The dream of Windows Phone 11 lives on! Developer Gustave Monce is one skilled individual. He started work on his project to bring the full version of Windows 11 to a Microsoft Surface Duo.
He is the force behind the WOA Project, which has the noble goal of bringing Windows on ARM ports to Microsoft mobile devices like the Lumia and Surface family of phones.
Last we checked on it, things were coming along pretty well.
But now some major progress has been made on the project, with the latest release introducing wireless connection support to the device running the mainline operating system. This effectively enables WiFi, cellular, GPS, and eSIM support on the hacked handset.
Here is the changelog:
- Wi-Fi is now functional (2.5Ghz/5Ghz). Mac Address retrieval is not yet here, however.
- Cellular Data is now functional (LTEA/LTE/HSDPA+/HSDPA/EDGE/GPRS).
- Cellular Texts are now functional. Use the Chat application to send and get messages.
- Calls, VoLTE, RCS, and more are coming soon in a later release.
- eSIM support is now enabled in this release.
- GPS is now functional.
All this magic is possible due to the new set of drivers that allow running Windows 10 and Windows 11 on the first-generation Surface Duo phone.
Speaking of which, the project still is missing call support, there are graphic rendering issues, wonky automatic orientation, broken USB dongles, a camera that doesn’t function, as well as a host of other problems and bugs.
In other words, even after receiving multiple improvements and enhancements, it is far from being ready to substitute the stock Android on the Duo.
It is a fun experiment for those that want to live on the edge, or have a spare Surface Duo laying around.
This could also be a way to get a taste of the Surface Neo, a device that is technically stuck in development hell but in reality, dead. Microsoft is in no mood to resurrect this dual-screen machine any time soon, so this project is all we have now.
Version 2207.32 is now available for download from GitHub here.
