Steps to Download Apps from Windows Phone Marketplace
Let’s face it. Mobile phones have gotten a lot smarter. Many people may be too smart. It can be difficult to use all of the features of the smartphones that are being used. The manuals that describe how to make these phones work can be complicated and confusing. While it may take some time to learn everything that a smartphone is capable of, it is possible to learn some of the more important things without much effort. Below we have provided a guide to download apps from your Windows Phone.
One of the most important things to know when you download apps from Windows Phone is how to download the apps that can be used on your phone. While most smartphones are similar the phones that use the Windows operating systems will get their apps from the Windows marketplace. The marketplace is best designed to get the metro-style apps for the Windows 8 operating system, but there are also legacy apps available for phones that use the Windows 7 operating system. These steps will focus on how to get the apps for Windows 8 and probably for the Windows 9 operating system when it becomes available.
Windows 10 Mobile apps are on a lifeline
The Windows 10 Mobile app store is still going strong, publishing updates to Microsoft’s suite of productivity apps like PowerPoint, Word, OneNote, and Excel. Although, it was supposed to be shut down in January 2021 whenever the support for those apps expire.
Windows 10 Mobile isn’t accepting or developing any new apps for the platform as all the support such as the security updates and hotfixes ceased to operate in December 2019. Windows 10 Mobile is effectively on the decline.
How to Download Apps on your Windows Phone
Step 1
Go to the Metro screen of your mobile device. Once you are at this screen you will see the app store. If you are using an older Windows operating system, go directly to the app store.
Step 2
Open the app store by clicking on the tile. On the home page for Microsoft Marketplace, you will have many different options.
It will show you the top picks that are available for download. You will also see a listing of the available categories such as games, finance, entertainment, and many more.
The listing will include the most popular categories or you can click on the link that allows you to see all of the apps. Once you choose a category, you can browse all of the available apps in that category.
Another option for browsing is to use the search feature. You can type in the title of apps you know about or type in words for a more general search. The marketplace will provide you with a list of apps that are related to your search.
Step 3
Check out the app that you like. Once you have found an app that interests you, you can get more information about it by clicking on the title.
This page will give you information such as the requirements for the app, how much it costs, and a description of what it does.
It will also provide you with screenshots of what the app looks like. Customer reviews of the app will help you decide if it is worth adding to your phone.
Step 4
Download and install the app. Once you have decided on an app that you want, click on the install button on the app. This will start the process.
The first time you download an app, you will have to link an email address and other information to set up an account. If you already have an account, your app will start downloading.
Step 5
The final step is done by your Microsoft phone or device. It will show the app as installing and will provide a message that the app has been installed. Once you have done this, you can find the icon for your new app and start to use it.
It is simple to install the apps on your Windows device. Learning to do it will take a short amount of time and only a little effort.
How to Download Apps on a Windows Phone 8 Device without using the App Store
If you are determined to install apps to a smartphone functioning on Windows Phone 8, or higher, and contains an SD card slot, you can .xap files to download manually. XAP files are the primary Windows Phone app format. The steps below show you how to do it:
Step 1
Go to http://www.windowsphone.com/, on your smartphone’s web browser.
Step 2
Click on the search button at the top of the screen and write the name of the app you want to install such as Photoshop, or the app’s function as an image editor.
Step 3
Choose the app to take a look at its details page.
Step 4
At the bottom left of the page, click on the “Download and Install manually” link
Step 5
To root path your SD card, copy the downloaded .xap file.
Step 6
Reboot your phone and stay patient for 1-2 minutes.
Step 7
After opening the store app on your phone click on the SD card.
Step 8
Choose the apps you want to download and you are good to go
This method is quite necessary as the Windows Phone 8.1 app store was not operating since December 2019, hence, this is probably the only way to download apps on them now. The only setback with this method is that you require a Developer Account to make it work.
Conclusion
Even though there has been a massive decline in the sales of Windows mobile phones, there have also been a lot of benefits that have been provided by the company. Some of these benefits are written above. As the demand is decreasing, the prices are falling, hence, it is the perfect time to invest in Windows mobile phones to get the maximum benefits with minimalist cost.
