[Re-released] Redmi 6/6A Android Pie 9.0 update pulled back as they receive new Oreo OTA with August patch

New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….

The probability of having a steady flow of software updates really depends on the SoC of the Android device. For example, NVIDIA Shield TV was originally launched with Android 5.1 Lollipop back in 2015. The company recently rolled out Android Pie update due to the sole reason that the underlying SoC (Tegra X1) is also maintained by them.

Besides Mi 5c, a number of phones and tablets were made by Xiaomi on top of non-Qualcomm platforms. 2014’s Tegra K1 based Mi Pad also failed to get any new Android version update. MediaTek based Chinese edition of Redmi Note 3 and Redmi Note 4 indefinitely got stuck with factory-installed Lollipop and Marshmallow, respectively.

The Chinese OEM launched MediaTek Helio P35 powered Mi Play in December 2018. Instead of Pie, the phone came with MIUI 10.1 flavored Android 8.1. We are on the Q3 of 2019 and counting days for the release of Android 10, but Mi Play is still rocking a two year old operating system.

The only promising device duo is Redmi 6/6A, which were launched with Oreo but got Pie update via public beta channel during the first week of July. Around a month later, Xiaomi engineers got satisfied and pushed the big red button in China.

Global units of Redmi 6A and Redmi 6 also got the Pie update in the form of MIUI 10.4.1.0 with some hiccups! The OEM followed the typical staged rollout model, so majority of users failed to get the OTA. Those who got the prompt (or installed manually) faced numerous issues like app crashing, black screen on boot and lagginess.

Sounds familiar? In case our readers need some assistance to remember, both Mi MIX 2 and Mi 6 owners faced similar issues with their official Pie update. Xiaomi had to re-release a set of new builds after silently pulling back the initial OTAs.

Well well well, the current scenario is far more complex! Not only the Chinese OEM pulled back the Pie update, but they also released a new Oreo based OTA for both phones. The patch level in these builds is August 2019 – a jump from the June security patch in the last Oreo build (MIUI 10.3.4.0).

System

– Updated Android Security Patch to August 2019. Increased system security.

App lock

– New: Locking Google contacts is available now

Game speed booster

– Fix: Hands-free call duration wasn’t displayed correctly in Game Turbo

Due to the internal similarities between these two phones, the changelogs of the new update (MIUI 10.3.6.0) are identical. In case you already installed the (buggy) Pie build, you have to unlocked the bootloader and flash an older Oreo based MIUI firmware to get back on the right track.

At this moment, we are not sure whether Xiaomi will provide further updates on the (now cancelled) MIUI 10.4.1.0 build or not. The end users, who randomly got it earlier, are the sufferers here, as most of them don’t have the expertise to rollback manually.

• Device: Redmi 6A
• Codename: cactus
• Channel: Global Stable
• Version: V10.3.6.0.OCBMIXM
• Android: 8.1
  • Type: Recovery
    • Download: Link
    • MD5: 48dad8ce05be055e9723107f08554cde

• Device: Redmi 6
• Codename: cereus
• Channel: Global Stable
• Version: V10.3.6.0.OCGMIXM
• Android: 8.1
  • Type: Recovery
    • Download: Link
    • MD5: 85f41684de137249abd822e8ddb27884

Did you receive the initial Pie update on your Redmi 6/6A? Comment below.

Credit goes to yshalsager and the Xiaomi Firmware Updater project for tracking the OTA update URLs.

Update 1 (September 3)

After pulling back the Android Pie update from global Redmi 6/6A units, Xiaomi is rolling out a new set of Pie based OTA with August patch in China. Details here.

Update 2 (September 10)

Xiaomi is currently pushing the Pie update for global Redmi 6A units via a new build (MIUI 10.4.3.0). The OTA also brings September security patch. Head over to this article to know more.

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