Windows CE & Windows Mobile App Support & Migration
the handhelds are wearing out, and the new ones run Android.
For warehouses and field teams running an app on Windows CE or Windows Mobile scanners and rugged handhelds. We assess the code and the devices, keep the fleet working, migrate the app to Android where that is the better answer, and replace it in stages where it is not.
More about this service
We are an Australian team working remotely with businesses in the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia. Every engagement starts with a scoped technical assessment, so the estimate that follows is based on your code and your data.
- Assessment A scoped technical review before any estimate
- 18+ yrs Building business software
- Independent No licence commission, no reseller agenda
- US UK NZ AU Australian team, working remotely
Built here. Your data stays here.
- No offshore development. Everything is written by our own team in Australia. Nothing is subcontracted overseas.
- Your data stays onshore. Hosted in Australia, on infrastructure you own, under Australian law.
- Every state, not just ours. Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and everywhere between.
The scanners outlived their operating system
Rugged handhelds were built to last, and they did. Scanners running Windows CE or Windows Mobile are still picking, receiving and counting stock in warehouses, and still recording jobs and deliveries in the field. The apps on them were written for one task, with big buttons and a scan key, and they do that task well.
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The obstacles are practical. Microsoft has ended support for every version, the last of them in October 2023. Spare devices and batteries are harder to find each year, an old handheld can fail to connect once a network or server is updated, and the tools that built most of these apps date from 2008 or earlier. Each has a known answer.
Our Windows CE developer service is for businesses in Perth, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. It covers three kinds of work: code fixes and updates, migration to a modern technology stack, and ongoing maintenance and support.
Three ways forward for a Windows CE or Windows Mobile app
Most fleets need the first before they can plan the second.
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Keep the fleet running
The app stays on the devices you have. We set up a build environment with the original tools on a machine kept for the purpose, fix faults, make changes, and write down how a device is set up from scratch. This suits a fleet that has years left in it.
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Migrate the app to Android
The same screens and steps are rebuilt as an Android app for current rugged handhelds, with scanning handled through the device maker's own scanner software. The server, the database and the way people work stay as they are.
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Replace it in stages
Where the work should also be done on phones, tablets or a desktop, it is rebuilt as a web or cross-platform app, one task at a time, while the old handhelds carry on with the rest.
What we do with Windows CE and Windows Mobile apps
Six kinds of work. Most engagements are two or three of them.
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Compact Framework maintenance
Faults fixed and changes made in existing C# or Visual Basic .NET code, built with Visual Studio 2005 or 2008.
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Device and fleet audit
Every model listed with its operating system, scanner and radio, and whether it can still be bought or repaired.
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Android migration
The app rebuilt for Android handhelds, with scanning, printing and offline working carried across.
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Sync and server work
Cradle sync, database replication and old web services replaced with a method that current servers accept.
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Data moves
SQL Server Compact (.sdf) files and other data held on the devices moved to a current store and reconciled.
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Staged replacement
Tasks rebuilt one at a time as a web or cross-platform app, where a single-purpose handheld app no longer suits.
Keeping it, porting it and replacing it are different projects
Each trades cost against how long the result will last.
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Stay on Windows CE
Lowest cost. The app is documented and can be changed again. It stays on an operating system with no security fixes, and on devices that cannot be replaced like for like.
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Port it to Android handhelds
Staff keep the steps they know, on devices that can be bought and updated. The screens are rewritten, because Compact Framework screens do not carry across. Business rules written in C# sometimes can.
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Replace with a web or cross-platform app
Nothing depends on one family of devices afterwards, and the same app can run on a phone or a desktop. It takes longest, and has to cope with poor Wi-Fi and offline working to be worth it.
What a Windows CE or Windows Mobile assessment looks at
Every one of these operating systems is out of support. The question is how long the devices will last and what the app depends on. The dates below are from Microsoft.
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Which operating system
Microsoft support ended on 10 April 2018 for Windows Embedded CE 6.0, 14 January 2020 for Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5, 13 April 2021 for Windows Embedded Compact 7 and 10 October 2023 for Compact 2013. Devices keep running, without security fixes.
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How the app was written
The .NET Compact Framework in C# or Visual Basic .NET, or the older eMbedded Visual Basic and eMbedded Visual C++. Microsoft states that Visual Studio 2010 does not support Compact Framework projects, and support for Visual Studio 2008 ended on 10 April 2018.
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Whether the source is complete
A Visual Studio solution with its project files and forms, plus the scanner maker's libraries it was built against. A site that holds only the installer (.cab) or the program on the device can run it but cannot change it.
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The devices
Makes and models, how many are in use and how many spares are left. Screen size, keypad and scan key matter, because a replacement device changes how the app is held and used.
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Scanning and printing
Barcode scanning through the maker's programming kit, belt printers, tag readers and vehicle cradles. Android handhelds drive the scanner differently, for example through DataWedge on Zebra devices, so this part is rewritten.
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Data on the device
SQL Server Compact (.sdf) files or plain files. Microsoft support for SQL Server Compact 3.5 ended on 10 April 2018. What is held on the device, and for how long, decides how offline working is designed.
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How it syncs
A cradle with ActiveSync or Windows Mobile Device Center, database replication, web services, or files sent over Wi-Fi. Old handhelds can fail to connect once a server or network moves to current encryption, so this is tested, not assumed.
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How it is installed
A .cab installer copied by cradle or memory card, or a device management system. A business app for Android handhelds is normally installed privately through device management, not published to a public store.
A warehouse running on scanners that cannot be replaced?
What the assessment needs from you
A fixed-scope piece of work with a written result: the options, the risks of each, and a staged estimate. No production data is sent by email. We agree a secure way to share it first.
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Devices
The makes and models in use, how many, and the operating system version each one shows.
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The source
Whether the full Visual Studio project exists, where it is kept, and whether anybody has built it recently.
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Tools and libraries
The language it was written in, and any scanner or printer libraries you hold installers for.
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Data and sync
What the app stores on the device, and how it exchanges data with your server.
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Hardware
Scanners, printers, cradles and anything else the app talks to.
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Users and sites
How many people use it, across how many sites and shifts, and how good the Wi-Fi is where they work.
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Integrations
The warehouse, stock or accounting system behind it, and who looks after that system.
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What is hurting
The two or three problems that started the conversation.
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The way back
How long the business can run on the old devices if a cutover has to be reversed.
From assessment to a supported handheld app
Done remotely, with meeting times agreed to suit your time zone.
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Technical assessment
We establish the devices and operating systems, what source you hold, every library the app needs and how it syncs. You get a written list of options with the risks of each and a staged estimate.
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A working build
The project is made to compile with its original tools on a machine kept for the purpose, and the result is run on one of your devices. Until that works, no change is safe.
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Proof of concept
One representative task, usually scan, save and sync, is rebuilt on a sample Android handheld and taken end to end against a copy of your server.
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Staged work
The work is done in stages agreed from the assessment, each with its own scope and estimate, starting with whatever is hurting the business most.
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Side by side on the floor
Old and new devices are used on the same work in one area or on one shift, and your staff test the tasks they do every day.
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Rollout and support
Devices are switched a site or a team at a time, with the old ones kept charged as the way back. We watch the first days of live use, then maintain the app for as long as it stays in service.
What people ask us about Windows CE
Is Windows CE still supported?
No. Microsoft support ended on 8 January 2013 for Windows Mobile 6.5, on 14 January 2020 for Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5 and on 10 October 2023 for Windows Embedded Compact 2013, the final version of Windows CE. Microsoft notes that the devices can continue to be used. They no longer receive security fixes.
The scanners still work. Why would we move?
Often you do not have to yet, and we will say so. The trigger is usually devices that cannot be replaced when they fail, a network or server change the old handhelds cannot follow, or a change to the app that nobody can make.
Can the app be converted to Android automatically?
No. Compact Framework screens and scanner code do not run on Android, so the screens are rewritten. What carries across is the way the work flows, the data design, the server side and sometimes the business rules. It is a project, not a file conversion.
Can the old devices keep going while the new app is built?
Yes, and that is usually the plan. We get the existing app building again so that faults can be fixed, then move one site, one team or one task at a time. Old and new devices can work against the same server during the changeover.
Should the replacement be an Android app or a web app?
An Android app when scanning is constant, the Wi-Fi is patchy or the work has to carry on offline. A web app when the handheld is one of several ways in and the network is reliable. Many scanners can type a barcode into a web page as a keyboard would, so both are possible.
We have lost the source code. Is that fatal?
Not necessarily. A program built with the .NET Compact Framework can often be read back into workable code, which is not true of eMbedded Visual C++. The database and the server side survive regardless. It changes the estimate. It does not end the conversation.
Do you provide Windows CE developers in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane?
Yes. We are an Australian team and we take on Windows CE work for businesses in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and elsewhere in Australia. Most of the work is done remotely, by video call and screen share, with secure access to a copy of your system. The service is the same in every city: code fixes and updates, migration to a modern technology stack, and ongoing maintenance and support.
How does this work from the United States, the United Kingdom or New Zealand?
Remotely. We are based in Australia and do not have offices elsewhere. Discovery is done by video call and screen share, with meeting times agreed to suit your time zone. Confidentiality, who can reach your systems and where your data is held are agreed in writing before work starts.
What does it cost?
The assessment is a fixed-scope piece of work with an agreed fee. The estimate for anything after it comes from what the assessment finds, in stages, so you are not asked to commit to a whole project on a guess.
Sending your details…
You can stay on this page while we send it.
Tell us about your Windows CE or Windows Mobile app
What the app does, the devices it runs on and how many, whether you hold the source, and what is forcing the question. Include your country so we can suggest meeting times. Please do not send production data.
Prefer a quick chat? Call 0425 531 127. We answer the phone in Perth.
Kasun Wijayamanna, founderYou deal with Kasun from scope to delivery. No account managers and no offshore handoff.