Microsoft isn't done with killing Windows 10 Mobile Support Yet. Version 1709 Mobile drops support for more devices.

[AlTech]

In case you thought this horse has been beaten to death already, and I wouldn't blame you at this point if you thought that, Windows 10 Mobile version 1709 for Mobile (Not Equivalent to PC 1709 release) is dropping support for more Windows 10 Phones.

 

Version 1709 Mobile (Build 15254) seems to drop support for the Lumia 640 and Lumia 640XL initially debuted at MWC 2015 and was the first real phone after the Nokia acquisition.

 

It's a shame that it's being killed off but oh well. I can't say I'm shocked or surprised to be honest. Those devices will continue to receive bug fixes through 2019 as per the Version 1703 support documentation. New versions of Windows 10 Mobile going forward will require the x50 generation of Lumias or an equivalent.

 

Note: I've been unable to set the quote to automatic font so I've set it to orange to allow others to view it on Day Theme as well as Night theme.

 

Quote

Microsoft has today published a list of supported devices for the upcoming Windows 10 Mobile Fall Creators Update, and it appears the company is omitting yet more Windows phones from its list of supported handsets. This time, the Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL series are being abandoned on the Creators Update, with no official upgrade path to the Fall Creators Update.

 

Information from Microsoft's support website

Quote

The Windows 10 Creators Update (1703) is only available for the following Windows 10 Mobile devices, and availability may vary by carrier and market: HP Elite x3, HP Elite x3 (Verizon), HP Elite x3 (Telstra), Wileyfox Pro, Microsoft Lumia 550, Microsoft Lumia 640/640XL, Microsoft Lumia 650, Microsoft Lumia 950/950 XL, Alcatel IDOL 4S, Alcatel IDOL 4S Pro, Alcatel OneTouch Fierce XL, Softbank 503LV, VAIO Phone Biz, MouseComputer MADOSMA Q501, MouseComputer MADOSMA Q601, Trinity NuAns Neo.

The Windows 10 Fall Creators Update (1709) is only available for the following Windows 10 Mobile devices, and availability may vary by carrier and market: HP Elite x3, HP Elite x3 (Verizon), HP Elite x3 (Telstra), Wileyfox Pro, Microsoft Lumia 550, Microsoft Lumia 650, Microsoft Lumia 950/950 XL, Alcatel IDOL 4S, Alcatel IDOL 4S Pro, Alcatel OneTouch Fierce XL, Softbank 503LV, VAIO Phone Biz, MouseComputer MADOSMA Q601, Trinity NuAns Neo.

 

So yeah, rip 640/640XL owners. Hopefully they've moved on to either IOS or Android or Tizen.

 

Still hanging on to my 650 but it'll probably be replaced soon with an iPhone even though I'm not a huge fan of IOS. Android OS support is just that bad frankly. Almost as bad as Microsoft's tbh .

 

Edit: It should be noted that none of the Windows Phones which launches with Windows Phone 8.1 or 8.0 are currently supported in version 1709. This marks the end of the Nokia Lumia era. 

 

Sources:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-10-mobile-specifications?tduid=(b3c9fb23b5948892320fdf3561eddda5)(259740)(2542549)(UUwpUdUnU51495)(dwp)

https://www.windowscentral.com/lumia-640-and-640-xl-will-not-be-getting-windows-10-mobile-fall-creators-update

 

[Nowak]

And so the last of the Windows Phone 8.x devices are dead.

[AlTech]

1 minute ago, Daring said:

And so the last of the Windows Phone 8.x devices are dead.

*Insert scene from Star Wars Episode 3 of Palpatine saying "Last the Jedi are no More" and Yoda saying "Not to say anything about it, I am" and then fights*

 

Sadly it is the case .

[Trixanity]

6 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

Note: I've been unable to set the quote to automatic font so I've set it to orange to allow others to view it on Day Theme as well as Night theme.

 

Still hanging on to my 650 but it'll probably be replaced soon with an iPhone even though I'm not a huge fan of IOS. Android OS support is just that bad frankly. Almost as bad as Microsoft tbh .

I find that automatic font does absolutely nothing to fix the text when it's formatted. So the only fix is to remove format which would kinda ruin the quoted part as the links and bold text would disappear.

 

I'd say Android is way better supported than Windows Mobile. In fact if you get flagship device you'll be getting security patches regularly and some OS updates with delay.

 

With project Treble we might see support improve drastically (then again we might not. We'll see next year) - even for budget devices. 

 

My cheap phone gets patches quarterly although not the latest patch..

 

As for Microsoft axing more devices: not a surprise. They want to get rid of the OS as fast as they can without pissing off the people who spent a lot of money on the eco system (eg 950 and x3).

[LAwLz]

41 minutes ago, Trixanity said:

I'd say Android is way better supported than Windows Mobile. In fact if you get flagship device you'll be getting security patches regularly and some OS updates with delay.

 

With project Treble we might see support improve drastically (then again we might not. We'll see next year) - even for budget devices. 

I have been very pleasantly surprised with my Galaxy S7 in terms of security updates. Samsung has really stepped up their game with the monthly security updates.

Hopefully Treble will make future OS upgrades faster and more common too, but right now I am setting my expectations low.

[WereCat]

Not to mention that Skype is already not working on my mom's Lumia 520 as MS dropped support completely...

I know it's not WP10 but whatever. I remember being excited for WP10 when I had Lumia 920 and was promised to get the update. Disappointed.

 

[dfsdfgfkjsefoiqzemnd]

59 minutes ago, LAwLz said:

I have been very pleasantly surprised with my Galaxy S7 in terms of security updates. Samsung has really stepped up their game with the monthly security updates.

Ah, are they doing monthly updates on the S series?  My (2016) J3 has had 3 updates so far (07/16, 01/17 and 07/17), which was one of the reasons why I flashed Lineage onto my S7 the day I bought it.

[Trixanity]

22 minutes ago, Captain Chaos said:

Ah, are they doing monthly updates on the S series?  My (2016) J3 has had 3 updates so far (07/16, 01/17 and 07/17), which was one of the reasons why I flashed Lineage onto my S7 the day I bought it.

Samsung promises monthly security updates to their flagship devices. I think the S6 is included too but I'm not sure. I think HTC updates theirs too and same goes for Sony. Perhaps not monthly like Samsung does though. Nokia and OnePlus also updates. Huawei wants to increase their cadence which is every 2 or 3 months right now. I have no idea what LG does these days. I think they update current flagships occasionally but are quick to ditch them down the road.

 

The big players know they need to update it if they want to sell to businesses. That's about the only reason I can come up with for Samsung to do it. It doesn't hurt consumer sales all that much. People don't buy iPhones for the guaranteed updates either although I guess it's a nice bonus.

[flibberdipper]

That kinda sucks. I liked Windows Phone 7 and 8 for what whey were. But it was too little too late to become relevant. ?

[Doobeedoo]

15 hours ago, Trixanity said:

Samsung promises monthly security updates to their flagship devices. I think the S6 is included too but I'm not sure. I think HTC updates theirs too and same goes for Sony. Perhaps not monthly like Samsung does though. Nokia and OnePlus also updates. Huawei wants to increase their cadence which is every 2 or 3 months right now. I have no idea what LG does these days. I think they update current flagships occasionally but are quick to ditch them down the road.

 

The big players know they need to update it if they want to sell to businesses. That's about the only reason I can come up with for Samsung to do it. It doesn't hurt consumer sales all that much. People don't buy iPhones for the guaranteed updates either although I guess it's a nice bonus.

I have S6 and yeah it received security updates. Few days ago I even got a huge half gig update with 200+ fixes etc. 

[Doobeedoo]

I really think they may revive WP in future though. More OS polish and app support definitely. Devs just didn't bother even with MS help. 

I've used Lumia 950XL and really liked how it worked overall. 

[Magnetorheological]

Can't say I didn't see this coming. Good thing I did replace my 640 for a 650, but not like it's my main phone anyways.

[OmJo93]

19 hours ago, AluminiumTech said:

Android OS support is just that bad frankly. Almost as bad as Microsoft's tbh .

The thing with Android is you can buy a mid-range phone and just flash a custom ROM to get future updates. Even on older phones.

 

LineageOS (the successor to CyanogenMod) is the most popular ROM.

[vorticalbox]

20 hours ago, Trixanity said:

In fact if you get flagship device you'll be getting security patches regularly and some OS updates with delay.

most phones give security patches only for the version they are on for two years. Flagships tend to get android updates if one is out while the phone is still new.

 

as soon as you hit the two year mark a phone is basically unsupported. Not everyone gets a new phone every two years. That's perfectly clear to see when you look at the android version distribution.

 

millions of decides run out of date software that is very vulnerable to a whole range of exploits. 

 

the only way to stay up to date is to run a custom run. 

[Trixanity]

54 minutes ago, vorticalbox said:

most phones give security patches only for the version they are on for two years. Flagships tend to get android updates if one is out while the phone is still new.

 

as soon as you hit the two year mark a phone is basically unsupported. Not everyone gets a new phone every two years. That's perfectly clear to see when you look at the android version distribution.

 

millions of decides run out of date software that is very vulnerable to a whole range of exploits. 

 

the only way to stay up to date is to run a custom run. 

I didn't comment on the length of support. Only that you get regular updates for a flagship. There are no repercussions for not supporting your device. In some cases the vendors don't update drivers but for example Samsung is so vertically integrated it shouldn't be an issue.

 

Hopefully Treble changes this and given the increased support for Pixel 2 we might start seeing it for other flagships. We're looking at drivers no longer being an excuse but OEM components still needs to be updated.

 

With that being said there are many devices that do get at least two major OS updates. And even budget devices getting one major OS update. And that's without Treble.

 

Not all devices can get a custom ROM and even if you do, you sacrifice all the proprietary components and in some cases have broken components. My current phone does not have a solid LOS release so it's not really a good option.

 

Alas, my device is still Blueborne and KRACK vulnerable as every patch I get is a few months behind (July patch released in October). I'm guessing I can expect a September or October patch in February. I am expecting Oreo around March or April though. And it's a device I paid like $160 for. Not all is lost if you don't get a flagship.