Almost 2 months ago I did an upgrade from Windows Phone 8.0 to Windows Phone 8.1 Preview. More about that can be found HERE. At the moment there are multiple updates installed after the upgrade (which is 8.10.12397.895 now), but still there are issues left. In my case on a Samsung ATIV S device. Beside of the issues I'm still very satisfied with the new features. Let's have a look at issues solved already and issues left.
Issues solved:
-Battery drain, I'm doing over 30 hours per battery load now.
-Reboot when using Bing Music or Vision, seems to be working now.
-Share blogposts to Facebook, but Twitter cannot be found.
Issues left:
-When switching from camera to video and start video capture. Switch back to camera after that and the screen will be black. The device must be rebooted to have camera working again.
-Also camera is taken photos with Flash while disabled in photo settings. Oops!
-Multiple unexpected reboots when using my Phone in the car connected with bluetooth. Also during the day when not connected with bluetooth.
-Share blogposts to multiple apps like Twitter isn't working anymore.
-No Cortana can be used because I'm living outsite of US. (pity)
Overall experience
I really like the new start screen with way more Live Tiles then before. Also the Action Center, Notifications (per app), Agenda (advanced), and Background on start screen are all great. When using swiping for keyboard you can create messages way faster then typing it. No way I go back to Windows Phone 8.0 ever. Microsoft did a great job on new features in the Windows Phone 8.1 Preview!
Since April 14 it's possible to upgrade Windows Phone 8.0 to Windows Phone Preview. In my case I want to do this on a Samsung ATIV S, which I'm using for over a year now. Windows Phone 8.0 is still working great, but I like to see new features in Windows Phone Preview also. Let's have a look.
Prerequisites are download the app (Preview for Developers) and register as a developer to use a "developer unlocked" phone. This can be done with payment (publish apps in the MS Store) of free usage (create apps to use on your own phone). In my case I'm using the free register. Just create a Empty App and you will be fine.
Register as a Windows Phone Developer – $19 USD, and publish apps in the Store
Register as a developer with App Studio – Free, and create apps to run on your own Windows Phones
Download the developer tools to register and "developer unlock" your phone
If you meet the prerequisites above, download the Windows Phone Preview for Developers app.
During the Windows Phone Preview installation the device will be installing 3 updates, with a reboot after every update. There will be multiple versions used after each update. In my case they were as follows:
-Microsoft Update 8.0.10521.155 (small update)
-Microsoft Update 8.0.10532.166 (big update)
-Microsoft Update 8.10.12359.845 (big update)
After almost 2 hours waiting all updates were installed. None off my files, apps or settings were lost. I'm happy with the new OS and functionality. Why wait? Just install the new killer OS :)
Experiences so far:
-Battery drain solved by soft reboot. Still using more battery then before, but way better then before the reboot. Reviews mentions that it will take a few days before battery behaves as normal.
-New features: Live Tiles, Agenda, Action Center, Battery Saver, Data Sense, Background on start screen, More apps on start screen, Big photo on screen when calling, are all great. No Cortana can be used because I'm living outsite of United States (pity).
-Strange thing is however I cannot share blogposts to Twitter and Facebook anymore? Miss that one most! Also camera is taken photos with Flash while disabled in photo settings!? Oops! When using Bing Music or Vision the device reboots. Who cares?
-Overall experience is great. Still love the device and Windows Phone. Next time it will be Nokia instead of Samsung, that's all :)
Update (1):
Battery behaves as normal after a few days. I can do 24-30 hours on a full battery load again. Another great thing is Notifications + Actions in Settings. You can decide notification banners, notification sound and vibrate per app now! No annoying vibrations on WhatsApp anymore when having 100 incoming messages a day, just turn it off for a single app. Furthermore I love the new start screen with way more Live Tiles them before. When using swiping for keyboard you can create messages way faster then typing it. Do I need to tell more? Just install the update! :) For questions use comments.
