Nokia Suite 3.8.54

Nokia Suite, first released as Nokia Ovi Suite, was Nokia's free Windows companion app for its Symbian and Series 40 phones.

Version 3.8.54 from late 2014 was the last one ever released, and Microsoft, which took over Nokia's phone business, ended phone software updates through it at the end of 2015.

It can still back up and copy files from an old Nokia handset, but it does nothing for Lumia, Android or iPhone owners.

What Nokia Suite Actually Does

Plug in a supported Nokia and the Suite syncs contacts, calendar, messages, photos, videos and music with your PC. It also makes full phone backups, restores them, and lets the PC go online through the phone's data connection.

In its prime it also installed phone software updates, apps from the Nokia Store and offline maps. The store and the update service have since been switched off, so today the useful parts are the offline ones - backup, sync and copying files.

Which Phones It Covers

Nokia Suite was built for Symbian phones, including S60 3rd and 5th Edition and Symbian^3 models, and for Series 40 feature phones. It does not work with Lumia phones or with the newer Asha models.

Very old Nokia handsets that predate the Suite need its predecessor, Nokia PC Suite, which is just as frozen.

The tell that this is the wrong tool takes ten seconds. If your phone's settings mention Windows Phone, Android or iOS, Nokia Suite will not see it at all.

Getting Old Files Off a Nokia

Most readers now want one thing from an old Nokia - the photos, videos and voice notes still on it. Nokia Suite will copy those, and many models also offer a Mass storage or file transfer mode that lets you copy files in File Explorer without installing anything.

Videos from Nokia phones are usually 3GP files. VLC Media Player plays them as they are.

To turn them into MP4 files that phones and editors accept, use 3GP Converter.

A Known Side Effect

Readers have reported that Nokia Suite installs its own video decoders, which can take over MP4 and H.264 playback in other players. Uninstalling the Suite removes them.

If you need to keep it installed, Win7DSFilterTweaker lets you choose which decoders Windows prefers. Pairing that with LAV Filters gives you a clean, maintained decoder set.

What to Use Instead

There is no direct replacement, because Nokia's Symbian and Series 40 platforms are gone. What you need depends on the phone you carry now:

• Samsung Smart Switch - Samsung's free PC app for backing up a Galaxy phone and moving data to a new one.
• 3uTools - a free iPhone and iPad manager for file transfers and local backups, with no Apple ID needed.

The rest of the phone tools we carry, current and legacy, are in our Mobile Devices category.

Quick questions

Download Nokia Suite 3.8.54 if you still need it, or tell us what you used it for if you have history with it.