Merry Christmas!
Some people might think that setting up an Xbox isn't directly related to Windows; however, Windows 8.x, Server 2012, Windows Phone, and Xbox are all related at the kernel level, even if they're not fully compatible. Microsoft has announced on numerous occasions that they intend to build a single operating system that will span across the full spectrum of computing devices to include phone, tablets / phablets, gaming consoles, laptops / desktops, and servers. Setting up our new Xbox One today, I learned that the base OS version is Windows 6.2.x which is a version of Windows 8.
How awesome would it be to play Xbox games on your PC or vice versa???
To the point of the post. After I physically installed the Xbox One today and did the initial boot, we encountered a multilingual error screen (Black Screen of Death (BSOD)) that displayed the error code E305 00000001 80073CFE. I searched for the error code on the Xbox One Support page but all I saw were several forum posts where people complained about the same issue.
I got on chat with "John H" and he directed to the Xbox One support page titled Offline System Update Diagnostic Tool. Several forum posts also linked to the page, so I was already looking at it. The page explains how to download several versions of the tool, depending on OS version, install it to a USB drive, and then boot your device to troubleshoot any errors.
I followed the directions for in the section addressing initial boot errors, but encountered another BSOD with error code E101 00000504 800070570. I searched the Xbox One support page again and found a forum post titled March update doesn't download which addresses both error codes.
Per the advice of one of the users, I downloaded to tool to "Restore Factory Defaults" on the system and booted from the USB drive per the instructions on the Offline System Update Diagnostic Tool page. After about 10 minutes, or so, the console booted to the setup screen and I was in like Flynn. We're now downloading a couple of games that came bundled with the console.
Here's to hoping that you don't run into any issues this Christmas with your Xbox, but that they're as easy to resolve as this if you do.
As usual, questions and constructive comments are welcome.
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Windows Phone 8.0 to 8.1 Update
I drafted this post several months ago and finally got around to completing it tonight. It was originally drafted about updating the Nokia Lumia 521 to Windows Phone 8.1 Preview for Developers, then took a different path due to issues related to the update, purchase of new phones, and the ultimate release of the proper update. Please read these notes before proceeding.
NOTE 1: Based on the experience outlined below, I DO NOT recommend updating any T-Mobile Windows Phone with the Windows Phone 8.1 Preview for Developers because it's a non-carrier-specific OS update and will "break" all your T-Mobile-specific apps (more details below). It may work for the models for other carriers such as AT&T though.
NOTE 2: Microsoft, Nokia, and T-Mobile released the Windows Phone 8.1 (Lumia Cyan / Lumia Denim) update on 06 Nov 14 for the Nokia Lumia 521. It alleviates some of the issues identified herein (more details below).
NOTE 3: Nokia is now owned by Microsoft, which is the reason for some of the cosmetic changes you'll note with the OS update.
Since my last post, I purchased a Nokia Lumia 521 Windows Phone for my wife. She liked it. There was no steep learning curve, and with very little tutoring, she got it configured the way she needs / wants. Except for one thing. Wi-Fi Calling.
When I bought my phone earlier this year, I had no idea that the Wi-Fi Calling app was so problematic. My wife has found tons of forum posts that discuss the fact that, while the phone maintains Wi-Fi data connectivity, it frequently loses voice and SMS (text messaging) connectivity with the T-Mobile network.
I think I've mentioned before that we live in an area with weak cellular coverage and we rely on T-Mobile's Wi-Fi Calling feature to maintain connectivity with the network. If we can't receive or make calls, it's not very useful.
Our son has an Samsung Galaxy S Relay 4G Android phone that has no issues with Wi-Fi Calling. One idea we had was to get new SIMs from T-Mobile so that my wife and son could swap phones. But, after talking with the manager at the T-Mobile store in Baton Rouge, we had the idea to install the Windows Phone 8.1 Preview for Developers.
According to Nokia, the Windows Phone 8.1 update hadn't been released for our phone model yet, and they didn't have a projected release date: Software Update for Nokia Lumia with Windows Phone 8.
Here are a couple articles from the Windows Phone site that address the Windows Phone 8.1 update:
My main concern was that the Windows Phone 8.1 Preview for Developers would remove or mess up our carrier-specific apps from T-Mobile, but he assured me that this wouldn't happen. He showed me that he was running the Windows Phone 8.1 Preview for Developers on his own Nokia Lumia (I forget which model). Incidentally, his was originally purchased for use on AT&T but was updated to work on T-Mobile. This change was affected when he swapped from an AT&T SIM to a T-Mobile SIM. It allowed him to download and install T-Mobile carrier-specific apps.
Based on his information, and some additional information from my wife, I logged into Windows App Studio using my Hotmail account. Any of the Microsoft-affiliate email accounts should work. When you log in, you'll see a link to sign up for a free App Developer account. This is necessary to download and install the Windows Phone 8.1 Preview for Developers.
Once you have the account, head over to the Windows Store to get the download. You can do it from the Windows Store app on your phone, or you can do it here online: Preview for Developers. If you do it online, you may need to set up an account using the same Microsoft-affiliate email account that you used to originally set up the phone.
Once you download the app, go to you app menu on your device and click on the Preview for Developers app. This will initiate the download and installation process. This article from Windows Phone Central is an excellent resource that explains how to go about the process: All you need to know about the Windows Phone 8.1 'Preview for Developers'.
Once we downloaded the app and started the upgrade process, my wife's phone updated without any issues. It takes a couple hours and the phone will reboot several times. You'll occasionally have to acknowledge pending updates and authorize them to install.
Once the install was complete, there was a notice in the top margin pull-down menu that said there were multiple apps that needed attention. You can go to the Store app on your phone and authorize it to download and install the updates to your apps.
You'll note that all the "Nokia" brand apps are now "Lumia" brand apps due to Microsoft purchasing Nokia.
My wife's phone updated without issue so I moved on to do my phone. My phone ran into an issue downloading one of the updates. It would hit 30-something percent in the download, then reboot. When I logged in, there would be a notice to connect to Wi-Fi so that an update can download. The download would progress to a certain point, and then fail again. The solution was simple. I realized that the internal memory was low and the updates didn't have space to download. I moved some stuff to the SIM and resolved that issue. Here's a page that lists some of the errors you may encounter, their causes, and possible resolutions: Solutions to update issues.
After the OS upgrade, both phones initially seemed fine. The issues I had previously with the Music app seemed to be resolved and only one copy of each song appeared under each album. Over the following few hours, however, we noted that when we were connected to Wi-Fi, we couldn't make or receive calls, and our SMS (text messaging) was also non-functional. It seems the OS update completely hosed the Wi-Fi Calling feature and the phone only connected to the network when we were in range of a tower and Wi-Fi calling was disabled.
Since the phones were no longer fully functional from our perspective, and we couldn't roll back the update, our only real option was new phones. As much as it hurt to admit, the Windows Phone experiment was a failure from the perspective of being T-Mobile customers.
I went back to the T-Mobile store the following day and purchased two Samsung Galaxy Avant™ Android phones. We've been using them for several months now and are pretty happy with them. We still had intermittent issues with receiving incoming calls when connected to Wi-Fi, but we learned that this was related to T-Mobile's recent upgrade to 4G LTE in our area. We learned that turning off the LTE signal option seemed to clear this issue up.
Microsoft, Nokia, and T-Mobile finally released the Lumia Cyan / Lumia Denim update for the Lumia 521 on 06 Nov 14. You can find model-specific update information here: Nokia Lumia 521 - Software update and downloads. You SHOULD be notified when the update is available, but if not, here's the short version of how to download and install it:
This update really did seem to alleviate most of the issues I had previously. At this point I'm torn between sticking with the 'Droid phone or going back to the Windows phone. Even though I really did like the Windows phone, the 'Droid has so much more to offer and seems so much more reliable. The Nokia has a 1.0 GHz dual-core CPU and 8 GB of internal RAM while the Samsung has a 1.2 GHz quad-core CPU and 16 GB of internal RAM. Both are expandable to 64 GB with the same MicroSD card. They both also use the same Micro SIM. As far as apps, there are a LOT more available for the 'Droid since that OS has been around a lot longer.
On the other hand, the Windows Phone connects to OneDrive allowing me to share files between multiple devices via Cloud storage. There are Windows 8.1 apps that I can install on both the phone and my laptop, and in some cases the Xbox, that allows further syncing using my Hotmail account.
I'll let you know more if I decide to stick with the Windows phone. I may do some experimenting tomorrow.
As usual, questions and / or comments are welcome.
Since the phones were no longer fully functional from our perspective, and we couldn't roll back the update, our only real option was new phones. As much as it hurt to admit, the Windows Phone experiment was a failure from the perspective of being T-Mobile customers.
I went back to the T-Mobile store the following day and purchased two Samsung Galaxy Avant™ Android phones. We've been using them for several months now and are pretty happy with them. We still had intermittent issues with receiving incoming calls when connected to Wi-Fi, but we learned that this was related to T-Mobile's recent upgrade to 4G LTE in our area. We learned that turning off the LTE signal option seemed to clear this issue up.
Microsoft, Nokia, and T-Mobile finally released the Lumia Cyan / Lumia Denim update for the Lumia 521 on 06 Nov 14. You can find model-specific update information here: Nokia Lumia 521 - Software update and downloads. You SHOULD be notified when the update is available, but if not, here's the short version of how to download and install it:
- Navigate to Settings > Phone Update.
- Tap "check for updates".
- This will take a couple minutes while the phone downloads any available updates.
- Tap "install" when you see the screen that says "Your update is ready to be installed".
- The update process may take up to an hour and require more than one reboot.
- Check for app updates through the "Store" app.
This update really did seem to alleviate most of the issues I had previously. At this point I'm torn between sticking with the 'Droid phone or going back to the Windows phone. Even though I really did like the Windows phone, the 'Droid has so much more to offer and seems so much more reliable. The Nokia has a 1.0 GHz dual-core CPU and 8 GB of internal RAM while the Samsung has a 1.2 GHz quad-core CPU and 16 GB of internal RAM. Both are expandable to 64 GB with the same MicroSD card. They both also use the same Micro SIM. As far as apps, there are a LOT more available for the 'Droid since that OS has been around a lot longer.
On the other hand, the Windows Phone connects to OneDrive allowing me to share files between multiple devices via Cloud storage. There are Windows 8.1 apps that I can install on both the phone and my laptop, and in some cases the Xbox, that allows further syncing using my Hotmail account.
I'll let you know more if I decide to stick with the Windows phone. I may do some experimenting tomorrow.
As usual, questions and / or comments are welcome.
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Windows 8.1: Backing Up Your Data
Imagine if you will. Your laptop is 4 years old. It's midway in the 3-to-5-year life expectancy. Your warranty expires a year ago. You have EVERYTHING stored on it: Your music library. All the digital photos and videos of your kids back to the day they were born. Work-related files. Financial records. Etc. Then, one day, your hard drive crashes. All your data is GONE! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO! Well, you're not going to panic. You were smart. You backed up your HDD and all your data is recoverable.
Computers crash. Hard drives fail. Data gets lost or destroyed. The easiest and best way to prevent data loss is to back-up your data.
(You: "Gee, thanks, Captain Obvious.")
(Me: "You're welcome.")
I work for a company that sells cloud back-ups as one of our main services, but I never really did anything to back up my data. Sure, I'd occasionally copy my data to an external drive, but I never really had a back-up plan.
I've had laptops suffer hardware malfunctions over the years and "die", but I've been lucky to not lose much data. I was able to pull the HDD each time and recover my data to my new laptop. But luck only holds out for so long and there are some things I prefer not to take chances with.
I recently purchased a Seagate Backup Plus Slim 1TB Portable External Hard Drive from Amazon. It came with a back-up application named Seagate Dashboard. I don't like it. All it does is create a copy of your selected folders / files to the external HDD. I can do that without wasting my internal HDD space on an app like that.
I was looking for a back-up utility that allows me to create schedules, chose what to back-up, compresses the data, do incremental back-ups, and maybe even encrypt the data.
I checked PC World's web site and ran a search on Google, and one of the hits I got on both was for a product called AOMEI Backupper Standard. It got pretty good reviews and did everything I want.
I configured the back-up to include only the folders and files I actually want to back-up. I selected a schedule. I selected whether I want full, incremental, or differential back-ups. Then I "seeded" the data by running the initial back-up. It took a little while, but I was left with a 56.4 GB compressed "archive" file that contains all the data I selected for back-up. For reference, I included the following folders:
Types of back-up are:
Some of you may have noticed that all I've talked about so far is data back-ups and may be wondering about full system back-ups? In our business, we call that a BMR - Bare Metal Restore.
A system or BMR back-up includes EVERYTHING on your HDD in a single back-up. AOMEI Backupper Standard is capable of system back-ups, but they necessitate creating a boot CD / DVD. If you need to restore your entire system, you boot off the CD or DVD into the recovery environment. This allows you to run the restore from your external HDD. Once the process is complete and you reboot your computer, it should be exactly the same as it was when the back-up ran.
Bear in mind that this will include ALL changes and additions since the last back-up. For example, your web browsing history will be included as well as any temp files from Windows Update.
You may wonder why I'm not doing that. It's because Windows and most computer vendors include utilities for creating restore media. In my case, Toshiba includes an interface called Desktop Assist that allows you to interface with various utilities to manage your system. The one I'm focusing on tonight is Recovery Media Creator. This utility allows you to use CDs, DVDs, or even a thumb drive, to create restore media in case your computer suffers a HDD failure.
Be advised that this is like the old restore media that computer vendors use to include and restores your computer back to new out-of-the-box condition. It restores your operating system and all the apps and utilities from the vendor. And, it removes all your files and customer settings. Use this only as a last resort. As we speak I'm using a 16 GB thumb drive to finally create the restore media for my laptop.
Windows 8.1 has a Recovery feature that allows you to create a recovery drive to refresh and reset your computer, as well as troubleshoot OS issues. Apparently the refresh and reset features allow you to roll back the OS to an earlier state without losing your data. Almost as if you're doing a clean re-install of the OS. Resetting your PC reinstalls Windows but deletes your files, settings, and apps, except for the apps that came with your PC. Restoring your PC is a way to undo recent system changes you've made. Here's an article from Microsoft on that: How to refresh, reset, or restore your PC.
Computers crash. Hard drives fail. Data gets lost or destroyed. The easiest and best way to prevent data loss is to back-up your data.
(You: "Gee, thanks, Captain Obvious.")
(Me: "You're welcome.")
I work for a company that sells cloud back-ups as one of our main services, but I never really did anything to back up my data. Sure, I'd occasionally copy my data to an external drive, but I never really had a back-up plan.
I've had laptops suffer hardware malfunctions over the years and "die", but I've been lucky to not lose much data. I was able to pull the HDD each time and recover my data to my new laptop. But luck only holds out for so long and there are some things I prefer not to take chances with.
I recently purchased a Seagate Backup Plus Slim 1TB Portable External Hard Drive from Amazon. It came with a back-up application named Seagate Dashboard. I don't like it. All it does is create a copy of your selected folders / files to the external HDD. I can do that without wasting my internal HDD space on an app like that.
I was looking for a back-up utility that allows me to create schedules, chose what to back-up, compresses the data, do incremental back-ups, and maybe even encrypt the data.
I checked PC World's web site and ran a search on Google, and one of the hits I got on both was for a product called AOMEI Backupper Standard. It got pretty good reviews and did everything I want.
I configured the back-up to include only the folders and files I actually want to back-up. I selected a schedule. I selected whether I want full, incremental, or differential back-ups. Then I "seeded" the data by running the initial back-up. It took a little while, but I was left with a 56.4 GB compressed "archive" file that contains all the data I selected for back-up. For reference, I included the following folders:
- Documents: 3.80 GB
- Favorites: 70.8 KB
- Music: 48.2 GB
- Pictures: 3.90 GB
- Videos: 3.21 GB
- Total: 59.11 GB
Types of back-up are:
- Full back-ups include everything you select every time whether it changed or not. It also adds any folders of files, as appropriate.
- Incremental back-ups include the data that changed or was added since the last incremental back-up. When my incremental back-up ran this evening, it only backed-up any changes or additions since my initial full back-up earlier today. When it runs tomorrow, it'll only include changes in the preceding 24 hours. What you end up with is the initial full back-up with a series of files or safesets that include all the changes over time.
- Differential back-ups are cumulative back-ups of all changes made since the last full backup. In this case, all you need is the initial full back-up and the most recent differential.
Some of you may have noticed that all I've talked about so far is data back-ups and may be wondering about full system back-ups? In our business, we call that a BMR - Bare Metal Restore.
A system or BMR back-up includes EVERYTHING on your HDD in a single back-up. AOMEI Backupper Standard is capable of system back-ups, but they necessitate creating a boot CD / DVD. If you need to restore your entire system, you boot off the CD or DVD into the recovery environment. This allows you to run the restore from your external HDD. Once the process is complete and you reboot your computer, it should be exactly the same as it was when the back-up ran.
Bear in mind that this will include ALL changes and additions since the last back-up. For example, your web browsing history will be included as well as any temp files from Windows Update.
You may wonder why I'm not doing that. It's because Windows and most computer vendors include utilities for creating restore media. In my case, Toshiba includes an interface called Desktop Assist that allows you to interface with various utilities to manage your system. The one I'm focusing on tonight is Recovery Media Creator. This utility allows you to use CDs, DVDs, or even a thumb drive, to create restore media in case your computer suffers a HDD failure.
Be advised that this is like the old restore media that computer vendors use to include and restores your computer back to new out-of-the-box condition. It restores your operating system and all the apps and utilities from the vendor. And, it removes all your files and customer settings. Use this only as a last resort. As we speak I'm using a 16 GB thumb drive to finally create the restore media for my laptop.
Windows 8.1 has a Recovery feature that allows you to create a recovery drive to refresh and reset your computer, as well as troubleshoot OS issues. Apparently the refresh and reset features allow you to roll back the OS to an earlier state without losing your data. Almost as if you're doing a clean re-install of the OS. Resetting your PC reinstalls Windows but deletes your files, settings, and apps, except for the apps that came with your PC. Restoring your PC is a way to undo recent system changes you've made. Here's an article from Microsoft on that: How to refresh, reset, or restore your PC.
Almost all Windows computers come from the vendor with a hidden recovery partition where the source programs are stored. Creating the restore media allows you to access that partition. It's their way of not having to provide us with the restore CDs / DVDs.
Windows also allows you to configure how and when the system creates restore points. Restore points are the saved state of your system at a given point in time. Windows Update normally creates a restore point prior to installing the updates.
Like anything else, you can find a wealth of information on the WWW about back-ups. It may take come time to wade through it all, but in the end, not backing up your data is just unwise.
As always, I'm open to questions and constructive comments. Your feedback is welcome.
Windows also allows you to configure how and when the system creates restore points. Restore points are the saved state of your system at a given point in time. Windows Update normally creates a restore point prior to installing the updates.
Like anything else, you can find a wealth of information on the WWW about back-ups. It may take come time to wade through it all, but in the end, not backing up your data is just unwise.
As always, I'm open to questions and constructive comments. Your feedback is welcome.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Windows Phone 8 / 8.1
I recently purchased a Windows phone - a Nokia Lumia 521 for T-Mobile.
My Samsung Galaxy Smart didn't have enough internal memory and I kept getting memory errors. I was also looking for a new MP3 player. After some research on availability and prices I thought, "Why not get a Windows Phone?" Hence, the decision to get the Nokia Lumia 521 for T-Mobile.
I found the T-Mobile model on Amazon for about $40 less than what T-Mobile wanted for it. For the price difference, I was also able to buy a 64 GB Micro SD memory card and a case for the phone.
If you're like several of my co-workers, you're probably thinking, "Why didn't you get an iPhone?" I have an iPhone 5 that was issued to me at work because I'm on-call after hours. I'm not impressed, especially considering what you get for the cost. But, I'm not here to slam Apple, so I'll move on.
My first issue was that the Nokia Windows phones come with a micro SIM. I wasn't able to swap the SIM from my Samsung into the Nokia. I called T-Mobile Tech Support to update my account and activate the new SIM. It took all of 5 minutes. The next day, while using Wi-Fi Calling, caller ID displayed what turned out to be the IMSI instead of my phone number. I called T-Mobile Tech Support again and they resolved it.
The phone came with Windows Phone 8 installed and updated to 8.1 almost as soon as I did the initial boot up and configuration. It was pretty seamless. More so than with the laptop, as I addressed in an earlier blog. Windows Phone 8 / 8.1 is, as you may imagine, very similar to the Windows 8 / 8.1 in use on PCs and tablets, which makes sense since those are based on it.
The only real issue I had was with the "Music+Video" app, which is the native media app for Windows Phone 8 / 8.1. For some reason, no matter how I imported / synched my MP3 library (close to 10,000 MP3 files), the Music+Video app didn't see them properly. I also tried syncing using Windows Media Player and the Windows Phone "metro" app, but they both had issues syncing with the phone.
I determined at this point that I had received a defective SD card when neither the phone nor my laptop could "see" or access it any longer. I for an RMA from Amazon to send it back, and bought a replacement.
Ultimately that didn't work, either, due compatibility issues in Win8.1 and it turned out that I had another bad SD card.
Even though it didn't work for me, it might still work for other people, so here are several screen shots of the process.
This is a shot of the setup screen:
Here's a shot of the Settings screen:
Here's a shot of the Sync screen. As you can see, you can sync music, photos, videos, podcasts, and ringtones.
Here's a shot of the phone screen that shows what's saved to the phone in each category:
Unfortunately, since I had synced my music to the SD card, it didn't show up on this screen. Weird.
Of the three methods, it turns out that WMP is actually the most reliable for syncing my music with my phone. I had fewer problems and the MP3 metadata (artist, album, track, etc) was more likely to carry over.
To set up a sync to the phone, open WMP, look to the menu panel on the left and find the device you want to sync to. Right click on it and then click on "Set up sync...". This will open the sync GUI. Makes sure you check the "Sync this device automatically" check box. This will allow you to add / remove play lists from the right panel
To edit the sync settings afterwards, right click the sync to show the menu, and then click on "Set up sync..." again. This will open the GUI to edit what you want to sync. Once you've made your selections, click the "Finish" button. The sync should start.
If you get a bunch or errors like in the following screenshot, you can click on "Stop sync" to end the sync session. Once the sync session ends, you can right click on the sync and then click on "Start sync". The sync should restart, clear the errors, and pick up where it left off. Although, I have to caution you that it may be an indication that your SD card is bad, or at least not capable of storing and playing MP3s on a Windows Phone.
During one such attempt to sync my MP3s, my phone kept rebooting. It happened several times, about 5 to 10 minutes apart, I figured all the apps I'd installed and removed lately had destabilized the OS, so I did a hard reset. It appeared that this may have resolved whatever issue I had and WMP started syncing my music like a boss . . . but failed overnight.
I got completely fed up and decided my final option was to sync directly to the SD card. The Micro SD came with an adapter to allow it to be used in the SD card slot on a PC, laptop, or tablet. In inserted the Micro SD into the adapter, and then inserted the adapter into the slot. I then opened WMP, set up the sync as explained above, and started syncing. BAM! It synced much faster and without any errors. And, the cool thing about doing it this way is that the MP3s retain all the metadata!
In case you're not familiar, here's a Micro SD card with the adapter. This is a pic of the make and model of the second card I bought from Amazon, which also wasn't up to par. The smaller card on the right is the memory card, while the larger card is the adapter.
I also experimented with different apps on the phone to play the music. The "Music+Video" comes standard with Windows Phone 8 / 8.1. I also installed Nokia MixRadio, which allows you to also listen to radio broadcasts, use streaming services, etc. Another app I'm still trying out is Music player (aka iMusic) from Studio 8. It also ties into streaming services, and has a slightly different interface for sorting synched music files.
You can find a fair amount of information and apps on the Windows Phone web site.
On a side note, the phone is obviously Bluetooth capable. My car stereo is also Bluetooth capable (I use the speakerphone function quite regularly). While connecting my phone to the stereo, I learned that I can use the Bluetooth connection to play my MP3s without needing a physical connection between the two (like having to plug in my 32 GB thumb drive into the USB port).
As always, I'm open to questions and constructive comments. Your feedback is welcome.
My Samsung Galaxy Smart didn't have enough internal memory and I kept getting memory errors. I was also looking for a new MP3 player. After some research on availability and prices I thought, "Why not get a Windows Phone?" Hence, the decision to get the Nokia Lumia 521 for T-Mobile.
I found the T-Mobile model on Amazon for about $40 less than what T-Mobile wanted for it. For the price difference, I was also able to buy a 64 GB Micro SD memory card and a case for the phone.
If you're like several of my co-workers, you're probably thinking, "Why didn't you get an iPhone?" I have an iPhone 5 that was issued to me at work because I'm on-call after hours. I'm not impressed, especially considering what you get for the cost. But, I'm not here to slam Apple, so I'll move on.
My first issue was that the Nokia Windows phones come with a micro SIM. I wasn't able to swap the SIM from my Samsung into the Nokia. I called T-Mobile Tech Support to update my account and activate the new SIM. It took all of 5 minutes. The next day, while using Wi-Fi Calling, caller ID displayed what turned out to be the IMSI instead of my phone number. I called T-Mobile Tech Support again and they resolved it.
The phone came with Windows Phone 8 installed and updated to 8.1 almost as soon as I did the initial boot up and configuration. It was pretty seamless. More so than with the laptop, as I addressed in an earlier blog. Windows Phone 8 / 8.1 is, as you may imagine, very similar to the Windows 8 / 8.1 in use on PCs and tablets, which makes sense since those are based on it.
The only real issue I had was with the "Music+Video" app, which is the native media app for Windows Phone 8 / 8.1. For some reason, no matter how I imported / synched my MP3 library (close to 10,000 MP3 files), the Music+Video app didn't see them properly. I also tried syncing using Windows Media Player and the Windows Phone "metro" app, but they both had issues syncing with the phone.
I determined at this point that I had received a defective SD card when neither the phone nor my laptop could "see" or access it any longer. I for an RMA from Amazon to send it back, and bought a replacement.
I finally found what I thought was the resolution and might still work for some people - Windows Phone app for desktop. It's a desktop app that was originally designed to sync between Windows 7 and Windows Phone 7. It's from MS and is downloadable from their web site.
Note: The Windows Phone app for desktop won't work on Windows RT.Ultimately that didn't work, either, due compatibility issues in Win8.1 and it turned out that I had another bad SD card.
Even though it didn't work for me, it might still work for other people, so here are several screen shots of the process.
This is a shot of the setup screen:
Here's a shot of the Settings screen:
Here's a shot of the Sync screen. As you can see, you can sync music, photos, videos, podcasts, and ringtones.
Here's a shot of the phone screen that shows what's saved to the phone in each category:
Unfortunately, since I had synced my music to the SD card, it didn't show up on this screen. Weird.
Of the three methods, it turns out that WMP is actually the most reliable for syncing my music with my phone. I had fewer problems and the MP3 metadata (artist, album, track, etc) was more likely to carry over.
To set up a sync to the phone, open WMP, look to the menu panel on the left and find the device you want to sync to. Right click on it and then click on "Set up sync...". This will open the sync GUI. Makes sure you check the "Sync this device automatically" check box. This will allow you to add / remove play lists from the right panel
To edit the sync settings afterwards, right click the sync to show the menu, and then click on "Set up sync..." again. This will open the GUI to edit what you want to sync. Once you've made your selections, click the "Finish" button. The sync should start.
If you get a bunch or errors like in the following screenshot, you can click on "Stop sync" to end the sync session. Once the sync session ends, you can right click on the sync and then click on "Start sync". The sync should restart, clear the errors, and pick up where it left off. Although, I have to caution you that it may be an indication that your SD card is bad, or at least not capable of storing and playing MP3s on a Windows Phone.
During one such attempt to sync my MP3s, my phone kept rebooting. It happened several times, about 5 to 10 minutes apart, I figured all the apps I'd installed and removed lately had destabilized the OS, so I did a hard reset. It appeared that this may have resolved whatever issue I had and WMP started syncing my music like a boss . . . but failed overnight.
I got completely fed up and decided my final option was to sync directly to the SD card. The Micro SD came with an adapter to allow it to be used in the SD card slot on a PC, laptop, or tablet. In inserted the Micro SD into the adapter, and then inserted the adapter into the slot. I then opened WMP, set up the sync as explained above, and started syncing. BAM! It synced much faster and without any errors. And, the cool thing about doing it this way is that the MP3s retain all the metadata!
In case you're not familiar, here's a Micro SD card with the adapter. This is a pic of the make and model of the second card I bought from Amazon, which also wasn't up to par. The smaller card on the right is the memory card, while the larger card is the adapter.
I thought everything was going well, but this card crapped out, too. Based on a forum exchange on the MS Windows Support page (Problems Syncing MP3 files to Nokia Lumia 521), we determined that the problem was most likely the result of yet another bad Micro SD.
They recommended I get a SanDisk Ultra card. I returned the defective ADATA card to Amazon and ordered a SanDisk Ultra 64 GB from Amazon. I installed it, formatted it, connected the phone to my laptop, opened WMP, and started syncing several albums at a time. It took several days to complete the process, but everything synched without issue.
The final step was to run through the process outlined above to set up a sync between WMP and the phone to sync my playlists and anything I may have missed. It ran through the process showing that all the files were already on the device. It took several hours, but properly synced everything. I synced several artists / albums at a time to keep the numbers low, then set up a permanent sync relationship to sync my playlists, etc. Each time I get new MP3s and sync my phone, all the new music should be included.
I can't and won't say that any one method will be best for you, only which method worked best for me. I Googled the issue and found numerous sites discussing it. Different people had different results with different methods. It seems to matter which phone you have, which Windows version it runs, and which Windows version is on your computer. I read that Windows Phone 7 connected to a Windows 7 computer can use the Zune app to sync. But, because I have Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows 8.1, Zune isn't an option.The final step was to run through the process outlined above to set up a sync between WMP and the phone to sync my playlists and anything I may have missed. It ran through the process showing that all the files were already on the device. It took several hours, but properly synced everything. I synced several artists / albums at a time to keep the numbers low, then set up a permanent sync relationship to sync my playlists, etc. Each time I get new MP3s and sync my phone, all the new music should be included.
I also experimented with different apps on the phone to play the music. The "Music+Video" comes standard with Windows Phone 8 / 8.1. I also installed Nokia MixRadio, which allows you to also listen to radio broadcasts, use streaming services, etc. Another app I'm still trying out is Music player (aka iMusic) from Studio 8. It also ties into streaming services, and has a slightly different interface for sorting synched music files.
You can find a fair amount of information and apps on the Windows Phone web site.
On a side note, the phone is obviously Bluetooth capable. My car stereo is also Bluetooth capable (I use the speakerphone function quite regularly). While connecting my phone to the stereo, I learned that I can use the Bluetooth connection to play my MP3s without needing a physical connection between the two (like having to plug in my 32 GB thumb drive into the USB port).
As always, I'm open to questions and constructive comments. Your feedback is welcome.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)