Xiaomi has three devices in Google’s Android One program – the Mi A1, Mi A2, and Mi A2 Lite. All three have already received updates to Android 9 Pie, with the Mi A1 the latest to join the party on a beta ticket.
Usually, initial software update rollouts, not necessarily beta versions, may carry minor bugs and errors that can be annoying. To deal with this, affected users usually have the option to either wait for fixes to be sent out by the company or downgrade to the previous build that worked without issues. The latter has saved many people from dealing with an otherwise terrible software experience, especially since it may at times take longer than expected for the fix to arrive via another OTA update.
This has been true for all Xiaomi smartphones, but following the arrival of MIUI 10 (which has nothing to do with the Mi A1, Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite), Xiaomi started advising against rolling back to MIUI 9 (or any other older MIUI version compared to the currently installed version) for those who had already made the switch to the stable and/or beta versions, noting that this may brick the device in question.
Apparently, this is also happening with respect to the three Android One devices because of the many irreversible system updates that accompany Android Pie. I want to believe one can always override this by unlocking the bootloader, that is, if you are into such stuff.
Following the trio’s update to Pie, Xiaomi has come out with a warning to early adopters who might already be thinking about going back to the previous stable update (Android Oreo) that worked better. The company says doing this can cause errors and defects that may affect the normal functioning of your phone.
In extreme cases, you may even end up with a bricked device, so you better don’t try to make some smart moves here. If you choose to be an early adopter, you’ll have to live with the bugs until Xiaomi rolls out fixes. The best way is to wait until all bugs and errors have been ironed out before upgrading, unless you are willing to get a little geeky and unlock the bootloader for more control over your device.
