Last Monday, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that it prohibited the sale of parts, software, and other technology by U.S. companies to ZTE, claiming that it was a punishment for ZTE's violation of the terms of the settlement agreement.
In response, ZTE responded by suspending its stock trading in the Chinese stock market and postponing the issuance of financial statements. However, the company did not provide consumers with information on how the ban would affect ZTE's provision of an Android operating system upgrade from Alphabet’s Google subsidiary.
The sources of the two mobile operators recently stated that ZTE has not provided any suggestions on whether they can continue to provide such updates. These updates can fix security vulnerabilities, add new features, and increase battery life.
When asked if the US ban means it will no longer be able to provide Android updates, ZTE did not respond to requests for comment. Google declined to comment.
Jamie Fart, chairman of the Los Angeles-based Consumer Watchdog, called on ZTE, Google and operators to tell consumers how this ban will affect their ability to provide services for ZTE's mobile phones.
Fate said, 'If they are not sure if they can update the software, they certainly should not continue to sell new phones,'
On Thursday, ZTE’s mobile phones were still sold through the websites of major U.S. operators and retailers, including AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, Best Buy and Wal-Mart.
Some tech analysts advise consumers that they should not buy ZTE mobile phones until they are sure whether the phones can be updated.
John Jackson, a consumer technology analyst at market research firm IDC, said: 'There is enough uncertainty at the moment, it is not wise to purchase ZTE mobile phones.'
Rocon Entner, an analyst at Recon Analytics, said that he expects U.S. operators and retailers will continue to sell current ZTE inventory and stop selling ZTE mobile phones.
According to Entner, if ZTE smartphones cannot get updates from Android in the future, they will still work, but users will not be able to add new features or install patches to protect the device from new security threats.
'People were trapped,' Entner said.
Some frustrated ZTE users turned to the forums of Reddit and ZTE's official website. They raised questions about warranty, repair and future security patches.
On Monday, a user wrote on ZTE's website: 'I don't know how long we have to wait until we get ZTE's actual statement. I suspect that ZTE can find a way out of this ban right now.'
Canadian privacy advocate Michael Geist said that ZTE and the U.S. government should find a way to adjust the ban so as not to affect the safety of millions of people using mobile phones.
Gast said: 'Once the mobile phone is vulnerable, consumers will eventually pay for it.'