News

Windows 10 Mobile Build 10549 Available, But There’s a Caveat

By Brian Burgess

Updated September 25, 2023

Microsoft today rolled out Windows 10 Mobile Build 10549 for Insiders. But if you want it, you need to roll back to Windows Phone 8.1 first.

Microsoft today rolled out Windows 10 Mobile Build 10549 for Insiders. It includes some new features and improvements. However, you get there is a bug with this build and you’ll need to roll back your phone to Windows 8.1 first.

Microsoft exec Gabe Aul made the announcement of the new build earlier today on Twitter:

Hey #WindowsInsiders, we have a new build for Mobile going live now – 10549.

— Gabriel Aul (@GabeAul) October 14, 2015

Windows 10 Mobile Build 10549

If you’re currently running Windows 10 Mobile Build 10536, you’re not going to see the update. To get it, you first need to rollback your device to Windows Phone 8.1 using the recently rebranded Windows Device Recovery Tool.

If you haven’t rolled your phone back before, read our step-by-step guide: Restore Windows 10 for Phones to Windows Phone 8.1. Once you’re back on Windows 8.1 head to Settings > Phone update > Check for updates.

Remember, restoring to 8.1 will blow away everything on your phone and you’ll need to go through and set it up again. Then reinstall the Windows Insider app, select the Fast ring and reboot your phone. After that check for updates and you should see the new build.

What’s New in Build 10549

If you do go through the entire process to get the latest build, here is some of what you can expect.

• Improvements to Cortana which now works for users in Japan, Australia, and Canada.
• The Messaging app now has a text box that expands as you enter text which makes it easier to see what you’re typing. Also, an upcoming build for mobile will include integrated Skype abilities.
• Emoji Support has been added. Emoji was added to Windows 10 Build 10547 for PC and is now extended to mobile.

According to Gabe’s blog post, the following issues have been fixed in this build:

• The Windows Camera app no longer crashes when certain applications launch it to capture a picture.
• We fixed an issue where the touch keyboard would get dismissed every time you sent a message, which made sending 2+ texts in quick succession difficult.
• We fixed an issue where swiping away a notification was causing the notification icon to appear top of your screen.
• Screenshots were not being properly saved resulting in many top social messenger apps such as WeChat, WhatsApp, LINE, WeiBo, and QQ unable to find saved screenshots. This has been fixed.
• We fixed an issue where you couldn’t launch apps saved on SD cards after reinserting your SD card.
• Pinch to zoom should work properly in the Maps app now.
• We fixed an issue where trying to set a custom ring or text tone for a contact shows a black screen for 10 seconds, then does nothing.
• We have added back vibrate-only alarms.
• We have fixed call-blocking.

And, of course, here’s a look at known issues:

• After upgrade, you might be missing a few apps. If you experience this, the workaround is to reset your phone.
• After rebooting your phone, you won’t see notifications, such as new messages, until you unlock your phone for the first time. After that, you should see notifications for new messages just fine. This bug is fixed in a later build.
• You will be unable to make calls with Skype for Business, WhatsApp and other apps after upgrading to this build. The workaround is to uninstall and reinstall these apps from the Store.

I am not sure if these slight improvements warrant going through the entire process of going back to Windows 8.1, but that is certainly up to you.

If you want to remain on build 10536, that’s not a problem and you won’t receive today’s build. The company is working to make sure you get the next one, though.

This is why, if you’re a Windows 10 Mobile Insider, having a spare phone makes all the difference. For example, I do all my Windows 10 Mobile testing on the affordable Lumia 635 released last year.

It’s quite affordable, and now you can get one for only $39 on Amazon.

If you’re a die-hard Windows Insider and want to provide feedback for the upgrade path, now’s your chance.

Personally, I haven’t upgraded yet just because I haven’t had enough time. But if you have, we’d love to hear from you and let us know how things go in the comments below.