For a small number of Windows Phone 7 devices, the platform’s first software update has an unintended consequence: The updated phones won’t work.
The minor update, which began Monday, was intended to streamline the update process software itself and make it easier for users to know when an update is available. That, said Microsoft Windows team blogger Michael Stroh, is “paving the way for all future goodie-filled updates to your phone, such as copy and paste or improved marketplace search.”
First Update the Updater
Those goodies are scheduled for the first two weeks of March.
But commenters on the Windows Phone answer forum and tweets to the Windows Phone Help center on Twitter indicate the phone can get stuck in the update process and, in some cases, cause the device to brick, or become unusable. The update isn’t over the air, but requires connecting to a computer and using Microsoft’s Zune system for PCs or Windows Phone 7 Connector for the Mac, although notifications of the update came over the air.
Stroh’s blog post didn’t mention the difficulties, but he does warn that “if you’ve installed the Zune software or the Windows Phone 7 Connector in the past, you might actually need to update that program first and then use it to update your phone. If that’s the case, you’ll know. Just follow the on-screen instructions, restart the software, and then connect your phone.”
The user problems were first reported by Computerworld and eWeek on Tuesday morning.
In response to our inquiry, a Microsoft spokesperson said in an e-mail, “We are investigating reports related to the Windows Phone update process and will provide additional information and guidance as it becomes available.”
Wireless analyst Kirk Parsons of J.D. Power and Associates said a few kinks can be expected when an update goes out to millions of phones.
Common Problem
“Software…