HTC 8x, WP8 Smartphone, Windows Phone 8 Device

Microsoft is releasing an over the air update for the HTC 8X — the first OTA update ever released for Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 platform — that stops the phone from switching from a Wi-Fi connection to cellular when its screen times out.

In addition to the “always-on” Wi-Fi option and the SMS fixes, the update adds at least three new features: the ability to reject calls with an SMS, a “select all” SMS function for easier mass deletion, and SMS draft saving for messages you back out of before sending.

According to WPCentral, a user in Italy confirmed that after updating, a checkbox was available in advanced Wi-Fi settings to “Keep Wi-Fi on when screen times out.” The first evidence of the new setting was spotted last week by WPCentral on a different handset, the HTC 8S.

It isn’t clear yet if the update includes VPN support or if it will be delayed until the release of Microsoft’s Apollo Plus update coming next year, but we’ll update this article if we are able to confirm any new information.

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By Josh Robert Nay

Josh Robert Nay is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of TruTower. He has worked in the telecommunications industry since 2003 and specializes in GSM based technology. He also uses (too many) VoIP apps and is a long-time user of BlackBerry, Android, and Windows Phone. He adores anything having to do with space exploration and writing. In addition to the links below, he can be found on LinkedIn and can also be found on his website at http://www.joshrobertnay.com.