The developers behind ChevronWP7 confirmed they sold out of unlock tokens this past weekend. The tokens were part of an agreement with Microsoft that let the group unlock 10,000 Windows Phone handsets. This was an official unlock solution that lets Windows phone owners unlock their phone and install custom, homebrew software. Each token sold for $9 and let you unlock one handset for the life of the phone. Unlike other methods, the ChevronWP7 tool was easy to use and worked with most Windows Phone handsets.
Now that the tokens are gone, new Windows Phone owners will have to use an alternative method, like The WindowBreak project, or purchase a developers account to unlock their phone. Contrary to early reports, homebrew isn’t dead, and Microsoft didn’t kill it. The token supply dried up because the team at ChevronWP7 hasn’t decided whether they want to get more tokens from Microsoft. The team is the only group with this unlock solution and discovered that supporting more than 10,000 phones is difficult. If they do ask for more, they expect Microsoft will “respond positively.” Until then, Windows Phone owners with an unlocked phone will just have to wait patiently.
