Xiaomi Acknowledges WhatsApp Version 'Obsolete' Error, Asks Users to Update App

WhatsApp was hit by a version 'obsolete ' error last week and now Xiaomi has acknowledged its part in the error, accepting that some users of its smartphones were affected thanks to a mistakenly pushed beta version of the app. To recall, several WhatsApp users over the weekend complained of a bug that prevented them from using the app - with the app saying the version they were using were obsolete. At the time, WhatsApp had said the issue was with how the app was distributed, and that while the issue was not under its control, it was being fixed.

Now, Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has admitted it had mistakenly pushed a beta version of WhatsApp from its app store, which some of its users had downloaded. The company has also asked users to update the app in order to resolve the issue.

Xiaomi provided the following statement to Gadgets 360, "A few Xiaomi users reported an issue with WhatsApp on their smartphones. After a thorough investigation, we learned that a beta version of WhatsApp was pushed out on our Mi App Store a few days ago, which some users updated to." It added, "We have updated our App store listing with a newer version, approved by WhatsApp, which we encourage any users facing issues, to update to. We apologise for any inconvenience faced by our Mi Fans, and promise to be more vigilant going forward."

This acknowledgement by Xiaomi was first reported by Techook.

To recall, this was WhatsApp's earlier statement on the issue, in its entirety: "On background, this is an issue that's being fixed. It was a problem with how our app is distributed, which is not under our control." As of now, it's not certain which other handset brands apart from Xiaomi were affected, or whether the distribution issue extended to other third-party app stores apart from the Mi App Store. We've reached out to WhatsApp for greater clarity.

Users who are still facing the issue are advised to update WhatsApp on their smartphones. While Xiaomi has claimed that the issue has been resolved on the Mi App Store, it is advisable to download updates directly from Google Play directly.