Chinese smartphone brands pulled from Vietnam store shelves over alleged illegal map display

Representatives of two electronics retail chains confirmed the removals, saying the affected devices were expected to return to showrooms later in the week once the software issue was addressed.

The move came after an internal memo marked "urgent" circulated on social media, directing employees to remove phones from Huawei, Oppo, Xiaomi, Honor, Tecno, Nubia and Meizu from display areas. The memo also instructed staff to suspend sales of secondhand devices and trade-in transactions involving these brands.

Empty smartphone display counters at an electronics retailer on Nov. 4, 2026. Photo by a contributor

Hoang Tung, an executive at a mobile phone importing company, said the issue may be linked to weather applications preinstalled on Chinese smartphones.

According to Tung, some of these apps display illegal maps that severely violate Vietnam's sovereignty when users access weather forecasts.

A consumer technology analyst explained that smartphones sold in mainland China typically rely on domestic mapping services such as Baidu Maps, while versions distributed internationally, including in Vietnam, generally use Google Maps. However, some devices retain their original weather applications because Google does not offer an equivalent integrated weather-mapping service.

A representative of one smartphone manufacturer said its software team began investigating the issue on the afternoon of Nov. 4.

Developers reportedly completed a software fix within hours, with the update awaiting app store approval before being distributed to affected devices.

By Nov. 5, Xiaomi and Honor had announced that they had completed the required software updates and adjustments, allowing their smartphones to return to retail displays.

Oppo, meanwhile, said it had found no problems involving inaccurate map displays on its devices.

A company representative told VnExpress that Oppo's weather application uses services provided by The Weather Channel and that no mapping-related services were affected.

The spokesperson emphasized that some retailers had temporarily removed Oppo phones as a precaution while checking the reported issue, rather than because any mapping violation had been identified on the company's devices.

A retail representative said the display models, initially expected to remain off shelves through the weekend, could return to showrooms within a day or two.