Trouble with your Nokia Windows Phone? Restore it with the official Software Recovery Tool

Nokia Windows Phones are solid smartphones running Microsoft's mobile operating system and we've previously looked at how physically durable the devices are. According to AdDuplex reports, almost 90 percent of all Windows Phones are part of the Nokia Lumia family of devices. Consumers have enjoyed both stability and reliability when it comes to said Nokia hardware, but there are times when things can go wrong.

The Finnish manufacturer has made its Software Recovery Tool available for consumers to download, should they experience issues with their Nokia Windows Phone and its OS. It seems to be a re-brand of the 'Nokia Software Update for Retail', which we covered months ago as a solution to fixing your Lumia.  Nokia appears to have made now made it 'public' instead of a tool for themselves.

This suite enables consumers to fix their Windows Phones without having to go through support channels, perfect if you're stuck on spinning cogs or the Windows Phone simply won't play ball. While this is an officially endorsed tool, released by Nokia, we do recommend caution when installing the software and running through the wizard to restore your device to an operable state.

WPDownUnder spotted links to the tool on both the Nokia US and UK websites, though there are links available on other Nokia sites. We imagine the software download is the same per region, installing a fresh copy with the correct region configuration, so it shouldn't matter which one you choose to download – however, we've yet been unable to confirm this, so don't attempt to use this tool on your main device unless you know what you're doing.

Some requirements and notes when using the Software Recovery Tool:

  • Microsoft Windows 7 or later.
  • USB cable to connect your phone to the computer.
  • Minimum 2 GB free storage space.
  • The files downloaded by the Nokia Software Recovery Tool may be as much as 4GB, and may take a long time, depending on your internet connection and phone model.

As always when using tools such as this, you're likely to lose data stored on the Windows Phone as its wiped and rebooted with a fresh lease of life. Check out the two tool downloads below:

Caution: it's worth noting that this tool will not work with Windows Phones from other OEMs. That all said, be sure to let us know how you get on, should you try these tools in different regions.

via: http://www.wpdownunder.com/?p=11353WPDownUnder; thanks, Cree, 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.