The service might not be available in all countries

Jan 7, 2013 11:31 GMT  ·  By

Nokia is expected to release the hotly anticipated Windows Phone 7.8 update in the next few weeks, though there have been reports that many Lumia owners have already upgraded via NaviFirm.

Nokia Firmware Repository, the place where the Finnish company launches all the updates for its smartphones, will continue to be accessible to general public until the end of the month.

The folks over at WMPoweruser report that at least one Nokia Care center is now flashing the Windows Phone 7.8 update to customers who own older Nokia Lumia smartphones.

It appears that this service has been available for free for quite some time now (two weeks), in Lebanon.

It’s unclear if Nokia Care centers are doing this without having the Finnish company’s blessing, but it looks like many Lumia owners have already upgraded their devices using this method.

Lots of Nokia Lumia owners in India also claim that Windows Phone 7.8 can now be installed via these Care centers, so those who do not want to wait until Nokia officially pushes it might want to pay a visit to the nearest Nokia Care center.

It is also worth mentioning that according to some reports, these Care centers are using the same ROMs stored on NaviFirm, which might not be the final version of Windows Phone 7.8 update after all.

Nokia has already detailed most features included in this update:

- A new Start screen look and feel, familiar from Windows Phone 8, giving you a whole new look the moment you unlock your phone; - Ringtone maker app to selected markets to create a personal ringtone; - Contact share app updated to support sharing over Bluetooth in addition to SMS and email; - Bluetooth file transfer to send media files via Bluetooth from your Lumia device to any other phone.

Keep in mind that you might lose most of your personal content stored on the phone after the update is applied. Stay tuned for more info on the matter.