HELP!! What can I do to fix my Microsoft Lumia 950 Windows 10 phone?

++ if I were in that situation, then I would wait for the September 2019 security update, which could have a + effect on the OS (sometimes updates have caused temporary problems, but generally they should be improvements) ++ maybe the automatic backup was triggered by an app (I do not know this), but if you end up with a fresh start then you will have the best possible version of the OS (If you do not have a trusted backup, then it is better to start fresh) ++

++ another suggestion : try to clear the browsing history of your MS Edge browser maybe this helps ++ clear everything, even passwords //

A phone backup is just the phone settings and app list. It cannot effect the underlying operation of the phone.

 There is no reason to identifying a backup as one that was made when my phone was operating as expected or not as expected.

When the phone restarts you will go through your selection of initial phone settings. Then your account info is entered. The phone will search for backups you have for that phone. It will show you available backups. You select if you want to use one of the backups or continue without using a backup.

That's all there is to it.

Make your phone names simpler. This may be the reason the backup got overwritten. I have never seen a phone name with two lines of characters. This is what the phone will have to display when you select a backup to use.

++ it is evident though that most of the AT&T Microsoft Lumias have been locked to that network & the articles are great because offer a complete picture about the network locked / unlocked issue ++ here is another one that can help : https://www.att.com/esupport/article.html#!/smb-wireless/KM1258553?gsi=4ev2py ++ certainly there are differences between the mobile platforms, but the fundamental problems are the same //

• so life can be even 5 star ***** with Windows 10 mobile & I think Jeff you are a veteran of Microsoft Lumia (it is important to say that it is not Nokia) & you know what to do (a factory reset is obviously better than buying a new phone) ++ if you like literature here is a great quote : “All human wisdom is contained in these two words - Wait and Hope” ― Alexandre Dumas (The Count of Monte Cristo) ++ here are some other quotes regarding hope from the SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION movie https://uproxx.com/movies/10-shawshank-redemption-inspirational-quotes/ ++ hope that you succeed in restoring the Windows 10 mobile device to optimal service ++

++ a factory reset can solve situations when the phone loses more than 10 % of the battery every hour (without doing anything, except the background processes) & maybe solves this upload situation as well ++ but I personally would give a couple days for that phone to fix itself ++ I have an experience with a Windows Phone 8.1 device that has fixed itself after 2 months of instable functioning & now runs as a clock ++

This has absolutely nothing to do with the locked or unlocked status of the phone. This just identifies it so the correct software is installed.  If the phone accepts the T-Mobile SIM it is unlocked.

And just to follow up on part of Gary's last reply Jeff.

Take your SIM out of the iPhone and put it in your 950 to see if it allows use. I'm guessing it will use it fine

++ we always can learn, if we are open to development :

Resetting your mobile phone to factory condition can take care of technical problems like cramped storage or a lagging touch screen. It removes all your personal settings, including contacts, and you'll have to start from scratch or restore a backup of your data to repopulate the device. You can perform a factory reset on an unlocked phone, but it could be relocked during the process.

Unlocked Phones

An unlocked phone can be used on any carrier with a service compatible with that phone. A CDMA phone can't be used on a SIM carrier even if it's unlocked; the two services are incompatible. Many phones are subsidized -- purchased for a fraction of their price with the promise of staying with the carrier for a number of years. Carriers don't unlock the phones while they're under contract.

Carrier Versus Third-Party

If you've completed your phone contract with a carrier, the carrier may unlock your phone or set up a way for you to do it. AT&T, for example, allows customers with iPhones that aren't being subsidized to perform a simultaneous reset and unlock via iTunes. Verizon offers an iPhone that comes unlocked out of the box and can be reset as unlocked. Both phones must be purchased at full price to be unlocked and used with another carrier. Phones that are jailbroken and aren't unlocked out of the box or by a carrier will no longer be unlocked when they're reset to factory conditions.

Factory Reset

Performing a factory reset on a phone returns it to its out-of-box state. All your apps and data are wiped clean and you have to go through the setup process again. If a third party reset the phone, the codes that changed the phone from locked to unlocked are removed. If you purchased the phone as unlocked before you went through setup, then the unlock should remain even if you reset the phone. If you had to enter an unlock code to unlock your phone, you should be able to use the same one after resetting your phone to unlock it again.

Tips

The only way to figure out for sure whether you can reset your unlocked phone is to contact the business or individual that unlocked it and ask whether a factory reset will wipe the unlock. If it will, ask whether it can be reset at no charge or if the person or business can perform the reset without losing the unlocked aspect of the phone. If you go ahead with the reset without discussing it with the unlocking entity, you may lose your unlock and have to pay for it again.

https://smallbusiness.chron.com/can-factory-reset-unlocked-phone-60650.html

Most Important - In settings, update and security, device encryption, turn off device encryption.

After you turn off encryption give the phone some idle time to turn everything off. If you don't have the key or there is a problem with the key your phone will be a brick along with the SD card.

You won't believe the number of users that have a phone or SD card they can not use.

Got to turn the lights out. finish tomorrow.

++ firstly, it is no problem with the lack of that quality check & hope that you get back on track with the Windows 10 mobile device ++ in Settings (Apps) you may search for the PHOTOS (Microsoft) app & reset only that app (if it is possible) & maybe give a chance for the system to fix itself (in the first part of September there is a new security cumulative update)

++ secondly, I would also use the Wi-fi alternative (as I have never tested the other version). Still hope that Microsoft's leadership will have an AHA moment & save the platform (this is what motivates me to give some feedback & advice when I am able to do it) ++ before their retirement decision the store has had many news apps available both on mobile & PC, many financial apps, sports apps & these are all retired (many still work as expected, but cannot be downloaded from the MS store for new users) ++