After creating the first Windows phone jailbreak tool, the guys making up the ChevronWP7 team decided to legitimize their actions and work with Microsoft to deliver an authorized means by which to unlock handsets for development without users needing to pay Microsoft’s fees. While Chevron’s own $9 pricetag for its service is a whole lot easier to swallow, we wondered at the time of its announcement whether or not we’d see another hacking effort come along with its own free alternative. For now it’s very much still just a rumor, but something like that may be on its way soon.

Windows Phone Hacker recently tweeted to advise Windows Phone users thinking about paying for the Chevron Labs unlock tool that they might be better-off saving their money, implying knowledge of a free Windows Phone jailbreak that may be announced in the near future.

The only detail shared regarding this potential hack is that it may be limited to Windows Phone hardware manufactured by LG, Nokia, Samsung, and HTC. Granted, that’s nearly all the smartphones released thus far, but some apparently won’t make the cut. That suggests that maybe we’re looking at a vulnerability tied to OEM-specific additions to the operating system.

The original tweets have since been taken down. We could read any number of motivations into that action, and it may or may not weigh on the legitimacy of the rumor. For now, we’ll just have to wait and see.