What’s coming next - Microsoft officially announces Windows Phone 8 GDR3 OS update

This morning at 8 AM ET, Microsoft officially pulled the veil off of the highly anticipated General Distribution Release 3 (GDR3), the third and final OS update for Windows Phone 8 before next year’s 8.1 overhaul. This comes just days after AT&T in the US began to push out GDR2 for current Lumia 820 and 920 users and the nearly complete worldwide launch of that second update.

Microsoft updates their mobile OS through a series of updates, called GDRs, which are akin to the Service Packs of Windows desktop from years ago. In addition to full OS updates, GDRs are meant to add fixes to the OS for bugs, bring new features to current users and enable new hardware options for their hardware partners.

Windows Phone 8 GDR3 8.0.10512, expected to begin delivery to current devices in the coming weeks, will bring many new features to current and future Windows Phones, including:

Support for 1080p display for new devices like the Lumia 1520
Support for new processors including Qualcomm’s Snapdragon MSM8974 quad-core CPU
Close apps by tapping on the X on top right in multitasking view. The icon of the app appears below.
Custom tones for text or IM, voicemail, email and reminders
Better storage management: New storage settings make it easier to free up space on your phone and manage temporary files. A new category view shows what's taking up space at a glance.
Screen Rotation lock: When auto-rotate screen is off, your screen will stay in the current orientation when you rotate your phone.
Driving Mode: Turns of all notifications except texts and phone calls when you're driving. You can also turn calls and texts off completely or set Driving Mode to text and automatic reply like "Hey, I am driving right now. I'll reply you later." Driving Mode can start automatically when your phone connects to a Bluetooth device.
Connect to Wi-Fi in OOBE when switching on your new phone for the first time or after you your reset your phone, so you can restore your data even before connecting to a cellular network.

Microsoft detailed the new OS update on their official Windows Phone blog, noting that a lot of the new features were driven by user requests.

History

Back in late 2012 and early 2013, GDR1 (also known as ‘Portico’) was released. That update brought new texting features, improved Wi-Fi and messaging improvements. Starting later in the summer, Microsoft and their OEM partners delivered GDR2, an update that included fixes for Xbox Music, ‘Other Storage’ and more.

In addition to the OS updates, Microsoft’s partners also deliver accompanying firmware updates that allow the OEM to further customize the OS and improve hardware support. Nokia has prominently lead these updates with their colorfully named firmware including ‘Amber’ (GDR2) and ‘Bittersweet shimmer’ (GDR3). Nokia’s firmware has enabled new features such as Glance screen, call + SMS blocking, flip to silence, double tap to awake, new camera options and more.

Microsoft expects GDR3 to launch in the “coming weeks” and to continue delivery in the coming months.

Updates today for developers

Microsoft is also announcing a developer preview program, whereby they can get early access to these updates, including GDR3. To qualify, you will need to meet one of these criterion:

Your phone is “developer-unlocked”
You’re a registered Windows Phone Store developer OR
You’re a registered Windows Phone App Studio developer

Microsoft will give further details on their developer blog later today.

Source: Windows Phone Blog

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central, head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007 when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and for some reason, watches. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.

241 Comments

Departing in the coming weeks. Arriving in the coming months.
Nicely summarized.... :)
Yeah if you have a carrier phone you might have the update by Xmas. Purchase outright it will be a week before 8.1!!
Just pay the $19 developer fee and get early access. I paid it during the summer to publish some apps and now I am rewarded!! :D
Going to try but give me a good place to learn how to make apps and program and learn how to script them/
Well.. Interactive way--> MSFT program for beginner developers Better way (but "boring")--> Books about C#
try the Windows Phone App Studio. as they say, "your app in 4 easy steps" http://apps.windowsstore.com/default.htm
Do developer unlocked phones get all features? Particularly, do you bypass carrier updates like ATT where they stripped out Data Sense?
No. It allows you to install apps not signed by MSFT to the phone. AFIAK, that's it.
Are you sure? I have developer license and never got it early.
But if you update early, won't you lose Nokia-specific updates like amber? So no glance screen? (Only if you have a Nokia, of course).
You won't lose amber silly! Amber is in the device firmware, not the OS and the OS and firmware are completely separate.
Oh goody!
This is actually a pretty clever way for Microsoft to not only get the update to developers ahead of time, but to give enthusiasts a relatively safe/simple/cheap (and "official") way to bypass carriers that drag their feet rolling out the updates.
For AT&T....departing in coming months, arriving in coming years.
Has AT&T always been slow to release updates?
The att Nokia Lumia 920 was the first to get the GDR1 update, and a quick fix came immediately after.. But, nobody gives att credit for that... Instead we just complain, complain, complain, complain......
It's because they took this long to REMOVE a feature we could have used, which is Nokia's "Data Sense." And the "myAT&T" app is not the same thing. They did this so that their customers would go over their limit. But if I'm wrong, and they removed that for some other reason, let me know.
Data Sense is something from MS not Nokia.
Data Sense which exists on the phone is only 1/2 of the product. The other half of the product exists on the carrier's network which is supposed to provide data compression and data tracking so that you get more of a real-time knowledge of how much data you are using. My understanding is (and I could well be wrong here) that ATT is planning to support Data Sense at some point (presumably because it means less traffic on their network), but they would need to update a lot of things on their network to make it work. Updating the network takes time and is expensive... and to be honest WP is still far too small of a platform to make such changes for. So while it may well be coming... it is not a priority.
I think that the same could be said about the GDR2 release for non 1020 devices. During that same time frame iOS7 was being tested for implementation. Apple users kind of outnumber MS users (at least for now!), so the priority went to Apple development to get that working correctly on the network for launch day, while GDR2 for existing devices was put on the back burner.
Annoying? Sure. But at the same time it is understandable. If you want better support, they you just have to get more people to buy into the platform you like. Also, I am much happier to have it a month late but without a patch compared to getting it on time but buggy. The GDR2 update went smooth as butter without any major issues as far as I can tell on my device.
⬆⬆ This ⬆⬆.. Is logical❕
Not always but they are slow.
There will be news next week about how delivery of updates is changing! When asked if the Nokia Lumia 520 will be getting GDR3, he said “there’s going to be some good news there” and when pressed as to the solution such as custom ROMs if the carrier does not deliver he replied “we don’t have as big of a thing around those lines. But that’s not going to be an issue going forward. So, we’ll talk about that next week. But that won’t be a problem.”
Great looking update! Sadly, I have ATT. I'm sure I won't be seeing this until 2014. Can't wait for my contract to be done with so I can tell ATT to screw while I switch to Verizon/T-Mobile.
Take it easy I read an article this morning that Microsoft is gonna deliver updates for wp8 and at least for me that means screw you carriers.
I read that too but like I said before "Ms delivering timely updates"? I'll have to see it to believe it
Why are you leaving att? Just curious as I was considering leaving Verizon for better windows phones on att.
because ATT blocks key OS features like data sense and is always the last to release any OS updates if at all, they haven't even release WP7.8 for Samsung Focus something Rodgers in canada did right away.
In other words stay as far away from ATT if you want good WP support.
Other us carriers aren't much better. Tmobile never released 7.8 on any of its windows phones (HTC radar and Nokia 710) at least att gave it to the Lumia 900. Verizon never had any 7.5 phones so they don't really have a track record to compare, but id guess its no better.
I think this is a bit disingenuous towards att. Their 920 updates have been pretty prompt if you exclude GDR2. And frankly, when they jumped in with both feet for GDR1 they got screwed by connection bugs in the update, forcing another update a few weeks later to make phones usable again. So I can see shy they were a bit gun shy this time.
And I think data sense is really the only missing feature... And it's missing on some other carriers too.
I do agree that they took way too long with GDR2, but I think the rest is overreaching a bit.
I agree. Why would they want to rush to patch a phone they already sold to you last year. it's not THEIR update! Microsoft should deliver (and support) these updates themselves. Fortunately, it seems with GDR3 they are starting to get that message and maybe will start doing that for the general user soon as well like Apple does.

By the way I am on ATT and I feel everyones pain on that last update, but its hard to get mad at AT&T
What other features, besides data sense, has att blocked? You make it sound like they block all lot of features all the time..
Use the WiFi trick. You'll have WP7.8 in no time
ATT is slow on updates and they deny us Data Sense. I'm done with them
Dave its very possible that Verizon has a exclusivity period on data sense right now which is why AT&T cannot add it. That could end in another month or two. AT&T does have the better selection of phones from which to pick. Like someone else said, all carriers tend to pick and choose which update is important to them.
Dont think so, my memory, they get it exclusive for at most q1 2013 and it would come to other carriers.

ATT decided to strip this probably because they suck.
Um... Doubtful since T-Mobile's 521 and 925 both include Data Sense.
Yea, my Sprint HTC 8XT also came preloaded with Data Sense.
paul thurrott gives you a way to get it early head over to his site. It seems simple enough.
it most probably means that it's gonna be available on new devices out of the box.. while other devices would get it in the coming months..
Downloaded, and running fine on my L928. Not much to be excited for, arientation lock w/e, no new glance features, but the multiapp view window with x's on open apps is the best and only thing nice about it. Nokias new software is what I'm actually waiting for. Otherwise I guess I can close open apps better now, woot woot.
Solid update!
This sounds great!
Speaking of sounds, what about separate volume controls for ringtone and media? That is the main feature I'm waiting for.
+1
Let's be patient and see what Blue offers. It's supposed to be pretty big
Hope Nokia releases this update early.....
One of the most important feature that i still find missing is being able to copy files downloaded to any other mobile.
This is one of the basic feature not implemented yet.
Lol the problem is with carriers not Nokia
I live in India , so the problem of carriers is not there. Nokia took long time to release Amber update in India
The Amber update for Lumia 920 is available for more than a month .. The low, mid range phones took time
Awesome.. I always wanted a developer program for WP!! Its real!!!
looking good.
WooHoo
Wonder if Verizon is gonna be on board as fast as they were with the Amber update.
I understand your concern. Honestly, Verizon will sometimes just a like a prissy ass about these situations.
Nice
yay
yay
What will the Nokia Update bring on top of the GDR3 Update?
Inquiring minds want to know!
Kill me too!
I'm sure we'll hear about that at Nokia World!
http://www.wpcentral.com/changelog-gdr3-windows-phone-8-bittersweet-shimmer
+8X
Wow,in coming week? That's surprising
yes
no it isn't.. it probably just means that these new phones we're already waiting for are going to come with it out of the box.. while the rest of the lot is going to get it in the coming months..
Where do we find the details if we are developers and have unlocked developer unlocked phones, I know it says developer blog but not sure where I can find that
Lol if you're not a developer than you're not one. Is it that hard to remember if you have developed an app...
Can you read dumb sh** I'm asking where is the developer blog, didn't ask how to be a developer (which I am) so slow down a bit and read the post
You are a developer, just trust yourself. No need to code if you know it in your heart.
Now the big test for ATT begins, are they again going to be a massive failure by releasing GDR3 in November/December or 2014 or are WP owners going to see GDR3 on ATT within the next 2-3 weeks?
Now things are looking interesting :D
I'll finally be able to slap GDR3 in faces of Android fans here XD
Lets hope that GDR3 will include many OS bug fixes and perfomance improvements!
Cannot wait...Usually I get the new updates within a week of release. So fingers crossed for my ATIV S
I'm still waiting for GDR2 on my Ativ S.. Damn.
Screen rotation and custom sound. Lets see what that means.
What about the new tile columns to devices like Lumia 920. Isn't it coming for us? Is it really just for Full HD windows phones? :(
Have to wait and see...
It doesn't look like it. The official update says it's intended for 6-inch devices.
I also read somewhere (might have been on WPC) that it could also be for any WP8 device that has a screen resolution of 720x1280 or more but that would mean that the smallest tile is only going to get smaller unless they scale the whole screen up a little, to make more use of the gutters either side of the tiles. Not sure how practical that would be on 4.x screens.
This is my biggest question as well. We have heard some "rumors" that 92* devices will recieve the additional column but no word from Microsoft themselves. I, for one, would jump at this ability. I feel like the tiles are too big on my screen and i am still wasting tons of space with the "spacers" on the edges of the screen.
Custom tones for text. Is that for all texts or can we give a specific tone to contacts?
You can assign one to contacts :) The official blog says "You can also assign custom ringtones to contacts for text messages, so you'll know who's texting you without even looking."
Fucking sweeeeet. Now to wait 9 months to get it. Thanks AT&T! ;)
Lol
AWESOME!
This made me happy! Woooooo
Gapless playback support in music would be nice...
This! Please!!!!
Absolutely!!!! Weird no one has mentioned this before.
Won't happen. People begged for it on Zune for 5+ years.
Anyone that wants it should go and vote here:
http://xboxmusic.uservoice.com/forums/209733-xbox-music-suggestion-box/s...
and leave a comment for the MS Admins. It is one of the highest rated topics for Xbox Music now. If they bring it to the Wi8 OS version, hopefully it will filter through to Phone8 too.
These updates are great but, the only thing I want fixed is Bluetooth settings. Just add a switch to turn on/off reading the text messages back. They had a on and off switch on wp7 but they did not bring that feature over to wp8. I love my 928 just wish they would had that feature to the Bluetooth settings.
Go go stettings>speech there is a drop down box for when to read aloud text messages.
I literally just figured out how to turn that off 2 weeks ago. I get a lot of group texts so I would get super annoyed when my Bluetooth was on in my car. Just go to settings then speech to turn it off
So at&t will get it...late next year?
Oh, quit whining❕
I remember reading somewhere that separate volume controls for ringtones and apps would also be coming with GDR3.
Any news on that?
Looks like that will be coming with the 8.1 update early next year.
Seems like no.
You can see the full spec list above. No reason to go guessing anymore. It's official.
The only things that excite me on GDR3 are attaching directly to an email and a more elegant way to close an app, although I think they implemented it in a very ineloquent way (iOS does this well now in 7). But it is always good to see progress on any level. GDR2 has been great now that I got it. Can't wait to see what else is in the pipeline.
And custom ringtones and text message tones for contacts?! That's some cool stuff right there son
If your phone is not developer unlocked, but you are a registered developer, will your phone still be able to receive the early update?
Where is the Data Sense for all WP8 devices?
HTC's international version WP8 devices do not have that even after the GDR2 update, however it is important for EU users as data availability is not unlimited. (Once over, drop to GPRS speed and wait till next month)
Same for ATT in US, why the hell do you allow the damn carriers to block this key OS feature!!!!???
To get you to use more data.
Will updating through your developer account be like a new install? (wipe data)
How do you know what GDR you are on? I have had a few updates but none of them mention this number.
If you have a Nokia look for Amber in settings extras + info. Amber came with GDR2. If you have another phone Bing the OS number to find out. 8.0.x
As a 720's user who just got his Amber last week, I know I'll receive this by December lol.
So basically anyone can sign up to be a developer, so anyone can get the update early. This is amazing news! Can't wait to install Update 3!
That sounds like its gonna be a good update can't wait.
Seems like the best GDR yet; custom tones (we have been waiting since WP7 launch for this!), screen lock, driving mode, and better multi tasking screen are all changes that we will be able to really notice when we use our phones daily. No mention of the revised start screen? Is GDR3 or 8.1 bringing the new start screen that allows for 3 medium tiles per row? I thought we would see this with GDR3 since the 1520 is coming soon. I really hope this new set up is optional.
3 Medium tiles only available on 6 inch devices.
But is it optional? Was this activated by GDR3?

I think it makes sense for 6inch phones but not everyone will like it.
WPC did a article that's said its coming to all 92X Lumia phones in GDR3
I hope network 3 will be on the ball a bit quicker
Hi Daniel, you said "...to participate you need to meet these conditions..." but in the blog they mentioned you only need to meet one of the three conditions.
i told you everyone here about GDR3 that it will be available before Nokia's event a montyh ago ......and i had right but nobody believed me..hahaha
Coming weeks? So It's coming the last week of the year -.-
The rollout starts in coming weeks, but will go on for months. Said on the press release. So yes.
So so happy to see WiFi before log in!!
Wow that's great!
Well we whinge and whinge and whinge yet in 1 year MS will have released 3 fairly major updates. i dont know if any other OS has done this, maybe they have, but I think its time we all drank a warm glass of shut the hell up.
+620
you're in my world now grand ma...
just tap it in
So is it downloadable/installable yet?
"Getting Update 3 on your developer phone To update your phone, you’ll need to visit the Windows Phone Preview for Developers page. This page, which will go live later today, goes through everything you need to know about the preview program." Nvm
Ok what about notifications? Wasn't that supposed to be upgraded with this release?
thought the same at first but i recall a few articles that notification center wont arrive before 2014... assuming it's going to be the big overhaul we are hearing about with 8.1 unfortunately.
Oh yeah! Thanks!
cant wait, ATT better be quicker this time around! definately looking forward to all new features and bug fixes!
GDR3 sounds great, I can attach docs. Set screen rotation and all that good stuff. But damn it, the iPhone and crappy android phone can print to my wireless printer and my great windows phone can't. Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?
I agree! My Surface does it. And acutally it pulled my wifi printer settings from the could when I synced it with my current Win8 account that was on my desktop. I am thinking this will come as they start connecting Win8 to WP8 more and more. Maybe 8.1??????
You think they could build an app that would be able to print any files saved to the phone. Then I could save a document and open the app to print.
Coming weeks ? I'd be surprised to see it before the end of this year.
Excellent News!
File manager? Support for .m4a music files? Support for .mkv videos?
That's for GDR3. What about Bittersweet Shimmer?
That would be up to Nokia; however, it wouldn't surprise me if Nokia was waiting on MS to announce GDR3 since they probably have Bittersweet Shimmer ready go to. Like with GDR2 and Amber, they should arrive at the same time.
expect it to be announced at Nokia World '13 on october 22nd.. :)
When is Nokia going to announce its Bittersweet Shimmer list of improvements? Do we have to wait until the Abu Dhabi event?
yeap :)
isn't very long now..it'll be worth the wait..
Aaaaand still no Xbox video support
Hurry the f up MS!!
I wonder if my 8x will be blessed with WP 8.1? I hope so... Untill then, GDR3 will be fine!
From what I remember, MS promised to support WP8 devices for at least 18 months. So there is no reason the 8X and all other WP8 launch devices won't get 81. However, that might be the last major update they get. Knowing MS, they will continue to support it longer than that as long as they don't change anything major in the OS that would prevent this.
Two reasons why some devices wouldn't receive future updates: Carriers won't release it, or OEMs won't. If there's one thing you can count on, it's HTC dropping the ball on updates. But, here's hoping they don't. I like seeing HTC in the mix with Nokia for the WP8 crowd.
Yes!
"in the coming months" ??? Watch us ,Lumia 920 users, get the update on May
Will this coming update allows devices like 920 to have that new 3-columns livetiles?
My question as well
oh wow! you need windows 8 to install windowsphone SDK 8.0 to dev unlock the phone
I love the update but the multitasking is so stupid! Just do it like Apple does it and call it a day Microsoft!
Can't wait, hopefully T-Mobile release it as fast as the last update. I've been dying for custom MMS tones since I updated to Windows Phone with the 710.
Apart from 1st and 2nd rest are missing features which should have been shipped with Windows phone release 2012. Where is notification center ?
I hope Nokia/Microsoft release a ~4.5" phone with a 3000mah battery and the Qualcomm’s Snapdragon MSM8974 quad-core CPU. That would be my dream device :)
Until next year ;)
Me too. Like an updated version of L1020 with the 41mp Pureview and Procam and Smartcam combined into one.
I am releived that the new start screen layout isn't coming for my 925. Dan can you please confirm this?
Still no battery percentage indicator in the status bar? :(
Car mode will mean no longer need those 3rd party car-dash apps.

Also, being able to set it so that Car mode can run automatically once paired w/ a bluetooth device is what I was hoping I could do with NFC tags in the first place.
Battery percentage??? That is really all I want with the update. Seems like such an easy fix...
Same here...!! Is it not included in the update? I posted a similar comment above!
can't believe it took 3 years to allow the use of wifi upon first use. So many times have I had trouble resetting my phone because the APN settings were wrong and thus I couldn't use data. Not everyone has a data plan either. Oh well.. atleast they're slowly getting there. very slowly....
Coming in a few weeks? Very good!!
Of course a few weeks means "not until next year" for AT&T customers though :/
I'd appreciate it if AT&T didn't drag their feet.
These are all really good improvements. Especially the very much missed adding custom tones to text. I've missed that feature so much :)
I could have sworn the change log used to include " a huge amount of improvements for Bluetooth compatibility" or something like that. I hope it is still there!
Instead of going to settings to turn on and off auto rotate. Make it simpler for those that sometimes want it and sometimes dont.
What if you push on the screen while turning the phone and then it knows to hold the current rotation (not auto rotate).
BlackBerry 10 has a nice way to access this setting by swiping down from the top of the screen. I miss a lot of things from BB10
YAY GDR3!! It allows for text messaging sounds (finally!), and 1080p resolution with quad-core CPU capabilities. Ah yeeeah, Win8.1 is on its way!
Finally custom text tones. That's the only thing I miss
Portal sounds coming up.
Any news about improving the battery performance on GDR3 ?!
No quick settings???
Well the update is certainly welcome but this is already starting to look like a train wreck for carriers like ATT. They've just breathed a sigh of relief on GDR2, three months late out the door, are you telling me that their WP update cadence has suddenly fallen into line and will allow for a more timely push of GDR3 so soon after? I don't think so.

This is just more bad publicity waiting to hit the WPC forums once again. Meanwhile, at the other end of the scale of testing, HTC will push the update out as fast as possible as they did with GDR2 and cause problems for us lucky unbranded 8X users which needed another firmware update to partially fix.

This can only be resolved when Microsoft finally wrestle this update process out of the carriers hands somehow (not sure if they ever could from the manufacturers). We know they (MS) have all the testing facilities to ensure a quality update for every carrier scenario, I'm sure there's a lot of overlap going on. I wonder how the schedule is is affecting WP8.1?
I have an AT&T 8X and I received the GDR2 update last month so I don't think phone brand matters.
Well, for all we know, Att might already have been doing testing on GDR3 while they were holding out on Amber. I do feel that they will do a better job this time because of the no of complaints they got on the Amber. If they screw this up again, there might be some real consequences for them
I like it .
Anyone know if custom tones will be allowed for 3rd party messaging apps like whatsapp and kik?
I'm thinking that since it has just been added into the OS that kik and other such apps would now be able to code it into the app and make use of it
What about a battery percentage indicator in the status bar? Please reply :)
Well done MS! Keep'em coming!
just wanted to say... Amazing Screw-on Head. Nice.
I can't update it! (Unlock via App Studio)
You have to register first on the website then register the app on the phone.
Okay, I just found it by myself. Thanks for your help.
I really want the option to automatically download images in email and set custom tones for different app notifications. These two alone would make my experience much better. Hoping 8.1 brings these and other goodies like notification center that is innovative and useful since anything not pinned to start screen never get seen.
Wow can't wait to install this on my Lumia 720!
I hope that it doesn't take ATT 9 months to release it for the Lumia 920.
Exciting! Well done MS
I still dont have the DGR2 in Mexico o.o!!!
ATT L920 user here. I sympathize with u. I hope u get GDR2 in time. Or get 2 and 3 in one sweep.
Stupid TELCEL!!
Woohoo Rotation Lock , Closing Apps from Multitasking view & Custom Notifications ! Oh wait , Better Storage Management ? & all in the coming weeks !!! That's frickin awesome .
What happened to notification center
WP 8.1
That will be in 8.1.
Hopefully us att users will see it before 2015
well, it only took them 2 years to let you attach anything other than a picture on an email you started composing...and they wonder where the 3% marketshare is from...
Not to be a party pooper, but... does it also let you have custom vibration patterns for different contacts? I had that on my old LG Lotus phone (which actually was a fantastic feature phone, I kinda miss it :/ ) about 5 years ago, and since I only use vibrate the custom ring tones don't do anything for me.
updating to gdr3 preview now its migrating data, will post some updates once it completes but the forum is probably best place to view info about this and the features it enables.
can you check if you can attach multiple documents (.doc // .ppt // .xlsx // .pdf) when replying to an email?
I installed GDR3e on my Lumia 521.

When I try to attach to either a new email or a reply, I am only allowed to selected files from Camera Roll, Screenshots, Mobile Uploads (SkyDrive), Photos or Saved Pictures (also SkyDrive).
I do not see any way to attachg an office or a PDF document at all, except by sharing the file from SkyDrive in a new email (this was always available).
Am I missing something somewhere?
exactly - i just took the plunge and got gdr3 on my lumia 920 and i'm seeing the same options as you - only photos.

i'm pretty sure these people don't know what they're talking about when it comes to email attachments - can only use the "share" option still (WP is still the handicapped 'business' phone...)
AT&T delayed one release and everyone is making it out to be the norm. They squashed serious bugs before releasing it so complainers should settle down. While all the features are cool for GDR3. The coolest to me is the progress bar to the spinning update gears screen so I can see that something is happening. Such a simple yet great add.Thank you Microsoft!
Latin america is still waiting for GDR2/Amber :@
what happened to the notification centre?
WP8.1 not GDR3
Go to http://apps.windowsstore.com/default.htm
Register for free and you can get GDR3 from this link
http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/preview-for-developers/178ac8a1-6519-4a0b-960c-038393741e96
hope this help if you did't already know it
Its sad, but my most anticipated feature is custom tones. Who sets a mellow tone alarm to wake up? I need obnoxious! Lol Also the phone storage was a must. I have maybe 20 apps and games, and only have 5gb left...I've reset 3 times just to free up space. I stopped downloading music from Zune...I mean, "Microsoft Music." :P
What happened to the notification center? Is that later for Blue?
Has anyone installed GDR3 today successfully? Trying to install it now. Grinding gears of death. Been about 30 minutes.

The nice thing is that this GDR3 sems to have a progress bar below the gears now. That's great, but the progress bar isn't moving :/
Got it by installing the Preview for Developers app from the Windows Phone store.
Installed without incident on my Lumia 521.
Still no updates for the music player!! Cant update playlists :(
Still waiting for the volume level to be automatically lowered when headphones are plugged in. This would seem to be a no-brainer, but still isn't present.
I would just love for volume not to get stuck sometimes
The wait for GDR2 from GDR1 was a little long, but if updates are released this frequently from now on, I'd be very happy.
And does anyone know if this is a fully stable release or alpha/beta release?
The biggest one is WiFi during activation
Dude I just got gdr2. Damn att.
what about 'cortana' voice assistant????
and
what about media sharing directly from gallery via chat apps????
They need to add an option to disable automatically showing incoming text messages on the lock screen. When my phone is locked, I only want it to show "New message received" or something to that effect, rather than the message itself. A locked phone should be just that, locked and messages hidden or not shown.
That's my only gripe with Windows Phone.
Driving Mode: Turns of all notifications except texts and phone calls when you're driving. You can also turn calls and texts off completely or set Driving Mode to text and automatic reply like "Hey, I am driving right now. I'll reply you later." Driving Mode can start automatically when your phone connects to a Bluetooth device.
jesus Daniel. you're missing TO in "I'll reply you later."
Btw "Professionalism? I do this job in my PJs and often drink while doing it." really was true considering you cant even qoute right "dingbat".
MS .. Slow as ever. Come on guys!
Sounds like the best update so far! :D Can't wait!
Will this contain the screenshot notification feature that Snapchat is apparently waiting on?
I don't even have GDR2 on my phone yet! So GDR3 will never come to me :(
Installed without incident on my Lumia 1020. I really wanted the update just for the custom tones on messages but Twitter still seems to use the same tone as my email! I guess we will have to hope developers get to chose what sounds to use in the future.
Thank you Microsoft for supporting those who support you.
These updates are actually features I am happy about. I am hoping AT&T is testing furiously and gets it out before I buy my new phone. Hah!
where is the dang Notification center? Ridiculous, Microsoft.
but wasn't it excluded from WP8 simply because they ran out of time? I would've thought it would be present in GDR1....
Not to be negative, but i'm not that impressed...
Ok, so now we are going to get orientation lock on WP8. But isn't that what we call basic functionality? I even had that on my Nokia N82 with Symbian.... And custom text tones too...
So..not to be complaining, but i still think theese functions should have been in WP8 from day 1.
I have downloaded and installed this update yesterday (I have a dev account).
There is not significative changes except the "x" button to close apps and custom the SMS tone, this is a shame.
I hope Microsoft begin to do more significative changes.
very useful update i hope in full version (notification center ,file manger ,camera improvement and shutter speed&fix yellow hue ,shortcuts in lock screen,more video player option&media info,improve IE save pass and download every thing ) Features make windows phone awesome. i feel this is adream
Please, please separate volume control for calls and apps!!!!! This the only thing I would like to have for Christmas!! Please!!!
I installed gdr3 in my HTC 8s
if htc release gdr3 update can I get that update
When is the notification area going to show up?
I hav a Lumia 520. Its my first WP. Can I apply this update?
Ahh. finally. Thank you so much microsoft for providing the orientation lock feature. been dying to have this since i bought my 822.
Hi folks! You people might wanna think again before going ahead with the installation! I don't intend to be the party pooper, but a lot of bugs are being reported after updating to GDR3! For instance, many users are reporting their battery draining fast - really fast (like 40% per hour) and one user said his call quality sucks bigtime! Just google "GDR3 errors". I wanna update my Lumia 520 but I'm having my doubts! Perhaps I should wait until the device manufacturers (Nokia, in my case) optimize GDR3 for each phone! One final warning - I think Microsoft released this update early so that they'd come to know the various bugs and deficiencies plaguing the update and improve on it. Windows phones already have a sucky battery. Can't imagine something worse! Anyway, please do comment if you face similar problems or if the update is a dream come true!
Still waiting on GDR2. Country variant phone..so no blaming a carrier on this one. Nokia..get off your ass and get the updates out already!

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