Right now, there are a lot of angry comments floating around the web in regards to Microsoft's first "major" update for Windows Phone 7. A few different people have come out with methods to get the NoDo update early, but it seems that one user on xda-developers has nailed it down for HTC devices. In addition to this, another user, as reported by WPcentral, has managed to get NoDo onto the Samsung Focus early.
The process, which is as simple as changing a registrykey makes the phone think it is on a different carrier, and bypasses Microsoft's checks altogether. There are different methods for different devices, but most of them seem to do the job.
To get the update for HTC devices:
Install XAP file which was prepared by CR1M1N4L, found here
Run "ChevronWP7" which was added to the programs list
Copy the "provxml" file to the Windows folder
Run "Connection Setup"
Reboot
Connect to Zune
The update should now appear
Neowin can confirm this method is successful, but requires a developer (or Chevron) unlocked device. It's worth noting that users may be required to use the "timing" method which is found in the post, but we can confirm for us at least, that the registry hack did the trick. The devices we tested the method on were the Vodafone New Zealand "HTC Trophy" model. It's a pretty simple hack, surprisingly.
To get the update for Samsung Focus:
Use the modified registry app provided by Rafael to change the Operator ID to '000-88'