How To Update To Mango On Your Windows Phone 7

The wait is finally over and Mango has now seen the light of day. But not so fast. For all the Windows Phone 7 enthusiasts out there, Mango might still be a few annoying days or even weeks away. The size of the WP7 community isn’t as small as some think and this is the reason the complete roll out across all carriers and to all device models will take about a month. Some of you might be lucky enough to have received the update by now. However, if you are not among those lucky few, you can force update to Mango from Nodo using the handy little method described below. If you have already tried this method unsuccessfully, then skip straight ahead to the important note at the end of the post.
Everyone hates waiting, and if you can’t stand to wait for Microsoft’s fruity goodness, there is a way to skip the queue and get Mango right now. The method is pretty simple and harmless. Although, no one is quite sure why it works. All that is certain is that it really does the trick.

Disclaimer: Please follow this guide at your own risk. AddictiveTips will not be liable if your device gets damaged or bricked during the process.

Prerequisites:

1. Zune client (preferably up to date).
2. Preferably 50% battery (at least) remaining in your cell phone. You can check the exact battery percentage using the diagnostic menu.
3. Remember that even though the procedure is pretty easy, it will take a lot of time. So be ready to part with your phone for about an hour or so as more than one update will most probably be required to get Mango, and during most of the procedure the phone will stay in download mode.

Instructions:

1. You will have to start by plugging in your phone to the PC. This should automatically launch Zune.
2. Once Zune is running, go to its Settings menu (next to the close button), and then from the menu on the left, choose Update. If the application indicates an available update, then congratulations, you are among the lucky few who are getting Mango this early. However, if it isn’t there, proceed with the next step.
3. To get the update in Zune you will need to disable your PC’s internet connection. Click on any other option in the side bar except Update (for example, you can click on Linking).
4. Now get your hand ready for whichever way you have chosen to disable your internet connection (say pulling your network cable, turning off WiFi, switching off your router or simply disabling the connection from Internet settings), but don’t disconnect just yet.
5. You have to disconnect the internet connection as soon as you go back into the Update menu (from the left-side bar). Do it as quick as possible otherwise it won’t work. If you succeeded with the timing, there will be an update notification from Zune after about a minute and the small “update” button will become active in the Update menu.
6. If no such thing happens, don’t panic. We didn’t get it right the first time either. Keep repeating step 5 until you get the notification.
7. When you finally receive the update notification, proceed with the update (Zune will guide you through it step-by-step).
8. Go back to Zune and wait for the next update note to appear. It should pop up in a minute, but if it doesn’t, you can use the Step 5 method again.
9. After this second update has been installed, a third and last update notification will appear. Let Zune run its course and finish the update.
10. Once step 9 has completed, check your phone settings’ About menu. The OS version should be 7702, which is Mango.

Important Note:
Most users have experienced problems using this procedure as you have to get the timing exactly right to force the update. Some users can’t get it to work and their Zune messages keep switching between “Phone is up to date” when PC’s net is on, and “Can’t connect to server, check your internet connection” when internet is disabled. Here are a few things you can do if step 5 refuses to work for you.

• Try using a different PC to apply the method.
• Restart your phone and computer,
• If all else fails (as it did for us), do this: Turn on your PC’s internet connection. Make Zune check for updates by clicking on another option in the menu on the left. Now click back on the Update option and while Zune is still checking for updates, turn off your PC’s connection and at the same moment turn on your phone’s Wi-Fi (if you have an active mobile data connection, this should not be necessary, but try it nonetheless). Doing this got us the update on our Samsung Omnia 7 and HTC HD7.

So I guess this also solves the mystery of how Zune is getting the update when your computer’s connection is off. We believe it might be using the phone’s internet connection in some way.
However if your device has the leaked RTM or beta version of Mango installed on it, you might have to use our guide to restore Nodo on your device before you can use the above mentioned procedure.