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Xiaomi removes antitheft feature from flagship phone just days after launch

  • The antitheft feature allows users to find their phone even if the SIM card is removed
  • The feature has not received approval from regulators and does not comply with relevant rules, the company said

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Xiaomi fans check out the company’s foldable smartphone Mi Mix Fold during a launch event in Beijing in March. Photo: Handout/EPA-EFE
Minghe Huin Beijing
Xiaomi, the world’s No. 2 smartphone company, has removed a highly-touted feature from the latest version of its flagship smartphone just three days after its launch in the latest case to show the growing complexity and difficulty in navigating China’s data and privacy regulatory landscape, even for a local company.

The antitheft feature, which allows users to find their phone even if the SIM card is taken out, will be removed from the upcoming Mi Mix 4 as the feature has not received approval from regulators and does not comply with relevant rules, the company said in a statement published to their Weibo account late Friday.

At the launch event on Tuesday, founder and chief executive Lei Jun called the feature “perfect” with a virtual SIM card that keeps the phone connected to the internet as well as a function that does not allow other SIM cards without user approval.

“We have also carefully crafted a lot of functions to enhance the experience of the product, such as privacy protection,” said Lei in Tuesday‘s speech. “Xiaomi as a company has always put special attention to privacy protection for users.”

Xiaomi did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The country’s regulators and state-owned telecoms companies have proven highly ambivalent over virtual SIM technology, also known as eSIM, with featured support for the technology but uneven availability, especially in larger cities.

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