Lumia Denim update for Lumia Windows Phone 8 / 8.1 devices has just begun with China being the first market, officially. For your info, Lumia Denim update will bring goodies from both Windows Phone 8.1 update 1 and Lumia Denim Firmware update in one. Read all about Lumia Denim and Windows Phone 8.1 GDR1 changes at our dedicated page.
Now, coming to how to prepare and update to Lumia Denim, we understand most of the enthusiasts will know it, but this tutorial is meant for everyone, especially masses.
Step 1) Check the storage:
You need to make enough space on your phone for the update (up to 1.5 GB, depending on the phone model). Assuming most of you are already on Lumia Cyan, to check for available free space, go to Settings > storage sense (storage check).
Step 2) Make some space:
If you don’t have 1.5 GB free phone memory on your device, you can do the following:
a) Move some apps to MicroSD card, if your device supports that. You can use official “Files” app to move other data like music, videos etc to MicroSD card.
b) If your device doesn’t support MicroSD card, you can
Delete browsing history, temporary files, cookies and saved passwords in Internet Explorer (Settings > applications > Internet Explorer > delete history).
Delete previous map searches and temporary files from your phone (Settings > applications > maps > delete history).
Delete Bing search history, including Bing Vision and Bing Music searches (Settings > applications > search > delete history).
Remove old Office documents from your phone: Press Start, swipe left, and select Office > places (locations) > phone. Long press any document and then select Delete.
Remove offline mixes from MixRadio: Press Start, swipe left, and select MixRadio > offline mixes. Long press any mix and then select Delete.
If still you don’t have required 1.5 GB space, you can either uninstall some apps or if you have a PC, do the following,
If you have a PC, connect your phone to a computer with a compatible USB cable. On your computer, use File (Windows) Explorer and do one of the following:
a. Browse to the phone folder of your Windows Phone. Move content like music, videos, pictures and office documents to your PC.
b. If your phone supports the SD card storage, browse to the SD card folder. Open the Pictures folder and move photos to your PC.
Step 3) Take a backup:
You can do a manual backup at any time – go to Settings —> Backup —-> Apps + settings, then turn on Settings backup and tap Back up now. You can follow our tutorial for knowing how to do a proper backup.
Step 4) Check for the update:
Your phone notifies you when an update is available for you. You can also check for updates by going to Settings > Phone Update and tapping Check for updates.
Step 5) Updating you device:
In case an update is available, before starting the update, make sure your phone has enough battery power, or connect to a charger. If the phone battery level is too low, your phone will also prompt you to charge the battery before starting the update.
The Windows Phone updates preserves your phone data and it should take around 45 min – 1 Hour including migration of the data back to the phone and getting up and running. Your phone will be back to how it looked before after the update installation.
What to check if you still face issues with update installation:
Check that your phone is set to the correct time and date. With a wrong date or time, your phone might not be able to access the updates.
Trying restarting the device and see if you can still update.
If the update is not successful, your phone remains in its previous software version with data intact. If you get an error code, write it down. With this info, you can check what went wrong at the Microsoft support page.
There is a official video that can help you too.
