132 PCWorld JANUARY 2020HERE’S HOW WINDOWS 10 MOBILE IS DEAD
com/elx3), Microsoft Lumia 550, 650, and
the Lumia 950 (go.pcworld.com/l950)/950
XL; Alcatel IDOL 4S and 4S Pro; and the
Alcatel OneTouch Fierce XL—it’s time for you
to retire those devices and move on.
If you don’t, well, you’ve moved from
Microsoft’s walled garden to the hinterlands.
Microsoft’s Store app may work—or it may
not. Apps may be supported, Microsoft says
(go.pcworld.com/mbfq), but how long
support continues is up to the developer.
About the only practical solution—and
Microsoft’s recommendation—was to create
a manual backup of your data on or before
December 10, just in case something went
wrong. (Settings > Update & Security >
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 adds, but it’s not clear
which apps will receive those backups.MOVING FROM WINDOWS
PHONE TO ANDROID
Both Apple iPhones and phones running the
Google Android OS have access to
Microsoft-authored apps that replicate some
of the functionality of Windows 10 Mobile
phones. But the more open nature of
Android has traditionally allowed more
leeway in connecting those phones to
Microsoft services.Back up your Windows phone
If you’ve finally been convinced to move to
an Android phone, make sure your current
Windows phone is backed up: photos
synced, email saved, etc. And hang on to
the phone! If there are any random
documents or
attachments that
you aren’t sure
have been saved,
use the OneDrive
app to back them
up to your cloud
storage or
another location.
Ditto for any
lingering MP3s or
old videos you
have hanging
around.Although Microsoft services work under Android as well as iOS, Android
offers more flexibility.