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Windows Phone 8.1 Users Are Having Trouble Downloading Apps From the Store (neowin.net)

Posted by msmash on from the downfall-continues dept.

An anonymous reader shares a report: While Microsoft ended mainstream support for Windows Phone 8.1 more than six months ago, there are some users that still utilize the platform as their daily driver. Although the company's overall mobile initiative isn't faring too well either, most users on older platforms are still there because they prefer it over the competition or weren't offered an upgrade path to Windows 10 Mobile. However, it now appears that Windows Phone 8.1 users are facing some unforeseen problems with the Store - and no, it isn't regarding the dearth of apps. According to reports, people on the platform have been unable to download apps from the Store since yesterday. Hundreds of people over in Windows phone Facebook groups, Reddit, and Microsoft support forums are complaining that they are being hit with error code 80070020 when attempting to download apps from the Store using their Windows Phone 8.1 devices. We have confirmed the presence of the issue on our devices too.

37 of 64 comments (clear)

  1. Win Phone 8.1 users are delusional by anthony_greer · · Score: 2

    Give up the ghost already folks, Windows Phone IS A DEAD PLATFORM! As a Win Phone 7, 8 and even 10 user early in each products life cycle, I see why people like it so much, I really preferred it to android or iOS but I simply could not get the tools I need to get stuff done. It is sad that we have a duopoly but that is what it is.

    1. Re: Win Phone 8.1 users are delusional by ArmoredDragon · · Score: 1

      Duopolies inevitably result in any market that requires both developer and end user support. Microsoft was well aware of this, but thought they could money their way into being the third in the economic rule of three that applies to most other markets {this was their words, by the way.) Combine that with the fact that Microsoft kills its developer platforms all the time, and you didn't need to be an expert to figure out where this was headed.

    2. Re:Win Phone 8.1 users are delusional by Stormwatch · · Score: 2

      Maybe they're well aware of it, but hey - got a phone, it still works, why spend money before you really have to?

      --
      Circumcision is child abuse.
    3. Re:Win Phone 8.1 users are delusional by DogDude · · Score: 2

      It's a dead platform because you couldn't get the tools you needed to get stuff done? Well than you for your decision, King Greer. Since my Windows Phone does everything I need, do I have to give it up, too? May I keep using it, even though you've designated it to be a "DEAD PLATFORM"?

      --
      I don't respond to AC's.
    4. Re:Win Phone 8.1 users are delusional by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

      It's a dead platform because you couldn't get the tools you needed to get stuff done? Well than you for your decision, King Greer. Since my Windows Phone does everything I need, do I have to give it up, too? May I keep using it, even though you've designated it to be a "DEAD PLATFORM"?

      No it's a dead platform because fewer and fewer new apps are being made for it as noted even by MS. It's a dead platform because current app developers are abandoning Windows Phone to focus on Android and iPhone which the vast majority of their customers are using. It's a dead platform because MS said it will no longer focus on new features or hardware but will still provide security updates and patches. If you want to keep using your phone, go ahead. But the day is coming soon where you won't be able to get new hardware or features from MS at the same time your app developers stops updating your favorite apps and no new apps can replace them.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    5. Re:Win Phone 8.1 users are delusional by anthony_greer · · Score: 1

      I can roll my own for some things but if my bank or broker or online service or whatever other entity I do business with doesn't provide an app there nothing I can do about it.

    6. Re: Win Phone 8.1 users are delusional by ArmoredDragon · · Score: 1

      I didn't say you don't have a phone. Android and iOS have gone way beyond being phones, however.

    7. Re:Win Phone 8.1 users are delusional by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

      We just outfitted our office with new Lumia 950 XL Windows 10 phones.

      Congrats? But that doesn't address the problem. If no new apps are coming on Windows phone and developers are abandoning current apps, what apps will your coworkers use? Outdated ones. Also your coworkers will probably not be getting any new Windows 11 phones in the future or newer hardware for the Windows 10. It's would be the same as if your office got new Blackberry phones.

      It's still the preferred device for 30-40y/o's

      At your work maybe but that does not represent worldwide or the US. 30-40 year olds don't have as high ownership as younger generations but they still have almost 90% in the US. Yet Windows Phone represents about 1% of the US marketshare. If it was the "preferred" device for 30-40 year olds in the US, that number would be much, much higher.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    8. Re:Win Phone 8.1 users are delusional by DogDude · · Score: 1

      Sweet Jesus, I would never do banking on a phone. That's a terrifying idea.

      --
      I don't respond to AC's.
    9. Re:Win Phone 8.1 users are delusional by mcswell · · Score: 1

      I have one, and as long as it does what I need (which it does), I'm keeping it.

      Besides, what are my choices? Android, where there are never updates or even security fixes (unless you buy from Google, or install some other OS). Apple, which costs an arm and a leg. At least my Windows 10 phone gets security fixes.

    10. Re:Win Phone 8.1 users are delusional by mcswell · · Score: 1

      Outdated apps in what sense? They were good enough in 2017, why will they suddenly become not good enough in 2018?

    11. Re:Win Phone 8.1 users are delusional by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

      Outdated apps in what sense? They were good enough in 2017, why will they suddenly become not good enough in 2018?

      First, you're implying that 2017 was that last time some of these apps were updated. As this report notes, its been happening for years with WP apps. In some cases, apps that haven't been updated in years are the only ones available. Second, for those apps that have been updated recently does not mean that they have the latest and greatest features on par with other versions. Take for example this Twitter for WP comment.

      It takes way too long for this app to catch up to Twitter's new features. As of the date of this review (11/13/17), it still does not support 280-character tweets, even though the website and Twitter apps for other platforms have supported the longer tweets for about a week. Also, it's been over a year and a half since Twitter introduced the ability to describe pictures to the visually impaired, yet the Twitter app for Windows still can't do this.

      And that's if the app is bug free. As many WP users have noted, popular apps are crashing all the time because the developers barely update them to fix them. For example, Facebook has a great deal of instability and bugginess. And that's a Facebook which can afford decent programmers. It seems to that Facebook doesn't care about WP users or they can't get it right with their billions of dollars. I would guess it's more that WP users aren't enough for them to care.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  2. It's just an experiment. by OpenSourced · · Score: 3, Funny

    Windows Phone users are considered an endangered species, and a careful experiment is taking place, where a selective stress is induced in the fragile ecosystem, to watch the reaction of the elusive beasts.

    --
    Rome taught me patience and assiduous application to detail. Virtues which temper the boldness of great, general views.
  3. Well that is what you get. by jellomizer · · Score: 1

    I have no real gripe against Windows Phones.
    But in the market you needed to be rather stupid or just a risk taker to get one when they were out.
    There were the following issues.
    1. Android and Apple had/have a solid place as #1 and #2 in popular Cell phone market. Apple Selling more Units (full phones and OS) while Android is the most widely distributed. (Hence Google pulled a Microsoft). Microsoft Windows Phones were a distant #3 for a while.

    2. Microsoft has historically sucked at interopability. Being very behind in making 64bit versions of its OS, having software work on non-x86 hardware was always an issue. They made .NET to help fix these problems, yet .NET needs to be compiled for every type of devices. This means the wealth of software availability in windows, will just not be available.

    3. Microsoft burned a lot of bridges in the past, Thinking they will be #1 for ever. So now a lot of vendors who have been burned my Microsoft were not too interested in MS Development for phones.

    4. The Microsoft brand became the product that you needed, not the product you wanted. There wasn't anything you needed on a Microsoft Phone, so people in general didn't want it.

    If you have a Windows Phone, you should be considered lucky that you had it as long as you did. But it is now going into legacy mode, and getting updates will be hard to do. As Microsoft is ramping down its support.

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    1. Re:Well that is what you get. by bazorg · · Score: 1

      If you have a Windows Phone, you should be considered lucky that you had it as long as you did. But it is now going into legacy mode, and getting updates will be hard to do. As Microsoft is ramping down its support.

      With some luck, malware developers will overlook these devices and they will work in 2 years more or less as they work now.

      The camera on a Lumia 925 is good enough, the maps are good enough, the browser is good enough. When these older devices fail, there will be plenty of alternatives, with or without Microsoft making them. If they decide to make a portable Xbox device, maybe they can get their hands on a profitable slice of the mobile market, or at least defend what they have from the not-mobile Xbox before Android consoles take over.

    2. Re:Well that is what you get. by ssufficool · · Score: 1

      1. The market ranking has exactly jack shit to do with how useful a product is.
      2. The app ecosystem for Windows is sufficient for every day work. It has mail, calendar, browser, Cortana (if you care), texting, Skype, and phone.
      3. See #2
      4. See #2

      And for your final comment, I call more bullshit. I have scrapped more Android hardware than I have Windows phone hardware. Many of my android devices stopped getting the latest updates due to either hardware limitations or vendors not shipping updates. My windows 8.1 phone I ditched a year ago after 2 years of use. My windows 10 phone I have had for over 1 year and still receive updates.

      The Windows device is uncluttered, organized (by sane categories) and predictable. My experience with Android is that it is cluttered, unpredictable, unorganized and has an app ecosystem I have to filter through endlessly to find one decent app. My experience with Apple is far less, but my limited interaction has left me unimpressed.

      Not written from my Windows 10 1709 phone, but from my Linux desktop running Google Chrome. So, go ahead and call me a MS fanboy.

  4. Remember, this came out in 2014. by ZorinLynx · · Score: 1

    You might be reading along thinking "Eh it's another old phone platform, people should move on already" but remember that Windows Phone 8.1 came out in 2014. That was four years ago.

    The iPhone 5S also came out in 2014, and is still being fully supported by Apple. Even older iPhones that didn't get iOS 11 are working fine and can still download apps. With Android phones it depends on the company, but the Play Store is still working for everyone as far as I know.

    How can you trust a company that drops old products so completely, so quickly? Microsoft is shooting themselves in the food by doing this.

    1. Re:Remember, this came out in 2014. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The 5S has 10s of millions of users. Winders Phone has a marketshare lower than the rounding error of the statistic.

    2. Re:Remember, this came out in 2014. by Xenocrates · · Score: 1

      Premium hardware versus software product. Apple doesn't support the version of iOS that come out on the 5S with much of anything. You can upgrade it to the latest, or mostly suffer without software support. On the other hand, for the phones with the option to upgrade to Windows phone 10, you still get a modicum of support, admittedly, not very much beyond bare minimums. Look at Google, they don't support 4 year old software, and nor do they or most manufacturers support 4 year plus old phones. If you want any support, you need to flash new ROMs for your android device, and most manufacturers try to make that hard. I won't say this is a non-issue, but in comparison to other manufacturers, a clear EoL policy, and Microsoft's usual attempts to enable you to upgrade to their latest software means that while the app store is currently hosed, they may very well fix that, and if they don't, they made it pretty clear that they were getting ready to shelve it. Unlike say, Nextbit, or dozens of other smaller phone manufacturers, or even the big ones, who have folded, or simply stopped updating it, with the only notice that they stopped being that things gradually fail.

    3. Re:Remember, this came out in 2014. by DogDude · · Score: 1

      How can you trust a company that drops old products so completely, so quickly?

      Because Microsoft rarely does this, especially when compared against other companies in the consumer electronics industry. Windows 8 was a dud, so they gave everybody the new version of their software in order to move on, at no cost. Their other platforms are generally supported, much, much longer than other players in the industry support their respective platforms. We're still happily using Windows 7, and will for at least a few more years.

      --
      I don't respond to AC's.
    4. Re:Remember, this came out in 2014. by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

      Because Microsoft rarely does this, especially when compared against other companies in the consumer electronics industry

      Do you remember the previous phone attempt by MS called the Kin that didn't last 3 months? If we stick to phones specifically, Windows Phone 7 lasted 3 years; however, some Windows Phones on 7 could not be upgraded to 8 so MS definitely abandoned those consumer. With Windows 8 and then 8.1, the same thing happened where consumers couldn't update their phones to newer versions. While you can say Apple does the same thing, you'd be stretching the truth as up until this year, the iPhone 5 got 4 new versions of iOS (6 -> 10).

      Android as an OS has long term support. Manufacturers that make the phones have mixed track records on how long your phone is supported.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    5. Re:Remember, this came out in 2014. by l20502 · · Score: 1

      Android might not receive many security updates, but old versions of the Play store still work just fine, the only issue is that many apps are too bloated for the CPU/storage of the older phones to handle.

    6. Re:Remember, this came out in 2014. by bekeleven · · Score: 1

      This. Anybody watching 6.9 fold into 7 fold into 8 would be a fool to think microsoft would support a physical device.

      I liked my windows phone, while it was supported.

  5. All 3 customers? by davebarnes · · Score: 2

    Can't these 3 people just buy new phones?

    --
    Dave Barnes 9 breweries within walking distance of my house
    1. Re:All 3 customers? by mcswell · · Score: 1

      No, I can't. More importantly, why should I, when the Windows phone I have works just fine?

  6. Mmmmh by nospam007 · · Score: 1

    Both of them?

  7. Too bad... by XSportSeeker · · Score: 1

    It's too bad that you got yourself a phone with a dead platform, but move over, it's not going anywhere.
    I jumped ship back in the Lumia 1020 days because I knew this ship was going to sink.

  8. Re:Related to /. downtime? by rwven · · Score: 1

    The bizarre thing to me is that I can understand sticking with 7 over 10 if that's your thing, but why would anyone in their right mind stick with 8 over 10 when 10 was a free upgrade?

  9. System Date? by rickb928 · · Score: 1

    'error code 80070020' is produced by several Windows operating systems. It's afflicted some Windows Phone 10 users before.

    Most solutions were either rechecking the associated Microsoft account, verifying system date/time were correct and for location, and system updates for Windows Update, which won't help phone users.

    Always a chance this is final implementation of EOL for 8.1 users.

    --
    deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
  10. Re:You love to be hated by Northdot · · Score: 1

    Your comment from 1996, when Microsoft ruled the world, is interesting.

    But these days Google, Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft are all abusive and pushing things as far as they possibly can in search of profit.

  11. I'm sure all 5 users are distraught. by johnwfran · · Score: 1

    no further comment.

  12. "hundreds of people" by nuckfuts · · Score: 1

    That sounds about right.

  13. Well isn't this karma? by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

    Remember this news when Microsoft first launched Windows Phone by staging a mock funeral for the iPhone?

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  14. Windows Embedded 8.1 Handheld also affected by infernalC · · Score: 1

    Windows Embedded 8.1 Handheld is also impacted. I know because I happen to work for a company with a deployment of over 1000 units. Unlike the consumer version, the end of mainstream support of these things is not until 7/2019. Examples include Panasonic FZ-E1 and Honeywell Dolphin CT-50.

  15. Re:Related to /. downtime? by mcswell · · Score: 1

    Because many Windows phones can't be upgraded to Windows 8--too little memory.

  16. Keyword... by Waccoon · · Score: 1

    "Unforeseen"... haha.

  17. Re:Related to /. downtime? by rwven · · Score: 1

    Windows 10 is essentially 8.1 with a performance upgrade and a huge reduction in craziness. Having extensively used both, there's no legitimate reason to stick with 8.X over 10. It's just a silly decision.