14 DAY TRIAL // Huawei has removed the lock screen ads that mysteriously appeared on a number of smartphones earlier this week, yet the company claims it’s not the one to blame for this incident.
Ads have started showing up on several Huawei phone models, including the high-end P30 Pro, on June 13, and according to a number of user reports, they were served through Magazine Unlock, a feature that sets a different lock screen background on each unlock.
The ads pointed users to Booking.com, a hotel reservation website, and could only be blocked by completely disabling Magazine Unlock on the targeted devices.
But in a statement provided to DT, Huawei says it’s not the one to blame for the ads.
“The ads are not initiated by Huawei. We encourage individuals to check app settings, or follow publicly available directions on how to remove lock screen ads,” the company says.
Additionally, the Honor Global PR Manager says on Twitter that customers shouldn’t see any ads on Honor phones.
“This is strange. Certainly none of the current HONOR devices are doing this in any markets,” she posted.
Ads are now gone
No matter who is to blame for this blunder that only fueled the criticism against Huawei, the Chinese tech giant decided to remove the ads completely by taking down several lock screen wallpapers.
In a statement for XDA, Huawei explains that while the Booking.com wallpapers have been removed from the servers providing the Magazine Unlock backgrounds, they could still be available on a number of devices, so users need to delete them manually.
Some questions are yet to get an answer, however. For example, Huawei did not explain how the wallpapers uploaded by third parties ended up on users’ phones and why they haven’t been verified before getting the green light.