Windows 10 Mobile Creators Update breaks many phones [FIX]

The Creators Update is finally out for the Windows 10 Mobile-powered devices and with Microsoft on the fence about whether to continue creating and supporting Windows smartphones or to switch to the vastly more popular Android, this minor update came as a pleasant surprise for a lot of users — while the others are not satisfied at all.

Besides all of its expected improvements, the Creators Update broke a lot of handsets with a plethora of issues, both minor and major. For that reason, we listed the most common problems that occur after the update with the best-suited workarounds for the individual problems. So, if you have any issues with your Windows Mobile, we advise you to take a look at the list below.

Windows 10 Mobile Creators Update issues, and how to solve them

Update issues

Firstly, even though we support Microsoft’s decision to follow the Apple’s pattern and provide more frequent minor updates rather than just one major, their choice of eligible devices is dubious, to say the least. If you have any issues with the update, make sure that your device is on this list before taking additional steps:

• Alcatel IDOL 4S
• Alcatel OneTouch Fierce XL
• HP Elite x3
• Lenovo Softbank 503LV
• MCJ Madosma Q601
• Microsoft Lumia 550
• Microsoft Lumia 640/640XL
• Microsoft Lumia 650
• Microsoft Lumia 950/950 XL
• Trinity NuAns Neo
• VAIO VPB051

If your device is on the list, try some of these workarounds and check for updates again:

• Reboot your handset.
• Check the available memory.
• Check your connection.

Eventually, maybe your region is still not covered with the RTM version of the Creators Update. So you may need to wait for a couple of days.

Random reboots

The grave problem that emerged after the upgrade is a random reboot. Namely, it seems that the system upgrade caused some instability and that usually leads to restarts. If you have experienced anything similar, try using the steps below to troubleshoot it:

• Remove the battery and reinsert it after a minute or two.
• Do the same with the SD card. Or rather, you can remove SD card temporarily as it may inflict some system disturbance.
• Disable some background apps. Tap Settings > Privacy > Background apps, and disable the background activity.

Wi-Fi and Mobile Data issues

Besides the reboots, connectivity issues are also falling into the ‘critical’ department. Without the proper connectivity, your mobile device is of little or no value, so this emerged as a large problem for a lot of users. They reported that both Wi-Fi and Mobile Data are broken after the update or at least one of those two.

These are the steps you can take to troubleshoot your connection:

• Restart the device.
• Delete the Wi-Fi network and reestablish it again.
• Check the router.
• Disable Bluetooth while using Wi-Fi.
• Add manually phone’s MAC address to the router Access list.
• Check SIM card and insert carrier’s APN manually.
• Restore the factory settings.

Edge crashes

Even though the Edge received various improvements with the Creators Update, one issue that was there from the beginning is still bothering some users. Namely, even though the Windows native web browser sustained a lot of changes, it seems that the occasional crashes aren’t gone for good.

What you can do is quite limited since this mostly depends on the app’s stability and RAM usage. So, make sure to disable background apps that are hogging on your resources. Additionally, you can clear cache and history from your Edge browsers since those are known as the catalysts of various issues, with the crashing included.

Cortana is unresponsive

Another feature that got the substantial buff with the Creators Update is the Microsoft’s smart assistant, Cortana. Now, if this system has had a larger coverage, Cortana would certainly be one of the best smart assistants in the market. However, even though it got improved, a lot of users reported issues related to Cortana.

Namely, some of them were unable to utilize voice commands when the phone is locked, as it seems that the ‘Hey, Cortana’ feature is broken for them. You can try and resolve this issue by following some of these steps:

• Make sure that the ‘Hey, Cortana’ feature is enabled.
• Check the language preferences. Cortana is available only with certain languages.
• Download language features.
• Retrain Cortana voice recognition.

Mail won’t sync

It’s not uncommon for updates to mess up your settings and create a large variety of issues. Allegedly, some users encountered issues with the mail app, that is unable to sync with the servers. That can be due to a lot of different factors so you should take into account every of this workarounds in order to resolve your issue:

• Reset the device.
• Check your connection.
• Update Mail app.
• Tap Sync to refresh.
• Navigate to Settings > Manage accounts and enable Always download full message and internet images.
• Navigate to Settings > Privacy > Email. Enable ‘Let apps access and send email’ and confirm the selection.

Continuum issues

Continuum is a Microsoft’s solution that lets you transform your mobile handset into the projector. It’s a useful feature but a lot of users have a distinctive problem with it after the update. They are either unable to see the projected picture on the big screen or the picture is shown but not in the proper way.

You can try and resolve this issues by following the instructions below:

• Check all cables and make sure to use a proper HDMI port.
• Go trough the setup instructions again to eliminate possible missteps.
• Change the aspect ratio or scale the screen on your TV or projector.

Messaging issues

While some of the secondary features are working just fine, some users have the problems with the SMS, which is, to be perfectly honest, one of the essential features on the mobile phones. Namely, after the update, they are unable to send or receive the SMS messages. It seems that some of the settings were changed after the Creators Update.

Follow these instructions to troubleshoot SMS issues:

• Change your mode to CDMA only.
• Turn off the International assist.
• Enable the Messaging app to run in the background.
• Check your SMS center number.
• Perform a factory reset.

Battery drainage

Increased battery drainage is not an unusual issue on the smartphones. But it seems that this update skyrocketed battery usage for no apparent reason. Most of the time, the culprit for the overconsumption is some 3rd-party app that works in the background. But, since we can’t be sure what is the exact reason, make sure to take this steps to reduce the battery drainage:

• Disable the background apps.
• Adjust screen brightness.
• Use battery saver.
• Disable ‘Hey, Cortana’.
• Disable the Glance screen mode.

Bluetooth issues

Besides wireless and mobile data issues, some users experienced Bluetooth issues, as well. Namely, after the Creators update, the Bluetooth connection is quite unstable and crashes frequently. Especially with the car’s system. In order to address this issue, follow the instructions below:

• Navigate to Settings > Devices > Bluetooth > Advanced and tap Use an alternate Bluetooth audio connection for Speech.
• Make sure Cortana is setup properly.
• Delete the device and reconnect again.
• Make sure that the Bluetooth is functioning with the other device.
• Restart your device.

SD card unmounts randomly

Since the most of the Windows-powered handheld devices are known for a limited internal memory, a lot of users are inclined to use the SD cards in order to increase their storage space. However, for some of them, the SD card suddenly unmounts after the Creators update. This isn’t a grave problem since you can easily solve it by formatting your SD card. Another workaround that is advised is to reformat the SD card in the FAT32 format.

Additionally, if the problem is still persistent even after you’ve reformated the SD card, you can try and restore the factory settings.

That should wrap it up. Have in mind that these are some of the most frequently reported issues with the Windows 10 Creators Update and that we maybe missed something. In addition, since Microsoft has changed the approach for Windows Mobile devices, we can certainly expect some fixes in the near future.

How do you like the Creators Update on your device? Have you had any issues after the upgrade?

Make sure to tell us in the comments section below.

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