Live in China? Alter your Lumia region settings to install more Windows Phone apps

There's nothing worse than purchasing a Windows Phone, but not able to rock the night away with apps and games from the store. The unique market that is China has been an interesting addition to the ecosystem with Xbox Live, social networks and even store content being affected by tight restrictions (The Great Firewall).

Luckily there's light at the end of the tunnel as LiveSino reports that it's now possible to alter your region and then download content from the store that's not published for China.

So how does one achieve the above? Simply head to "settings> language + region" and make some changes. The website notes that this trick works on Lumia Windows Phone hardware. If this method does not work however, there's a backup:

  • Turn off Wi-Fi and mobile data connectivity
  • Change the region (see above settings location) to Hong Kong and restart
  • Change the phone language to English, "country / region" to Hong Kong and restart

There you have it, folks. This will reportedly enable Chinese residents to install apps and games that aren't region restricted. Let us know in the comments how you're getting along in China with Windows Phone and if you've tried these workarounds on your Nokia device.

via: LiveSino; thanks, Yan, for the tip!

Rich Edmonds
Senior Editor, PC Build

Rich Edmonds was formerly a Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.