Unofficially updated Windows Phone 7 devices unable to receive future updates

Microsoft has warned Windows Phone 7 customers who used unofficial channels to get the NoDo update ahead of schedule that they will not be able to add any further updates.

The firm is currently issuing its first security patch (7392) for the operating system, but the senior director for Windows Phone, Brandon Watson, confirmed in a blog post that impatient users are now stuck with devices on NoDo (7390).

"With Windows Phone update build 7392 going out to phones via the official update mechanism, those people who have used the unsupported method of forcing 7390 onto their phones will find that their phones will not update to 7392," he said.

"With the official update process there is a requirement that the package on the phone also be official in order to update itself. Phones updated via the unsupported method do not contain an official image and cannot be updated further at this time."

Watson added that Microsoft may develop a fix for the problem, but warned that it would not be a top priority as it was not something it factored on having to do.

"Our engineering priorities are focused on improving the process by which updates get to Windows Phone, issuing the security update you just got and working to get Mango to market. Undoing this specific problem was not in our schedule," he said.

"While we are not ruling out having a fix in the future, for now there is no fix."

However, the developers who issued the unofficial fix are believed to be working on solving the problem, and Watson said that Microsoft welcomed this news and would provide help where necessary.

"The creators of the unsupported tool are a clever bunch, and wanted to get a timely fix created for customers who have put their phones into this state. They believe they have created a way to get these phones back on the officially supported path," he said.

"We will work with them to validate their solution and applaud the team for taking responsibility to do this."

The issue is another headache for Microsoft after its initial pre-update to NoDo caused some devices to crash. Nevertheless, the NoDo update appears to have gone smoothly, with the copy and paste function well executed.