All about windows 10 mobile. Windows Insider Program User Guide. I am not getting updates

The future of Windows 10 Mobile has been a hot topic among fans and critics ever since Microsoft announced that Windows 10 Mobile development will move to and stay in the feature2 branch. While Microsoft has said the change is minor, Windows Central resource sources paint a different story; development of Windows 10 Mobile was separated from the rest of Windows 10 on other platforms. But why?

Microsoft separated the development of Windows 10 Mobile from the rest of Windows 10 because Windows 10 Mobile is no longer required for what Microsoft has planned for Windows on mobile devices. Sources suggest that Microsoft's next mobile device will run what the company calls Andromeda OS internally; a version of Windows that aims to be modular enough to run on any form factor and, as a result, eliminates the need for the Windows 10 Mobile edition. So Microsoft no longer needs a Windows-specific version of Windows 10, which means that Windows 10 Mobile is now redundant.

This is great news, except for one important detail; existing Windows smartphones will not receive updates to this "Andromeda OS".

feature2 branch

According to the sources, the feature2 branch exists to continue supporting what Microsoft's internal documentation calls "legacy ARM chipsets" for the next year and a half. The main goal of the feature2 branch is to continue servicing Windows 10 mobile devices through 2018 with bug fixes, security updates, and new enterprise-specific features. It is also reported that Microsoft will support the new UWP APIs that will be introduced in Redstone 3 and Redstone 4 on PC.

The reason these APIs are "backward" and not originally introduced is because the feature2 branch is technically Redstone 2 (but it's frozen). When Microsoft split Windows 10 Mobile into a feature2 branch, it also froze OneCore development in Redstone 2. Now, given that Windows 10 Mobile won't recreate the rest of Windows 10 development, this means that Windows 10 Mobile will support Redstone 2 for the remainder of the own life.

So, to compensate, Microsoft will be supporting the new UWP APIs that will be introduced in Redstone 3 and Redstone 4. This means that if an app developer targets any new UWP APIs that will be introduced in the next couple of Windows 10 releases, those apps will continue to work with feature2 Windows 10 Mobile. This should give Windows 10 Mobile an extra boost to life in the next year or so.

That is why the Skip Ahead setting for Windows 10 mobile devices does not exist. There is simply nothing to miss. The only development of Windows 10 Mobile is Redstone 2.

It is indeed true that Microsoft continued to compile builds of Redstone 3 for Windows 10 Mobile for a while, but only to continue developing CShell on smaller engineering devices. However, sources have said that this is no longer the case as of last month as CShell will not be available for existing Windows smartphones. It's also worth noting that Microsoft's efforts to bring new APIs to Windows 10 Mobile are only planned until Redstone 4, but that could change.

App support won't last forever

Once the APIs stop receiving hits, Windows 10 Mobile devices will very quickly fall behind the rest of Windows 10 when it comes to supporting UWP apps. As developers start integrating the new APIs coming with Redstone 5, these apps won't be able to run on feature2 with Windows 10 Mobile, meaning devices like the Lumia 950 and HP Elite x3 will quickly lose support. applications. Microsoft may continue to serve Windows 10 Mobile with security updates in 2018.

Microsoft will continue to release production builds of Windows 10 Mobile (outside of the Insider Program) and may also continue to align them with PC releases such as the Fall Creators Update. But since development is split between Mobile and Desktop, Microsoft can choose to release mobile updates on its own schedule if it wants to.

In short, Microsoft will support Windows 10 Mobile for the foreseeable future to serve the remaining users.

Windows 10 Mobile is a mobile version of the system from Microsoft, which is much better adapted for mobile devices, especially if they are with a touch screen.

Microsoft is famous for its operating systems and office products. However, recently she has also started working on mobile versions of the OS and released Windows 10 Mobile. This is not the first experience of the company in this direction. Prior to that, there was a mobile OS with the prefix Phone. But not so long ago it was abolished and a newer and more advanced version was put into development. It is about its features and some of the nuances of use that we will talk about further.

Features of Windows 10 Mobile

The steps for installing and configuring the system cannot be called complicated, and it doesn’t take much time for all this. However, there are some features worth pointing out. For example, it is officially possible to obtain a system, both directly upon purchase on the site, and as a result of the acquisition of an officially sold phone or gadget. In this case, the system itself can go as a bonus.

There are some mobile phones that allow you to update the system in an official way, regardless of how you got it. In this case, you can receive individual assemblies that developers use. This requires pre-registration on the official service, and then it remains only to download the required system.

Since some users received Windows 10 Mobile as a result of the update, they could see that many standard applications have changed in some way:

Calendar;
photo gallery;
Messages;
Xbox;
edge.

An application such as Calendar was merged with Mail and received the single name Outlook. Here, users can customize the work with letters, events and other elements in a special way. All this can be synchronized with a smart calendar.

New features in the latest version of Windows 10 Mobile

Recently, developers have made it possible to use OneDrive cloud storage to store their own photos. The information about the place of shooting and its date is now added to the pictures taken. Most of the devices on which this system is installed have a built-in camera, so this feature was logical and much needed. We wonder why it was included in the software only after a few years of the product's existence.

The user can integrate the Messages application with . It is possible to quickly respond to some messages that now appear as notifications. A special system has been thought out for notifications, which allows you not to be distracted by some notifications that are not important to you. And you don't even need to brush them off all the time. The system will remember your interests and will try to display only what is really important. Of course, errors are possible, but at the same time, you can manage all the processes manually, it all depends on your settings.

The built-in browser did not change much. However, it now has the ability to switch to reading mode so that the user can work directly with the material of the article and not be distracted by ad blocks.

Summarizing our short review of Windows 10 Mobile, we note that so far it is not yet a competitor on iOS or Android. Both competitors are head and shoulders above the product from Microsoft. However, if we compare this assembly with what it was at least a couple of years ago, then this is heaven and earth, and therefore, you can give the system a second chance if you have already used it before and you might not like it.

For those who have had experience with WM 10, we remind you that you can leave a comment or even a full review about the system, we will be happy to read your impressions about the real experience of using this product.

Windows phone 10 is an updated version of the popular operating system for users of Microsoft Lumia devices, which was introduced by developers in 2015.

The OS release date in Russia is December 2015.

During this month, all Lumiya devices in the Russian Federation will be automatically updated to the tenth version of the system.

If your phone has such an update, not all devices support the new OS, owners of older smartphones may need to wait).

It is available on most devices manufactured by Microsoft: consoles, smartphones, flagships, tablets, and more.

The use of one universal OS on all devices gives the user the opportunity to synchronize all data in real time.

Also, the mobile version of the new OS is easily synchronized and interacts with the desktop version of Windows 10, which was officially presented in July 2015.

A more detailed overview of the new features and capabilities of the system:

Improved video capture capability. Frames are drawn at a faster rate;
Safe Internet browsing with an updated version of the system browser;
Fixed errors in the browser;
Improved work with mobile operators. This allows you to increase the speed of the 3G connection;
Regular and more accurate data synchronization with other devices;
A powerful system for monitoring all background processes that regulates battery consumption and saves it, but as experience shows, an external battery will not become superfluous;
Audio and video recording is of higher quality;
Improved system stability in terms of software updates, sending messages and working with the Internet;
Stable security system;
New features are available for organizing work with the device (application corner modes, children's room, etc.).
New visual design.

Design changes

In the new version of the OS, you can install not only a saved picture, but also pictures from the camera on your desktop. After the picture is installed.

All home screen tiles will become transparent.

Also in the photo settings menu, you can select the display mode for more icons.

Thus, you can place twice as many applications and utilities on your desktop.

The appearance of the blocking tap has also been changed. It can be adjusted using the corresponding tab in the settings.

In the settings menu, the user can choose a unique background for the lock screen and select the data that will be displayed on it.

The appearance of the notification center has been changed. You can open it in the same way as in older versions of the OS: just swipe your finger from the top of the screen to the bottom.

In the notification center, you can view all the data that comes to applications, turn on Bluetooth, the camera and other OS tools.

In the new version of the OS, you can expand the notification center tools menu using a special button.

Advanced Software

Microsoft provides users of mobile devices and tablets with the opportunity to use the MS Office software package for free - this is a universal software for creating and editing all types and formats of office documents.

In one application, users can work with both regular documents and spreadsheets and presentations.

In Windows phone 10, the developers conducted a detailed analysis of this software for errors and corrected these problems.

The display of encodings of files and saved documents in the device's memory has also been adjusted.

Improved security

In the updated version of the OS, developers have achieved a high level of protection against hacking at the hardware level.

The security settings for working with the software have also been improved.

Absolutely on every mobile device from Microsoft, the so-called Trusted Platform Module is installed, that is, the trust module.

This module is an environment for storing cryptographic keys that are used to encrypt user information in order to protect it from malicious software and intruders.

If a critical problem occurs while the system is running, instead of restarting the OS, you will see a blue screen, which indicates that the system cannot be started due to a serious malfunction.

At this stage, the Trusted Platform Module begins its work. It allows you to restore the OS by scanning it.

Then, with the help of the Internet, a way to solve the problem is found, and the system restarts.

Also, with the help of the module, you can restore and set up the work of Bitlocker - the indent encryption module for files in Windows.

With the help of the built-in defender, you can easily fix problems after using malware, even without a pre-installed antivirus.

If the system detects an unsafe file or program, the user will be notified through the notification center.

Using the same center, you can instantly remove the threat.

With it, you can install a new version of the OS or its latest updates "over the air" (using a wireless network, without using additional connections).

In the advanced options tab, you can quickly configure update modes: automatic or with user consent.

In the first case, all updates found will be installed on the device automatically without the user's consent.

The process of installing updates can take from 5 minutes to an hour, depending on their complexity and the speed of your device's Internet connection.

By the way, the appearance of the settings has also been updated in the new version of the OS, it has become more systematized and intuitive for the user.

Windows 10 Mobile is a version of Windows 10 designed for mobile devices with screen sizes up to nine inches. Its main feature: synchronization with the desktop version of Windows, the launch of new "universal" applications, as well as the ability to connect devices to an external display and use a smartphone as a PC with mouse and keyboard support

A little background

The first version of the OS was released in December 2015. Windows 10 Mobile was a "glimmer of hope" for all Windows Phone owners. With the release of a new version of the mobile OS, Microsoft began to "shower" users with promises that many "were seduced" by (including the author of this article).

I own a Microsoft Lumia 535 with Windows 10 Mobile preinstalled (I've been using the device for 3 years). During the use, I had a certain opinion about the smartphone and the OS as a whole, so I decided to tell readers about the relevance of this platform today.

My first impressions of the purchased smartphone are not entirely objective and a little naive:

To compare and understand the issue, you can imagine any device of 2015 on iOS and Android, and this is one generation with the Apple iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, Google Nexus 5X and 6P, Samsung Galaxy S6. And most likely, such smartphones are still fully operational (questions can only be about the battery, but they are solved by replacing the battery with a new one). But what happens to a typical smartphone in 2015 on Windows 10 Mobile?

Device support

The first disappointment that Windows 10 Mobile brought was that it did not support all devices. The minimum system requirements were as follows: 1 GB of RAM, a screen resolution of 960 × 540 pixels or higher, the presence of a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor: 208, 210, 615, 617, 625, 808, 810, 820 or 835. This meant that budget Lumia with 512 GB of RAM could not receive an official update (although some users managed to somehow replace the smartphone data and install updates).

Windows App Store

The Windows App Store is a complete disappointment and the situation has not changed in any way from 2015 to the present day: applications and games are sorely lacking. Existing ones are not updated by developers, and new ones are simply not made by anyone.

The store is full of all sorts of "slag", which is not moderated in any way. There are paid applications, the purchase of which is meaningless. Apps from Microsoft and hits of 2015-2016 for Android hang in the tops of the store.

At the moment, the applications show the possibility of updating, but refuse to update (perpetual download), although this problem may be related specifically to my Microsoft Lumia 535 smartphone.

Beginning of work

Getting started with a smartphone is a living hell. On Android and iOS, the user registers one account, which applies to all devices. Microsoft decided to "stand out from the crowd" and offers the owners of their devices to register two Outlook accounts and one Xbox, all in order to be able to download and install any applications and games from the Windows store. "What are two Outlook accounts for?" - you ask. And I will answer: "For Microsoft family". One is "parent" and is tied to a PC, the second is "child" and is designed for a smartphone, a kind of "innovation" in the field of synchronizing a PC with a smartphone and.

OS shell

The interface is nice and minimalistic. Like it or not, but here Microsoft did not fail with its tile design. You can display any installed applications on the main screen, and some of them support the display of additional information. The second screen contains a list of a bunch of applications that are not convenient to use at first, but you get used to them later. There is also an alphabetical search, which is a good solution for this shell, but in my case, after the next firmware update, the Russian font "broke" (see the last screenshot).

Firmware update

At the moment, this process hangs at 1% load, as a result of which the device is not updated. Especially funny is the description of all the updates to Windows 10 Mobile, with which "your device will work even better."

Using a smartphone while charging

This is one of the many factors that will make users lose a lot of nerves. The bottom line is that when charging a smartphone, it is impossible to use it. The screen takes on a life of its own, one touch turns into three, a swipe down opens a bunch of apps (the problem may be related to a certain model or batch of smartphones, but that doesn't make it any easier for me).

Compatible with other accessories

In the age of smartwatches, fitness trackers, and add-on plug-ins that can be easily used with iOS and Android smartphones, this problem is more relevant than ever. There are a limited number of smartwatches that support Windows 10 Mobile: , Fitbit Surge, Agent Smart Watch, i'm Watch (all discontinued).

To date, no manufacturer of current smart watches supports Windows 10 Mobile. On the Internet, you can find official fitness trackers from Microsoft: Microsoft Band and Microsoft Band 2, which are also discontinued and are not supported by the company. But with smartphones on Windows, they should work. The choice, as you can see, is small ...

VPN

A very useful feature these days. Especially relevant for Ukraine and Russia. There are free applications that allow you to use VPN on Windows 10 Mobile, but they are absolutely not functional. The only ones left are apps that offer VPN services for a monthly subscription of $20 or more.

Browsers and popular apps

The story about all kinds of applications is not over yet. Browsers on WP10 are a sore subject. Of the normally working, there are only two: Microsoft Edge and UC Browser. Unfortunately, they do not have sufficient functionality of modern browsers. Surfing web pages occurs with freezes and freezes. There are not enough applications from Google: Maps, YouTube, Google Play Music and so on.

It is also worth mentioning popular applications. Messengers, they are present in the Microsoft store and almost everything, but updates from developers are extremely rare and not always on time, or even not received at all.

A sore subject is bank customers, who for the most part do not exist or they exist, but unofficial, from third-party developers. Whether it is worth trusting your banking data to such decisions is a rhetorical question.

In general, the store does not have many official applications of stores, operators, sites. There is a severe shortage of photo editors and games. As for audio and video players, the standard ones are enough. Readers can be found without problems, although they, for the most part, will be analogues of Android applications.

P.S. Fortunately, in the middle of last year, the Steam client was released for Windows 10 Mobile, if you know what I mean, fellow pirates.

Preinstalled Applications

Upon initial purchase of a smartphone, the user is greeted with a number of useful programs from Microsoft: Food, Health and Fitness, Maps, camera apps, Weather, Mail, Sports, News, Word, OneDrive, and so on. It would seem that at least these applications can be used without problems? But not everything is as rosy as we would like ...

Separately, it is worth talking about the Office software package. They are made really high quality and convenient, but after a year they require the purchase of a paid subscription. The maps are also well done, but only relevant for Europe.

Gameloft Hub - the official application of the game developer (could not leave this application unattended). It contains 5 games from Gameloft, which are ports from java. And everything is either donated or paid. What Microsoft was guided by when creating and integrating this application into new (once) smartphones is not clear.

The screenshots of the gameplay speak for themselves - this is some wild junk:

One-handed mode

Functionality that developers have added in later versions of Windows 10 Mobile. Perhaps a useful feature for flagship Lumia with a large screen size. On Microsoft Lumia 535, it is implemented "crookedly". The developers made sure that the user could scroll only half of the screen, but the content in this mode is not always displayed correctly.

Eventually

The author does not recommend taking smartphones running Windows 10 Mobile. Even if it seems to you that the hardware is quite good, and the price is tempting. Better turn your attention to Android devices for a similar cost. They may not be so cool at first glance, but at least you can use all popular services on them without problems and wasted nerves.

Smartphones "soft", in our time, can only perform the functions of dialers and media players. Especially sorry for users who have purchased flagships from Microsoft. Yes, they got the ability to use a smartphone as a PC using a docking station, but an abandoned proprietary OS will make you regret such an acquisition more than once.

Many gadget owners often wonder how to install Windows 10 on a mobile phone if it supports the new product. The answer is quite simple, Microsoft developers have released a version of OS Windows Phone 10 specifically for smartphones. However, not all gadgets support it. Therefore, let's look at examples of how to install Windows 10 Mobile on unsupported smartphones and compatible devices.

How to install Windows 10 Mobile on Nokia Lumia?

Since Microsoft bought the Nokia Lumia brand, the new Windows Phone 10 operating system was immediately adapted to these devices. However, this only applies to new Lumia models. Old smartphones that were released by Nokia are not included in the list of compatible devices, which can be viewed on the official website of the developer.

If your mobile phone is compatible with Windows 10 and you decide to install a new operating system, then follow the instructions:

We charge the device to 100%. The battery of the gadget must be full.

Personal data may be deleted during installation. Therefore, we copy everything you need to a USB flash drive or computer.
We follow the link to the official website of the developer and register in the customer support program.

A new page will appear. We go down and accept the terms of the license agreement. We press "Send".

Now we go to the Windows Phone Store and download the program for evaluating the new OS.

After installing the application, you should click "Get preview builds".

In the next window, you need to sign in to your Microsoft account.

After that, the version of the update will appear in the Windows Insider program (the very first line). You need to go to the gadget settings, select the "Update" item. It will start searching for updates. Installation will take up to 30 minutes or more.

If you don't like the new operating system or if critical errors occur, you should connect the device to a PC and download the Windows Phone Recovery Tool and restore Windows Phone 8.

IMPORTANT! After installing a new OS on the phone, there may be problems with language packs, connecting to a Wi-Fi network, an alarm clock and a calendar, and other standard programs. They will have to be downloaded from the Store again.

How do I install Windows 10 Mobile on unsupported devices?

The question of how to install Windows 10 on a mobile phone is of interest to many. Therefore, we suggest that you read the instructions for installing the OS on unsupported devices.

IMPORTANT! All actions you perform at your own peril. It is worth copying all the data from the phone. The manual is intended for Lumia models manufactured by Nokia.

What is necessary?

A device that has Interop Unlock with Registry Editor or just has Registry Editor installed.

A utility for editing the WP SDK8.0 registry if there is no Interop Unlock installed.
Utility CustomPFD Registry Editor for hacking Windows Phone 8.

Instruction

On unsupported Lumia, run the CustomPFD Registry Editor.

We follow the branch HKLM/SYSTEM/Platform/DeviceTargetingInfo.
We find the parameters (strings): PhoneHardwareVariant, PhoneManufacturer, PhoneManufacturerModelName, PhoneModelName and write down their values on a sheet so that in case of an error these parameters can be returned back.
The following values need to be replaced:

PhoneHardwareVariant on RM-1085

PhoneManufacturer at MicrosoftMDG

PhoneModelName on Lumia 950 XL

PhoneManufacturerModelName on RM-1085_11302

We return to the "Insight" program (we wrote above how to install it). Choose a slow update circle.

We are waiting for the download to finish and reboot the device (in the classical way, no pulling out the batteries and pressing the buttons).
Ready. Windows 10 Mobile is installed on your device. For more detailed instructions on how to install Windows 10 on your phone, see the video.

How to install Windows 10 Mobile over Android OS?

Before trying to install Windows 10 on Android, there are a few key points to consider:

Not all smartphone processor chips support the Microsoft operating system.

Windows Phone 7, 8 only support ARM and i386 processors. Things are different with Windows 10.
The new operating system requires a lot of memory. Weak gadgets should not be flashed under Windows 10, as you can damage the old OS beyond the possibility of recovery.

Instructions for installing Windows 10 over Android will be as follows:

Download the sdl.zip archive.

Download the sdlapp.apk program.
Install the application on the phone.
Extract the archive data to the SDL folder.
In the same directory, copy the system image file (usually c.img).
We start the utility.
We are waiting for the installation to finish.
We reboot the device.
Ready.

It is important to note that we do not recommend installing a Microsoft product on Android. Operating systems may conflict and damage to the device itself is possible. If you are eager to learn how to install Windows 10 on an Android phone, then it is worth noting that it is better to wait for the official method or change your phone altogether. That will be more reliable.

For detailed instructions on installing Windows 10 on Android, see the video.