Around the same time last year, the images, specs, and colors of the upcoming were made known before launch. The device did launch as a new Android One phone. It soon received an official teardown treatment. Almost a year later, it received a fix for the Mi A3 Android 10 update. The latest we have on the smartphone has something to do with the dual-SIM functionality accidentally breaking. If you may remember back in March, Xiaomi also stopped the rollout of Android 10 to Mi A3 due to errors.
Another version has just been released that already includes the July 2020 Android security patches. Sadly, it breaks the dual-SIM functionality. It brings a number of unexpected changes, as well as, a carrier-specific logo during the boot animation.
According to XDA, this happens because of a mix-up by Xiaomi. What happens is that firmware for a carrier (Telcel) disables the second SIM card slot of the global variant of the Mi A3. More bloatware apps are also added by the update. There is no way to revert to the previous version.
Xiaomi did release a statement about the issue so at least Mi A3 owners can understand what’s going on: “We are aware of the software update issue on a few Mi A3 devices. On further investigation, we have identified it to be a technical issue due to which a software update not meant for Indian users, was shared inadvertently. This issue has been fixed already from our side and our technical teams are working on a recovery solution that will be rolled out soon.”
Such an acknowledgment is important coming from any company. Cross your fingers and hope an official solution will be out soon.
