Let’s face it, Windows phones haven’t been the most successful of mobile platforms. There’s nothing inherently wrong but just that other platforms do the smartphone better. Microsoft knows this and has been working to improve their mobile offering. The latest update is Windows Phone 8, an extension of Windows 8. If you’re interested in picking up a new Windows 8 phone, you’re going to need to set it up.

Here’s how you can set up your new Windows Phone 8.

Email When you turn on your phone for the first time you will be guided through the setup process and be able to pick your location, time and date preferences, etc. You will also be asked to sign into your Microsoft account. For most users this will be either their outlook.com email account, or their Office 365 account. The phone will pull all of your contacts, emails and calendar dates from Outlook and add them to the respective tiles. From there you can also sign into your other accounts, and the phone should take care of the rest.

While you don’t have to sign in using a Microsoft account, it’s recommended that you do so as it will give you access to the Microsoft store where you can download apps and allow you to create backups and link with Microsoft’s other services. You will be given the option to create a new account if you want.

Apps One thing that makes smartphones smart is apps. Apps are a largely personal choice; look at the apps on any one user’s phones and each phone will be unique. The issue with apps is that we use so many, so it can be a pain to have to track them down and re-install them when you get a new phone.

If you are upgrading from an older Windows phone you can sign into your Microsoft account and go to My Phone and select Get to your apps. A list of all apps you have installed, using that account, will be shown, and you can pick and choose what apps you want to reinstall. Simply click on the app and it will be downloaded onto your new phone.

For first time users, or users who want a fresh install, you can download apps from the Windows Phone Store.

Organize start screen The Windows phone experience is oriented around tiles. A good way to think of these tiles are like advanced shortcuts, as by clicking on a tile you will open the related program. New Windows phones will have a number of pre-loaded tiles on the start screen.

The beauty of these tiles is that they are customizable. Tired of scrolling down to reach your email tile? Simply press and hold the tile and then move it around to where you like. You can also resize tiles by pressing the arrow on the bottom right of the box.

Downloaded apps will be placed into the Apps list (accessed by flicking to the left on the Start screen). You can create a tile for an app by selecting it and pressing the Pin icon which is located in the bottom left. When you do this, the tile will show up on the bottom of the Start screen.

Tinker with settings If you want to customize your phone you’re going to have to tinker with the Settings. At first glance, Settings can be a little overwhelming, but after a bit of tinkering, they become powerful tools. We recommend that you take some time to play around with the settings and make the phone yours.

Most users customize their ringtone, background, backup and screens. Settings can be accessed by flicking to the left from the Start screen and selecting Settings. You can set your Ringtone or sounds by selecting Ringtones + Sounds.

After you have set up your new Windows phone how you like it, you are ready to go. Enjoy your new phone and if you have any questions, please give us a call.