About two weeks ago, Microsoft executive Joe Belfiore made it quite clear that Windows 10 Mobile isn’t the company’s focus anymore. However, he did promise that support for the platform, bug fixes and updates will continue to be released, and Microsoft is doing just that. To help Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows Mobile 10 users install future updates, Microsoft has released the over-the-cable (OTC) Updater tool, which moves updates from a PC to the phone. Very similar to how iTunes works for iOS updates.
In order to install the updater tool, users need to download the file OtcUpdaterZip.exe and run it on a PC. In what appears to be a hastily-written support note filled with spelling errors, Microsoft explains that the tool “updates eligible Windows phones to the latest version of WIndows [sic] 10 Mobile”.
Do note, there are certain requirements you need to meet to run the updates via the installer tool. They are:
  • Your device must be able to connect to a PC via USB
  • The device with PIN lock must be unlocked before using the OTC Updater
  • The device must be in Airplane mode before using the OTC Updater
  • PC must be running a supported Windows client OS with latest service pack installed
  • PC must have a minimum of .NET 4.0 installed
  • PC must have Internet connectivity and be able to connect to WU

   Like mentioned above, earlier this month, Microsoft effectively shut down its latest attempt at cracking the mobile market, announcing it would only focus on security updates and not new features. Belfiore revealed that Microsoft was facing a lot of difficulty in getting developers to write apps. He said that the company tried paying companies to produce apps, and they even wrote them when creators couldn’t or wouldn’t get involved, but the number of users was “too low for most companies to invest”. Why build an app for a relatively small bunch of Windows phone owners when there are many more Android and iOS users? Belfiore says that he himself switched to Android for the “app/[hardware] diversity”.

   {BGR}