The latest update notes were describe as “Fixed minor bugs”. The bugs were not minor. The app was rendered completely non-functional by a previous update.

For regular apps, this would be inconvenient, but non-critical. For an app that is the only connection to ‘smart’ appliances, including security systems, it’s absolutely negligent to push untested updates. There were no apologies, no acknowledgment that users were left with non-functional systems for days. The worst part is that this isn’t the first time this sort of thing has happened.

If you’ve just purchased Xiaomi products, I strongly recommend returning them if you have the opportunity. It’s just a matter of time before Xiaomi abandons support for international customers. In the past year, they haven’t even bothered to implement English menus, or fix blatantly poor quality translations.