Microsoft launches Updater tool for Windows Phones

Microsoft has largely abandoned its Windows Phones after the all-conquering Android has swept it aside. As such, the software giant is no longer developing hardware but is still supporting both the Windows 8.1 Phone and Windows 10 Mobile platforms with updates. Its most recent release is a new Over-the-Cable Updater for Windows mobile users.

The Over-the-cable Updater app enables Windows Enterprise users to update their devices faster. Previously, Windows Mobile users had to install each update individually to fully update their handsets.

However, with the Over-the-cable Updater, they can now update to the very latest version of Windows without installing previous release build updates.

The Windows Device Recovery Tool was similar to the Over-the-cable Updater app in that you could update Windows Phone platforms directly to their latest versions with the WDRT until Microsoft removed that app’s update options.

Now, the WDRT only reverts Windows back to its original version. The OTC Updater is effectively a replacement for Windows Device Recovery.

To utilize the Over-the-cable Updater tool, you’ll need to add the OTC Updater software to a Windows PC with Net 4.0 and a phone USB driver installed. Press the Download button on this website page to add the software to Windows. Then, connect your Windows Mobile to the PC via USB cable and unlock its PIN lock if it has one. Please note that the device needs to be in Airplane mode and be running Windows 8.1 or Windows 10.

With the OTC Updater, you can update some Windows Mobiles to the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update when Microsoft releases it for handsets. As such, Windows Phone users should not toss away their handsets just yet.