Microsoft Cites User Issues for Half of Phone 7 Failures

Weak Internet connections and insufficient PC storage have been blamed for half the Windows Phone 7 update debacle. But Microsoft's Michael Stroh admitted the company is "learning from our first update." Microsoft also confirmed Samsung headsets have a technical issue. Either way, bricking of Windows Phone 7 devices is bad PR.

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About half the Windows Phone 7 users who experienced update failures this week had weak Internet connections or insufficient storage Relevant Products/Services on their PCs, Microsoft Relevant Products/Services said Wednesday. And 90 percent of people who took advantage of the update had no issues.

But for one in 10 users, the result ranged from stalled updates to crashes or even bricked, or useless, phones -- an embarrassing snafu for Microsoft as it struggles to increase adoption of its revamped mobile operating system. The most serious problems involved phones made by Samsung.

'Learning from Our First Update'

While encouraging customers to make sure they have enough space and bandwidth before they begin the update, which requires a USB connection and the correct software for PCs or Macs, Windows Phone 7 blogger Michael Stroh admitted the company still has some work to do.

"Has the update process gone perfectly? No -- but few large-scale software updates ever do, and the engineering team here was prepared. Of course, when it's your phone that's having a problem -- or you're the one waiting -- it's still aggravating. That's why we're committed to learning from our first update and improving the process. We know we have work to do, and we won't be satisfied until you are."

Stroh admitted that there is a technical issue involving Samsung handsets that led Microsoft to suspend the update to those devices. "We're working to correct the problem as quickly as possible," he wrote. "But as a precaution, we've briefly suspended updates to Samsung phones. We are continuing to update other Windows Phone models as scheduled."

In addition to Samsung's Focus and Omnia 7, Windows Phone 7 powers Dell's Venue Pro, HTC's range of HD7 devices and LG's Optimus 7 and Quantum. The first CDMA Windows Phone 7 handset, the HTC Arrive, will be available through Sprint Nextel next month.

'A Serious Disconnect'

The fact that only Samsung phones were affected suggests the blame can lie with either the manufacturer or Microsoft. But Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT, sees it as bad PR in any case.

"Unintended bricking -- as opposed to Apple reportedly bricking jailbroken iPhones a while back -- qualifies as an embarrassment no matter when it occurs, and suggests a serious disconnect between the software and hardware vendors," King said. "How big a deal this is depends entirely on how many actual consumer phones are involved. Microsoft made a lot of noise about the number of W7 Mobile licenses it sold, but it wasn't clear exactly how many of those devices had been sold to end users. For better or worse, this may help clarify that point."

King added that the debacle isn't likely to have much impact on the decision of the world's largest mobile-phone maker, Nokia -- now run by former Microsoft exec Steven Elop -- to use Windows Phone 7 to power Relevant Products/Services future devices.

"The company appears to be firmly in Microsoft's camp," King said. "I expect they'll describe this flub as a valuable 'lesson learned' and thus avoided."