Huawei’s temporary US licence expires, meaning no updates for older phones Huawei P30 Pro
As if Huawei didn’t have enough trouble with the US already, the company’s temporary license for pushing out Android updates to older phones just expired – and that means handsets such as the Huawei P30 Pro are unlikely to get operating system updates from this point on.
Up until now, the license had allowed phones that launched before the US ban took effect to keep getting software updates from Google. The Washington Post reports that the license expired on August 13, so that’s now no longer possible.
Exactly what this means if you’re using a Huawei phone that went on sale before May 16, 2019 isn’t immediately clear: your device won’t suddenly stop working, but Google is no longer authorized to help Huawei with Android updates, or to push out updates to Google’s Android apps (such as Gmail and Google Maps).
Google did confirm to the Post that the temporary general license (or TGL) had been enabling it to keep on supporting devices like the Huawei P30, but it didn’t comment on what might be possible in the future now the TGL has expired.
Playing by the rules
In a support document posted earlier this year, Google had this to say: “We have continued to work with Huawei, in compliance with government regulations, to provide security updates and updates to Google’s apps and services on existing devices, and we will continue to do so as long as it is permitted.”
While it doesn’t appear that Google’s apps will suddenly be pulled from phones where they were preinstalled, it does now seem probable that you’ll be stuck with the current versions of those apps, and with the current version of Android.
Security is another concern, with Google and Huawei presumably unable to send out patches that squash bugs and fix loopholes. Devices released after May 16, 2019 – such as the Huawei P40 – are running Huawei’s own Google-free Android software, so these can continue to be updated as normal.
We’ll keep you posted as and when Huawei updates users about what this means for Android updates on older devices, but it’s another blow for a company that has already seen a big hit to its business from US trade restrictions.
Via Engadget
As if Huawei didn’t have enough trouble with the US already, the company’s temporary license for pushing out Android updates to older phones just expired – and that means handsets such as the Huawei P30 Pro are unlikely to get operating system updates from this point on. Up until now,…
Recent Posts
- The drinking fountain button is tragically misunderstood
- Google fired a software engineer over an anti-war demonstration — he says he wasn’t even protesting
- Amazon expands enterprise AI play with wider availability of its Q chatbot
- YouTube TV on Android introduces new Multiview feature – here’s how to use it
- Assassin’s Creed Mirage finally arrives on June 6 for iPhone and iPad
Archives
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- December 2011