On Friday we reported that developers had quickly found a way to install the Windows 10 for Phones preview on non-supported Lumias, but this hack required the phone to have a SD-card slot, meaning that the flagships couldn't be upgraded.
Now, an XDA developer has created a process that tricks the Windows Insider app into thinking any Windows 8 phone is viable for the preview. Essentially it fools the app into thinking that the phone is a Lumia 635, which allows it to download and install the Windows 10 Technical Preview for Phones.
However, doing this process requires the user to change the phone's id, and initial reports indicate that if you are successful upgrading to Windows 10, minor updates through 'phone update' setting are not accessible; to get any minor updates requires repeating the 17 step walkthrough, you also have to know the correct country code for your device which requires a bit of googling or luck, if it's already mentioned in the (so far) fourteen page thread.
Despite the complicated process, people have reported being able to upgrade their HTC 8X and One M8 for Windows as well as Huawei variants; the hack also does not require phones to have a SD-card slot which means the 930, 925 and 920 flagships are 'supported', with people reporting successful upgrades.
Although we strongly advise against this modification, it could be a fun way to test a device that isn't your main phone. But if you don't mind waiting, Microsoft is working hard not only to ensure that more devices get added to the program but that Windows 10 runs more or less smoothly on those devices. Installing it on a wholly unsupported phone might lead to major issues which currently have zero support.
Finally, as pointed out in the earlier report, let’s not forget that Gabriel Aul said new phone builds would come out monthly or even faster than that. If you’ve waited this long, why risk destroying your device instead of waiting a bit more?
Source: XDA-forums via GSMArena | Thanks to Zlip792 for the tip!
39 Comments - Add comment