Windows Phone users Clubhouse

[Dos101]

anyone know of any equalizer options for the 520? the sound is very dull and im not overly liking it. May bite the bullet and get a 625.

The 520 doesn't have an equalizer as it is missing the necessary hardware for it. http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...in-audio/19a0a7a1-8b3a-4fa8-a701-0bcadd917525

It's a shame too, since I would consider it a basic feature of all phones these days, especially smartphones.

 

[Nordic]

That is such a basic feature I really thought you just were missing it. That really is a shame.

 

[Nordic]

Anyones battery draining faster with 8.1? I used to use 20%-30% of my battery on an average day by this time before the update. Since the update I used 50%+ every day.

 

[Dos101]

Anyones battery draining faster with 8.1? I used to use 20%-30% of my battery on an average day by this time before the update. Since the update I used 50%+ every day.

Yup, over on the MSDN forum it's been heavily indicated that there are bugs in the Developer Preview: http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Fo...gnore=True&filter=alltypes&searchTerm=battery

WPCentral also has an 8.1 Developer Preview forum with many people reporting battery life issues: http://forums.wpcentral.com/windows-phone-8-1-preview-developers/


My battery usage isn't so bad now after doing the following:

- Turn off Location services. Only turn on when you need it (can put a quick access button in the Action Center)
- Go to Settings -> Battery Saver, or go to the Battery Saver app in the app list. It will list all your apps and whether they are set to run "allowed" (run in background), "always allowed" (run in background even when battery saver is enabled), or "not allowed" (will not run in the background). Go through the list and only allow the apps you want to run in the background. It is also recommended to set Battery Saver to "not allowed" as it seems to consume quite a bit of battery.
- Turn off Bluetooth and NFC. Only turn on when needed
- Multitasking works differently in 8.1 than it did in 8.0. Hitting the Back button to close out of an app won't necessarily close that app, especially if it set to run in the background. Instead, hold the Back button to bring up the multitasking menu and close the app that way. You can also do this to check and make sure you have no apps open in the background.

I can get through an entire day now, though before 8.1 my Lumia 1520 would last 2 days or more. Updates to the OS plus the Cyan firmware that Nokia will release in the coming months should resolve the battery (and other) issues. This is a Preview after all.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

Just bought this to replace my bricked Droid Razr M.

HTC Windows Phone 8X. Pretty damn excited. Wasn't going to own a Windows Phone till my upgrade in August, but I guess my Razr M was meant to brick at this time!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/351081181582?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

 

[Nordic]

The battery draining bug in the preview seems to be gone for me now

 

[TheMailMan78]

The battery draining bug in the preview seems to be gone for me now

Not mine! My battery dies fast as hell now.

 

[Kursah]

Been using my super cheap ($59 shipped) from MS, Nokia 520. Been pretty damn impressed. Old lady hated hers...so she got the epic Moto X with 4.4 Kit Kat...it's an amazing phone. But I really appreciate the simplicity of my Windows Phone...I do wish the camera was better but I don't take many pics anyways. I'm avoiding the preview as I have a tiny battery that lasts almost 2 days now...but have read it's about 1/4 that with the bug. No thanks! But I am looking forward to 8.1 official...even if it does drain the battery a bit more.

 

[Nordic]

Not mine! My battery dies fast as hell now.

I got an update about a week ago. I noticed better battery life the first day, but didn't want to say anything till I had more days under its belt.

Maybe our usage is different. My phone sits idle at least 8 of my waking hours. I text somewhat and will occasionally do some web browser stuff or a picture no more than twice a week on a usual week.

Before this latest update, half my battery would be gone just from idling all day. If I were to use the browser, over wifi even, I dropped 20% in 10 minutes according to my battery app.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

So the official Windows Phone 8.1 OS is out now?

 

[Nordic]

So the official Windows Phone 8.1 OS is out now?

I don't think so. I update the preview from time to time. I havn't had a firmware update yet, which is needed to get all the features of 8.1.

 

[Dos101]

I had some serious battery issues when I updated to the 8.1 dev preview. When they updated the dev preview a few weeks ago it greatly improved things, I'm getting almost the same battery life as I was with 8.0, I no longer have to turn off location services and Bluetooth when not needed anymore.

When I first updated to the 8.1 dev preview, my phone would die after half a day's use. Many people suggested to a hard reset, so I did, and after I managed to get through and entire on a single charge (more now with the recent patch). So, if you updated to the 8.1 dev preview and are having major battery life issues, try doing a hard reset. Fortunately, with the way 8.1 handles backups, most of your app data, as well as the list of installed apps, Start screen layout, and OS settings are saved, so you don't have to worry about configuring everything after a hard reset (one of the worst parts about doing a hard reset in 8.0).

 

[Nordic]

Just reporting that the battery saver feature works great. I had to be on a work trip for 5 days where I may or may not have power outlets to charge. I do not have a battery bank and was rushed out the door before I could buy one. I needed my phone for a clock, alarm, and I did some mild texting. I lasted all 5 days and had 16% left without a charge. I was losing about 10% a day with the battery saver feature. If you are in a pinch, it works well.

 

[Dos101]

Lots new in the Windows Phone world lately.

Lumia Cyan with Windows Phone 8.1 is being released worldwide. You can track the rollout here for your specific country/phone/carrier: http://www.nokia.com/global/support/software-update/wp8-software-update/ and this gives a breakdown and what comes with it: http://www.nokia.com/global/windows-phone-cyan-update/

And the first update for WP8.1 is being released next week to those who are enrolled in the Developer Preview. All the details about the update itself, as well as news about Cortana rolling out to more countries can be found here: http://blogs.windows.com/windows_ph...ings-cortana-to-new-markets-new-features.aspx

Also an informative breakdown of Update 1 here: http://www.wpcentral.com/official-update-1-windows-phone-81-next-week-preview

I've updated my Lumia 1520 to Cyan (it's the HK variant, so I flashed the Great Britain ROM to get the Cyan update) and it feels like a new phone now!

Just reporting that the battery saver feature works great. I had to be on a work trip for 5 days where I may or may not have power outlets to charge. I do not have a battery bank and was rushed out the door before I could buy one. I needed my phone for a clock, alarm, and I did some mild texting. I lasted all 5 days and had 16% left without a charge. I was losing about 10% a day with the battery saver feature. If you are in a pinch, it works well.

That's honestly incredible. The improvements in Cyan/8.1 should also help extend that too, since we now have the ability to actually customize the low, mid, and high screen brightness levels to what we want, as well as general battery life improvements with Cyan.


EDIT: On a similar note, since Cyan enables Bluetooth 4.0 LE on supported devices, FitBit has been able to release their app for their wearables. I have a FitBit Flex and it works perfectly with my 1520 now.

 

[Dos101]

Yesterday Windows Phone 8.1 Update (or GDR1) was pushed out to users who are running the Windows Phone 8.1 developer preview. Cortana is now enabled for the UK and is available in Canada, Australia, and India as an Alpha opt-in. Just updated my 1520 and enabled Cortana, so far so good!

 

[SirSempy6]

Samsung Ativ S owner here, still no 8.1

 

[Dos101]

Samsung Ativ S owner here, still no 8.1

Unfortunately it seems Samsung and HTC have left most of their Windows Phone customers out to dry.

 

[SirSempy6]

Switching over to Nokia very soon then lol

 

[TheMailMan78]

Damn my 521 is still 8.0. I want 8.1 DANG IT!

 

[Red_Machine]

My 520 on 3 UK is still waiting for the update. Though my main phone is still the iPhone 3GS on iOS 6, I just bought the 520 to play with it.

 

[Dos101]

Considering the 520 is their most popular phone I'm surprised they didn't focus on pushing out the update to it first.

 

[Dos101]

Cyan just got pushed out to the Lumia 520 to more countriescarriers today: http://www.wpcentral.com/lumia-520-getting-cyan-africa-latin-america-europe-and-middle-east

 

[Dos101]

HTC announced the HTC One (M8) for Windows. http://www.htc.com/us/smartphones/htc-one-m8-windows/

Pretty good rundown of the news here http://www.wpcentral.com/htc-one

Unfortunately it's exclusive to Verizon right now, which is pretty disappointing on Microsoft's part (here's an idea, let's release a bunch of phones but only sell them on specific carriers in specific countries! ugh, someone at Microsoft should be fired for this trend lately /rant).

If you have a Lumia 920 in Canada, India, the UK, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, or the UAE, you should be getting the Cyan update today.

Also, if you're running the Windows Phone 8.1 dev preview with "Update" installed then there should be another update available for you, looks like it's just for bug fixes/optimizations.

 

[Nordic]

I have a nokia 928. I have been plagued by the headphone jack problem, but worse than what most people have. My phone would sometimes continuously switch in and out of headphone mode draining the battery very fast. I couldn't plug in headphones because it would stay stuck in headphone mode for awhile. In headphone mode I can't make phone calls except on speaker. The biggest problem was the switching modes which could drain a full battery in 3 hours. I could get the phone to stop switching by making a phone call and having the speaker on. It wouldn't keep the speaker on, but if I kept turning it on it would eventually stay on and be fixed.
Well I recently went to the coast and walking in ankle high water, a big waist high wave surprised me and got my phone wet in my pocket. Since then I have not been able to get it to stop switching in out of headphone mode. For the last two weeks I have lived with 3 hour battery life. I was about to replace the phone, but I decided to try and fix the phone first.

So I found this guide, and it did not work for me. Since the problem got worse since the phone got wet, I figured some sand or something had made its way into the headphone jack. So I filled up the headphone jack with 99% rubbing alcohol while the phone was off, used canned air to blow the alcohol out. When I turned the phone back on, I was stuck in headphone mode but at least it was not switching. So I put in some headphones, and took them out. The problem was gone.

 

[Nordic]

So that fix I posted only worked for so long. I am back to those shenanigans.

My upgrade is coming up soon. I am looking around and windows options don't look great. I could upgrade to a lumia 735. It has a better cpu, but a worse camera. Seems like a sidegrade. But maybe the headphone problem is resolved. The HTC one m8 has a much faster cpu, but a much worse camera. This has me looking at android phones, and I still am not finding what I want.

Has anyone else from the club upgraded recently? If not, what would you upgrade too.