Microsoft on Wednesday cautioned against using "homebrew solutions" to force an upgrade for Windows Phone 7 devices.
"As an engineer and a gadget lover, I totally understand the impulse to tinker," Microsoft's Eric Hautala wrote in a blog post. "But my strong advice is: wait."
Microsoft is currently rolling out an upgrade to Windows Phone 7 devices that will bring features like cut and paste functionality. The two-part update started in late March. The first one updates the device registry, while the second update adds the meatier features like cut and paste, improved marketplace search, a fix for increased data consumption related to Yahoo Mail, and different background images while connected to Wi-Fi.
But the roll-out is slow-going. The upgrade is currently being delivered to the Dell Venue Pro and HTC HD7. But the HTC Surround, LG Quantum, and Samsung Focus are in "testing" mode— the first of three stages before a phone gets the upgrade, according to the Web site Microsoft set up to track the rollout.
Faced with these delays, the developer behind the short-lived ChevronWP7 jailbreak for Windows Phone 7 recently posted a new hack that let you bypass Microsoft and carriers to update your mobile operating system.
Hautala warned against this. "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," he wrote. "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."
There's also the possibility that "your phone might stop working properly," he wrote. "Bottom line: unsupported workarounds put you in uncharted territory that may void your phone warranty."
On the international front, Hautala said the update is now rolling out to customers of O2 and SFR in Europe, while Telstra customers in Australia are now receiving an earlier, more minor update.
If you have received the update and are receiving error 800705B4, meanwhile, "first try deleting the history files for Internet Explorer Mobile, Maps, and Search (this article provides step-by-step instructions)," Hautala said. "If you've tried that and still can't install the update, then use the new Windows Phone Support Tool we've created."