[Poll results out] Opinion: Xiaomi shouldn't repeat Redmi Note 8 MIUI 12 saga with upcoming MIUI 13 update for eligible devices

New updates are being added to the bottom of this story…

Original story (from Dec 13, 2020) follows:

Xiaomi has a good reputation among MIUI fans. No doubt people love many or all of the customizations and features the company adds to its skin on top of what AOSP has to offer.

In fact, owing to the huge number of features and improvements MIUI updates tag along, some Xiaomi fans would rather get multiple MIUI updates at the expense of multiple Android OS updates.

Up to this point, only the upper midrange and premium Mi devices have been receiving two Android OS updates while the rest in the Redmi and Redmi Note family were condemned to a single OS update.

This is about to change, though, at least if recent developments in the Redmi Note 8 and Redmi Note 8 Pro camps are anything to go by. As it stands, the two are in line for an update to Android 11 OS, their second.

It’s a known (at least unofficially) Xiaomi software update policy that devices receive two or three MIUI updates, something the company has hardly disappointed over the years, although not to say things are perfect.

However, the upgrade process hasn’t always been smooth for some devices. Take the popular Redmi Note 8 from September 2019, for instance.

Having arrived powered by MIUI 10 out of the box, Xiaomi updated the device in China to MIUI 11 in November of the same year, but the update was pulled due to bugs and re-released a week later.

India and Indonesia got the update a few days later as well, but like their counterparts, the initial rollout was pulled and re-released about a week or so later.

The ship stabilized into the New Year 2020, but it wasn’t long after before another storm hit, this time Android 10, the first major OS update for the device.

Things looked a little promising when it was reported that beta testing had started back in March. In May, Alvin Tse, Xiaomi Indonesia GM, hinted at a July release for the stable version.

It got even even better when news broke out that the Chinese variant had started testing stable MIUI 12 in early July, suggesting that the said July release date would materialize.

This came after it had been made public that the Redmi Note 8 Android 10 update would be part of the firmware that brings MIUI 12 to the device.

What was to follow, though, is an unforgettable experience for Redmi Note 8 users. A series of major disappointments kept popping up left and right, mainly from what seemed like clueless forum moderators and support, but others from top executives too.

Eventually, the update arrived in China on the final day of September, meaning global users still had some waiting to do. This wait lasted a month before the update finally rolled out globally.

Not long after the rollout kicked off, Redmi Note 8 users started reporting about an issue preventing them from upgrading to MIUI 12. This strange issue, apparently, was limited to those on a certain MIUI 11 build.

It took Xiaomi about a week or two to acknowledge the issue and promise to fix it. As part of this bug-fixing exercise, Xiaomi rolled back the initial MIUI 12 build and re-released a newer build.

But for some reason, Redmi Note 8 owners on the global units once again started receiving an older, MIUI 11 update. However, this was limited to those who had not successfully installed the initial MIUI 12.

As of this writing, December 12, the global MIUI 12 update for the Redmi Note 8 has yet to be re-released, meaning the device is still on MIUI 11 based on Android 9 heading into the New Year 2021.

And despite having waited for months, Redmi Note 8 users who successfully migrated to MIUI 12 on global units or even in other regions like India and Indonesia still got a half-baked MIUI 12 update, although this should be addressed in future MIUI 12.5 or MIUI 13 updates.

Speaking of future updates, Xiaomi still has some work to do not just with respect to the popular Redmi Note 8, but also other devices that are in line for the upcoming MIUI 13 update.

Things look promising on the Android 11 front considering that not much optimization – and thought – is put into Xiaomi Android OS updates. But it’s with the feature-packed MIUI updates where things get a bit chaotic.

Since the Redmi Note 8 is also expected to bag the MIUI 13 update, every fan will be looking back at the experience they’ve had through various software upgrades and definitely relish something better.

This is what I, too, am looking forward to from Xiaomi, unless no one over there has been learning from the mistakes made over time.

What are your thoughts? Are you satisfied with Xiaomi’s performance in the way MIUI 12 roll out happened? Or is it that you think Xiaomi should up its game with the upcoming MIUI 12.5 or MIUI 13 roll out? Cast your vote in the poll below:

The poll results are out. Over 69% who voted say they are not satisfied with the MIUI 12 rollout process, while close to 22% said they are happy with it. The remaining opted for the ‘who cares’ option.

If you couldn’t vote for some reason but want to share your thoughts, you are encouraged to do so in the comments section below.

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