Quick look at the new Storage Check in today's AT&T Lumia 920 firmware update

By Daniel Rubino
last updated

If you haven’t already checked for a firmware update that's rolling out today on your AT&T Lumia 920, you should go ahead and do that now (or when you are near Wi-Fi). The update is a maintenance fix, bringing a lot of little changes and tweaks to your phone after Nokia received feedback from field testing.

The biggest addition to the 1308 firmware is the custom Storage Check tool made by Nokia that allows users to visually graph the allocation of storage space on their device. In addition, with a simple touch of a “Clear” button, users can now dump their temporary memory of the device, which for some means regaining a few gigabytes of space back.

Other changes include camera improvements, changes to the proximity sensor and laying the groundwork for more additions with future Nokia system updates. To check for yours, go to Settings > Phone Update > Check now for updates.

Other Lumia 920s and Windows Phone 8 Lumias are expected to get the same update in the coming weeks. Head to our Lumia 920 forum to discuss today's changes or for tips and advice!

Daniel Rubino
Daniel Rubino
Editor-in-chief

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.

176 Comments
  • Still have 4GB in others
  • So your Other section is still 4gb??? I need this to clear it out completely! My 810 is dying for it, 8gb just isn't enough when your other section is 4.8gb!!!! I can't install any apps!
  • I removed all Nokia maps to free up space, disable SkyDrive upload, etc. This help for a few days but Other grew and only had 4-100MB left. I couldn't install, received email and text when space was low. I ran out of apps to uninstall and finally caved and reset my 810 last week.
  • You can't completely clear out the Other. It's there for temp files like emails, attachments, internet cache, map cache, Skydrive upload etc.
  • Go to the apps details and see how much space is used by app data and which apps ate the greatest offenders
  • Awesome update. It cleared 4GB out of my temporary files. But I also have 3GB of data being used by "Other."
  • Thats probably mail or other stuff that isn't listed properly
  • Yeah, my other went from 4gb to 400mb after I cleared temp files. Scratch that my temp files went from 4gb to 400mb. My other went from just over 6gb to 3.5gb.
  • Mail is detailed out with this update.  I'm going to copy/paste my results that I posted in the forums.
  • Is it your music? Not sure about wp8 but on wp7 the Other section also contains some of your music. My music section said I had 600 Mb of songs on my phone when I cearly had 4 or 5 gigs worth. I cleared out all my music to check and my other section was nearly empty. Don't no why no one else knows about this after 3 years after release windows phone release.
  • That's pretty neat. I like to be able to quickly identify what's taking up space so I can kill it!
  • Microsoft should take note and implement some of these great Nokia improvements across the WP8 lineup as part of the OS.
    It seems like Nokia is doing more for the WP OS than Microsoft at the moment.
     
  • I can not tell you how many times I have said that same thing...
  • My "other" is down from 4GB to 700 MB. My wife's phone cleared up a gigantic 11GB. Most of it was in Others and an app that promised to fix the Others issue. Good work Nokia.
  • Cool!!! I'm gunna go download it right now
  • Nice to get 4.8 gigs back. Nice update from Nokia
  • I want it now. Please EE, let us uk lumia owners have this and DataSense soon please.
  • They're too busy thinking up bacon related puns.
  • Lmao. Sad but true. We need DataSense as im having to use the website to check data usage which to put it kindly ain't ideal.
  • EE should release data sense and allow us to pay via nfc out of the wallet. been complaining about this on their twitter page already. you should complain where they actually see it
  • Any idea if htc will be releasing something similar?
  • +1, or when GDR2 is coming?
  • No idea, which is why I believe this is a Nokia fix (that and Storage Check is grouped with Nokia's other system apps)
  • Daniel, any idea if/when this will be coming to the Lumia 810?
     
  • 90% sure it will, and when it does, it will be once T-Mobile/Nokia clear it for distribution. That's about as specific as I can get.
  • I just did my update...but I don't see this on my Settings page...am i Missing something?
  • All the way at the end
  • Nope...i don't see it. I'll try to post a screen shot. Now I have to figure out how to do this.
     
     
  • Hi, you need to update the other setting apps like extras info for the new storage check to show up. I called Nokia this morning and the rep didn't even know this. Will call them again tomorrow to let them know.
  • updated everything...still no storage check
  • bt66; did you ever figure how to get the storage check page?
  • Yesterday my phone updared all the Nokia apps & then this storage check item appreared on the Settings page. It works.
  • which apps is it bundled with? I have done the upgrade days ago, upgraded every nokia app I have and still no Storage check...any suggestions???
  • Was able to claim 3gb back....feeling bad, I should've purchased a 920 for my son instead of getting him the 900. But great job Nokia. Keeping me happy.
  • Did the same for my daughter. Should have got her the 920 too. And Temple came out for wp8 today also.
  • Wouldn't dare show him that Temple Run is available...he still upset that Pandora isn't available for his phone. Might have to bite the bullet and purchase a 920 outright.
  • Nokia beast. Love it. Also thanks WPC for that mobi case for super cheap. Seems good so far.
  • I wonder how the update is handled for non carrier locked devices like my l920.
  • Indeed. I am tired of Nokia treating people who bought their devices at full prices being treated as children of a lesser God... It should be the other way around.
  • Still supporting the USA first even though there are more customers outside this country. Hoping they wake up soon and give everyone the update at the same time. we all deserve to have equal treatment.
  • +1
  • How come mine doesn't look that pretty as the image on the article?
  • at first i was thinking the same on my phone, but I found out there are two settings for the storage on the phone, if you look at the phone storage that would be the OS storage setting, you need to scroll all the way down to the last option on the setting screen, it should be storage check and thats where this new style setting is located.
  • scrolled all the way down and no storage check
  • Me too
  • My other is still 1.97 GB. But its down from 5 something.
  • I think I'm seeing a FLAW with update. Gonna test it out. BRB!
  • How is it going?
  • That's great.
    Now let me move all that to the SD card!
     
  • Since this is a Nokia fix... Can we assume it will filter down to 820 soon? Further, will it make its way to 822/810 as soon as VZW/TMO give the ok?
  • That's what I'm wondering. WP desperately needs the ability to view how much space each app is using, along with other stuff.
  • I updated my 820 using the retail update software and can confirm that it is indeed available on the 820 when they get around to releasing it ota. Cant comment on the other variants of the 8xx though. Q
  • Wondering the same thing. With half the storage, I need this on my 810 to help me manage it.
  • Coming trough with my HTC 8X!
  • What u talking about
  • ...Willis.
  • A+
  • Nope. No it's not.
  • This is a nice fix, but I think I am equally happy with the fix of the vibration rattle.  That one little seemingly insignificant flaw actually made an otherwise excellent phone seem somewhat cheap.  Now that it is fixed, I am surprised by how much it has improved my perception of the phone's physical quality.
  • +1, even the buttons in the bottom vibrate a little lighter. Nice fix...was embarrassing when my phone rattled so loud on a table when getting a call!
  • +1
  • +1
  • Ok my bad. Legit so far.
  • Can not find the flip silent, FM radio and the color profile tool...........Any idea??????
  • We don't mention any of those in this article, which should tell you something ;) Those are features either coming in a later firmware update or with Nokia System app updates.
  • thanks, something weird, my storage check kept running, won't stop, any idea?????
  • Color profile will most likely come with an update of display+touch, it's supposedly bundled with that app. Flip to silence and FM radio is scheduled for the next big OS update, is it not?
  • Flip to silence can actually be done via firmware and Nokia's system apps. FM radio will need an OS level update (since Xbox Music itself will be altered).
  • Weird.  I updated and I'm running 1308 but I do NOT have the storage ckeck option in my settings.  Nothing like that at all.
  • You need to update some of the Nokia System apps, like Nokia Extras, etc. Give it 12-24 hours and then you'll have updates for those apps, one of which will enable that feature.
  • I'm in the same situation as him. I had the update a day after purchase (last week), but had to do a hard reset. It's been a little over two days and the system apps update hasn't come through. I'm not sure if they will for me because the Store doesn't seem to let me know when app updates come in either.
  • Mine is failing to show updates too.  I have power cycled the device and nothing has changed.  Still no popups, but I regularly have to search for app updates because it never shows them automatically anymore.  don't know why that stopped working.  But the storage stuff is definitely not in my settings at this point.
  • Now you see why the iPhone is so popular, it just simply works. There is no fragmented downloading required, you either get it or you don't. As much as you I try to support WP, I have to admit it sucks!!!
  • Lol... When my friend got her new iPhone, she didn't have any contacts. She said she had to go home, physically plug it in and download her contacts. I was like uhm what? When I switched to my WP8 from my WP7, I just added my accounts and all contacts were there... Yea, iPhone "just works." *Eyeroll*
  • LOL
  • Yeah, like nobody in the IOS world ever had any issues. :rolleyes:
    What was that thing about the antenna btw ? 
  • There was nothing wrong with the antenna, those people were just holding it wrong. Remember?
    </s>
  • Daniel,if i reset my 920 back to factory default,will i still have the storage setting or i will have to wait for the update again?
  • yea my phone does not have that too, over the past month or 2 I seem to have stopped receiving updates from the store. I have rebooted the phone but no luck, the only way I see updates is if I go and look at an app in the store that needs an update and it will than show on my home screen 1 update . but stuff like this im not seeing
     
  • I restarted my phone and it popped up.
  • I'd love something like that for my Lumia 620. I hope we'll get it too.
  • same! Coupled with the multitouch issues and we are sweet!
  • The Phone now has the "never" option under the lockscreen settings
  • It's already available before the update, my phone is a living proof :P
  • Yea, screen timeout never is already here on my non-updated phone.
  • Where can you access this? Its not in Settings > Phone Storage....
  • Settings>scroll all the way to bottom of list. Yep, that's the one at the bottom. (If you've updated Nokia apps). :-)
  • Not for all of us. Some of us still don't have it even after the update....
  • Hi, I had the same issue but after I update all the other setting apps like extras info the storage check show up. Hope this help.
  • Thanks.  That only helps if those update options become available.  So far they have not.
  • Install and update the Extra+Info app http://bit.ly/nokextraswp
  • Worked like a charm! Thanks.
  • awesome :)
  • After the update the phone now has the "never" option under the lockscreen settings
  • I would love to have that back on my 900. Had 15-30-never settings on my Quantum and it really sucks not having those options on my 900..after 5 minutes screen times out and WiFi disconnects..
  • LED screens could get burned so its not included. I seen a Lumia, a Omnia 7 with screen burns it ain't pretty. So ALMOLED will probably always have it. Now LCD is another matter.
  • Still have 1.9GB in "others" :(
    I have Lumia 820
  • Love the new Phone Storage functionality, but man, that little flicker when the loading graphic hits "noon" is just awful.
  • Still waiting for update
  • This is my favorite feature, cleared up almost 6GB!
  • Yea I did notice the vibration sounds different now, I think they toned down the strength of it
  • 9,61 GB in others at the moment.. Hope I get this update soon.. Lumia 920/Finland.
  • 14.21GB in Other for me. Almost half of my phone's memory gone to some bug?
  • 10,78 GB / Sverige :-\
  • i hate when nokia gives advantages to american users as at&t or whatever, it is an european product damn it, very dissapointed to portico update, 2 months later than america. hope this one comes this week or next who cares but in a couple of days!
  • I am with you here, And whats even more enoying is Microsoft just anounced that USA has the smallest market share of WP8.
  • Not sure I agree with you. I mean, I'm in the U.S. My phone is having issues with the "other" storage and I haven't received this update yet.
  • You guys in Europe usually get phone related stuff before us, relax, and let us have something first for a change :)
  • Its called a contract. At&t pays for first dibs, and we end up paying at&t. Life ain't fair:)
  • that's what every company is interested for, if you pay then you're done! others who don't must wait. in this case AT&T is a badass guy :P 
  • Here in Europe we pay upfront $600 - $750 for those kind of phones. And Nokia doesn't give a shit.
  • I agree Europeans are being taken for a ride by Nokia. Just wondering, anyone knows why nokia/ms cannot release the updates to everyone at the same time?
  • Really wish there were something like this for WP 7.x - I have no idea what's taking up most of my space and would love to know which apps to consider removing first because they're too large.
  • I know what you mean, hated that when I had WP7!
  • What sucks is there is no way to clear out  "app data".  Some apps like Fuse which is only a news reader, is taking up 1 gb.  And I guess that is the devs problem to deal with but itd be nice to be able to clear that data.  No way should a news reader take up so much data.
  • I am glad they made this. Perhaps we can get more functionality out of it soon.  Now what I want is a similar type breakdown of how I use my cellular/wifi data.   I wont hold my breath on that one.
  • Anyone test out the camera improvements?
  • Camera seems better. Compared a pic I took before the up date with the same subject after. Colors more accurate and image is sharper too.
  • Has anyone else experienced abnormal battery drain since the update?
    Update? After letting the battery drain completely and recharging all night, the rapid drain issue seems to be resolved. After 3 hours of moderate ( for me) , I still am @85%. Will update further if needed.
  • Yep, mine is draining really fast. I also do not have storage check available yet
  • No battery issues here. Still lasting all day with plenty at the end.
  • Ok here is what I've realised. Some apps that i have uninstalled are showing up in the app section with data under storage check. I assume that when an app is deleted it only deletes the shortcut to the app. When I go to the app store it shows the app as being installed even tho I uninstalled it . Not sure whats going on. I have a ATT lumia 920 and have updated to the latest software today. My other is showing 5.3GB down from 8.6GB afetr I cleared the temp files. How do i delete completely apps???
  • Are you sure you aren't just unpinning from Start?  Hold down on the app in the full app list and then choose uninstall.  I can't test out before/after as I don't have the update yet, but just a thought.
  • i'm uninstalling from the full app list.
  • What really prevents other OEMs from doing stuff like this? What has HTC added recently? Samsung? Oh that's right, no US release yet. Nokia is the only one that gives a rat's? Maybe that's why HTC is losing revenue.
  • Gained back 3GB, but still have 4GB taken up. Better but still not good. Camera appears to be better as well. Now we just need Microsoft to show interest in updating the OS and add features.
  • My other storage space went from 12.5GB to 4.4GB. I'm happy, very happy.
  • While it is nice to see they made some small improvements, most of the stuff they changed is not noticed by users. A lot of users had issues with devices rebooting randomly or hanging completely. These are now fixed which is the most important thing a new update needs to do: make the device more reliable. So hats of to Nokia for giving the support and i hope those issues are now a thing from the past.
    My only hope is that it is coming to other regions soon too. I don't get why AT&T gets these updates sooner, its not like the device is different or anything.
  • i have a lumia 620 and i havent got the update yet, I have 4 gigs on my other slot :(
     
  • I need this badly. My "other" is up to over 7GB. Unfortunatly, it seems carriers (namely T-Mobile Deutschland) hasn't pushed this out yet. On the other hand, I'm sending my L920 to the factory in a week for them to solve the dust/sensor problem so...I hope when I get it back, it'll come with the update.
  • Hope it comes to EE in one to two weeks!
  • Really looking forward to this update being made available for the Lumia 810. I've used that Shrink Storage app and freed up a tiny bit of space, but it would be nice to regain a bit more. Right now, I only have 3GB of free space left, which scares me, especially since I barely download apps. :-/
  • this should be stock on all wp
  • when to expect update for rogers?
  • Game of Thrones Ringtone!!!! I WANT IT NOOWWW.
    You should have played it for us Dan ;)
  • :) I'll do a post on it tomorrow.
  • Now that is dedication. An entire post dedicated to a ringtone. Hahaha. Thanks man, you are the best!
  • The sooner it comes the better. Other on my 822 on Verizon has now ballooned to 6.64GB and still growing. I'll be happy to gain ½ of that back. Let's just hope that the update comes before it gets too ridiculously high. I'm already making sacrifices trying to keep it down as much as I possibly can.
  • Can anyone tell me how long it took to scan your storage? Mine has been going for about 10 minutes now. I keep having to tap my screen to prevent it from locking.
  • im havin the same issue. ive let it go for at least 20 mins, then just gave up
     
  • A few seconds, I would reboot
  • Reboot did not help. I'm sure it is something that can be easily fixed by Nokia.
  • I tryed the reboot too, still nothin. Wonder if it cause I have a bunch of music and apps and stuff like that
  • I have the same issue :(
  • Something weird, my storage check kept running, won't stop, any idea?????
    Any one else like this?
  • Same with mine, kept checking, never finishing. How can I fix that? Anybody....
  • my storage check has its own section at the bottom of settings. surely im not the only one.
  • You are not, wondering where it was for a while.
  • Can I beg for this clear feature for my Lumia 620? Actually, for all Windows Phone devices, because this thing called others just freak us out
    I share the though: This feature should be part of the system. Microsoft take this advice.
  • my lumia 920 storage check wouldnt load after the update, it will be just rotating forever, without stoping
  • ah sweet
    This is why I chose nokia over HTC
    nice work guys!
  • I cleared 12GBs! Thank god. I've been waiting for this day.
  • Update great for me other went from 8 GB to 2 4 GB thank you Nokia great update update installed on my wife and I phones no issues.
  • HTC where art thou?
  • I've got the spinning gears that won't go away. Anyone have any ideas how to resolve?
  • I have this with almost every update. With portico I had to force it end, the others I had to wait about 5 minutes. Just be patient, it will complete.
  • It's been a couple hours. I'll let it go overnight and see what happens. Thanks!
  • Beautifulll
  • I got the firmware update but not the storage check option, any ideas?
  • If you got the update and do not have storage option, you have to force the extras update -- http://www.windowsphone.com/s?appid=2377fe1b-c10f-47da-92f3-fc517345a3c0.
  • that did the trick, thanks.
  • Thanks. I was getting pissed off. Hopefully, my new found battery drain will stop, these attention needed apps will clear and my performance will return to normal. Again, thanks!
  • how do i do that
  • I had 8 GB of temporary files... O_O
  • Is that for real? My L920 suffers random lockups (although it has stabilized a bit) so if that has been resolved I'll be stoked! In Australia so will have to wait a while until I get the update...
  • I updated my phone yesterday afternoon and had my first hardlock last night. Had to perform a soft reset on the phone. I had zero problems for the 3 months I've had my 920 prior. So I would go out on a limb and say that they definitely didn't fix that issue.
  • Wow, its official. I now actually regret going with the beautiful, unsupported HTC. In fact even if I knew HTC was making an effort, they wouldn't be losing me and everyone I know as potential customers. On the other hand; way to go Nokia.
  • I have an 8x and I love its design but I'm now of the opinion that HTC simply launched the 8x hanging off the coat tails of the Lumia 920 so as to benefit from the initial wave and fanfare of new WP8 handsets. 
     
    I should have known better but at the time I couldn't afford to wait for the 920 carrier exclusivity deal to end with EE.  Having come from an HD7, which itself has not received the official WP7.8 update, I am very disappointed with HTC.  They're only interested in shifting devices as cheaply as possible. 
     
    They don't have the marketing clout, enough brand awareness or caché and they clearly aren't interested in improving the software experience unless forced to do so.  They need to change strategy, this will definitely be my last HTC phone.  The HTC first party apps/tools for WP8 is embarrassing.
  • Geez I already knew about Nokia feeding updates and improvements overtime, yet I just ordered that Ativ S from the no-update-policy Sammy instead of a Lumia.... to replace my Omnia 7.
     
    I must be a forgiving user.
  • ...and my 8x continues to be bogged down by 7.5GB of Other that I cannot get rid of.  There has to be some solution native to the OS here.  
     
    Nokia owners are fortunate that their manufacturer cares enough to fix fatal OS flaws that MS can't be bothered to address.  
  • Why my storage check is not working? Just kept runnig, running.......restart the phone few times, still the same.
  • I do not have the storage features you all are talking about. Verified with nokia that I have the correct update for my lumia 920 and when to the mentiond web page but cannot find it   Can someone please help
     
  • You must update Extra+Info.
    Use this QR code: http://imgur.com/LslQd
  • You all can try Shrink Storage app in the store. Works well.
  • I still got 16GB others after running storage check, so I reset my phone back to factory setting, Then I have no idea how to get my Storage Check App back.
  • Hi just a question I hope someone can answer. I've looking everywhere with no luck. My 920 is ok, but the 820 is really running low in space. I updated to 1308 with Storage Check. Cleared up 300mb of Temporary Cache, have 0 (ZERO!) games installed and uninstalled most of the useless apps. Biggest memory eater is just 60mb. 
    But the "OTHER" storage still takes up 3.5GB of I don't know what and I'm giving up soon.  What have you guys done in particular to clear up 2-3GB of space? (some even 12GB). Just uninstalling apps?  Thanks a bunch.