Early this year, Chevron Labs sold out of the unlock tokens it offered users to “developer unlock” their Windows Phone 7 devices. The US$9 codes, which had been provided by Microsoft, had been meant to make it easier for potential developers to become published developers by lowering initial costs. While Chevron Labs left the door open at the time that it might offer more codes later, it has now decided instead to “discontinue the ChevronWP7 Labs experiment.”
Our data indicates that most developers simply unlocked their devices for non-developmental reasons and never went all the way to publish an app in the marketplace. There was also some confusion about the actual purpose of the ChevronWP7 service – some folks thought we provided SIM-unlock capabilities, while others thought we were a hacker group providing full root access. On top of this, there were a larger than expected number of support emails.
As a last gesture, Paid ChevronWP7 Lab users will receive a free upgrade to a one-year membership of Windows Phone App Hub courtesy of Microsoft. Users will need to buy a US$99 membership and will then receive a refund.
With this decision, there are no officially-sanctioned Windows Phone 7 jailbreak options currently available.
Read more: Chevron Labs