A quick look at Windows 10 Mobile build 15240 from feature2

Windows 10 Mobile Home screen
Windows 10 Mobile Home screen (Image credit: Windows Central)

Microsoft has released several new Insider Preview builds since the Windows 10 Mobile Creators Update was finalized, however not much has changed on the surface. Microsoft, with its feature2 branch of Windows 10 Mobile, is focusing on bug fixes and under the hood improvements rather than any new features, which is disappointing for some.

Still, there are a few noteworthy changes that have been introduced to Windows 10 Mobile feature2 builds, and we've had many of our readers ask us to do a hands-on with the latest Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview builds. So here's our thoughts after spending some time with Windows 10 Mobile build 15240.

Now, considering that nothing much changes between builds, we're going to be taking a look at a handful of changes that have been introduced throughout all the feature2 builds since 15204. There are only two new changes on the surface, with the rest being minor tweaks, fixes and changes.

In fact, there are a total of 61 bug fixes and improvements in testing with the latest Windows 10 Mobile build 15240, and we have a full changelog that you can view here:

  • There is a new privacy page to the Windows 10 Mobile OOBE experience that allows you to quickly and effectively make common privacy changes while setting up the device. (This change was backported to the Creators Update.)
  • Fixed the issue where the keyboard would sometimes not appear when a text input field is selected in Microsoft Edge.
  • Fixed an issue where Continuum would stop working when HP Elite X3 case is closed.
  • Fiixed an issue where Continuum would hang or render incorrectly after disconnecting on devices like the Lumia 950.
  • Fixed an issue with Microsoft Edge where you might get into a bad state after opening a new Microsoft Edge windows and screen off with the JIT process suspended.
  • Fixed an issue with where the device screen might stay black when disconnecting from a Continuum dock after screen has timed out normally.
  • Fixed an issue with backup and restore which impacts users with slower network connection.
  • Fixed an issue around Microsoft Edge reliability.
  • Fixed an issue where some Insiders were unable to open both the Connect UX page and/or the "Add Bluetooth or other devices" setting on the Bluetooth Settings page.
  • Fixed an issue resulting in an unexpected extra ~20 sec being added to the phone shutdown process due to a deadlock if you tried to shut down soon after switching from one network to another.
  • Fixed an issue with the Glance screen where the time was not updating.
  • Fixed the token issue so when your device syncs to the service, text messages should show back up.
  • Fixed an issue where the Battery Settings page caused the device to become unresponsive and appear to have hung.
  • Fixed a general issue where certain background tasks were being incorrectly starved under resource contention. This issue would impact music and video playback.
  • Under low memory conditions, additional app launches will cause the OS to run out-of-memory and the device will restart unexpectedly to recover. This fix detects the condition and blocks app launches until memory is freed up.
  • Fixed an issue with Microsoft Edge which prevented the phone from entering Connected Standby which caused battery drain.
  • Fixed an issue where the word auto-correction service would crash.
  • Fixed 2 issues causing the device screen to stay off when unplugging from the Continuum dock after screen has timed out normally requiring the device to be rebooted to recover.
  • Fixed an issue with the Notifications Settings page which made the UI appear unresponsive.
  • Fixed an Enterprise MDM issue where the policy could hide all pages except the Work Access page.
  • Fixed an issue where the Call audio did not move to speaker after removing the headset on some phones.
  • Improvements to power and performance for apps, such as Fitbit, for pair, connect, sync and notifications.
  • Fixed an issue where notifications would not be mirrored to the user's PC and Cortana's cross-device settings would not persist.
  • The copyright date is correctly showing 2017 now under Settings > System > About.
  • Fixed an issue where WhatsApp would not launch after updating to the latest Mobile builds.
  • Fixed an issue with using the Japanese 12 Key soft keyboard where the "right arrow" key did not input a space
  • Fixed an issue with the Bulgarian keyboard localization for the HP Lap Dock in Continuum.
  • Improvements to the reliability of notifications for apps with a paired Bluetooth device, such as Fitbit.
  • Improved the Time & Language settings page UX for Speech and Keyboard language downloads. Previously, the status would show "Downloading" for speech and "Installing" for keyboard. Unless, the user tapped on the language or navigated to the Update & Security settings page, there was no indication that a restart is required to complete the installation. Now when the update reaches the reboot pending state, a "Restart Required" is displayed under the language.
  • Fixed several enterprise device management issues.
  • Fixed an issue where notifications and Cortana's cross-devices settings on your device were not being mirrored to your PC.
  • Fixed an issue where only the first VPN profile was being displayed in the VPN settings page via Settings > Network & wireless > VPN.
  • Fixed an issue where a meeting Time Zone was garbled in Chinese or Japanese.
  • Based on Insider feedback, this release has changed "Phone Update" to "Windows Update" under Settings > Update & security.
  • Fixed an issue where some apps could not subscribe to SMS receive notifications.
  • Fixed an issue for Windows Insiders where some binaries stopped working when transitioning from Insider Preview builds to officially released builds.
  • Fixed an audio issue with Bluetooth headphones after Cortana reads an incoming SMS message to the user.
  • Fixed notifications (SMS, Calendar) with all Fitbit trackers.
  • Fixed crashes reported while using Photos app.
  • Fixed a deployment issue in where if an admin uses ActiveSyncCSP to provisioning email account on device running the Windows 10 Creators Update without providing a valid password, and the email server enforces a limited number of denied access retries, then the server will lock out the email account.
  • Improved battery performance by fixing a bug in a scenario where 30% more power was used during Camera app preview and capture mode.
  • Some Insiders provided feedback that playing video on phone resulted in a black flash and/or stuttering when in landscape mode. Microsoft has fixed this issue.
  • Improvements to Bluetooth connectivity with Garmin Wearable devices.
  • General improvement in reliability of phones by fixing top crash issues.
  • Fixed an issue where VPN profile appeared to be always ON.
  • Fixed a notification issue between the Bluetooth Support Service and device background services for fitness bands.
  • Fixed issues with Caller ID matching in Japan & Denmark.
  • Fixed an issue where downloading large apps could report out of disk space when there is sufficient space available.
  • Fixed an issue where installing apps (particularly games) from the Windows Store would sometimes fail with "Error, see details".
  • Fixed an issue where a device could not be unlocked after removing/turning off Windows Hello.
  • Fixed an issue where Cortana would not provide the region when saying "Your region is set to" and then "Is that right?".
  • Fixed a Turkish localization issue where the string "We need to fix your Microsoft account before you can use shared experiences …" was shown in English.
  • Improvements to the Field Medic Store app, where we fixed an issue with collecting Watson crash data, enabled spell checking when editing a report, and updated the PowerOn/PowerOff profiles to include additional battery info.
  • Fixed an issue where the screen would occasionally flash black after launching or rotating the Camera app.
  • Fixed an issue with the HP Elite X3 reporting that the SD card had been removed from the device when it had not.
  • Fixed an issue with Continuum where, after the attached monitor is unplugged, occasionally the mobile LCD does not power off and the mobile battery could be drained.
  • Fixed an issue with the Windows inbox NFC driver where occasionally the wrong card type data was reported.
  • Improved the Cortana resume-from-suspend behavior to enable a Cortana skill to be authenticated before the user interacts with the skill.
  • Fixed an issue with the behavior of the hardware search button in countries where Cortana is not available. In this case, the OEM provides the search app or URI.
  • Fixed the issue where trying to update Windows Store apps saved to your SD card resulted in an 8007000B error. Apps installed on SD cards should update without any issue.
  • Fixed an issue where there was no icon shown for Windows Update for either new notifications or on the settings page under Settings > System > Notifications & actions.

Let us know what you're hoping to see get added to Windows 10 Mobile with this feature2 branch!

Zac Bowden
Senior Editor

Zac Bowden is a Senior Editor at Windows Central. Bringing you exclusive coverage into the world of Windows on PCs, tablets, phones, and more. Also an avid collector of rare Microsoft prototype devices! Keep in touch on Twitter and Threads