Microsoft Windows Phone Window 10 Upgrade Won’t Appear On Certain Devices, and Here’s Why

By Mark Rollins
Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
This device made the list for the Windows 10 Mobile upgrade.

In spite of a promise that Microsoft has made that all Windows 8 devices will be receiving the complimentary upgrade to Windows 10, the company has reneged on that promise.  Below is a complete list of Windows devices that will or won't be receiving the upgrade, as well as the reasons why.

According to The Verge, Microsoft promised that all Lumia Windows Phone 8 devices would be upgraded to Windows 10, but it is breaking that promise.  The billion dollar company started to rollout Windows 10 Mobile to some existing Lumia devices, but some handsets won't be receiving it.   Here is a list of devices that will be receiving the Windows 10 upgrade:

  • Lumia 1520
  • Lumia 930
  • Lumia 830
  • Lumia 730
  • Lumia 735
  • Lumia 640
  • Lumia 640XL
  • Lumia 635 1GB
  • Lumia 636 1GB
  • Lumia 638 1GB
  • Lumia 540
  • Lumia 535
  • Lumia 532
  • Lumia 435
  • Lumia 430

As for the devices that are not getting the upgrade, this includes the Lumia Icon and Blu's Win JR LTE, a handset that Microsoft has been trying to promote as a Windows 10 compatible device.  It is possible that the Lumia Icon could receive the upgrade, but since there is no second wave of Windows 10 mobile upgrades on devices, it is not likely.

It definitely seems like the BLU Win Jr LTE is off the list.  In fact, Windows Central states that the 512 MB based BLU Win Jr LTE was once sold with the label of "upgradeable to Windows 10 Mobile when available" has now been removed. 

Here is a list of Windows mobile devices that didn't make the cut, such as:

  • Lumia 520
  • Lumia 521
  • Lumia 525
  • Lumia 620
  • Lumia 625
  • Lumia 720
  • Lumia 810
  • Lumia 822
  • Lumia 920
  • Lumia 925
  • Lumia 1020
  • Lumia 1320

Also included on the list are third-party devices like the LG Lancet, HTC One M8 (Windows edition), and phones made by Yezz.  At this point, it is expected for there to be Windows follower outcry over this decision, as Microsoft is essentially going back on their promise to upgrade all Windows Phone 8 Lumias or all devices running Windows Phone 8.1. 

According to Neowin, one of the things that has been said the most frequently over the past three days is that users are now planning to leave the platform that they have supported for so long and move to Android.  Of course, there have been times in Android's past when phones that were promised an upgrade and didn't receive one.  The most recent example would be the Moto E series, which won't be getting an upgrade to Android 6.0 Marshmallow in the United States, although it was promised by Motorola. 

Part of the reason why Microsoft didn't keep their promise of upgrading certain devices is that Windows 10 mobile requires more system resources than the Windows Phone 8.1 OS.  So bringing out an over the air (OTA) upgrade might not be in the company's best interests for their products, or their consumers. 

Still, beware of going back on a promise Microsoft.  Perhaps Windows mobile users should see what Apple is up to today.