Google Mobile Services backdoor for Huawei devices goes offline | TECH(feed)

YOU MIGHT REMEMBER THAT HUAWEI HAD TO LAUNCH THE NEW MATE 30 PHONE WITHOUT FULL ANDROID SUPPORT. WE KNEW GOOGLE SUPPORT FOR THE MATE 30 WOULD BE LIGHT BECAUSE OF THE HUAWEI BAN… BUT WE DIDN’T KNOW IT WOULD BE QUITE THIS LIGHT.

THE HUAWEI MATE 30 WAS UNVEILED AND POWERED BY A PRETTY BARE BONES ANDROID 10. THAT’S BECAUSE UNDER CURRENT U-S BLACKLIST, AMERICAN COMPANIES ARE UNABLE TO WORK WITH HUAWEI ON FUTURE DEVICES. THE BAN STARTED BEFORE THE MATE 30 WAS ANNOUNCED, SO U-S COMPANIES LIKE GOOGLE COULD NOT WORK WITH HUAWEI AND OFFER ANDROID SUPPORT. HOWEVER, HUAWEI COULD USE PARTS OF ANDROID O-S THAT ARE OPEN SOURCE.

ONCE PEOPLE STARTED GETTING THEIR HANDS ON THESE NEWS HUAWEI DEVICES THEY QUICKLY FOUND A WAY TO GET BELOVED GOOGLE APPS, LIKE GMAIL, THE GOOGLE PLAY STORE AND YOUTUBE, ONTO THEIR HUAWEI MATE 30 PHONES. A WEBSITE CALLED L-Z PLAY ALLOWED USERS TO INSTALL GOOGLE MOBILE SERVICES ONTO THEIR NEW HUAWEI DEVICES RELATIVELY EASILY. CONSUMERS SEEMED SATISFIED… UNTIL THE WEBSITE SUDDENLY WENT OFFLINE THIS WEEK AFTER RECEIVING MORE BUZZ. BUT, ASIDE FROM ISSUES WITH GOOGLE PAY, IT SEEMS AS THOUGH ANYONE WHO ALREADY HAD GOOGLE APPS INSTALLED THROUGH THIS WORKAROUND CAN STILL USE THEM.

HUAWEI DENIES IT HAD ANY RELATIONSHIP WITH THE WEBSITE, EVEN THOUGH SOME RESEARCHERS SAY OTHERWISE. IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN WHETHER OR NOT THE HUAWEI BAN WILL CONTINUE AND WHETHER HUAWEI PHONES WILL EVER HAVE FULL GOOGLE SUPPORT AGAIN. HUAWEI DID RECENTLY ANNOUNCED ITS OWN OPERATING SYSTEM, CALLED HARMONY O-S. THE COMPANY HAS SAID IN THE PAST IT’S NOT DESIGNED AS AN ANDROID REPLACEMENT, BUT IT COULD BE USED ON SMARTPHONES IF NECESSARY.

UNDER THE CURRENT BLACKLIST, U-S COMPANIES MUST APPLY FOR A LICENSE THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE TO DO BUSINESS WITH HUAWEI. IT’S UNCLEAR WHETHER OR NOT ANY COMPANIES HAVE BEEN GRANTED SUCH A LICENSE. AND AS TRADE TENSIONS GROW, IT’S UNCLEAR HOW LONG THIS BAN WILL LAST AND WHETHER IT MAY BE A NEGOTIATING POINT IN ONGOING U-S AND CHINA TRADE TALKS.

SO, WHAT DO YOU THINK? ARE YOU WILLING TO TAKE A GAMBLE ON A HUAWEI PHONE? LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS, AND THANKS FOR WATCHING. IF YOU LIKED THIS VIDEO BE SURE TO GIVE IT A THUMBS UP AND SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL. SEE YOU NEXT TIME.