At final lengthy final, Microsoft’s cellular OS experiment has come to an finish. Support for the final model of Windows 10 Mobile dies on December 10.
Update: Surprise! Microsoft granted Windows 10 Mobile a last-minute reprieve, scheduling one remaining Patch Tuesday replace on January 14, 2020, aligning with Windows 7’s end-of-life date, as ZDNet famous. You’ve received a bit of additional time to take your information and transfer on, however the finish remains to be nigh.
Windows telephones will nonetheless work, however the final wave of Windows Mobile gadgets working the final official supported model of Windows 10 Mobile (model 1709, the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update) received’t obtain any extra updates or patches for Windows 10 Mobile—options, safety, or in any other case. Officially, it is going to stop to exist.If you’re a Lumia 640 or 640XL proprietor, you’ve already felt the contact of loss of life: Support for these gadgets led to June. But for the final hurrah of Windows gadgets, which included the HP Elite x3, Microsoft Lumia 550, 650, and the Lumia 950/950 XL; Alcatel IDOL 4S and 4S Pro; and the Alcatel OneTouch Fierce XL—it’s time so that you can retire these gadgets and transfer on.If you don’t, effectively, you’ve moved from Microsoft’s walled backyard to the hinterlands. Microsoft’s Store app may go—or it could not. Apps could also be supported, Microsoft says, however how lengthy assist continues is as much as the developer.About the one sensible answer—and Microsoft’s suggestion—is to create a guide backup of your information on or earlier than December 10, simply in case one thing goes flawed. (Settings > Update & safety > Backup > More Options > Back up now) “Automatic or manual creation of new device backups for settings and some applications will continue for 3 months, ending March 10, 2020,” Microsoft provides, nevertheless it’s not clear which apps will obtain these backups.Moving from Windows Phone to AndroidEach Apple iPhones and telephones working the Google Android OS have entry to Microsoft-authored apps that replicate among the performance of Windows 10 Mobile telephones. But the extra open nature of Android has historically allowed extra leeway in connecting these telephones to Microsoft companies. Rob Schultz/IDG
Although Microsoft companies work below Android in addition to iOS, Android gives extra flexibility.
Back up your Windows cellphoneIf you’ve lastly been satisfied to maneuver to an Android cellphone, be sure that your present Windows cellphone is backed up: images synced, electronic mail saved, and so forth. And grasp on to the cellphone! If there are any random paperwork or attachments that you simply aren’t certain have been saved, use the OneDrive app to again them as much as your cloud storage or one other location. Ditto for any lingering MP3s or outdated movies you will have hanging round.Sign up for a Google accountYou’ll finally want to enroll in a Google account, in the event you don’t have one already, because it’s half and parcel of the Android expertise. Google will encourage you to make use of your Android/Gmail account as your main electronic mail shopper, however you don’t should.Microsoft apps on AndroidObtain the excellent Outlook app for Android as an alternative, whose calendar is much extra sensible and simple than the native Android Calendar app. Other really helpful apps embody OneDrive, for backing up images to the Microsoft cloud, and Your Phone, which is designed to attach your Android cellphone and your PC. Export contacts and messagesMake certain that you simply export your cellphone’s contacts and SMS messages. Exporting your Windows contacts to Android is pretty straightforward: Go to Outlook.com on the Web, then to the People tab, and choose the Manage dropdown menu within the higher right-hand nook. Export the contacts to a .CSV file. Mark Hachman / IDG
Here’s the best way to discover the choice to export your People contacts.
Continue on the internet to contacts.gmail.com, which can be accessible within the “Google Apps” menu subsequent to your profile image within the higher righthand nook.Here’s the place you’ll want to make use of that Google account you signed up for. Once you’re within the Contacts app, there’s an Import possibility on the left-hand rail, which you should utilize to open that CSV file inside Google and import your contacts. They’ll sync to your cellphone. Mark Hachman / IDG
Then import these contacts into Google Contacts.
Exporting SMS textual content messages from Windows to Android is a bit trickier. When I migrated my spouse’s Windows Phone to an Android cellphone, I used WP Message Backup, which is a “freemium” app that lets you export SMS texts, footage, group messages, and the wish to an XML file. Unfortunately, the free model exports solely 100 messages at a time, which might get outdated quick. That XML file could be uploaded to the cloud after which downloaded to an Android cellphone, or transferred wirelessly or through USB. You’ll then want to revive the SMS information to your Android cellphone through considered one of quite a lot of Android SMS restore apps within the Google Play Store. Tafidi / Microsoft
Don’t use the barebones WP Message Backup app for truly sending and receiving SMS textual content messages—it’s good for transferring information.
If you’d like, you possibly can even go full Microsoft and set up the Microsoft Launcher app, which might sync with Bing’s picture of the day and function a gateway to different Microsoft apps and companies accessible in your Android cellphone. Remember, regardless that Microsoft has introduced a brand new Microsoft cellphone—the Surface Duo—it is going to solely run Android. Because the Duo is scheduled to ship a yr from now, in vacation 2020, you will have a future alternative to purchase a Microsoft cellphone. But as for Windows Mobile? It’s as lifeless because the Ghost of Christmas Past. 

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