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Windows Phone 8 Support Ending July 2014

Mainstream support for Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 smartphone platform, including security updates, will end on July 8, 2014.

Web site Engadget reported on a short Microsoft support document listing the end-of-support date on Monday morning. The document also indicates that support for Windows Phone 7.8, the update for Windows Phone 7 and 7.5 devices which were not upgradeable to the latest version of the platform, will end Sept. 9, 2014.

Each platform has an 18-month mainstream support period, according to the Microsoft document. For Windows Phone 8, that period began on Dec. 14, though the platform itself launched in late October. For Windows Phone 7.8, that 18-month period began on Feb. 9 -- roughly a week after Microsoft first announced it was rolling out the update to Windows Phone 7 and 7.5 users.

Windows Phone 7.8 is aimed at users of older Windows Phone devices, which cannot be upgraded to Windows Phone 8 due to the new platform's higher hardware requirements. However, Windows Phone 8 is expected to have an upgrade path to the next platform version. During last month's Mobile World Congress event, Microsoft Senior Marketing Manager Greg Sullivan told PCMag.com that Windows Phone 8 has "an architecture that enables portability and is fundamentally hardware independent," allowing the devices to adapt to different hardware requirements.

The next release of Windows Phone is rumored to be code-named "Blue," coinciding with the multiple-product update wave Microsoft is reportedly planning to release this year. A recent Microsoft job posting suggests that the next major Windows Phone update will be released around this year's holiday season.

About the Author

Gladys Rama is the site editor for RCPmag.com.

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Reader Comments

Tue, Mar 26, 2013 LA Boston, MA

I do not mind microsoft wanting to upgrade as long as they don't abandon the users & developers along the way. Whomever said that MS has an undeserved reputation for abandoning their user base is wrong. I have been an MS developer for 20 years. With their mobile platform they are constantly abandoning their user base. I have been certified for most of the products that MS offers, and while sometimes you need to start with an entirely new core, they are doing it way too often. Most of my colleagues have abandoned MS to go to Android/iOS development.

Fri, Mar 22, 2013 Thomas NY

How much do you want to be that a statement like this will come out when Blue does, "...older Windows Phone devices, which cannot be upgraded to Windows Phone Blue due to the new platform's higher hardware requirements."?

Thu, Mar 21, 2013 Rob

It isn't "horrible". It just means that you have to upgrade to the Windows Phone Blue when it is released. It is a GOOD thing.

Wed, Mar 20, 2013 Tom

@Dan - Perhaps you missed "However, Windows Phone 8 is expected to have an upgrade path to the next platform version." If it isn't, Microsoft will release a point update (like they did with Win7Phone) that will extend THAT 18 months from release date. At that point, any Win8 phone under contract will still be covered. With such a non-existant marketshare, MS WILL NOT leave people in a lerch - that would be product suicide, and they already have an undeserved reputation put out by the uninformed and/or flat out MS bashers.

Tue, Mar 19, 2013 Dan

Well that's just horrible considering that WP8 JUST CAME OUT, and the carriers ALL lock you into a 2 YEAR CONTRACT for every new purchase unless you want to pay $600-$700 for the phone. So I buy a new phone today (not that I can), and support is revoked before my contract is even up. Meaning that if I DO have a problem with it, they won't fix it, but they also won't let me upgrade to a supported model because I'm "Still in the contract period". So it's screw the customer. That about right, Microsoft?

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