The last firmware update for the Nokia Lumia 800 and related models is reportedly rolling out in Europe, with Dutch owners of the handset getting a taste of the Windows Phone 7 refresh, blog reports said.

It is likely that the 7.8 upgrade will soon hit the Lumia 500 and Lumia 900 too, according to Engadget, citing reports by Dutch tech blog site WP7.nlm, which first reported the patch that was deployed from an official Nokia channel.

Owners of these three Windows devices should get the prompt coming from a Nokia server, that is if the mobile phones are updated, Engadget said.

Otherwise, users can connect their WP7 smartphones on a PC where the latest Zune desktop software is installed. By checking for firmware updates, Zune will facilitate for the download and installation of the new mobile operating system.

If the upgrade file is available on your location, Zune will advise you. If that is the case, authorise the software to commence the whole process, which would take several minutes to complete as will be shown by the main dialogue box.

Note that the full patch comes in four instalment files, according to WM Power User, which are four large downloads so make sure that you have a fully-charged phone to avoid any issues cropping up during the whole process.

"The update (will be) served via four individual updates, first a Nokia Update for Windows Phone - from 7.10.8773 to 7.10.8779.8 - then 7.10.8783, and finally to 7.10.8858.136," WM Power User added on its report.

Simply follow the installation instructions during the whole patching episode, which normally would entail reboot cycles of your device prior to completion.

By the last restart, your WP7 handset will sport a new boot screen plus new options of personalising the phone such as resizing the live tiles, which is just among the new features ported with the 7.8 upgrade.

"Once the update had completed homescreen Live Tiles can be resized and the Xbox Tile is now fully Windows Phone 8 style," TechCrunch said.

This update is the closest that old Lumia handset owners can get to Windows Phone 8, the upgrade of which Microsoft has nixed earlier, tech experts said.