A number of Xiaomi device owners are reporting that WhatsApp has suddenly stopped working for them. Opening the popular messaging client is showing an error that the installed version of WhatsApp is obsolete and urges users to head over to the Play Store to install the latest update of the app. 

The problem here is that the Play Store does not show any updates for WhatsApp since there is none. This means that users are stuck with a non-functional copy of WhatsApp on their device. It is unclear if other Android devices are also affected by this problem or it is limited only to WhatsApp for now.

Some people have been affected by this issue for over 6-7 hours now. Considering how important WhatsApp has become as a communication tool, this is a major issue.

https://twitter.com/prateekfu07/status/952140270841335808

@WhatsApp @Android @GooglePlay @xiaomi
Yestetday onwards whatsapp not working MI4 device . Show error as attached img. Reinstall do not help pic.twitter.com/8o6WsEFNEK

— Rajesh (@raj_boricha) January 13, 2018

It is unclear who is to blame for this issue but right now, millions of WhatsApp users are affected by this. Until WhatsApp and Xiaomi get around to fixing the problem though, below is a small workaround to get WhatsApp up and running on your device.

Step 1: On your affected Android device on which WhatsApp is not working, download the latest APK of WhatsApp straight from the company from here. This is the latest beta version of WhatsApp for Android.

Step 2: Once downloaded, tap the APK file and proceed to install it like you would install any other app. Now, when you open WhatsApp, it should work properly on your device and not throw up an error. Make sure to update your WhatsApp installation within a few days as the latest beta will automatically stop working within a month or so.

The APK is signed directly by WhatsApp and has not been modified in any way. Until WhatsApp gets around to solving the problem, this is the only way you can get WhatsApp to work on your device.