Hello everyone
I have evidence that suggests the roll out has begun. Check out the
Windows Phone Update History page:
Windows Phone 8 update
history | Windows Phone How-to (United States)
This page did not have Windows Phone 8.1 until yesterday and now it does. Past experience tells me this happens when the roll out has begun. For example, the GDR3
Preview for Developers was released somewhere around November but this page did not have "Update 3" back then. It was added to it somewhere around November 12, if memory serves me correctly, and within a day my HTC Windows Phone 8S received an OFFICIAL update to GDR3 with the HTC part as well.
My understanding is that the date the roll-out begins, Microsoft publishes info on the update on this page. OEMs and carriers have blocked the update. When OEMs have finished their firmware, and carriers their testing, it is released to devices as they desire (Nokia has a habit of releasing them over a long period of time, at different dates for different phones, in different countries, mainly because of the large amount of extra stuff in their firmware).
Some Lumia 630s have already received the update to the official version without
Preview for Developers. My sister's phone is one of them. And I'm from India - this phone wasn't bought in Finland if you're thinking. India. Indian firmware. Made in China. (Not too happy about the last bit, lol) This
indeed means that the roll-out has BEGUN, of course, not all devices receive it in a go, but the process has started. (The great WP7 times when everyone got the huge Mango 7.5 update - which trust me, was as large in features as, if not larger than 8.1 is, in just a day or two. All carriers, all phones, all OEMs)
Have a good day, people. :smile: