I wonder if one is in the works?

Personally, I like the new calendar and the fact it is unbundled from the OS. My favorite is the week view. As someone who has a difficult calendar to manage I find it quite a step forward. At work we are on Exchange 2013 and the features for forwarding, replying to, deleting events are the best of any OS in my opinion.

I do agree that I would like a better tasks experience.

[Noahma]

I tried Swype for the first time yesterday on my 1520! Wow! I'd never heard of it before till one of you mentioned it here. It's pretty neat & works good. I'm typing this message with it. Thanks for all the information and encouragement everyone. Wow! Swype even spelled encouragement!

Just keep on going. Others have posted some links to help files they may be of some use to you. Test out Cortana as well, it has saved me tons of time setting alarms, finding different businesses. and other general stuff, plus she is fun to ask silly questions to.

[princeegli]

I got the 8.1 preview for developers....and like it better than 8.0.but I don't see a great reason to go to cyan....defiantly not enough to go through the hassle of downgrading to 8.0 just to get it,ill wait til MS lifts their block they have going,to get cyan on phones running 8.1 PD ......then ill decide if I want it

[neo158]

Just keep on going. Others have posted some links to help files they may be of some use to you. Test out Cortana as well, it has saved me tons of time setting alarms, finding different businesses. and other general stuff, plus she is fun to ask silly questions to.

I also use Cortana to dictate text messages as well, works really well with the inner circle. OP, the Help+Tips (beta) app that someone posted the link to earlier might help you with learning the new features, there's always the rest of us on here who are happy to help (even if we don't own the same device as you)

[Jazmac]

I tried Swype for the first time yesterday on my 1520! Wow! I'd never heard of it before till one of you mentioned it here. It's pretty neat & works good. I'm typing this message with it. Thanks for all the information and encouragement everyone. Wow! Swype even spelled encouragement!

Look at you!! Like I said, you'll be fine in no time Rob000000. Already you are making new friends. I love word flow. Glad to finally get it.

[AngrySprintUser]

It's a toss up for me. I got the DP for my Ativ S Neo. Lost data usage so Sprint had to give me a new phone. I'm back at at 8.0, and there's many things I like about 8.0 but also some things I miss about 8.1.

I miss the notification center, and task manager to X things out. I also miss having Cortana. What I love about 8.0 is the integration with the People's Hub which is gone with 8.1. I like having everything integrated and not having to have app launch. A shame they can't combine both, but I do want Cortana back so I want 8.1, but it's not available with Sprint, and the DP will render data useless.

[bryanibuan]

The things you hate, are the things I love about the update. The calendar is way much better, even the stock camera app as it now allow you to make shortcuts for the functions I use often, the stock camera app is a pain to use if you make changes with the camera settings, but does win in simplicity. I guess you just need someone to teach you about the changes and you'll love it.

[Geddeeee]

The only thing I really despise about WP8.1.1 is Cortana. A complete waste of memory in my opinion!!!! Luckily she can be turned off, and is!!!
Everything else only enhances the great WP8.1 experience