What you need to know
- The Windows Phone 8.1 Store is shutting down on December 16, 2019.
- Windows Phone 8.1 support ended on July 11, 2017.
- Developers stopped being able to ship updates to Windows Phone 8.x devices on July 1, 2019.
The Windows Phone 8.1 Store is officially shutting down on December 16, 2019 according to an updated Microsoft support document (via Softpedia). Following the shutdown, users will not be able to download any new apps to their devices running Windows Phone 8.1. Some Lumia devices can upgrade to Windows 10 Mobile, but Windows 10 Mobile is already out of support in some cases and will be out of support by the end of 2019.
The fact that Windows Phone 8.1 is dead is not news. The operating system is now almost two years out of support. Additionally, developers stopped being able to ship updates to apps on the operating system earlier this year. What is new information is that the Windows Phone 8.1 Store is being shut down. In addition to not being able to download new apps, users will not be able to reinstall apps. Users may also experience degradation of app functionality after December 16, 2019.
If you are still using Windows Phone 8.1, you should make sure to do any phone resets and app installations before this deadline.
Windows Phones have become less useable as we move further away from official support. WhatsApp is no longer available through the store. Of course, after December 16, 2019, no apps will be available through the Windows Phone 8.1 Store as it won't run anymore.
