An initial patch intended to pave the groundwork for a pair of forthcoming Windows Phone 7 updates ended up "bricking" a number of Samsung smartphones this week, forcing Microsoft to pull the update and giving Redmond a black eye in the process.
Microsoft has "temporarily" pulled the patch for Samsung-made Windows Phone 7 devices to "correct the issue" and will re-release the patched patch "as soon as possible," a spokesperson told WinRumors.
Unfortunately, the move comes too late for a "small number" of Samsung Omnia 7 users, who wound up with frozen phones after trying in vain to install the patch. Microsoft has been telling the owners of stricken handsets that there's little to be done beyond sending them back for a replacement, WinRumors reports.
Microsoft detailed its plans last week for a pair of significant updates to its budding Windows Phone 7 platform. The first one, due in March, will add cut-and-paste functionality, along with tweaks to support new Windows Phone devices on CDMA networks (such as Sprint and Verizon Wireless). The second update, slated to arrive in the second half of the year, will add support for third-party app multitasking, Twitter integration in Windows Phone 7's "People" hub, and a revamped mobile browser based on the still-in-beta Internet Explorer 9.
Monday's patch, however, didn't contain any of the new Windows Phone features; instead, it was intended merely to "improve the software update process itself" in anticipation of the coming updates, a Microsoft spokesperson told WinRumors earlier this week.
A lengthy post on Ars Technica details the Windows Phone 7 patch debacle, with writer Peter Bright noting that while some "lucky" Omnia 7 owners were able to reboot their smartphones after attempting (unsuccessfully) to install the patch, others were left with "bricked" handsets, not to mention the prospect of waiting for a replacement.
Those with frozen handsets can try to resuscitate their smartphones by reverting them to their factory settings, Bright says. (The process: turn your phone off, hold down the power, camera, and volume "down" buttons for about 15 seconds, then tap "format.") If that doesn't do the trick, though, you're probably out of luck.
There's no telling exactly how many Windows Phone 7 devices were bricked by Monday's glitch patch, with Microsoft assuring WinRumors that only a "small number" of Samsung handsets were affected. LINK
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