T-Mobile announces that other than the Lumia 521 and Lumia 925, no other Windows Phones will receive the Windows Phone 8.1 update. So, if you are on T-Mobile and have the HTC 8x, you will not be getting the update. T-Mobile USA said the following in a response on Twitter to a question about the possibility of the HTC 8x getting the Windows Phone 8.1 update:
@Notobadad64 Hi! We have no plans to release a Windows Phone 8.1 update on devices other than the Lumia 521 and Lumia 925 at this time. *CF
— T-Mobile USA (@TMobileHelp) February 9, 2015
This is obviously bad news for HTC 8x and other older Windows Phone users on T-Mobile. This new information calls into question whether any Windows Phones on T-Mobile will receive an update to Windows 10.
T-Mobile no longer offers the HTC 8x on the T-Mobile website, which is certainly alarming as the HTC 8x was released as a flagship phone on AT&T and T-Mobile. In August 2014, T-Mobile announced that it was going to release Windows Phone 8.1 to the HTC 8x, now that will never happen.
Microsoft originally stated that all phones running Windows Phone 8 would be upgradeable to Windows 10, but then retracted that statement. Now Microsoft says that most phones would be upgradeable, but some (those with 512 MB RAM) would have limited features of Windows 10.
T-Mobile is not the only carrier that has been sluggish in releasing the latest Microsoft operating system updates. For Lumia Icon owners (like myself), the Cyan firmware update (and the Denim update after that) has yet to be released, even after months of promises by Verizon and Microsoft. The Lumia Icon is also no longer offered on Verizon’s website; apparently due to the Lumia Icon being “out of stock.” The Lumia Icon was also a flagship phone on Verizon when the Icon was released just about a year ago.
@Lumia My Icon will be more beautiful when it tells me there’s an update available. Until then, you and VZW can rot.
— Bob Levine (@idguy) February 8, 2015
It always seems that phone carriers, like T-Mobile and Verizon, are at fault for not keeping their Windows Phone owners up-to-date with the latest phone software. Maybe it’s a tactic for phone carriers to force their customers to buy other phones on more popular phone operating systems. As frustrating as it has been to wait for the Cyan update to the Lumia Icon, there is really nothing Icon owners can do but continue to wait until Microsoft says for sure which phones will be getting Windows 10.
Further reading: AT&T, HTC 8x, Lumia 521, Lumia 925, Lumia Icon, Microsoft, Verizon, Windows Phone
