Microsoft to begin rolling out the Windows 10 Mobile 'Fall Creators Update' to open-market devices this week

Lumia 950 XL (Image credit: Windows Central)

Brandon LeBlanc, a senior program manager at Microsoft has confirmed via Twitter that the company is expecting to begin rolling out the official Windows 10 Mobile 'Fall Creators Update' sometime this week. In fact, the update has already started rolling out in Finland, with that rollout now extending to open-market devices elsewhere.

The Windows 10 Mobile Fall Creators Update will likely be one of the last official major releases for the platform, as Microsoft recently confirmed its Windows phone platform is no longer a focus when it comes to new features or hardware. As such, the platform is essentially dead, with Microsoft continuing to service existing devices with bug fixes and tweaks for its enterprise customers.

The Fall Creators Update for Mobile began rolling out on Oct. 17th starting with Finland. Open market devices start getting it this week.The Fall Creators Update for Mobile began rolling out on Oct. 17th starting with Finland. Open market devices start getting it this week.— Brandon LeBlanc (@brandonleblanc) 23 October 2017 23 October 2017

For those that happen to still be interested in Windows 10 Mobile, you can expect the Fall Creators Update to bring plenty of bug fixes and under the hood improvements, including a few additional features in Continuum such as being able to change the orientation of a display. There aren't any real major new features in this release for Windows 10 Mobile.

Microsoft has also omitted the Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL from its list of supported handsets, meaning those devices won't be getting an official upgrade path to the Fall Creators Update and will remain on the Windows 10 Mobile Creators Update instead.

We've got a complete changelog of all the new changes and bug fixes in the Fall Creators Update, make sure you give it a read before the upgrade hits. In addition, let us know in the comments when/if your phone receives the Fall Creators Update! We suspect it will rollout in waves, similarly to previous Windows 10 Mobile releases.

Thanks for the tip, Akhil!

Zac Bowden is a Senior Editor at Windows Central. Bringing you exclusive coverage into the world of Windows 10 on PCs, tablets, phones, and more. Also an avid collector of rare Microsoft prototype devices! Keep in touch on Twitter: @zacbowden.

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148 Comments

I feel bad for the comment section right now.
I already got the update on my phone... Now, my laptop, Surface, and 950, all have major instability issues... This fall creators update needs to be patched ASAP!... But, it is so odd that it's affecting my phone as well.
.......
I have faith MS will patch soon. Lol
I didn't get it yet on my phone, but my laptop had touchpad problems related to precision drivers so im now left to use generic drivers
I got it last week, the same day the desktop update hit.. It was odd, but I got it, and I'm in Zero insider programs.. I must be special🤤
i got it on laptop last week i don't know why but it took hours, i don't know why. my phone got the update last night, but I'm not staying im sick of the drop when they like stuck with it for years had enough sorry to say, I'm looking at Huawei P10 or Nokia 8, or Sony the choice is good.lol
I had no problems on any of my laptops, desktop or my 950 and XL. All stable.
Should be using my new moto g5 plus by the first week of November 😁
Late to the show. Started with lenovo k8 almost a month, keeping the 950xl in drawer.😀
I jumped ship early this month and got myself a Nokia 5 .I managed to sell my Lumia 950 at approximately USD 200 . No looking back clean android all the way.
I've jumped ship and have been using my new G5S Plus for about a week and a half. Other than the downgrade of the camera from my 950 and a mild learning curve of a different OS, I'm VERY pleased with this affordable device, esp. the extra Moto features.
Got the same device. It really is a hell of a phone!
Got the Mi Max 2 a week ago. Running Win 10 launcher on it. Together with live tiles, it's pretty close to Win 10. Do miss the glans screen with notification support though. Plus a few other minor things. Despite MS rebooting their OS several times, it still feels like Android is lagging behind Win10M. It's a shame MS didn't have the resolve to stand behind their product.
I'm writing this from the Moto G5 Plus I bought about 4 months ago. It's a nice device, however it seems I've had bad luck with mine, as I occasionally get random slowdowns, seemingly without rhyme or reason. About 10% of the time it'll be annoyingly slow, and 2% of the time it'll get so slow the only option is to perform a soft reset to get it working again. I hard reset it a couple months ago after it got completely intolerable, but after just a few weeks, the problem returned. The worst part is that it seems to be an issue with the firmware itself, not any of the apps, as the issue will occur even in Safe Mode. But hey, hopefully you'll have better luck with yours. Cheers.
There is lagdroid for you.
I would rather have a fully functioning "lagdroid" phone than an unreliable Windows Mobile phone. (Sorry but, that is the facts, especially for owners of the 950, like me.)
Well, to be fair, I wouldn't exactly describe my phone as "reliable" when I sometimes can't answer calls because of the phone app becoming unresponsive, or when I've missed beautiful shots because the camera app decided not to open for hours at a time (despite resetting the device), or when I've recorded video for several minutes, only for the app to crash and corrupt the file (luckily I found an app that usually manages recover most of the video). Keep in mind that these are issues I started having only weeks after unboxing the device, which was manufactured by a reputable company (Motorola), has a fairly powerful Snapdragon 625 chipset, and runs a near-stock copy of Android 7.0.
Of course, this is just my experience, but just like you and some other users have had issues with their Lumias, Android users can have problems too.
The fact is though, one cannot be really compared to the other. Windows Mobile hardware direct from Microsoft is unreliable at the best of times. The basic functions like bluetooth failing after just a few months of use on 2 different 950's plus the fact that live tiles no longer function as they once may have is very telling.
I'm on 1607 with my 930 and It's awesome. Not planning to switch to Android or IOS yet. I would rather downgrade to 8.1 than switch. Btw. I'm not able to comment from within Windows Central app. Anyone else?
Log out of the app and log back that's what ultimately fixed it for me. Also u can do the normal troubleshooting such as uninstall/reinstall etc.
The comment system on the Windows Central app is totally %^*$ed. Can't reply, comment, copy text, get an organized list of replies, basically anything of value.
Works great on the Android app........ LoL....... Just one more reason my Lumia 950 is chilling inside a drawer, turned off, and I'm typing this on a Galaxy S8. Sad..... Im debating to sell my MS stock (which I bought at 32$ a share - less sure about that though, as Azure and Office dominate their profits, it's becoming more and more likely that windows won't even be needed to make $)
Can you substitute Bixby for Cortana as the default assistant?
Yes, but you cannot remap the Bixby button. You can activate Cortina by long pressing the capacitive home on the screen. That being said, I support MS and all, I really like W10, I loved W10M, and was sad to give it up, but let's be honest...... Google assistant is better, Alexa is also better.
Thanks.. I guess you're right.. I've been going back and forth in my mind between iOS and Android. The inherent security or lack there of android scares me though.. Android is more customizable for sure.
Update your app.
Hack your L930 with Interop Tools 1.9 to get 1709. It's incredibly easy and safe to do.
Sign out and sign back in from the app. Should work. :)
My lovely 930 no longer works....but thank you for sharing....
Can't say I'm excited for this update, but even under the hoods improvements and bug fixes are welcome in my book. My 950XL is ready.
Microsoft apps on Android is great. I was scared when I switched two months ago, but the experience is much better on Android. All google stuff is turned off and I have a MS lock screen, launcher, Edge, Outlook, and Cortana. Everything works perfectly with my Win10 PCs and I don't even have a Gmail address - just a Google account so I can download apps.
but it's not perfect really is it? You have to sync your Outlook app contacts with your local address book to get them to work with the phone. Not all Outlook fields come across e.g contact photo. The arrow launcher is - well - just a bit boring? Edge doesn't support password sync yet (I'm sure it will). Lots of little niggling issues that make running Microsoft on Android a pain and worse of all - you Microsoft app running in an environment that is horribly out of date when it comes to security patches. Not a great advert.
Those are pretty minor issues on balance, much less so than exist on Windows 10 Mobile really.
You're right - it's not perfect, but it's still much, much better than I expected it to be on a competing ecosystem. The contacts was probably the biggest problem I had. I had to add my MSFT account, only sync contacts, disable all Google sync, install the Outlook app to actually have my Outlook contacts, calendar, and email work without duplication.
I had to manually add the Outlook contacts to the phone contacts app, sync was not working at all. Other issues are with the storage settings and would still buy a cheap used 950XL to play Asphalt 8, save data was not available on the android version
Quick question romant56. Do you have your android phone connected to a car's Bluetooth? The reason i ask is. Is Cortana still 'called up' with a phone number saved to your contacts? Does installing Cortana to an android phone automatically add a phone number to call her to your contacts like is done on windows phones?
I've never used any phone with bluetooth in my car (it's older so the bluetooth is pretty basic and not worth the hassle). Sorry. I didn't know you could call up Cortana on Win phones though - that sounds awesome and I hope Android can also do it.
I'm sorry I cannot comment on Cortana as a contact, directly. However, I can say that using BT with my Nokia 6 has been a very positive experience. I have an after market Alpine head unit which hasn't worked properly with Cortana since I updated to the WP 8.1 beta back in 2013/2014. The voice navigation hasn't worked except to mute any currently playing audio, without providing the voice directions. Long pressing the phone button on the radio to bring up voice control would activate Cortana but She would rarely ever hear me. It had been so frustrating! One week in and voice nav works as expected (Google Maps...sigh!) and pressing the voice control activates Cortana and works as expected. Cortana, as a whole, works better on W10 Mobile so far but BT in the car is far superior with this Android handset.
Still wish it didn't have to be this way...
Cortana on android does not speak. Not in any useful way. Cortana's best feature on W10 mobile was voice texting in the car that was truly useful. Maybe someday they will fix that. Have they fixed all the problems with android outlook yet. I seem to remember not being able to edit or add contacts from the phone, device integration problems, difficulties with my calander, etc. The last time I used Outlook on android was a year ago before switching back to W10 mobile. Is it any better?
Build number?
15245.1 I think.
Is this the same build that is available on the fast ring or is it different? Any know the build number?
Same
Pity that, I was hoping for an update from 15245.1. It keeps losing my LTE and I have had to reset the phone twice :(
Ahhh, the swansong. Best of luck.
My hp elite x3 ready.
The sad eventually need to switch later to ios. Coz some my banks apps stop supports compare to others OS....also uber app....just bad compare to others.
The only why i not switch its coz design of win10mob....live tile, UI, etc.....its just perfect(((
Yes but, at least you have a reliable phone in that X3.
My 950XL got it via Slow Ring. I've now opted out of Insiders builds, hard reset my phone and restored from backup. Works fine. All the usual apps seem to work as per Creators Update e.g. myTube, WhatsApp, Waze, Uber, Kindle, Spotify etc etc (I don't use social apps so can't comment). The Outlook Mail client appears to support all fields from my Outlook. Office 365, iCloud and Gmail accounts (mail, calendar and contacts) - nice to have them all in one app. My screen is still OLED, my battery is still removable, my SD card is still there, my headphone jack works, my QI wireless charging works, my 21MP Zeiss camera is still working and my Iris Scanner seems to be faster? I did buy a Huawei Android phone but after a week or so, the only thing I found better than the 950XL was Android Pay so I've decided to put it in the drawer for now and enjoy my 950XL for as long as I can without being fed ads (Waze on Android - I'm pointing to you here!) I'm also patched tot he Krack WPA2 exploit. Which other device can say this yet? P.S. If you use a Mac and want to connect your 950XL to it to move files around, there is a nice Mac product called Commander One - that allows the Mac to recognise MTP phones (includes Android too). Makes moving files back and forther quick and easy.
Same here, got an LG G6 last summer as free upgrade from my carrier and after two weeks put the LG in a drawer and my SIM card back in my 950xl. I just can't like a phone UI which doesn't have Live Tiles.
I can, when the live tiles do not function as they once did, anymore. I would switch back and forth too and from my 950 but now, I am permanently off my 950. (Bluetooth hardware no longer functions correctly, just like with the first phone I had before they replaced it with this one.) I now have a Sony Xperia XA1 and the bluetooth works without issue and I have everything more or less setup they way I want.
Is there a registry hack to trick the update on 640 and 640 XL?
If you were in on the beta, you would have it.
You don't need a registry hack. Just enroll to Release Preview for Insider Preview.
what's the use when the updated doesn't even enable us to use the built in VOLTE and VOWIFI on our Lumia 950 and 950Xl for those not in USA?? Even after a number of suggestions to the windows central team they doesn't even care to write up a article so the feedback which are placed to enable those will get support from other insiders... No the staff of windows central fail to speak up for issues which are important and waste resources like MS on less important issues.. Shame on you all. @Zac @Daniel please write up a article to address this issue.. It will help others to upvote for it, if possible you people can even have a word with MS as this its much required.
I really doubt they're going to enable a new feature that would need substantial testing on a 2 year old phone with a discontinued OS.
So they are quitting Mobile development or not?
It's done.
Win10M is supported until 2019 end. After that any new mobile device from Microsoft will run the real Win10. Now what they come up with instead is not good to know. I strongly believe they wish to redefine the word smart phone to something more like a handhold pc etc. Let us see. They can hardly ignore the mobile market for long.
95 MB update.
It was 81 MB for my L830 from 1703.
Nice! I have a question. What is the best version of the OS to be on right now? For instance, what's the difference between the current non-Windows Insider version and the Windows Insider Release Preview 1709?
8.1 was smooth as butter. But you're probably talking about Windows 10 Mobile.
Given 1709 is now Production, the best version to be on now is 1709. Which is available on stable, Release Preview and Slow Ring now. Update as soon as possible. It's the best W10M will ever be. There is also no difference between rings.
MS needs to shut down Insider mobile anyway since all 3 versions are the same. They have ignored all feature requests anyway for the last year or two. All I wanted was app update notifications and that number on the Store like 8.1 had. Unbelievably lazy of them to not add this simple feature back in the OS..
The Fall Creators Update for Mobile should be a cumulative update for all Windows 10 Mobile phones not few of them. They are simply lazy.
You can always just use Interop Unlock. 1709 runs on my L820 fine.
Have to say I am (also) totally bummed that Microsoft has chosen to abandon the concept of the unified OS environment not to mention a beautiful class of hardware and the comfort of the secure platform. I sense that Microsoft has abandoned its decades-long faithful user base and beginning to question whether that means it will abandon Windows altogether now. Looking forward to receiving the update on my 950 XL I was so enthused with but wondering if I should even bother.
This is usually the golden age of Microsoft products (just as they are cancelled - Zune anyone?). They are a fair way down the development path, so work pretty well. No new features so you can just use them as they should be used until they break and no issues about waiting for the next 'new' thing to come out. Enjoy the last year or so, save your cash and save up to buy the latest and greatest (iphone or Android) a couple of years down the line.
950 XL was many things, beautiful hardware it was not.
It is a beautiful as a phone can be. Slim and sexy.
Yeah, that cheap plastic that creaked was amazing.
that plastic makes it light and soft to hold. I am buying a phone not a ring or a necklace for my girl. Lol!
Why have a phone that looks "sexy" just to wrap it in a case that covers it up? I hated the unreliable nature of the 950 but, the physical build of the case was not the thing I hated, I did not even need an extra case for it since it was less likely to be dropped.
who are the " open market" ?
Think it means non-carrier phones.
I would be happy if someone comes with the solution to install Android on Lumia 950 XL. Then I'll be happy Lumia user with no Microsoft apps installed on device.
I'd just want to have an Android layer and access to Google Play store but keep W10M OS.
The build number is 10.0.15254.1 I believe and it should be on all rings now. For those with the Lumia 640's you should have it if you are on the Fast Ring. I have it on my Lumia 640 test device and my daily driver 95