No doubt, WhatsApp is a popular messaging application. However, the app is plagued with constant downtimes and errors. When users switched on their mobiles as usual on January 13, they were greeted with “Update WhatsApp” error, which looked unusual. We faced the problem with our Redmi 3s Prime.
If you observe the below screenshot, you will know that the error message doesn’t look like standard WhatsApp update notifications delivered via Google Play Store. Initially, we were hesitant to click the button due to security reasons. We also installed a mobile anti-virus solution to locate the presence of any malware but we are unable to find any.
If you click the Download button, you will view the relevant Google Play Store page without any update option. If you select Leave Testing Program option, you will view a blank unresponsive page. We reached out to Xiaomi via Twitter by uploading the screenshot. In the meantime, we figured out to resolve the situation by navigating to whatsapp.com/android and downloading the update. This is what Xiaomi clarified after a few minutes.
Redmi users are getting this today on WhatsApp without enrolling in WhatsApp beta program. doing some workaround to fix the problem. but afraid of data loss. @XiaomiIndia @manukumarjain pic.twitter.com/wxdlPyBu2c
— Anand Narayanaswamy (@visualanand) January 13, 2018
If you are still getting the above screenshot while opening the messaging app, you just need to navigate to whatsapp.com/android and download the APK file by selecting the green-colored Download Now button. You then have to provide adequate permissions for running untrusted apps to proceed further with the update process.
Meanwhile, Xiaomi replied to our tweet and prompted us to perform the same steps that we did. The company is working to find out the root cause for the error and will throw an update within the next few days.
You need not have to worry about data loss since we didn’t lose any data due to the update. The WhatsApp app will work as usual after the completion of the update. There is no need to uninstall WhatsApp from the smartphone.
