Eric Hautala, General Manager for Windows Phone Customer Experience Engineering, has showed up yet again on the Windows Phone Blog to make a big post about some changes, a new Windows Phone update and what may actually be one of his last posts relating such issues. Eric begins by mentioning that a maintenance upgrade is now available for all Windows Phone customers, but only available on carriers that request it. Those carriers that do not request such an update before any other update is released will fall under the policy that if a following update releases, the current update will have to be released to all users.
The new update holds a new version number which is 7.10.8107.79, or just 8107. The update fixes a well known issue that came up with a previous update that caused the on-screen keyboard to disappear randomly. Other fixes are also included, but the keyboard issue was definitely the biggest concern for many users.
Update 7.10.8107.79
On-screen keyboard. Fixes an issue to prevent the keyboard from disappearing during typing.
Email. Fixes a Google mail syncing issue.
Location. Fixes a location access issue. With this fix, the Me feature in the People Hub sends anonymous information about nearby Wi-Fi access points and cell towers to Microsoft only if you agree to allow the Check In function to access and use location information.
Security. Revokes digital certificates from DigiCert Sdn Bhd to address an encryption issue.
Email threads. Fixes an email issue related to Microsoft Exchange Server 2003. With this fix, when you reply to or forward a message, the original message is now included in your response.
Voicemail. Fixes a voicemail notification display issue that occurs on some European and Asian networks under certain conditions.
Eric reminds all readers that you will always be reminded via a notification on your phone when an update is available. If you don’t have a notification, trust Microsoft, don’t bother trying to update via Zune yet.
In the months ahead, we’ll continue to send out firmware and maintenance updates as needed. These will be available across the globe—although not everybody will receive or require them. It depends on your country, carrier, and phone model. But remember that you’ll never have to guess when a Windows Phone update is waiting: Just watch for the pop up notification on your device.
The biggest news that Eric brings to the table is that the “Where’s My Phone Update?” page, which many used to track specific device and carrier updates previously, will no longer be populated and updated by Microsoft.
There are also a few changes on the way for the blog and website. As we continue our growth, we won’t be individually detailing country, model, and carrier details on the Where’s My Phone Update? site any longer. And instead of my weekly blog posts, the official Windows Phone website will be the primary place for news and information about our updates, just as Microsoft Answers is there for your support questions.
Looking back at 2011, we enacted many behind-the-scenes tweaks and improvements to the update process itself. With your help, the process has matured and will continue to do so. I can’t emphasize enough how much everyone here appreciates your incredible passion and support for Windows Phone. We love this phone and take your feedback and comments very seriously. We listen and want to know what’s on your mind—whether it’s via our blogs, Twitter, Facebook, or the Windows Phone Suggestion Box.
We hope Microsoft really reconsiders shunning off the “Where’s My Phone Update?” page and maybe just make it simpler to maintain, it really is useful for many customers to know just when to expect an update that may disappear for months (as already witnessed with current updates).
Leave a Reply