Windows Phone 8.1 Store shut down on December 16, 2019

[YueLing11]

Sorry for late post, but Windows Phone 8.1 Store is officially closed down in December 16, 2019. What do you think? Also switch to Android or iOS now. I bought a Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 as a replacement for my Lumia 530.

[dae52591]

Android vs iOS war is endless. Choose what you like.

[YueLing11]

Android vs iOS war is endless. Choose what you like.

I already picked Xiaomi Redmi Note 7

[PC-DOS]

Still using my Windows Phones, holding a Nokia 7 Plus for occasional use such as payments.
I'm also trying to find a way to deploy store APPXs on unlocked Windows Phone 8.1 devices. Application Deployment says signature error, and it seems that Windows Phone Power Tools doesn't support the deployment of APPXs.

[xyz]

the only question i have is if there is a way to sideload apps after the store shutdown, yet i have all apps on my device, but who knows, the day will come where i need a hard reset?

[YueLing11]

the only question i have is if there is a way to sideload apps after the store shutdown, yet i have all apps on my device, but who knows, the day will come where i need a hard reset?

You shouldn't stick with Windows Phone 8.1 if the Store shut down. It's recommended to switch to Android or iOS.

[zde]

You shouldn't stick with Windows Phone 8.1 if the Store shut down. It's recommended to switch to Android or iOS.

Why would you pick iOS, though? Windows Store shutdown shows it's fate quite succinctly: iPhones would become unusable sooner or later - and, most likely, long before hardware itself would decay.

That's actually why I have picked Android as my first phone 10 years ago... I stil have that HTC Dream (actually I have unlocked version - Android Dev Phone 1), the very first retail Android model in existence... and I still could use it if I want.

Yes, I know there are some way to unlock and use certain iPhone models (especially old ones), but... why bother? You could never know in advance if and when next iPhone version would be unlocked by enthusiasts...

iPhone is great thing... just not for people who may want to stick with their old devices for years.

P.S. Android is also not perfect: you still need old blobs with drivers which means your old devices couldn't be secured... but that's still better that inability to use them at all.

[YueLing11]

You shouldn't stick with Windows Phone 8.1 if the Store shut down. It's recommended to switch to Android or iOS.

Why would you pick iOS, though? Windows Store shutdown shows it's fate quite succinctly: iPhones would become unusable sooner or later - and, most likely, long before hardware itself would decay.

That's actually why I have picked Android as my first phone 10 years ago... I stil have that HTC Dream (actually I have unlocked version - Android Dev Phone 1), the very first retail Android model in existence... and I still could use it if I want.

Yes, I know there are some way to unlock and use certain iPhone models (especially old ones), but... why bother? You could never know in advance if and when next iPhone version would be unlocked by enthusiasts...

iPhone is great thing... just not for people who may want to stick with their old devices for years.

P.S. Android is also not perfect: you still need old blobs with drivers which means your old devices couldn't be secured... but that's still better that inability to use them at all.

I have Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 running MIUI (based on Android). But you should switch to popular OSes anyway.

[JimOlive]

Offtopic Comment

I have a a Lumia 520 with Windows 10 Mobile Build 10586.107, which used to be my mother's. I still use it, but only for the FM radio, which my Galaxy S9 doesn't have.