The Windows Mobile grade-and-pave (or, how to make your phone work like new again)
December 3rd, 2009Does your phone feel a bit janky lately? Maybe a little slower than it did when it was new?
One of the great things about Windows Mobile is its openness — users can install whatever they like, and developers aren’t limited by artificial restrictions. But with great power comes great responsibility, and unfortunately not all software is engineered to the high standards of Kinoma Play.
Why do we care? Because Kinoma Play creates maximum joy when your phone is performing at its best.
How to make your phone like new again
When your phone’s acting up, you can get like-new performance again by doing what we call a grade-and-pave. To do a grade-and-pave:
- Sync your phone’s data to your PC
- Wipe your phone
- Install any available phone updates
- Install your apps and sync again to restore your data
Typically, the whole process takes about 30 minutes.
#1 — Sync
Sync your phone to your PC. Make sure Windows Mobile Device Center is configured to sync your contacts, calendar, tasks, notes, and everything else you might want to save.
The contents of your Storage Card shouldn’t be affected by a grade-and-pave. But backups are A Good Thing, and this is a great time to copy the contents of your Storage Card to a PC.
Alternatively, you can use Microsoft My Phone to sync your phone to save your phone’s data online instead of on your PC. (We haven’t personally tried this, so be careful out there!)
#2 — Wipe your phone
This is known as doing a “hard reset”, and generally involves holding down 1–2 buttons while you doing a reset or turning on your phone. Consult your manual for details, or search for “hard reset [your phone model]” for instructions.
Note: This will delete everything from your phone, including Kinoma Play!
#3 — Install any available phone updates
If there are any available updates for your phone, now’s the time to install them. We recommending checking the support sites for both your network operator (e.g. Sprint) and the phone maker (e.g. HTC).
#4 — Install your apps and sync
Rather than automatically installing everything that was on your phone before the grade-and-pave, we recommend installing only the software you actively use.
To get a fresh Kinoma Play installer, go to http://kinoma.com/support/ and click “Need your installer or purchase key?” You’ll be prompted for your registration email address, and the URL for the current installer will be sent there.
Once you’ve reinstalled your apps, sync your phone again to restore the data you sync’d to your PC in step #1.
Enjoy!
A grade-and-pave gets you a like-new phone experience without spending anything but a little time.
