"We regret any inconvenience this disruption caused the impacted customers and our developer community. The problem was the result of scheduled maintenance being performed on Microsoft's infrastructure during the night. The root cause of this issue has been identified and steps are being taken to help prevent future disruptions to the Marketplace service."
Original story:
On Thursday, Windows Phone 7 device users around the world reported that they couldn't install or update apps through the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace, Microsoft's mobile app store.
In a test at PCMag, we were able to access the Marketplace, but received this error message when we tried to download anything:
"Can't get this info right now. Check back in a little while."
Microsoft said in a statement, "We have received reports that customers are having problems accessing Windows Phone Marketplace. We are investigating these reports and will provide an update when we have more to share."
An HTC customer service representative told me this was a "known issue" that affected all Windows Phone 7 Marketplace users, not just those who received the "NoDo" cut and paste update this week, as many speculated.
"We weren't given an ETA (estimated time of arrival) for when it'll be up again but it should be very soon," the rep added.
One user commented at the Windows Phone 7 blog that he was able to download apps by synching his phone to a desktop Zune client.
On Tuesday, Microsoft began rolling out its Windows Phone 7 "NoDo" software update to the HTC Surround, the last U.S. smartphone on the platform to get the upgrade. Microsoft has had a rocky time updating Windows Phone 7 devices, starting with a problematic minor update in February that prompted Microsoft to suspend the update for Samsung phones. As a result, Microsoft pushed the "cut and paste" update to March.
Separately, on Tuesday, Microsoft also started rolling out the first security update for Windows Phone 7, which fixes nine fradulent third-party digital certificates. But the company said those who forced an upgrade through a third-party workaround will not be able to get this week's security update.