General F.A.Qs

[dragonpwnr99]

Yeah i saw it just wasn't sure if it worked like the on on iOS and android. probably does
Thanks

[Giltec]

Originally Posted by Worhammer

Just need to go into your settings > accounts and update the password for your LIVE ID.

Thanks. I had done that, but every time I went into the Xbox live app on my phone it asked for the password and didn't accept it. It appears that it just doesn't update as quickly as I expected. The following day everything was fine. Cheers.

[[Waggly Bean]]

I've had my WP7 for a few weeks now (love it btw), but have only been playing the freebie games so far. There are a few games I'd like to buy, but I have a couple of questions.

1. Once I add my credit card details, can I remove them again or is it like on the Xbox where you have to phone up to get them removed?
2. Is there a download history (like on the Xbox)? ie if my phone crashed and lost everything, would I be able to redownload my games for free?
3. I read somewhere I can back up my games and saves through Zune on the PC. Is this true?

[Infection Ftw]

Originally Posted by [Waggly Bean]

I've had my WP7 for a few weeks now (love it btw), but have only been playing the freebie games so far. There are a few games I'd like to buy, but I have a couple of questions.

1. Once I add my credit card details, can I remove them again or is it like on the Xbox where you have to phone up to get them removed?
2. Is there a download history (like on the Xbox)? ie if my phone crashed and lost everything, would I be able to redownload my games for free?
3. I read somewhere I can back up my games and saves through Zune on the PC. Is this true?

So far what I know and sorry if I am wrong but people will probably correct me:

1: Not sure >_>

2: Only if the game isn't removed from the Marketplace yet

3: Sadly you can't back up your saves.

[[Waggly Bean]]

Originally Posted by Infection Ftw

So far what I know and sorry if I am wrong but people will probably correct me:

1: Not sure >_>

2: Only if the game isn't removed from the Marketplace yet

3: Sadly you can't back up your saves.

Thanks for that. So is there any point in me using Zune for anything other than phone updates, assuming I'm not interested in putting video/music on there?

Also, does anyone else have an answer to my first question?

[Arsenic 17]

Originally Posted by [Waggly Bean]

Thanks for that. So is there any point in me using Zune for anything other than phone updates, assuming I'm not interested in putting video/music on there?

Also, does anyone else have an answer to my first question?

I dont know what else you would want to use Zune for. It is great for just syncing everything on your phone to your computer. In a sense it backs up all your files, just not games or game saves or app data or anything.


To see you app download history go to windowsphone.com.

Also, looking at my phone itself, I dont see a way to remove a credit card from the phone. you may be able to do it from live.com. However, a workaround I used to use on xbox was just fudge the expiration date when I didnt want to be charged anymore. That is likely an option. Again not sure about that on the phone either. Goodluck!

EDIT: You know you dont actually have to add a credit card. You can have the charges billed to your wireless account, thereby not actually giving Microsoft your card number. Just an FYI.

[[Waggly Bean]]

Thanks for that. I knew you could take it off your phone bill, but it wasn't working when I tried it before so I assumed it was blocked out on my network. Having said that, I messed around with it yesterday, and found that turning my data roaming on allows me to buy stuff. I successfully bought Angry Birds, but was considering Tentacles as it's on DOTW, and found that it says you can't use billing to pay for this game. Is there a reason for this? Is it due to the size? And are there many games that do this?

EDIT: ok there's quite a few that won't let you. Anybody know why some do and some don't?

[MooMooChicken]

Can I play Windows Phone games on a windows tablet?

[ISAAC1982]

Originally Posted by MooMooChicken

Can I play Windows Phone games on a windows tablet?

Afraid not.

[MooMooChicken]

Originally Posted by MooMooChicken

Can I play Windows Phone games on a windows tablet?

Is it worth it to buy a windows phone without a contract with no other use than to play games? Also is it worth buying with WP8 coming out in the fall?

Also how does it work without a contract? Do you need to be connected to wifi to get achievements and such?

[GR4V1G0R3]

well i would say

wait until windows 8 is out, see how cross compatible the system is, we've heard that everything is supposed to be fitting together but whether it actually does or not is a different matter



WP8 devices hitting in sept / oct, and i would think that MS would have made the new OS like iOS to be crossformat


without a contract you would have to connect to wifi to be able to download any games, or update the achievements to your profile (or even obtain achievements on some games like fruit ninja)

[JORDAN K 95]

Originally Posted by GR4V1G0R3

well i would say

wait until windows 8 is out, see how cross compatible the system is, we've heard that everything is supposed to be fitting together but whether it actually does or not is a different matter



WP8 devices hitting in sept / oct, and i would think that MS would have made the new OS like iOS to be crossformat


without a contract you would have to connect to wifi to be able to download any games, or update the achievements to your profile (or even obtain achievements on some games like fruit ninja)

so what if i got a contract, got some achievements then signed in while connected would the achievements update, or will i have to be connected the whole time while playing??

[GR4V1G0R3]

That depends on the game

Some game require you to be signed in to earn achievements, others work like Xbox or pc in offline mode and update when you next go online or eventually

That the main problem with the window phones right now, the inconsistencies between games method of logging achievements, probably why almost every title is glitched on release

[JORDAN K 95]

Originally Posted by GR4V1G0R3

That depends on the game

Some game require you to be signed in to earn achievements, others work like Xbox or pc in offline mode and update when you next go online or eventually

That the main problem with the window phones right now, the inconsistencies between games method of logging achievements, probably why almost every title is glitched on release

okay, 2 more questions:

if i earned some achievements of my wp7 game, THEN earned some achievements on an xbox game THEN signed in on wp7, would that work?

and how much internet will that use up of you have to be connected to the internet whilst playing?

[StolenPaper18]

I didn't feel like starting a new thread about this, so I'll just throw it in here.

Has anyone else had 3-4 phone updates in the past week? I'm currently updating my phone for the 4th time this week and it's getting kind of annoying. I'm just wondering if my phone is having a problem getting the update or something (even though it says it updates fine) because I find it hard to believe that there have been 4 updates.

[GR4V1G0R3]

sometimes can depend on the make and model of phone & the carrier you use

it's never as clear cut as everyone or no-one has the update these days...some choose never to releaese some small updates, preferring to only release the main updates...other companies have to with certain handsets experiencing issues making them near useless without


however, in your case of 4 within a week that sounds like too much, and i would maybe go as far as saying its either failing to flash it, or failing to update the version number when it does...hopefully not the first one, that could mean a faulty chip in the phone....better to contact your service provider and ask them about it to be sure

[StolenPaper18]

Originally Posted by GR4V1G0R3

sometimes can depend on the make and model of phone & the carrier you use

it's never as clear cut as everyone or no-one has the update these days...some choose never to releaese some small updates, preferring to only release the main updates...other companies have to with certain handsets experiencing issues making them near useless without


however, in your case of 4 within a week that sounds like too much, and i would maybe go as far as saying its either failing to flash it, or failing to update the version number when it does...hopefully not the first one, that could mean a faulty chip in the phone....better to contact your service provider and ask them about it to be sure

I have an HTC Trophy with Verizon which has been pretty great, aside from the normal WP7 woes. If I have to update again in the next few days I'll just take it in to the store. I appreciate the info, thanks.

[Arsenic 17]

Originally Posted by JORDAN K 95

okay, 2 more questions:

if i earned some achievements of my wp7 game, THEN earned some achievements on an xbox game THEN signed in on wp7, would that work?

and how much internet will that use up of you have to be connected to the internet whilst playing?

Most WP7 games you do not have to be connected at all to get the achievements. However, there are some that you must be connected to Xbox Live via Wifi or 3/4G the whole time while playing or they will not update to the server. I am not sure about your first question, but my guess is that would not work. As long as you play games that can sync to the server later you can just connect to wifi periodically.

I am not sure why you are worried of your bandwidth issue when you only can connect via Wifi, but I would have to say the data consumption is minimal, though I do not know for sure. It usually just consists of a tiny data sync periodically, but for multiplayer games (which there are few of) I would assume a tad more.

[ncczjx611]

Nice Q&A but my question is can I buy games with USD debit card instead of HK Dollar because I have a main HK account but i am in the US now.

[Arsenic 17]

Originally Posted by ncczjx611

Nice Q&A but my question is can I buy games with USD debit card instead of HK Dollar because I have a main HK account but i am in the US now.

Did you try charging them to your cellular bill?

[ncczjx611]

Originally Posted by Arsenic 17

Did you try charging them to your cellular bill?

No, I totally give up because my cellphone is ATT but my SIM is T-Mobile one. No such option like "charge to my cellular bill"

[GR4V1G0R3]

i've currently got 3 phantom updates awaiting on my phone...
store tab shows 3, when i click on it, no updates available, nothing downloading....been the same, for weeks (well similar, it actually said 2 until yesterday)

any ideas what could cause them

[Arsenic 17]

Originally Posted by GR4V1G0R3

i've currently got 3 phantom updates awaiting on my phone...
store tab shows 3, when i click on it, no updates available, nothing downloading....been the same, for weeks (well similar, it actually said 2 until yesterday)

any ideas what could cause them

I have had this for a few days in the past, but never lasting for that long. Did you try unpinning the tile from the start screen repinning? No idea what causes this thought. Probably just the laggy, unpredictable marketplace.

[Arsenic 17]

Master shake. Great list but I think it could use some updating now that WP8 has released. The Title could also maybe be revised by a mod. Too many people post the same dumb questions in the General WP forum, that if they looked two threads down, or in your FAQ, wouldnt have to waste a post.

Adding such things that address:

• Mention how some games do not work on WP8 that work on WP7, and that you cant see them in the marketplace. Also, that there may be a patch in the future to bring the game to WP8, but not too count on it.
• A link to my HOW TO on downloading games from other regions to earn their achievements. LINK
• something about WP8 only games now (Angry birds SW and Space) and in the future.

[master_shake_350]

Originally Posted by Arsenic 17

Master shake. Great list but I think it could use some updating now that WP8 has released. The Title could also maybe be revised by a mod. Too many people post the same dumb questions in the General WP forum, that if they looked two threads down, or in your FAQ, wouldnt have to waste a post.

Adding such things that address:

• Mention how some games do not work on WP8 that work on WP7, and that you cant see them in the marketplace. Also, that there may be a patch in the future to bring the game to WP8, but not too count on it.
• A link to my HOW TO on downloading games from other regions to earn their achievements. LINK
• something about WP8 only games now (Angry birds SW and Space) and in the future.

Good idea, i'll get on this when i'm on a computer.

I've updated it to the best of my knowledge.

Also I need someone to verify the information for multiplayer games and the exclusivity deal.

EDIT: Can a Canadian verify the prices? On my Canadian account they show up as the same as the US?

[Piesank]

Do you need a gold membership account to play the online games and get their online achievements (wordament and alpha jax)?

[ISAAC1982]

Originally Posted by Piesank

Do you need a gold membership account to play the online games and get their online achievements (wordament and alpha jax)?

Nope. Windows Phone is different. No membership required at all like Games for Windows Live or Windows 8.

[Piesank]

Thanks for the quick response!