It's been well over a week since Alcatel launched the IDOL 4 Pro in Europe. Sporting Windows 10 Mobile, the IDOL 4 Pro is likely going to be the last Windows 10 Mobile-based device to go on sale, which makes it an incredibly important handset for Windows phone fans. Unfortunately, it's already looking like Alcatel has no interest in actually "supporting" this handset that they're selling on the market right now.
For example, Alcatel still hasn't provided Microsoft with a recovery image for the EU and UK versions of the IDOL 4 Pro, meaning people who have bought this phone are out of luck if they run into any issues or want to go back to the production version of Windows 10 Mobile. Because of this, Microsoft doesn't officially support the IDOL 4 Pro in the Insider Program right now. You can still join it, but there's no way to go back once you do the upgrade without a recovery image.
I don't know why, but over a week after launch, there's still no Windows Device Recovery Tool support for the IDOL 4 Pro. The same device in the US (under a slightly difference name and with different bands) has recovery images in the Device Tool and as such is supported by the Insider Program, but the EU and UK version of the device doesn't. Alcatel, where is your support for the IDOL 4 Pro?
This is important
Microsoft, talk to Alcatel. Alcatel, talk to Microsoft. Get something worked out and get those recovery images into the Device Recovery Tool. I would imagine it isn't that good of an idea to be selling a new device on the market without any concrete or official way of restoring that device in case of an emergency. This is a new device on sale to real people, and as such both Alcatel and Microsoft have a responsibility to support this device.
This is especially important now more than ever, because most of the people buying the IDOL 4 Pro are enthusiasts who are likely going to want to join the Insider Program and test pre-release software. As such, not providing an official way of recovering the phone in case of a bad update or issue is a serious concern.
In fact, this has been the case for months with the open-market version of the Alcatel IDOL 4S with Windows 10 in the United States. If you bought the unlocked version of the IDOL 4S with Windows 10 Mobile, you can't flash your device with the open-market FFU because Alcatel has broken it. The T-Mobile FFU works fine, but the open-market one? Completely broken; it simply doesn't flash. This is in the Windows Device Recovery Tool right now! Unprofessional.
And even if the open-market FFU worked, it would be useless for the IDOL 4 Pro in the UK and EU. The IDOL 4 Pro needs its own recovery images, and flashing an FFU designed for the US version of the device would likely mess something up on UK and EU devices.
While we're here, Alcatel could also do with pushing out a firmware update for the IDOL 4 Pro. There are a few performance issues that can and should be addressed. The IDOL 4 Pro as it is, is great, but there's room for improvement with the fingerprint reader and camera performance. Everything else is A-OK, so good job on that behalf. I've been using the IDOL 4 Pro for a few days now, and I'm loving it a lot. I just with Alcatel would get those recovery images into the Device Recovery Tool, and soon.
We've asked Alcatel for comment, and will update this article when we hear something back. In the meantime, are you interested in the IDOL 4 Pro? Let us know.
