Users of older Lumia phones can finally upgrade to Windows 10 Mobile

Better late than never

Microsoft is at last rolling out Windows Mobile 10 to older Lumia handsets, 16 weeks later than originally planned.

So the rumours were true: the latest version of Microsoft's Windows mobile operating system is available for users of older Lumia devices to download now.

Over on its official blog, Microsoft tells us to click a link to see which devices have been lucky enough to receive the update, but a hyperlinking error takes us to instructions on how to install Windows 10 Mobile. Good work, Microsoft.

The Verge has the full list of devices, though, which is as follows: Lumia 430, Lumia 435, Lumia 532, Lumia 535, Lumia 540, Lumia 635 (1 GB RAM), Lumia 640, Lumia 640 XL, Lumia 735, Lumia 830, and Lumia 930. The update, naturally, will arrive on network unlocked devices first.

Microsoft notes that not all devices will be receiving the bump to Windows Mobile 10, admitting that it likely won't do much good for the performance of older devices.

"This list includes a limited set of Windows Phone 8.1 devices and does not include some devices that are currently running Windows 10 Mobile in the Windows 10 Mobile Insider programme.

"As Windows 10 delivers significant new innovations, many older devices are not able to successfully upgrade without an impact on the customer experience," Microsoft adds. "Our goal is to only offer the Windows 10 upgrade to devices that we are confident can continue to deliver a good customer experience."

To check if Windows 10 Mobile is available on your handset yet, you'll need to download Microsoft's dedicated "Upgrade Advisor" app from the Windows Store.

Once installed, Windows 10 Mobile will bring with it a number of new features, including improvements to Cortana, which is now more closely aligned with its desktop counterpart, and improvements to Microsoft's own Office and Outlook apps.