14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft finally decided to release Windows 10 for phones preview to a number of devices yesterday, but surprisingly, the company only picked a handful of Lumia models for the initial rollout, which has obviously caused quite a lot of frustration among users who purchased a Windows Phone.
And yet, there are some who find the Windows 10 for phones preview bugs too annoying to turn the new operating system into their daily driver, so they want to go back to Windows Phone 8.1 and continue using this version until a more stable Windows 10 build comes out.
Luckily, Microsoft launched an application that allows users to quickly downgrade from Windows 10 for phones preview to Windows Phone 8.1, thus making it possible to go back to the mobile operating system that's perfectly stable and reliable.
How to downgrade
First and foremost, you need to connect your device to the computer or laptop using a USB cable, so make sure that all the necessary drivers are installed.
Then, you need to download the Windows Phone Recovery Tool app that allows you to downgrade with the help of a very straightforward process that only takes a few minutes.
Fortunately, the app automatically detects your phone and prompts you to downgrade to Windows Phone 8.1, so you don't really have to be an experienced user to do this. Obviously, you're expected to be really experienced since you installed Windows 10 for phones preview, but the downgrade app was developed from the very beginning to be easy to use.
Make sure that you do not interrupt the downgrade process, no matter what. We've received reports from users saying that sometimes the app appears to freeze, but give it some time to recover and everything should work like a charm.
Keep in mind that, when downgrading, you lose all your files, apps, and settings, as the content of your phone is erased and the operating system is installed from scratch. As a result, make sure that you create a backup of your files or copy them to a microSD card before starting the process.
