Thursday, April 07, 2011

Microsoft On The Windows Phone 7 Early Update Hacks: “Wait.”

Remember that clever hack we mentioned earlier this week? The one that allows just about any Windows Phone 7 handset to get the copy-and-paste update right this second, rather than waiting for Microsoft and the carriers to send it your way? Microsoft has weighed in on the matter (and they’re not too happy):

As an engineer and a gadget lover, I totally understand the impulse to tinker. You want the latest technology and you’re tired of waiting. Believe me, I get it.

But my strong advice is: wait. If you attempt one of these workarounds, we can’t say for sure what might happen to your phone because we haven’t fully tested these homebrew techniques. You might not be getting the important device-specific software we would typically deliver in the official update. Or your phone might get misconfigured and not receive future updates.

A reasonable request. As with any hack — especially one involving an update process known to have issues — there are dangers. That said: chances are, anyone with the drive to update their handset right this second and the technical know-how to get it done is probably already well aware of the dangers — and they probably don’t care.

You can read Microsoft’s full post here.