Microsoft has defended itself after a smartphone software update crashed handsets and made some unusable.
The problems are estimated to have affected tens of thousands of Samsung smartphones running Windows Phone 7. Users complained that Microsoft's first update to its new smartphone operating system, release gradually this week, caused their devices to freeze. In some cases the crashes were apparently permanent.
But in a blog post, Microsoft appealed for understanding.
"Has the update process gone perfectly? No - but few large-scale software updates ever do, and the engineering team here was prepared," said Michael Stroh, a writer for the firm.
He said that Microsoft's monitoring of the update showed that 90 per cent of users asked to install the update have done so successfully. "Nearly half" of the remaining 10 per cent suffered problems because of internet connection problems or lack of storage space, rather than the faulty software update, Mr Stroh added.
"Of course, when it’s your phone that’s having a problem - or you’re the one waiting - it’s still aggravating," he admitted.
In December, Microsoft said manufacturers had shipped around 1.5 million Windows Phone 7 handsets. The firm claimed yesterday that only a "small number" of users were affected by the glitch.
For some of them, including owners of the top-of-the-range Samsung Omnia 7, the only immediate option follwoing the update is to return their device to the retailer. Microsoft has said it is working to solve the problems remotely as quickly as possible, however.
The update only crashed Samsung handsets because each manufacturer has its own software runnning underneath Windows Phone 7, to allow the operating system to control the hardware.