Nokia rolling out Lumia 800 firmware update early, includes battery improvements

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It appears as though Nokia Germany are rolling out the 12070 update that addresses battery life issues and will prove to be a must-have for Lumia 800 owners. We previously looked at Singapore rolling out the Lumia 800 12070 update, and later confirmed that it tripled the battery life of our handset. As well as the juice improvements, bass has been improved and camera white balance has been tweaked.

The update, which was originally destined to be released on April 18th, will now be rolled out globally in stages / batches (starting today). April 4th, 11th, and 18th will be the three remaining steps until the update has been pushed out to every Lumia 800 (depending on networks). Note that this is not the WiFi tethering update. Be sure to keep an eye on the Nokia update section (opens in new tab) of their website to see when you'll be seeing the notification.

Source: Nokia, Nokia conversation

Rich Edmonds
Rich Edmonds

Rich Edmonds is 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 over on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.
42 Comments
  • Looks like it's the same one I got a couple of weeks ago in o2 uk
  • Weeeeeeeee! (here hoping it also features hw buttons lights on when on medium).
  • Got it on my lumia 800 on 3 UK contact phone
  • So if your carrier doesn't like pushing out updates...
  • Yeah this is the same update Nokia rolled out to unlocked 800s (in the UK at least) about 2 weeks ago.
  • The 12070 firmware update WON'T be available in Canada on Telus for the Lumia 800. What the fffffuuuuuuu???? This is why I won't buy a locked device EVER again.
  • I'm pretty sure this means it's not available yet...
    Not available
    Testing
    Ready
    The update will be rolling out over the next 3-4 weeks.  From previous experience with Telus and WP updates, it'll probably be the 3rd or 4th week.
  • I have an unlocked US version purchased through Microsoft and I got my update today through Zune.
  • How's the camera performance?
  • If only something from nokia came to verizon....
  • You and me both buddy :-/
  • I concur. Lets go WP!
  • Eagerly waiting, I'm on 11500.
  • Is this news? It's been rolling out for a while. I got it on my unbranded UK phone two weeks ago
  • Woot. Available! Unlocked Portugal! Nokia rules! WP's the bestest ever!
  • Australia is rolling out as well. Just got in on my developer unlocked phone.
    Update: I'm getting this update as my phone is originally from the Netherlands. See this page for details on where the update is being rolled out:
    http://europe.nokia.com/find-products/nokia-lumia-800-software-update/nokia-lumia-800-software-update-availability
     
  • Seems to come with a nasty Audio bug. Audio will spike from volume 16 to 30 for about 2 seconds and then go back down. Happens when playing games and sometimes when receiving a phone call. Its SUPER annoying.
  • Just got the update today. For me, I was most anxious for the bass fix. I don't know if it's just me, but after the update the bass still seems a bit lacking.
    That was one thing I loved about the HTC Surround, it had amazing bass and audio output...
  • I got my lumia 800 update a few minutes back.. ihave an unlocked lumia 800  here in the USA.
  • How does anything TRIPLE in battery life through an update?  How does it get released with 1/3rd of it's potential battery life?  Embarassing.
  • It was using 200 mA while on stanby, with the update it's between 60-70 mA hence the triple quote.
  • I got this a couple of weeks ago. Hasn't improved battery life. I get 14 hours max.
  • A guy in the office got both 8107 and the firmware. I am pretty sure he was on Vodafone last week. I am on tmobile and no update for me. I had to use the Singapore update the battery life issue was to debilatating to go on as is. It is interesting if this update still contains the sound bug. Never noticed the problem but it can be easily replicated.
  • The Netherlands (Vodafone for me) has this update for at least a week now too.
    Got a notification on the phone last week and updated.
    And then got the volume bug free of charge as well...
  • Just eulogizing this update to a colleague. The bass/sound is fantastic, battery life is up ny a third. Expected some issues with Nokia's first windows phone, but there commitment to fixing has been superb. The Lumia 800 is now a truly great phone.
  • Unfortunately it doesn't seem to fix everyone's battery, I can confirm the camera and bass fixes are spot on, but the battery is still pretty bad on mine (but I will concede to have a couple more hours when barely using the phone) hopefully just a defective handset
  • It fixed my battery it will still have about 60% left after a normal day of usage
  • The update was rolled out to my Lumia 800 on the 23rd March. The batery drain is now solved. I have 2 days without recharging against less than a day  before.
  • Update was already on my Lumia 800 which Telstra replaced today... FTW!
  • I take it this isn't the internet sharing update for the Lumia 800? Any idea when that is likely to hit the UK?
  • Got the update date yesterday had a slight issue where the volume was on 20 then it jumped to 0 and I couldn't get it to go back up for about a minute.
  • Just received the update today here in Malaysia on my unlocked/unbranded Lumia 800 on DiGi.
  • No news for Lumia 710 in Indonesia?
  • Normally I don't like the Cyan color the 800 is usually shown as... But the color Blue as it’s shown in that picture looks nice.
  • Just upgraded (on Orange in the UK). This time tomorrow I'll tell you how much better the battery life is.
  • Too bad it introduced new bugs along with the fixes. Battery life and sound quality are way better, but the volume bar is messed up. Now 11 is the new 01, the volume scales well from 11 to 30, and 01 through 10 is maximum. And it is loud as hell.
    Great fraking job, Nokia.
  • "...Now 11 is the new 01, the volume scales well from 11 to 30, and 01 through 10 is maximum. And it is loud as hell.
    Great fraking job, Nokia."
    I am on the 12070 update as well but did not encounter this issue at all, both prior (8107) and after updating it. Sounds pretty much the same pre-12070 except with the added bass.
  • Well it appears I kinda jumped to conclusions too fast.
    That volume level bug I described seems to occur only in Nokia Music when previewing music in the store. It doesn't happen during normal audio playback. It was the first thing I checked when comparing audio quality between old and new firmware (my cyan Lumia hasn't been approved for update yet) and assumed it affected all audio.
    However, there is another thing my friend discovered (on his recently updated black Lumia): when the phone rings, the ringtone sounds pretty loud for the first second or two and then gets very quiet. I'm not sure what that's about yet.
    Does the Lumia change ring volume against various proximity and light conditions? HTC had that covered in the "Attentive Phone" add-on/app available on HTC Marketplace. Does Nokia handle it in firmware?
     
    (I also found out, that on both old and new firmware when you touch the volume buttons during an incoming call the ringtone is muted completely. Handy if you don't want to reject a call and just ignore it pretending to be away. I always missed that option).
  • Got it here in the Netherlands on my T-Mobile cyan unlocked version!
    FINALLY! I was REALLY getting tired of this battery issue!
  • Anyone from Germany on t-mobile got the update?
  • I emailed Nokia about not getting this (unlocked HK model) and they said I'd get the update in a month.  I decided to check the update when I synced my phone and found it.  Nice.  I notice no change in my camera but it was never bad (I adjusted some settings to remove that blue tint).   But my battery is a little better and I'm a very heavy user.
  • i didn't recieve the update tell now !!