Since shortly after Windows Phone first appeared Microsoft have very helpfully been keeping users around the world updated as to the status of update rollouts through their Where’s My update website.  The reason this is helpful is that once Microsoft have signed off on an update it then has to pass through two additional testing stages before consumers can install it on their handsets.

The first stage is with the handset manufacturers who check that the update is compatible with their handsets and any bespoke software they have installed.  Lastly it goes to the mobile networks who run the same tests.  If any problems are found the company has to go back to Microsoft and work on updating either their own software (which is more likely) or figuring out what it is in the Windows Phone update that’s causing them problems.

While it is extremely unlikely that problems will be found these two additional testing phases can drag out an update rollout for several months with some mobile carriers (Telefonica, you know who you are!) delaying updates the longest.  Thus the website has been extremely useful for a great many people.

Now though Microsoft have decided to discontinue the website.  In a blog post the General Manager of Customer Experience Engineering, Aric Hautala, said…

There are also a few changes on the way for the blog and website. As we continue our growth, we won’t be individually detailing country, model, and carrier details on the Where’s My Phone Update? site any longer.

This will come as a disappointment to many who may have felt that their handset manufacturer or mobile operator has let them down in the past.  There will now be no way of knowing when you will be able to receive the next update until you see a message displayed on your phone.

The next update is also coming iminently, although it is only a minor patch and bug fix…

This week we started to make a new Windows Phone update —8107—available to many Windows Phone customers. The update, available to all carriers that request it, is part of our ongoing maintenance of Windows Phone.

Microsoft do have ways for people to feed back about Windows Phone too, if you have a comment, suggestion or gripe…

Looking back at 2011, we enacted many behind-the-scenes tweaks and improvements to the update process itself. With your help, the process has matured and will continue to do so. I can’t emphasize enough how much everyone here appreciates your incredible passion and support for Windows Phone. We love this phone and take your feedback and comments very seriously. We listen and want to know what’s on your mind—whether it’s via our blogs, Twitter, Facebook, or the Windows Phone Suggestion Box.

…though there’s no actual guarantee that your comments will be directly acted upon it’s better than the offerings made by other companies, or indeed other Microsoft product Groups such as Windows which is notoriously secretive.  I personally will miss this valuable website, it’s come in extremely handy not just for myself but for many thousands of other Windows Phone users.