After an extremely long hiatus, Xiaomi had started rolling out the Android 8.1 Oreo update for Mi A1, the company’s only Android One device. Contradictory to the promise made by the Android One program, the update took unusually long to roll out, due to which Xiaomi received a ton of backlash, and when users were glad that the update is finally being rolled out, Xiaomi has canceled the OTA update due to a major bug in the software.
While the update brought a few new features of Android 8.1 to the device, the major bug was that once the system was updated, it would wipe your entire SMS history and would continue to wipe it every time you swipe the app to close it in the recent apps menu. Another major letdown was a bug that causes the OS to fail Google’s SafetyNet check. SafetyNet is a service which provides APIs to allow developers to check whether a device is tampered with, runs a custom ROM, or is infected with low-level malware.
Xiaomi has swiftly decided to discontinue the update until a possible fix is included. Given the fact that users were already made to wait for so long for the update, it is a major disappointment that Xiaomi is falling short of the expectations consumers had while opting to go for an Android One device over regular ones. While we have no official statement regarding when the new update along with the required fixes would be rolled out, we expect Xiaomi to be cautious this time, as they have a global launch event lined up this month and if they are to launch a new Android One device, which is speculated to go by the moniker of Mi A2, consumers might be deterred by the fact that Xiaomi’s track record with updates doesn’t seem too impressive. It’s probably a reminder to have a backup of your data at all times, just in case an update like this messes up things.