T-Mobile HTC 8X Portico OS Update is now live, being delivered

T-Mobile and HTC have had quite a back and forth recently regarding the Windows Phone 8 “Portico” update (build 10211) We first heard about the 8X update just a few days ago and the original intent was to roll it out yesterday, December 19th. But at the last minute, we received word that T-Mobile was halting the rollout due to some last minute "tweaks".

The fear of course was that this could stretch into weeks as Microsoft, T-Mobile and HTC work to fix whatever it was holding up the update. Luckily, the delay now looks to be have been only 24 hours as T-Mobile and Microsoft have just now thrown the switch, delivering the update to customers.

The information comes via T-Mobile’s official support forums where their moderator delivered the news (opens in new tab):

“Good news everyone!  We're releasing the update today!I can definitely understand some of the sentiment in some of the above posts, you deserve to have a properly working device. This is why we wanted to ensure we did everything we could for a smooth update. Thank you again for your patience.”

The update is now live, having begun at 1PM ET.

The Windows Phone 8 OS “Portico” update brings numerous fixes and new features to the table, include improved Bluetooth pairing, stability improvements, new Messaging features, reject-call with SMS, keep Wi-Fi alive and preferred Wi-Fi HotSpot selection. You can see the full changelog here.

In addition to the new OS, users will also have a new firmware installed during the update process, which should take around 30 minutes. Users can get the notification delivered to their phone by going into Settings --> Phone Update and manually check for the files.

No word on Nokia’s Lumia 810 and that update though we presume it’s not too far behind.

Thanks, Jeremy A., for the tip!

Daniel Rubino
Editor-in-chief

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central, head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007 when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and for some reason, watches. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.

82 Comments
  • Come on AT&T.  Bring some love to my 8X.
  • Any idea as to the AT%T 8X's date?
  • I mean if we knew, yes, we would tell you...we're not here to keep secrets ;)
  • Nonsense! We all know the media exists only push propaganda to the masses and control the message!! :P
  • Rad.  Will this work on my LG Quantum?  (joking -- there's always someone that asks a question like that...)
  • Anxiously awaiting a similar update for Nokia... Wifi shutting off when the phone powers off has gotten very annoying!
  • The Nokia update went out yesterday that included the WiFi keep alive feature.
  • Hopefully The 810 is right behind...
  • Downloading now.  YAY!
  • Verizon update?? Any news??
  • Once again, if we have specific news (or even rumors) we would report it. Sorry, you'll just have to sit tight.
  • This. This is scaring me yet again with the carrier delays!?!
  • +1 for Verizon update
  • I just spoke to a Verizon CS rep, who gave me date of December 28 for HTC 8x.
    Just spoke to another Verizon rep. in tech support and he had no record of any pending updates. hmmm...
  • Any word on Canadian carriers?
  • Please read my other two responses to similar comments.
  • I did after i posted.. ¬_¬
  • Never post until. You read thru
  • Indeed. I read about the other carriers but Daniels response had not posted until it refreshed..
  • I'm with Rogers and just updated my htc 8x
  • Just updated my Rogers HTC 8X (Fido is my service provider)
  • Any word on 7.8 for HD7 and T-Mobile?  Kind of disappointing that those who were the first to buy into the platform are still waiting.
  • Really
  • They said Jan 2013 - Jan 2013 it is
  • insatlling mine as i type this. T-MO delivering on updates as usual!
  • I guess the carrier still have controls on firmware updates.
  • They always did, its just the delivery method (OTA) that has changed.
  • How many times does Daniel have to repeat himself?????
  • Do you guys know if the non-stop syncing issue that occurs when skype is installed has been fixed with the new portico update? or a new version of skype is needed for that fix?
    Also, any word when tango will be coming to WP8?
  • Tango is part of wp7.5
  • Not compatible with WP8!
    I think because of the new VOIP APIs in WP8
  • Tango is working on a wp8 version. Read their Facebook page.
  • Downloading!
  • I am happy for these guys!!
  • Awesome news...
    Dan, you mis-spelled delivered in the title. :P
  • Thanks, yeah rushed that post as it was breaking...
  • HTC 8X TMO Denver:
    I selected check for updates. Installing now.
  • Congrats to my T Mo brethren!
  •  
    Installing.  That was quick.   TMo would take months after release to update what at the time was supposed to be their "flagship" android.  Very pleased to see them push this out quickly.  Hopefully my wife's 810 gets an update soon. 
  • Right on... Way to go TMO/MSFT in not letting this drag on. My Lumia 810 and I are hoping our update is under the Christmas tree! =P
  • For who updated his phone: do you know if the Portico update fixes the problem with the Me Tile that gets low-res? It's really annoying... :/
    Thanks :)
  • Low Rez ???????????
  • Yup.
    Google "Windows phone 8 me tile resolution", look at how many others have this issue :/
  • That's google problem not wp.
  • Downloading now! :)
  • Done - and FYI to anyone that was/is having issues connecting to BT devices, mine would never connect to my car, this has been resolved and it works great.
     
  • Let me guess. There wasn't actually any issue rolling out update yesterday.
    Rather, Microsoft is afraid of too many people updating their phones at the same time and ovewhelming the servers.
  • Congrats! Your tinfoil hat is in the mail.
  • Where's the like button?  LIKE!
  • Really? With millions of Xboxes and Windows PC's out there constantly getting updates you think Microsoft can't handle a simple phone update for a much smaller amount of devices? 
  • So you're just guessing. You don't know for sure? I'm disappointed.
  • I can't read "Good news, everyone!" without hearing it in the Professor's voice from Futurama.
  • hah, i thought that too... :)
  • I thought of fry when i read your tinfoil hat comment above..
  • And what about the Sim Free 8X?
  • What about it? This is for T-Mobile.
  • Yea I know, but Is there any information when it will be available for the sim free phones? 
  • When they find out, WPCentrail will be the 1st most likely to post about it, sucks but more or less true.
  • But then again that's why its my number one most used app!
  • Wpcentrails... Sounds icky.
  • The update rolled out weeks ago for unbranded HTC 8X.
  • Read the damn thread
  • Well, crap...  My 8X still won't send contacts to my BlueAnt Supertooth 3 over Bluetooth.  I was really hoping they had quietly fixed the address book issues with their Bluetooth profiles, but I guess not.  It's really frustrating that this worked fine with my HTC HD7 but not with my snazzy new 8X.  Fortunately, I love everything else about the phone, so no biggie.
  • Well, mine is stuck at 0% after on WiFi for 30mins. Connection is 100mb speed...
  • Yeah I downloaded this on 4G not even WiFi....it also started to download itself because after I hit the install now button it was already at like 20% download and over 4G since I was out and didn't have WiFi.  But it's at Step 1 of 4 in installation already.
  • What setting was yours on to,download on cellular
  • Installed using WiFi no problem. Now I can say I got to update my 8X before the world ended. I can go out in style!
  • Hey guys, would like to know if after you update if any of you start to experience the auto brightness bug that alot of people are experiencing after updating the 920 on att
  • That is specific to Nokia settings doesn't even the software on htcs
  • Thanks for the info, wasn't sure if it was a OS issue or phone specific issue, its not a big issue but is slightly annoying lol
  • Are there any goorovster users experiencing problems with the app after applying this update?
  • Kinda had a sync error issue, but I uninstalled/reinstalled and all good now
  • I just finished updating Portico...no problem on my end way to go HTC
  • Updated about an hour ago...all appears fine - took awhile for the Tmo My Account live tile to show my mins and texts status but it's working now.
  • Interesting dynamic... After reading Daniel's post about the update going live, I checked "Phone Update" and pushed it down. I had my phone set to "Automatically download updates if my data settings allow it." I hit "install update", but was planning to do it over Wifi (I wasn't near the router yet). I hit my home button so I could get near my router (I was at work and away from my desk). When I got back to my desk and went back to the update - it had already started, The problem with that is - at the time, T-Mobile was doing their refarm getting their 1900 network up in Queens New York, so I was on 2G and that phase of the update was going crazy slow! I went back into settings and turned on the Wifi and eventually the process got quicker (can the 2G to Wifi cause a hiccup in the process?). The update went well from what I can tell, but after the update, things feel weird. Some apps and some programs that reacted well before the update are buggy and slower. I'll do a battery drain and also re-sync my bluetooth headset to see if that helps. Speaking of Bluetooth: Does anyone know if this update really raised the Bluetooth stack from 3.0 to 4.0? I thought I read that somewhere.
  • My phone just rebooted by itself even after the update....
  • I hear a lot of people say the same thing, they also said to factory reset just to be safe.
  • I have two 8x's and after the update beats audio no longer works.  Turning it on and off makes no change in the sound quality of the audio.  Also the volume is not near as loud as it was before the update.  I guess due to beats audio not working.
     
  • I had the same issue with the bets audio not working. I tested it with songs I knew for sure had lots of base and nothing. What worked for me was turning the beats audio switch on and off for a while and then it worked fine for me since then (knock on wood). Maybe try that
     
  • Thanks for the advice.  I have noticed works on some headphones but not others.  And the more I messed with it the better it got.
  • Got the Portico update yesterday, and I'm in The Netherlands. Got my 8X sim unlocked from the shop, not from my provider. (Which is T-Mobile, fwiw.) No problems found yet. Hiss in audio still seems present.
  • my better half is an o2 guru with the 8x. she just got the update confimation through her systems so must be rolling out in the uk. sorry if this is old news