Solved Windows Phone 8.1 update questions

[HippsieGypsie]

AT&T is my carrier. I've been checking and waiting for the 8.1 update, but I just read that if I want the official WP 8.1 update I need to hard reset my phone back to from 8.1DP to 8. Didn't realize they would perform it this way.

However the bad news is that the update is only for the Nokia Lumia 1520, at least for now, so if you’re using a different handset, you’re out of luck temporarily. It should also be pointed out that the update will not work if you’re using the Developer Preview of Windows Phone 8.1, so if you are, you might want to roll it back to Windows Phone 8 in order to get the update working on your handset.

More here:

AT&T Rolls Out WP 8.1 Update For Nokia Lumia 1520 | Ubergizmo

Question is > How much will it effect concerning settings, Start/Home screen layout, etc.?

Also, will/does the official 8.1 support either Bluetooth and/or mini USB keyboards?

And finally > Would it be feasible to start a Windows Phone 8 thread in the forums so to be more specific with exposure?

 

[azasadny]

Thanks for the info! I have Win8 Black (retail, not the DP version) through AT&T and my wife and daughter have the Lumia 928 with the retail OS through Verizon and none of us have seen any Win8.1 updates yet...

 

[Brink]

Hey Tony,

I just did it on my Lumia 1520, and only had to adjust a few settings back afterwards. Be sure to back up your settings and such first.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/38578-windows-phone-8-back-up-your-app-list-setttings.html

Afterwards, do the hard reset.

(option three)
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/38501-windows-phone-8-reset-factory-default.html

...then update.
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/41754-windows-phone-software-update-check-install.html

 

[azasadny]

I wonder when my lowly Lumia 920 will get updated by AT&T... Hopefully, before my contract is up on 11/22/2014, not that I'm counting the days, or anything like that!

 

[Phone Man]

Still waiting on the cell vendors. You can check the status here:

Availability in North America - Nokia

Jim

 

[HippsieGypsie]

You're welcome, Art.

Thank you, Shawn. I will perform tomorrow. Do you think John will go for a separate WP8 thread?

Thank you, Jim for posting that, although I've seen that before. I knew mine was ready, but was wondering why it was taking so long.

 

[Brink]

Thank you, Shawn. I will perform tomorrow. Do you think John will go for a separate WP8 thread?

Not yet since the demand is not high enough for it's own separate forum.

Please let us know how it went for you.

 

[HippsieGypsie]

Ok on the WP8 forum. I understand.

Thanks for the list of tutes, Shawn! Performed everything to the tee and all went well. It upgraded straightaway to 8.1 rather than to 8, then 8.1. What a sweet deal that was. Saved time there! Start Screen layout and background pic preserved as was.

Some tiles have exclamation points on them. When pushed, it states that the app is no longer available and to remove the tile from the screen. Not sure if they're outdated or what. Bing Weather and News are two. Nokia Maps, Navigation, and Camera are others. I'm waiting for apps to download and install. I'll check out those others when done.

All in all, roughly 15 to 20 minutes between pushing hard reset to when I could use the phone. Of course this all depends on WiFi or data speeds. I used WiFi. I remember dreading to hard reset my Droid X2. Contacts and Calendar were the only things backed up. It took a long time to download and install apps and configure screens to my liking. Here it's all backed up and ready to go! This happens across all devices! And some claim that MS is headed in the wrong direction devices and services? Not in my books. Wait until the general public and businesses understand all this!

 

[Brink]

Great news. Yeah, I love how everything was pretty much automatically restored from the backups, and synced from the Microsoft account.

Come to think of it, I did have to download and install Weather from the Store again as well.

 

[HippsieGypsie]

Yes, another great experience. 5 apps weren't bad to download and install. It's better than the 20 or so apps I had to remember, hunt down, download, and install on my Droid. At least the tiles were present on the screen. Nearest I can tell is they were older versions that didn't run on the new OS, although they ran on DP. It could also be that they need the permission process to use them.

I'm off to the races!

 

[popeye]

Just downloaded it on my L520. Does seem better than 8 but I guess I'm just a blocky tile hater. Hate the standard colors assigned to them. I have an abundance of green at the moment, is there an app that lets the user change the looks?

 

[Brink]

Just downloaded it on my L520. Does seem better than 8 but I guess I'm just a blocky tile hater. Hate the standard colors assigned to them. I have an abundance of green at the moments, is there an app that lets to user change the looks?

If you like, you could change the accent color that will all change the app tile colors on Start.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/36664-windows-phone-8-accent-color-background-theme-change.html

 

[popeye]

Just downloaded it on my L520. Does seem better than 8 but I guess I'm just a blocky tile hater. Hate the standard colors assigned to them. I have an abundance of green at the moments, is there an app that lets to user change the looks?

If you like, you could change the accent color that will all change the app tile colors on Start.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/36664-windows-phone-8-accent-color-background-theme-change.html

Thanks Shawn, I will at least set it to something I like better. Still hate that so many of the standard tiles get set to the same color. Same thing I don't like on PC Windows and one reason why I use Classic Shell and desktop.

Guess I'm old and getting more resistant to change.

 

[Brink]

Nar, you're just wanting better change.

 

[vrosa]

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[TR]
[TD="colspan: 1"]Product[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 1"]Description[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 1"]Latest version[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 1"]Lumia Amber[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 1"]Lumia Black[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 1"]Lumia Cyan[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="colspan: 1"]Lumia 520[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 1"]Country variant[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 1"]3056.40000.1402.0001[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 1"]Available[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 1"]Available[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 1"]Under testing[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="colspan: 1"]Lumia 520[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 1"]Claro[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 1"]3056.40000.1402.0002[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 1"]Available[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 1"]Available[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 1"]Under testing[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="colspan: 1"]Lumia 520[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 1"]Oi[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 1"]3056.40000.1402.0002[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 1"]Available[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 1"]Available[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 1"]Under testing[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="colspan: 1"]Lumia 520[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 1"]TIM[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 1"]3056.40000.1402.0003[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 1"]Available[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 1"]Available[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 1"]Under testing[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="colspan: 1"]Lumia 520[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 1"]Vivo[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 1"]3056.40000.1402.0001[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 1"]Available[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 1"]Available[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 1"]Under testing[/TD]
[/TR]
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My carrier is VIVO and I am still waiting for wp8.1 (Cyan) update !

 

[HippsieGypsie]

Just downloaded it on my L520. Does seem better than 8 but I guess I'm just a blocky tile hater. Hate the standard colors assigned to them. I have an abundance of green at the moment, is there an app that lets the user change the looks?

How did your update go overall?

If you use a picture for background you can get it to look similar to this: http://www.eightforums.com/drivers-hardware/45270-show-us-your-windows-phone.html

More developers are using transparent tiles.

 

[popeye]

Hi HG, the update went well, I believe it took about a half hour. I do like that transparent tile effect much better and will give it a try. Thanks for all your ideas!

Edit: Setting the Start background to one of the solid colors is a definite improvement. Kind of like the pebble blue one.