Windows Phone 8.1 Users Are Having Trouble Downloading Apps From the Store (neowin.net) 64
An anonymous reader shares a report: While Microsoft ended mainstream support for Windows Phone 8.1 more than six months ago, there are some users that still utilize the platform as their daily driver. Although the company's overall mobile initiative isn't faring too well either, most users on older platforms are still there because they prefer it over the competition or weren't offered an upgrade path to Windows 10 Mobile. However, it now appears that Windows Phone 8.1 users are facing some unforeseen problems with the Store - and no, it isn't regarding the dearth of apps. According to reports, people on the platform have been unable to download apps from the Store since yesterday. Hundreds of people over in Windows phone Facebook groups, Reddit, and Microsoft support forums are complaining that they are being hit with error code 80070020 when attempting to download apps from the Store using their Windows Phone 8.1 devices. We have confirmed the presence of the issue on our devices too.
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The bizarre thing to me is that I can understand sticking with 7 over 10 if that's your thing, but why would anyone in their right mind stick with 8 over 10 when 10 was a free upgrade?
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Windows 10 is essentially 8.1 with a performance upgrade and a huge reduction in craziness. Having extensively used both, there's no legitimate reason to stick with 8.X over 10. It's just a silly decision.
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Because many Windows phones can't be upgraded to Windows 8--too little memory.
Win Phone 8.1 users are delusional (Score:3)
Give up the ghost already folks, Windows Phone IS A DEAD PLATFORM! As a Win Phone 7, 8 and even 10 user early in each products life cycle, I see why people like it so much, I really preferred it to android or iOS but I simply could not get the tools I need to get stuff done. It is sad that we have a duopoly but that is what it is.
Re: Win Phone 8.1 users are delusional (Score:2)
Duopolies inevitably result in any market that requires both developer and end user support. Microsoft was well aware of this, but thought they could money their way into being the third in the economic rule of three that applies to most other markets {this was their words, by the way.) Combine that with the fact that Microsoft kills its developer platforms all the time, and you didn't need to be an expert to figure out where this was headed.
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Maybe they're well aware of it, but hey - got a phone, it still works, why spend money before you really have to?
Re: Win Phone 8.1 users are delusional (Score:2)
I didn't say you don't have a phone. Android and iOS have gone way beyond being phones, however.
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It's a dead platform because you couldn't get the tools you needed to get stuff done? Well than you for your decision, King Greer. Since my Windows Phone does everything I need, do I have to give it up, too? May I keep using it, even though you've designated it to be a "DEAD PLATFORM"?
No it's a dead platform because fewer and fewer new apps are being made for it as noted even by MS [mirror.co.uk]. It's a dead platform because current app developers are abandoning Windows Phone to focus on Android and iPhone which the vast majority of their customers are using. It's a dead platform because MS said it will no longer focus on new features or hardware [twitter.com] but will still provide security updates and patches. If you want to keep using your phone, go ahead. But the day is coming soon where you won't be able to ge
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We just outfitted our office with new Lumia 950 XL Windows 10 phones.
Congrats? But that doesn't address the problem. If no new apps are coming on Windows phone and developers are abandoning current apps, what apps will your coworkers use? Outdated ones. Also your coworkers will probably not be getting any new Windows 11 phones in the future or newer hardware for the Windows 10. It's would be the same as if your office got new Blackberry phones.
It's still the preferred device for 30-40y/o's
At your work maybe but that does not represent worldwide or the US. 30-40 year olds [statista.com] don't have as high ownership as younger generatio
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Outdated apps in what sense? They were good enough in 2017, why will they suddenly become not good enough in 2018?
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Outdated apps in what sense? They were good enough in 2017, why will they suddenly become not good enough in 2018?
First, you're implying that 2017 was that last time some of these apps were updated. As this report notes [theverge.com], its been happening for years with WP apps. In some cases, apps that haven't been updated in years are the only ones available. Second, for those apps that have been updated recently does not mean that they have the latest and greatest features on par with other versions. Take for example this Twitter for WP [microsoft.com] comment.
It takes way too long for this app to catch up to Twitter's new features. As of the date of this review (11/13/17), it still does not support 280-character tweets, even though the website and Twitter apps for other platforms have supported the longer tweets for about a week. Also, it's been over a year and a half since Twitter introduced the ability to describe pictures to the visually impaired, yet the Twitter app for Windows still can't do this.
And that's if the app is bug free. As many WP users have noted, popular apps are crashin
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I can roll my own for some things but if my bank or broker or online service or whatever other entity I do business with doesn't provide an app there nothing I can do about it.
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I have one, and as long as it does what I need (which it does), I'm keeping it.
Besides, what are my choices? Android, where there are never updates or even security fixes (unless you buy from Google, or install some other OS). Apple, which costs an arm and a leg. At least my Windows 10 phone gets security fixes.
It's just an experiment. (Score:4, Funny)
Windows Phone users are considered an endangered species, and a careful experiment is taking place, where a selective stress is induced in the fragile ecosystem, to watch the reaction of the elusive beasts.
Well that is what you get. (Score:2)
I have no real gripe against Windows Phones.
But in the market you needed to be rather stupid or just a risk taker to get one when they were out.
There were the following issues.
1. Android and Apple had/have a solid place as #1 and #2 in popular Cell phone market. Apple Selling more Units (full phones and OS) while Android is the most widely distributed. (Hence Google pulled a Microsoft). Microsoft Windows Phones were a distant #3 for a while.
2. Microsoft has historically sucked at interopability. Being very
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If you have a Windows Phone, you should be considered lucky that you had it as long as you did. But it is now going into legacy mode, and getting updates will be hard to do. As Microsoft is ramping down its support.
With some luck, malware developers will overlook these devices and they will work in 2 years more or less as they work now.
The camera on a Lumia 925 is good enough, the maps are good enough, the browser is good enough. When these older devices fail, there will be plenty of alternatives, with or without Microsoft making them. If they decide to make a portable Xbox device, maybe they can get their hands on a profitable slice of the mobile market, or at least defend what they have from the not-mobile Xbox befo
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1. The market ranking has exactly jack shit to do with how useful a product is.
2. The app ecosystem for Windows is sufficient for every day work. It has mail, calendar, browser, Cortana (if you care), texting, Skype, and phone.
3. See #2
4. See #2
And for your final comment, I call more bullshit. I have scrapped more Android hardware than I have Windows phone hardware. Many of my android devices stopped getting the latest updates due to either hardware limitations or vendors not shipping updates. My windows 8.
Remember, this came out in 2014. (Score:2)
You might be reading along thinking "Eh it's another old phone platform, people should move on already" but remember that Windows Phone 8.1 came out in 2014. That was four years ago.
The iPhone 5S also came out in 2014, and is still being fully supported by Apple. Even older iPhones that didn't get iOS 11 are working fine and can still download apps. With Android phones it depends on the company, but the Play Store is still working for everyone as far as I know.
How can you trust a company that drops old prod
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The 5S has 10s of millions of users. Winders Phone has a marketshare lower than the rounding error of the statistic.
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Because Microsoft rarely does this, especially when compared against other companies in the consumer electronics industry. Windows 8 was a dud, so they gave everybody the new version of their software in order to move on, at no cost. Their other platforms are generally supported, much, much longer than other players in the industry support their respective platforms. We're still happily using Windows 7, and will for at least
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Because Microsoft rarely does this, especially when compared against other companies in the consumer electronics industry
Do you remember the previous phone attempt by MS called the Kin [wikipedia.org] that didn't last 3 months? If we stick to phones specifically, Windows Phone 7 [wikipedia.org] lasted 3 years; however, some Windows Phones on 7 could not be upgraded to 8 so MS definitely abandoned those consumer. With Windows 8 and then 8.1, the same thing happened where consumers couldn't update their phones to newer versions. While you can say Apple does the same thing, you'd be stretching the truth as up until this year, the iPhone 5 got 4 new versions of
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This. Anybody watching 6.9 fold into 7 fold into 8 would be a fool to think microsoft would support a physical device.
I liked my windows phone, while it was supported.
All 3 customers? (Score:3)
Can't these 3 people just buy new phones?
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No, I can't. More importantly, why should I, when the Windows phone I have works just fine?
Mmmmh (Score:2)
Both of them?
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Your comment from 1996, when Microsoft ruled the world, is interesting.
But these days Google, Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft are all abusive and pushing things as far as they possibly can in search of profit.
Too bad... (Score:2)
It's too bad that you got yourself a phone with a dead platform, but move over, it's not going anywhere.
I jumped ship back in the Lumia 1020 days because I knew this ship was going to sink.
System Date? (Score:2)
'error code 80070020' is produced by several Windows operating systems. It's afflicted some Windows Phone 10 users before.
Most solutions were either rechecking the associated Microsoft account, verifying system date/time were correct and for location, and system updates for Windows Update, which won't help phone users.
Always a chance this is final implementation of EOL for 8.1 users.
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"hundreds of people" (Score:2)
Well isn't this karma? (Score:2)
Windows Embedded 8.1 Handheld also affected (Score:2)
Windows Embedded 8.1 Handheld is also impacted. I know because I happen to work for a company with a deployment of over 1000 units. Unlike the consumer version, the end of mainstream support of these things is not until 7/2019. Examples include Panasonic FZ-E1 and Honeywell Dolphin CT-50.
Keyword... (Score:2)
"Unforeseen"... haha.