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My experience with Windows Phone has been limited to the Lumia 610, so I was not surprised when the phone could not connect to the PC in mass storage mode (as far as I can tell, this feature is not supported?). There were rumours a while ago that Windows Phone 8 would also not have this feature, which I found surprising (shocking, even?).

I would like to have a definitive answer on this issue, especially seeing as the Lumia 920 does not have a SD card slot (although I'm glad that it has USB OTG, after having that feature on my N8 I would not be able to tolerate a phone without it) . I've seen on several blogs that mass storage mode is supported, but I have been unable to find official confirmation of this.

To be clear, I am not asking about the availability of SD card support, but merely if you connect the phone to the computer with the USB cable, does it allow you to use it in mass storage mode i.e. access the onboard 32GB the same way you would access a normal flash drive through Windows Explorer?

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The most official thing I can find from Microsoft is a Windows Phone 8 Reviewer's Guide (PDF)

You can also connect Windows Phone 8 to a PC running Windows XP or Windows Vista, upon which it will be recognized as an external mass storage device.

Recent reviews are very clear that it is supported:

HTC 8X Review

...the folks at Redmond have finally added Bluetooth file sharing and USB mass storage mode along with other enhancements.

Lumia 920 vs. iPhone

...not to mention it supports USB mass storage mode

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  • My phone wont arrive for another week or so, so can't post personal experience just yet. – row1 Nov 14 '12 at 10:21
  • Thanks! It wouldn't have been the end of the world if it couldn't, but it's nice to know that it can. – Cindy Jayakumar Nov 14 '12 at 11:39
  • I tested it out and it works. But technically it is MTP and not mass storage (windowsphone.stackexchange.com/a/1240/295). – row1 Dec 12 '12 at 0:36
  • Thank you for the follow up, am more excited to get this phone now :) – Cindy Jayakumar Dec 12 '12 at 5:19
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Specifically for the 920, yes you can. Possibly for other WP8 devices too. For me the key is that when I connect with a USB cable, two windows appear – one with a blue icon about syncing and stuff that is useless, and one with a black icon.

browse window I click the Browse Files link (under More in Windows) and I'm browsing files on the phone.

browse drive

I used this to copy music over without having to deal with playlists and syncing.

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  • Yes! That's what happens when I connect my N8 as well. Great to know :) – Cindy Jayakumar Dec 13 '12 at 6:01
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The following wiki page can be taken as an official source for the answer you looking for.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Phone_8#Features

Yes, Micro-sd support is a feature added to Windows Phone 8, but it will depend on the manufacturer. Some might provide it, while others wont just like Android devices

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Well, I am unable to connect my Windows 8 Lumia 920 to my PC with Vista SP2 My PC tries hard but is unable to find drivers anywhere in the web. So as far as I am concerned it cannot be done.

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    I must apologize, but I realize I misunderstood the matter. Vista does recognize Windows phone as an exterrnal device via Windows Explorer and files as documents, fotos, videos and music can be stored in the phone or downloaded to the PC. Sorry folks. – Julio Bosch Dec 12 '12 at 8:03
  • It looks here like you are having a different issue, rather than trying to answer the question here? If so, you can ask it using the link in the header – Rowland Shaw♦ May 9 '13 at 15:46
  • Upgrade to Ubuntu 14.04, and it recognizes Windows phone and lets you browse files on it. Be careful though, moving music off the phone directly can mess up the music library until you reset it - in Windows os. – NoBugs Nov 16 '14 at 4:13

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