14 DAY TRIAL // Windows Phone is not a perfect mobile operating system, neither is Android, iOS or BlackBerry, but at least you get some level of communication in regards to what’s really going on behind the stage, even if the info doesn’t necessarily come through official channels.
To me, however, it seems that this doesn’t apply to Microsoft and Windows Phone. There seems to be a total lack of communication between the Windows Phone team and customers who decided to switch to this platform thinking that Microsoft would care about their needs more than Google, BlackBerry or Apple.
Although the number of smartphones running Windows Phone 8 or higher is not that high, Microsoft is still behind when it comes to updating some of them to the latest version of the OS.
I very much agree with the fact that Microsoft is not responsible for the delivery of updates to carrier-branded smartphones, but that’s not what I want to discuss in this editorial.
It’s the lack of communication that seems to be driving Windows Phone users crazy. As many of you probably know, there are many issues with Windows Phone 8.1 Developer Preview builds and the Lumia Cyan update.
But then there are also problems with the HTC 8X, which has yet to receive Windows Phone 8.1, and of course, there are problems with Windows Phone apps developed by Microsoft, such as Music and Video.
Every time a new update for one Windows Phone handset is being pushed, we have to find out about it (if we do) from an unofficial blog, as Microsoft never ever offers details on anything but major updates.
The same goes for all the issues that prevent some users from installing one or more updates on their Windows Phone devices. It usually takes a few days until Microsoft sends a tweet or posts a very short message on its official forums that it has acknowledged the problem and a fix is in the works.
Then, there’s just silence. In the best case scenario you get another reassuring tweet after a while, but you will never be informed on what’s going on and why certain issues are affecting your device.
Also, when new updates are rolled out to specific Windows Phone devices, there are hardly any details on what they are supposed to fix and I’m not talking about the usual “bug fixes and general improvements” updates.
There are also lots of questions on the official Windows Phone forums, many of them asking the same thing, which are hardly ever answered.
Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against waiting patiently for Microsoft to release Windows Phone updates when they can, but not saying anything about why certain updates can’t be pushed yet and how long it will take to fix the issues is what drives people crazy.
The BitLocker issue has been around since Lumia Cyan update was rolled out to Windows Phone 8.1 Developer Preview devices, and Microsoft still hasn’t found a solution, so instead it halted the delivery of Lumia Cyan even though the problem only affects a very small percentage of users.
Is it bureaucracy or stupidity that leads to this lack of communication?
To this date, I have no knowledge of any statements regarding progress on fixing the BitLocker issue and Microsoft has yet to explain why is holding back the Lumia Cyan update for the large majority of Windows Phone 8.1 Developer Preview users.
Then, there’s the issue with HTC smartphones that may or may not receive the Windows Phone 8.1 update. The only information we have is that the HTC 8S may never get the update, and the announcement appeared on a Chinese HTC forum.
The HTC 8X might get the update next month, but Microsoft has yet to confirm the news. The information has been tweeted by HTC, but only for the Verizon version of the smartphone, so there’s no telling when the unlocked model will receive Windows Phone 8.1.
I know HTC is responsible for the updates of its smartphones, but I’m sure they are working with Microsoft to make the new OS versions available for customers, so it would have been nice to have some sort of ETA or at least some information on how work is progressing.
Communication does seem to be Achilles’ heel for Microsoft, and if the Windows Phone team doesn’t change its strategy, I believe there will be a lot of customers who will simply move away from the platform and switch to other operating systems.
What Microsoft needs to do is not even hard to achieve: some type of transparency and more communication on what’s going on behind the scene. How hard could it be to put all the info on Windows Phone on a simple blog?
I believe bureaucracy is to blame for the lack of communication between Microsoft and Windows Phone customers, because I simply can’t accept other reasons, like stupidity for example.