In this article we are covering most commonly known Windows 10 Mobile upgrade, installation and usability (user) issues and how to fix them. This tutorial is based on the experience of installing and living with all the Windows 10 Mobile preview builds released yet. Some of the issues that we are covering however seem to appear in nearly every build to someone or other amongst the Windows Insiders. We have also added Windows 10 Mobile update error codes like 801881cd, what they mean and how to fix them.

Windows 10 Mobile Build not being offered issue:

Not all devices are eligible to get Windows 10 Mobile upgrade. Here is the list of devices that can upgrade from Windows Phone 8.1 to Windows 10 Mobile. Here is your tutorial to prepare your devices and update to Windows 10 Mobile successfully for the best user experience.

Build 10581.1

Windows 10 Mobile Installation issues & workarounds:

  • Installation seems stuck at 0% for hours. What you can do is
    • Plug-in your device as in some devices there is a “Battery Saver” bug that stops download and installation of the build.
    • Try a soft reset and try downloading and installing the build again.
  • In case you see spinning gears for longer duration during update process, you should wait if gears are spinning. If gears are stuck then only issue arises. Try soft reset first and if it doesn’t work try hard reset. You can follow our reset tutorial.
  • Many times you see a blank screen once the installation is over. You should wait for 15-20 minutes as migration may be going on below that Blank Screen. This bug affects many devices and is always better to let the device do its own thing or else you may face issues.

Windows 10 Mobile update error codes, meaning & fixes:

Error codesWhat it means and how to fix it

801881cd

80188308

You don’t have enough free storage space on your device to install the update.

Try removing some media files (videos, music, and photos) or apps to make room for the update. You can connect to your PC and move media files there, and you can always reinstall apps from the Windows Store. Keep in mind that deleting an app, even temporarily, will erase app data, such as saved progress in a game.

80188264

80188265

You haven’t agreed to download the update over a cellular data connection.

To fix it, connect to Wi‑Fi and download the update.

If you can’t connect to Wi‑Fi and want to download the update using cellular data, select Download when prompted to download the update using cellular data.

801882cb

You’re having trouble connecting to a network.

Make sure that you’re connected to the Internet and try again. It’s best to connect to Wi‑Fi so you can avoid possible cellular data charges.

If you can’t connect to Wi‑Fi and want to download the update using cellular data, select Download when prompted to download the update using cellular data.

801881d0

8018822a

80072f30

80072ee7

80072ee2

80072efd

80072f76

80072efe

There was a temporary problem with a server or your Internet connection during the update.

Make sure you’re connected to the Internet and try again. It’s best to connect to Wi‑Fi so you can avoid possible cellular data charges.

80188d1

80188d1

There was an error installing the update. Restart your device and try downloading the update again.

Common Windows 10 Mobile Usage issues & Fixes:

Listed below are common Windows 10 Mobile usage issues and related workarounds or fixes.

  • Start Screen corrupted post the upgrade
  • Not able to take a screenshot
  • Mail & Calendar not working
  • Settings may crash
  • Sim is not getting recognized.
  • Keyboard installation running into error.
  • Not able to add a new Mail account
  • WiFi keeps on disconnecting
  • Native Apps crashes
  • New Speech language can’t be downloaded
  • Poor Battery Life
  • Performance issues
  • Action Center not working smoothly

Generic Workaround:

In all the cases,

(First) Try a Reboot:

It should fix apps related and some other issues too.

(Second) Try a soft reset:

Volume up + power key hold till it restarts (Around 10 seconds)

(Third) Else take a back up and do a hard reset:

Go to Settings——>About——–>and you can see Reset your Phone option. You should take a backup of your content before proceeding, click here for our backup tutorial and you can try our reset tutorial in case your phone stopped responding.

(Finally) Windows Phone Recovery Tool:

This is a very useful tool that helps you to return to Windows Phone 8.1, if Windows 10 previews are too buggy to handle for you and the soft reset and hard reset have not yielded desired results. Read our tutorial.

Issue-specific Workarounds:

  • In case of Start Screen corruption, you can go to Settings > Personalization > Start and apply a different background picture or no picture and it should fix this issue.
  • If you are not able to download Keyboards or new language packs, you may need to enroll to Windows Insider app again and retry. You should be able to get these installed via Windows Update.
  • If you can’t take screenshot, just use file explorer to rename screenshots folder inside pictures folder. Let Windows recreate the folder at next screenshot trial. (Thanks to Dandun Widiyanto in comments below).

Issues and Fixes list seen here is not final and will be updated based on feedback from our readers. Do let us know how we can improve this tutorial in comments below.