Microsoft Restarts Windows Phone 7.8 Upgrade Rollouts

The upgrade to Windows Phone 7.8 is rolling to users once again after Microsoft pulled the first update earlier this year.

According to WP Central the Windows Phone 7.8 update is rolling out to some users once again. The new update is build 8860, as opposed to build 8858 from the previous version of the update. Users with unlocked devices should see the update pushed to their devices soon, or they can manually check for updates to receive it.

Users with carrier-branded phones will have to wait for the update to arrive on their phones. That means that users with phones like the Nokia Lumia 900 will have to wait for AT&T to push the updates through. It’s not clear how long those users will have to wait, however.

The previous version of Windows Phone 7.8 had issues with Live Tiles where they didn’t work correctly. This version should fix the issue, and Live Tiles should work as intended for all users who upgrade to the new build.

Windows Phone 7.8 brings some of the features of Windows Phone 8 to users with older phones. Specifically the update brings the new Start Screen of Windows Phone 8 to those devices. The new Start Screen lets users change the size of all Live Tiles to fit their needs.

Unfortunately, Windows Phone 7.8 doesn’t bring the phones to parity with Windows Phone 8. Microsoft changed the code base for Windows Phone 8, making it impossible to upgrade older phones to the new platform. For users, that means that some apps designed for Windows Phone 8 won’t work with Windows Phone 7.8.

As with all updates, the Windows Phone 7.8 update is free for all users. Not every phone will receive the update, however. While the Lumia 900 will receive the update, the Lumia 710 on T-Mobile won’t receive the update. The HTC HD 7 on T-Mobile won’t receive the update to Windows Phone 7.8, either.