Avoid homebrew solutions for Windows Phone 7 OS, urge Microsoft

Microsoft’s Eric Hautala, the general manager for customer experience engineering, has urged Windows Phone 7 users to stay away from homebrew workarounds rather than waiting for the company’s official NoDo “copy and paste” software update for handsets using the OS.

“We’re not going to be happy until everyone gets their update…” blogged Huatala in a post highlighting the potential problems tinkerers may run into.

“We’re working hard to get this job done as quickly as possible. But I’ve noticed that some of you are turning to homebrew solutions to update your phone immediately. 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.”

Most importantly however, Microsoft cannot guarantee that they will fulfil warranty terms for anyone who uses the unsolicited updates.

“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,” he said.

“It’s even possible your phone might stop working properly. Bottom line: unsupported workarounds put you in uncharted territory that may void your phone warranty.
We’ve made a lot of progress in recent weeks, so I urge you to please be patient for just a bit longer and wait for your official update notification to arrive.”

So you know where you stand then; have a bit of patience and grab the Microsoft-approved updates, guaranteed to work. Or use the 3rd party fixes, at your own risk.