WhatsApp ‘obsolete’ error: Xiaomi acknowledges and asks users to download the updated one

Here’s a helpful guide to resolve the ‘obsolete’ Whatsapp error some Xiaomi users are facing.

Here’s what you need to do when you face the WhatsApp ‘obsolete’ error. (REUTERS)

Xiaomi has acknowledged that some of its smartphone users were affected by a bug that caused WhatsApp to malfunction, showing an "obsolete" error notification.

The company said that the issue mainly affected users on a beta version of WhatsApp that it had rolled out on its Mi App Store recently.

"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," the company said.

Xiaomi also encourages users to download the latest version of the app from its Mi App store.

"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," it added.

Last week, a number of WhatsApp users reported facing an error message that said the instant messaging application had become obsolete and they needed to download an updated version.

"This version of WhatsApp became obsolete on 13-Jan-2018. Please go to the Google Play Store to download the latest version," read the error message, first reported by Techook.

WhatsApp confirmed the issue but pointed out that it was due to how their app was distributed.

"This is an issue that's being fixed. It was a problem with how our app is distributed, which is not under our control," said a company spokesperson.

The 'obsolete' error seems to have largely affected users who have downloaded WhatsApp from the Mi App Store instead of Google Play store were affected.

If you're still facing this issue, we recommend you to download the latest version of WhatsApp from Mi App Store, since the latest version is updated. There are other workarounds available as well.

One of the simplest ways is to by uninstalling the app and then re-installing it on your phone.

Another workaround is to launch Settings > enable automatic date and time > automatic time zone > kill all apps > relaunch Whatsapp.