12 Tips Setting up Lumia 950 XL (Windows 10 Mobile) for The First Time

Getting started with a new phone is a tricky thing, specially when you are new to it. Many a times you miss either installing apps, or pin to start screen, and even changing colour profile. So when I started using Lumia 950 XL, I spent at least an hour configuring things. Here is what I did, and you can do too.

Setup your SIM & WIFI Network:

Mobile Data: If you use two SIMs, make sure to setup which sim to use for data. By default, the phone chooses SIM in Slot 1 as data connection, but if you use it differently, setup accordingly. Go to Settings > Network & Wireless > Mobile & SIM > Select SIM for mobile data. For now, I will suggest not to  turn on Data Connection as it may kickstart update download.

Name your SIM: In the same screen, scroll to to find SIM 1 Settings / SIM 2 Settings. This will open SIM info. Here you can name your SIM, and set highest connection speed.

Data Usage Limits: Under Network & Wireless > Data usage > Select data limit for each of the SIMs.

Connect to WiFi Network : This must be done for the next step. If you have a WiFi connection at Office or home, configure them immediately. Since your mobile data is turned off, WiFi connection will initiate that.

Update Your Phone & Apps:

When I first connected Lumia 950 XL, and Lumia 550, both had around 1 GB Data download, and over 40 apps to update. Do this right away. The updates will make sure that your Lumia stays rock solid post update. Also apps should be update for new features, and bug fixes.

• Go to Settings > Update & Recovery > Phone Update > Check for Update.
• Launch Store > Tap on the hamburger menu > Download & Updates > Check for Updates.

Uninstall / Install Apps & Pin tiles to Start Screen:

The phones come with few pre-installed apps which you may or may not need. The ones you don’t need, long press on them, and choose uninstall. The apps unlike Android, are completely removed from the system.

The next obvious step is to install apps from the Store. Launch, Search and install them one by one. As of now, Windows Store downloads two apps simultaneously.

Once done, set up your Start screen.  You can remove existing tiles which are of no use, and pin ones those you use. Go to Settings > Personalisation > Start and enable Show More Tiles. This will add more columns, and you can have more tiles.

Set Display Settings & Colour Profile:

Brightness Level: I have used two Windows 10 Mobile devices, Lumia 550 and Lumia 950, and looks like instead of using only three options ( Low, Medium, and High), the  OS now comes with 4 levels ( 25, 50, 75 and 100%) under quick settings Choose which works best for you.

If you want to set to a particular percentage, you need to work a bit more. Go to Settings > System > Display > Use the slider to set a level.  You may also turn on automatic brightness level.

Colour Profile:  This comes from Windows Phone 8.1, and depending on what you like you can choose between Standard, Vivid, Cool or Advanced.

Go to Extras > Colour Profile. Under  Advanced you can create your own colour profile by changing Color Temperature, Tint and colour saturation.

Set Keyboard Size, Layout & Install new Keyboards

Lumia 950 XL, and Lumia 950 are big devices, and using keyboard with single hand can be painful sometimes. Windows 10 Mobile lets you choose both keyboard layout and keyboard size. Below is a quick demo:

If you use a keyboard of different language, you can add by going to Settings > Time & Language > Keyboard > Add Nee keyboard. For changing size of the keyboard, go to More keyboard settings, and select keyboard size ( Large, Medium and Small)

Setup Battery Saver:

Windows 10 mobile comes with inbuilt battery saver which turns on when battery percentage falls below certain level. Battery saver makes sure that all your background data, and apps don’t use internet or anything. This helps you to use your phone as a phone in case of emergency.

Go to Settings >System > Battery Saver > Battery Saver Settings > Turn on.  You can also set percentage at which it should automatically turn on, and add apps which should run even with battery saver on.

Install Offline Maps

One of the key features of Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows 10 Mobile now is offline navigation. You can download maps of any country, and use it for turn by turn navigation with data turned off.  If you travel a lot throughout the country, it is always a good idea to install the whole map, but you an also download for a particular region.

Go to Settings > System > Offline Maps > Download Maps.  If your primary storage is running low, you can always use SD card, but I would still not recommend it.

Configure Backup

Another core feature of Windows 10 Mobile which makes sure your SMS, Photos and App list along with settings are always backed up, and synced with the cloud. Very useful when you are switching devices. Go to Settings > Update & Recovery > Backup. I have talked about it in lot more detail here. Suggest you read it for sure.

Cortana and Quiet Hours

If your country supports it, make sure to set up Cortana by launching it using the Search icon on the navigation bar. When you do it for the first time, it will guide you through the process. You can also train Cortana by using your own voice, specially when you are using “Hey Cortana”

Cortana comes with a useful feature, Quiet Hours, which keeps your privacy by letting in calls which are important, and ignore which might not. You can even allow calls to pass though if they ring certain number of times, which hints for an important call.

Setup Equalizer for Speaker & Headphones

Listening to music, and watching videos are two things we always do on the phone. So why not enhance the experience using the inbuilt Equalizer which works both for speakers and earphones.  Go to Settings > Extras > Equalizer, and setup accordingly.

Personalization & Glance Screen

We are closing to the end, and its time to make your start screen look beautiful.  Go to Settings > Personalization. Here you have options for managing Start Screen, Colours, Sounds and Lock Screen.

Glance is another cool feature which lets you keep a tab on time, and notifications without unlocking your phone. Go to Settings > Extras > Glance Screen. Configure according to your preference. You can also add image, but it does take a bit of your battery.

Windows Hello

All this done, its time to use the signature features from Microsoft, Windows Hello. It uses IR scanner, to create an image of your face, and then you can unlock your phone by just looking at it. You will have to add PIN protection to enable it which can be used as an alternate method to unlock your phone.

So that’s how I setup my Lumia 950 XL when I got it, lets us know if you do something which isn’t in the list.