Windows 10 Mobile updates for Lumia 930

[yeoo_andy_ni]

Hi folks,

 

I'm going to ask a stupid question here, but what is the status of Windows 10 Mobile build, on any ring, for the Lumia 930?

 

I was under the impression if I was on the Fast Ring, I would still get updates, but I don't know if that's the case. I'm currently running 10.0.15063.540 and as of today (September 18) my device is up to date. I thought I would have seen this one - 15252 - but I've not had anything for a few weeks. And I am aware of the 930 being essentially an old device that is on the cusp of being unsupported/unsupportable (at least as far as MS is concerned).

 

Apologies for the daft question. I've Googled this, but what I have been reading just doesn't seem to stack up for my device.

 

Thanks.

 

Andy

 

Edited September 18, 2017 by yeoo_andy_ni

[shafiqjetha]

Have you tried switching off of the fast ring (back to Release Preview, for instance), waiting a few days and then switching back to the Fast ring?

[yeoo_andy_ni]

Okay, so this is where I'm maybe a little ignorant, but I didn't have the Release Review option from the drop down, just Fast and Slow Ring.

What I did last night was to turn off/leave the Insider Preview and restart my phone. Once I did that, I was able to get a slightly newer build - up to 10.0.15063.608.

So what I am unsure about is if I join the Insider Preview again, will I get any further updates, or is this is for my handset. Or am I now just part of the Release Preview branch. So bloody confusing!

[shafiqjetha]

I ended up using the Interop tools to perform the registry hack to make it appear as a Lumia 950, and I instantly got the update.

 

From what I've been reading it seems that the Lumia 930 is going to live out its days on the Anniversary Update for production and the Creators Update when on the Release Preview ring, and it won't get any updates after that unless you're willing to do some hacking.

[+DoctorD Subscriber²]

I am going to have to try this

[yeoo_andy_ni]

Yeah, I've been looking to the Interop tools as the next step to be able to get the updates. I think this is going to be a job when I get home this evening to be honest.

 

I know this is a little bit harsh, and there is a different set of circumstances for phone/mobile devices compared with PCs, but if Windows 10 can install on a 10 year old Pentium 4 650, with 2GB of RAM, a xxxGB IDE drive and a Geforce 4, why can't my 3.5 year old Lumia 930 support Windows 10 after a certain update. Madness

[shafiqjetha]

I know your question is meant to be rhetorical, but if you were after some insight into why your case holds true, it's down to how much work Microsoft puts into developing processor-level code for all the different processor types that Windows 10 supports.

The problem stems from the fact that each new mobile-class processor needs its instruction set built and tested independently of each other. Because of this, each new version of Windows 10 Mobile needs to be tested thoroughly on each processor version (Snapdragon 212, 800, 820, etc.) to makes sure that it is 100% compatible. This is also the reason that Android phones become old so quickly; manufacturers aren't prepared to put the time into compatibility testing when they can fully test the latest processor and deprecate the older tech.

 

So, to your point about how Windows can run well on an older laptop than it can on an older mobile device, it comes down to the work needed to ensure 100% compatibility on the processor level. The Snapdragon 800 processors that power our phones are old enough that Microsoft (rightfully or wrongfully) feels that it's OK to say that our devices have become end-of-life so that they can focus more of their efforts on 100% compatibility testing for the newer processors.

 

An interesting side-note: This is also the reason that there are only a handful of processors that are considered compatible with Windows 10 Mobile, and why there are no other processor manufacturers supported other than Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors.

 

Hope that adds some colour to your view of Windows 10.