Windows 10 Mobile Build 10586.107 - Turn off the lights on your way out...

On Feb 10 - MS released Windows 10 Mobile Build 10586.107 to Fast Ring Insiders - less than a week after 10586.71.  This does again put Windows 10 Mobile on par with production Windows 10 updates - but Redstone branch builds are nowhere to be found.

 The Windows Blog listed the fixes as...
  • Fixed an issue where in some cases a device could be missing tiles on the Start screen after going through the device out of box experience.
  • Improved support in Narrator to speak in multiple languages.
  • Improvements to the device reset experience when BitLocker\Device Encryption is enabled by enterprise policy or by the user.

There was also another level of Insider created called "Preview" which is slower than the "Slow" Ring users get.   To be honest I don't see the value in this new level.  You're either an Insider or not. period.   

As always I installed the .107 build on my Lumia 735 and two 635s.  As I mentioned in my post on the .71 build - I'm not seeing much progress here and the official Windows 10 Mobile release for existing 8.1 users to upgrade from their carriers still seems to be a ways off.  

With .107 I'm starting see more sluggishness in Windows 10 Mobile - also more and more apps just aren't working as well as they should.  In All Apps several app icons are blank and you have to remove the app then reinstall from the store in order to get them back.  Just sloppy.

As I've mention in previous posts, MS really seems to be struggling here to get a Windows 10 Mobile build that they can get out the door to the carriers to push out to non-Insiders.  Considering that it is the 2nd week of February - I really expect the "End of February" date to slip, especially here in the US.

This is especially true when you consider how long AT&T and Samsung for example are taking to get Android Marshmallow out the door.  It's been nearly 5 months since Marshmallow's release and there has yet to be a push out.

If Windows 10 mobile follows a similar approach - I wouldn't expect a release from most carriers until May or even June. That's assuming that MS can actually get them a build to release by the end of the month. 

I have not performed a WP 8.1 to WM10 upgrade in a while - so I can't say 100% how close they are to ready from that perspective, but when I look back at my previous attempts - I still think MS is a long ways away..   

To be honest I don't think the carriers really care. Windows Mobile has become more of a burden to them than an asset that is driving real sales.  So there will not be any sense of urgency to get it out there.   

Personally I don't think MS is that driven either.   The original Threshold or November release of Windows 10 that coincided with release the new Surface Pro 4, Surface Book and Lumia 950/950XL.   Since then there have been multiple "cumulative" updates to both Windows 10 Desktop and Windows 10 mobile attempting to address specific OS issues as well as firmware updates to address hardware issues.  But obviously MS still has enough issues with getting legacy phones to update properly that they don't have the confidence to release it to the carriers.

 So the question now is - okay - so how many more cumulative updates will be applied to 10586 before the Redstone branch releases and why aren't there Redstone builds at all for Lumia.  

 As I've stated several times - it is my opinion that the Lumia line is dead - sure MS may at some point here finally get a non-Insider Windows 10 build out the door - but let's face it - MS has made a mess of their mobile offerings and really doesn't care that much about their existing customers.  

 If they did - MS would have gotten Windows 10 Mobile right with Threshold and had it released to carriers back in November - which means that most folks might have gotten it by now..   But like many other folks - I really don't care anymore whether it releases or not.  I'm done with Windows Mobile.



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