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.
