Microsoft Software Updater

Last updated

Microsoft Software Updater
Microsoft Recovery Tools.png
Original author(s) Nokia
Developer(s) Microsoft Mobile Oy
Final release
3.0.560 / 25 August 2011;9 years ago (2011-08-25)
Operating system Windows, macOS
Size 33 MB
Type Patching software
License Freeware
Website microsoft.com/en/mobile/support/software-update/

Microsoft Software Updater (earlier Nokia Software Updater and Ovi Suite Software Updater) is a Windows [1] [2] and OS X [3] (though the Mac version is only in Beta) [4] based application launched in 2006, [5] that enables customers to update and recover their mobile device firmware [6] of a S40 or S60 or Lumia device from any Internet enabled access point. To avoid data loss users are prompted with on-screen advice on how to safely update their device. [7]

Contents

In 2015 Microsoft Mobile offers 4 distinct software update applications, the Microsoft Software Updater serves primarily to update their feature phones, while the Lumia Software Recovery Tool and Windows Phone Recovery Tools are applications used to update and recover Windows Phone devices, though the Lumia Software Recovery Tool also supports Symbian and other Nokia platforms, and the Nokia Care Suite enables users to install Microsoft Mobile firmware updates for Microsoft Lumia devices. [8] Further Microsoft Mobile offers desktop synchronisation applications which also offer updates to device components such as the Nokia Suite and its predecessor the Nokia PC Suite for legacy Nokia telephones, though the Nokia Suite also supports content migration for Microsoft Lumia devices such as messages, contacts, and device software. [9]

All software suites except for the Windows Phone Recovery Tool were originally developed under Nokia while the Windows Phone Recovery Tool was created specifically for the Windows 10 Technical Preview for phones.

History

The service was launched in beta in 2006, [10] and the Nokia Software Updater's beta phase ended at 25 August 2011. Nokia Software Updater 3.0.495 was released to consumers in 2011. After acquisition of Nokia's devices and services divisions by Microsoft, the application was renamed to Microsoft Software Updater. the Microsoft Software Updater does not install any pre-release of Nokia device software, but will restore the latest updates.

The service can be used to restore the firmware on "bricked" phones which previously could only be done at local Microsoft Care customer service centres. [11] Microsoft Care's range of software update and recovery programs also include a software recovery tool for Lumia-branded Windows Phones that don't start up or respond which may restore the latest firmware. The Recovery tool requires the telephone to have 70-80% battery charge and works only with Windows Phone 8 or higher devices.

In 2015 Microsoft used the software to update their Series 30+ based Nokia 130 devices. [12]

Lumia Software Recovery Tool

The Microsoft Care division of Microsoft Mobile had several other specialised versions of the Microsoft Software Updater. This included the Nokia Software Recovery Tool which can recover lost software and unbrick phones in a similar manner to the Microsoft Software Updater. Its primary aim is to restore lost data after failed update installation attempts. The 1.3.1 version requires Windows 7 or later and was a re-released version of the older Symbian recovery tool. [13] As part of Microsoft's new wave of rebranding it was renamed the Lumia Software Recovery Tool. [14] It was updated and renamed to Nokia Software Recovery Tool again in 2015. [15] In 2016 Microsoft closed down all Nokia sites and download servers. This affected all Nokia firmware downloader softwares. [16] In 2017 Microsoft has outsourced the old Nokia phone software service to a rather unknown company named B2X. [17]

Windows Device Recovery Tool

In February 2015, to coincide with the launch with the technical preview of Windows 10 Mobile, Microsoft launched a similar application for Windows Insiders known as the Windows Phone Recovery Tool. This application will remove Windows 10 from the device and restore the most current Windows Phone 8.1 software and the device's latest available firmware (i.e. Lumia Cyan or Lumia Denim). [18]

Microsoft issued an update to the Windows Phone Recovery Tool in April 2015 to address difficulties for Nokia Lumia 520 and other low-memory devices while installing the Windows 10 technical preview, because their limited (512 MB) memory caused these devices to become "bricked". The update resolved these issues by lowering the data blocks being fed to the device from 2MB to 128kBs at a time while recovering these defective models. [19] [20]

On 13 May 2015 Microsoft added support for the HTC One (M8) for Windows devices in version 2.0.3 while earlier the Windows Phone Recovery Tool exclusively worked with Microsoft/Nokia Lumia devices. [21] In September 2015 Microsoft updated the Windows Phone Recovery Tool which renamed it to the Windows Device Recovery Tool [22] alongside several minor fixes such as improved support features, and some accessibility improvements. [23] In November 2015 Microsoft added additional support for another non-Microsoft made Windows mobile device, the LG Lancet. [24]

On 30 March 2016 Microsoft added support for the Microsoft HoloLens and the Microsoft HoloLens Clicker devices which is a Windows 10-based augmented reality headset and companion device based on Windows Holographic. [25]

Microsoft Care

Microsoft Care (formerly Nokia Care) centres are physical locations created to deliver personalised customer support services and fix broken Lumia and Nokia-branded devices. This centres employ highly skilled engineers to repair and fix Nokia and Microsoft devices, [26] though initially Nokia Care centres were the only place where customers could upgrade their Symbian devices prior to the launch of the Nokia Software Updater. [27]

In rural African areas Microsoft Mobile operates Microsoft Care as a service to deliver customer support with vans by sending engineers, [28] which can be reached via an SMS-warranty scheme. [29]

In June 2015, Microsoft announced it will rebrand its Nokia Care centres to Microsoft Care and then Lumia Care Point Locations. [30] [31] It was later reported that Microsoft would close the majority of their care facilities in Poland and other European countries in favour of having more large centralised facilities as opposed to smaller ones being a part of the larger restructuring within Microsoft's mobile devices strategy based on their plan of laying off former Nokia employees. [32]

See also

Related Research Articles

Ovi (Nokia) Former Internet services by Nokia

Ovi by Nokia was the brand for Nokia's Internet services. The Ovi services could be used from a mobile device, computer or via the web. Nokia focused on five key service areas: Games, Maps, Media, Messaging and Music. Nokia's aim with Ovi was to include third party developers, such as operators and third-party services like Yahoo's Flickr photo site. With the announcement of Ovi Maps Player API, Nokia started to evolve their services into a platform, enabling third parties to make use of Nokia's Ovi services.

Nokia phones beta labs is a service in which beta software for Nokia smartphones are available for public download. The service was originally launched as Nokia Beta Labs in 2007 by Nokia for S60-based Symbian devices, and later for the company's Windows Phone-based Lumia line. After the sale of the Nokia mobile devices division to Microsoft, the website was renamed Lumia Beta Apps. It was discontinued in 2015. The service was revived by HMD Global in 2017 for Nokia Android smartphones, allowing members to test Android 8.0 Oreo beta.

Windows Phone Family of mobile operating systems by Microsoft

Windows Phone (WP) is a discontinued family of mobile operating systems developed by Microsoft for smartphones as the replacement successor to Windows Mobile and Zune. Windows Phone featured a new user interface derived from Metro design language. Unlike Windows Mobile, it was primarily aimed at the consumer market rather than the enterprise market.

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is a mid-range smartphone part of the XpressMusic line, announced by Nokia on 2 October 2008 in London and started shipping in November of that year. Code-named "Tube", it was the first touchscreen-equipped S60 device by Nokia - essentially it was the first device to run Symbian^1, also known as S60 5th Edition, the touch-specific S60-based platform created by the Symbian Foundation. The touchscreen features tactile feedback.

Here Technologies Netherlands-based mapping data company

Here Technologies is a Netherlands-based company that provides mapping and location data and related services to individuals and companies. It is majority-owned by a consortium of German automotive companies, whilst other companies also own minority stakes. Its roots date back to U.S.-based Navteq in 1985, which was acquired by Finland-based Nokia in 2007. Here is currently based in The Netherlands.

Symbian Discontinued mobile operating system

Symbian is a discontinued mobile operating system (OS) and computing platform designed for smartphones. Symbian was originally developed as a proprietary software OS for PDAs in 1998 by the Symbian Ltd. consortium. Symbian OS is a descendant of Psion's EPOC, and was released exclusively on ARM processors, although an unreleased x86 port existed. Symbian was used by many major mobile phone brands, like Samsung, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, and above all by Nokia. It was also prevalent in Japan by brands including Fujitsu, Sharp and Mitsubishi. As a pioneer that established the smartphone industry, it was the most popular smartphone OS on a worldwide average until the end of 2010—at a time when smartphones were in limited use—when it was overtaken by iOS and Android. It was notably not as popular in North America.

Nokia Suite

Nokia Suite is an application for Nokia users to connect their devices with Microsoft Windows. The service was originally developed by Nokia but was subsequently taken over by Microsoft Mobile.

Nokia Lumia 800

Nokia Lumia 800 is a smartphone from Nokia, first unveiled on 26 October 2011 at the Nokia World 2011 event. It originally runs on Windows Phone 7.5 "Mango"—it was Nokia's first device to run the Windows Phone operating system and marked the company's shift from Symbian for their smartphones. It was Nokia's flagship upon the original release in Europe in November 2011, and was thus also a highly important product for Nokia's mobile phone business.

Nokia Lumia 900

The Nokia Lumia 900 is a Windows Phone-powered smartphone, first unveiled on January 9, 2012 by Nokia at Consumer Electronics Show 2012, where it won the Best Smartphone award in January 2012. The phone has 4G LTE support and was released in April 2012. The Lumia 900 was the flagship smartphone of the Lumia range until the release of its successor, the Lumia 920.

Microsoft Lumia

Microsoft Lumia is a discontinued line of mobile devices that was originally designed and marketed by Nokia and later by Microsoft Mobile. Introduced in November 2011, the line was the result of a long-term partnership between Nokia and Microsoft—as such, Lumia smartphones run on Microsoft software, the Windows Phone operating system; and later the newer Windows 10 Mobile. The Lumia name is derived from the partitive plural form of the Finnish word lumi, meaning "snow".

Windows RT is a discontinued mobile operating system developed by Microsoft. It is an edition of Windows 8.x built for the 32-bit ARM architecture (ARMv7). First unveiled in January 2011 at Consumer Electronics Show, the Windows RT 8 operating system was officially launched alongside Windows 8 on October 26, 2012, with the release of three Windows RT-based devices, including Microsoft's original Surface tablet. Unlike Windows 8, Windows RT is only available as preloaded software on devices specifically designed for the operating system by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

Microsoft mobile services are a set of proprietary mobile services created specifically for mobile devices, they are typically offered through mobile applications and mobile browser for Windows Phone, | platforms, BREW, and Java. Microsoft's mobile services are typically connected with a Microsoft account and often come preinstalled on Microsoft's own mobile operating systems while they are offered via various means for other platforms. Microsoft started to develop for mobile computing platforms with the launch of Windows CE in 1996 and later added Microsoft's Pocket Office suite to their Handheld PC line of PDAs in April 2000. From December 2014 to June 2015, Microsoft made a number of corporate acquisitions, buying several of the top applications listed in Google Play and the App Store including Acompli, Sunrise Calendar, Datazen, Wunderlist, Echo Notification Lockscreen, and MileIQ.

Lumia imaging apps

Lumia imaging apps are imaging applications by Microsoft Mobile and formerly by Nokia for Lumia devices built on the technology of Scalado. The Lumia imaging applications were notably all branded with "Nokia" in front of their names, but after Microsoft acquired Nokia's devices and services business the Nokia branding was superseded with "Lumia", and often updates included nothing but name changes, but for the Lumia Camera this included a new wide range of feature additions. Most of the imaging applications are developed by the Microsoft Lund division. As part of the release of Windows 10 Mobile and the integration of Lumia imaging features into the Windows Camera and Microsoft Photos applications some of these applications stopped working in October 2015.

Nokia Lumia 1520

The Nokia Lumia 1520 was a flagship Windows Phone phablet smartphone designed and produced by Finnish telecommunications manufacturer Nokia in partnership with American software manufacturer Microsoft. The device was first announced at the Nokia World event on 22 October 2013 in Abu Dhabi, alongside its mid-range phablet stablemate the Nokia Lumia 1320 and Nokia's 10.1 inch Windows RT tablet the Nokia Lumia 2520. Until its discontinuation in the United States on 7 April 2015 the phone served as the flagship device for Nokia's Lumia Series and Microsoft's mobile effort. On 6 October 2015 Microsoft officially announced its flagship phablet successor, the Microsoft Lumia 950 XL, with availability sometime in November 2015.

Microsoft Mobile Subsidiary of multinational company Microsoft, involved in the development and manufacturing of mobile phones and mobile computing devices

Microsoft Mobile was a subsidiary of Microsoft involved in the development and manufacturing of mobile phones. Based in Espoo, Finland, it was established in 2014 following the acquisition of Nokia's Devices and Services division by Microsoft in a deal valued at €5.4 billion, which was completed in April 2014. Nokia's then-CEO, Stephen Elop, joined Microsoft as president of its Devices division following the acquisition, and the acquisition was part of Steve Ballmer's strategy to turn Microsoft into a "devices and services" company. Under a 10-year licensing agreement, Microsoft Mobile held rights to sell feature phones running the S30+ platform under the Nokia brand.

Nokia Mail and Nokia Chat were services developed by Microsoft Mobile and earlier by Nokia for its mobile phones. The service operated as a centralized, hosted service that acted as a proxy between the Messaging client and the user's e-mail server. The phone did not connect directly to the e-mail server, but instead sent e-mail credentials to Nokia's servers. On 13 August 2008 Nokia launched a beta release of "Nokia Email service", a push e-mail service, later incorporated into Nokia Messaging. The original version of Nokia Messaging was launched in 2008 with the Nokia N97 line of smartphones and was exclusive to Finland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Singapore, Australia and Venezuela before being expanded to other countries and was exclusive to Symbian handsets, Series 40 support was announced for 2009. The first public version of Nokia Messaging supports Windows Live Hotmail accounts, Yahoo! accounts, and Google accounts and was available in 12 languages.

Windows 10 Mobile Mobile operating system developed by Microsoft

Windows 10 Mobile is a discontinued mobile operating system developed by Microsoft. First released in 2015, it is a successor to Windows Phone 8.1, but was marketed by Microsoft as being an edition of its PC operating system Windows 10.

Windows Insider is an open software testing program by Microsoft that allows users who own a valid license of Windows 10 or Windows Server 2016 to register for pre-release builds of the operating system previously only accessible to software developers.

Here WeGo Web mapping and navigation service

HERE WeGo is a web mapping and navigation service, operated by Here Technologies. Originally developed by Nokia as HERE Maps, the mapping software application was first released for Windows Phone and the World Wide Web in 2013 as a revamped version of Nokia Maps. The Here Maps application was then released for the Android platform on 10 December 2014 and later for iOS on 11 March 2015, and the name was changed to Here WeGo in July 2016. It is also the default maps service provider for the Amazon Fire tablets and smartphone.

Microsoft Lumia 950 XL

The Microsoft Lumia 950 XL is a smartphone developed by Microsoft, officially revealed on October 6, 2015 and released on November 20, 2015 alongside the smaller Lumia 950. The Lumia 950 XL is the successor to the Nokia Lumia 1520 and is among the first phones to natively run Windows 10 Mobile. The phone is primarily aimed at users desiring a flagship device, in contrast to Microsoft's previous strategy of targeting developing markets with low-end hardware.

References

  1. Arghire, Ionut (25 August 2011). "Download Nokia Software Updater 3.0.495 for Windows". Softpedia .
  2. Saabedra, Humberto (20 January 2010). "Nokia Releases Software Updater Release Candidate for Windows 7". Phone-News.
  3. Constantinescu, Stefan (17 March 2011). "Nokia Software Updater for Mac OS X hits beta [No more having to deal with Windows]". Into Mobile.
  4. Gilson, David (7 August 2012). "Nokia Software Updater for Mac ceases development". All About Symbian.
  5. Deleon, Nicholas (7 March 2007). "Nokia Phone Updater Released: Bring on the Bricks!". Techchrunch.
  6. "Update your Windows Phone". Microsoft. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  7. Shah, Keval (27 January 2007). "New Nokia Software Update now available". Mobiletor.
  8. Phan, Tuan Anh (15 May 2013). "Nokia Lumia 620 Amber updates now also on Microsoft Care Suite". Windows Mobile PowerUser.
  9. Shaikh, Ahmed (12 April 2013). "Transfer Your Data to Your Nokia Lumia". Windows App Storm.
  10. Freak, Symbian (21 August 2006). "Nokia Software Updater is ready for Download!". Symbian Freak.
  11. Surur, Suril (16 April 2014). "Nokia Software Updater for Retail now available as the ultimate bricked phone rescuer". Windows Mobile PowerUser.
  12. Kee, Edwin (3 December 2014). "Microsoft Introduces Software Update For Nokia 130". Übergizmo.
  13. "Nokia Software Recovery Tool 1.3.1 released, supports Windows Phone 8.1". WinBeta. 8 May 2014.
  14. Callaham, John (17 November 2014). "Nokia Software Recovery Tool is the latest to be rebranded with the Lumia name". Windows Phone Central.
  15. "Lumia Software Recovery tool renamed as Nokia Software Recovery Tool with latest update". Nokiapoweruser. 3 January 2019.
  16. "Using Nokia Software Recovery Tool to flash Nokia Mobile phones (Asha, S40, Symbian)". DiGi-PASSiON. 3 January 2019.
  17. "Nokia Software Recovery Tool updated to version 8.1.25 with B2X as the new publisher". DiGi-PASSiON. 3 January 2019.
  18. VS, Anvin (20 February 2015). "Windows 10 For Phones: Using Windows Phone Recovery Tool To Roll Back To Windows Phone 8.1 After Installing Bug-Ridden Windows 10 Preview". International Business Times Australia. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  19. Al-Riyami, Fahad (17 April 2015). "Microsoft issues a response to those with bricked Windows 10 Lumia 520-series devices". OnMSFT. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  20. Stephen, Schenk (17 April 2015). "Microsoft gets to the bottom of Windows Phone Recovery Tool Lumia-bricking glitch". PocketNow.
  21. Viswav, Pradeep (13 May 2015). "Windows Phone Recovery Tool Now Supports HTC Devices". Windows Mobile PowerUser. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  22. "Windows Device Recovery Tool: FAQ". Microsoft. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  23. Suril, Surur (28 September 2015). "Windows Phone Recovery tool updated, now Windows Device Recovery Tool". Windows Mobile PowerUser. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  24. Viswav, Pradeep (2 November 2015). "Windows Device Recovery Tool Updated With Support For LG Lancet Device". Windows Mobile PowerUser. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  25. Hassan, Mehedi (30 March 2016). "Windows Device Recovery Tool updated with support for HoloLens and HoloLens Clicker". Microsoft PowerUser. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  26. "Nokia Care centers". The Nation. Pakistan. Reuters. 15 January 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  27. Patel, Eswar (19 August 2011). "Nokia Care to help customers upgrade to Symbian Anna". The Mobile Indian Network. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  28. Awad, Mohammed (19 October 2012). "Kenya – Nokia goes mobile with customer care". IT News Africa.
  29. Oketola, Dayo (27 February 2012). "Nokia opens six care centres in Nigeria". Punch - Nigeria. Archived from the original on 18 April 2015.
  30. "Microsoft's Rebranding of Nokia Priority Stores Continues". Press Trust of India. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  31. "Lumia Care Point Locations". Microsoft. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  32. Stephonson, Brad (9 July 2015). "Microsoft closes Nokia Care Points throughout Europe. More people lose jobs in company restructuring". WinBeta.