The tech world was in a frenzy yesterday when the majority of Huawei and Honor devices started flagging the Google app as a virus. It started off as an isolated issue, but we quickly found out that users around the world are facing this problem. Thankfully, a formal statement is now here, and you no longer have to worry about what the issue was.
Huawei users have nothing to worry about the Google app containing a virus as a fix is now available
Huawei finally stepped up and offered an explanation as to what was happening. It is important to understand that Avast is handling the virus detection and removal engine on all Huawei devices. The Chinese smartphone manufacturer claims that some contents of the latest Google app from October 27th have been modified, and these modifications were the reason why a virus alert was triggered in the first place.
Huawei even claimed that it is aware of this issue and offered a rather simple solution if you are looking to fix it. Rest assured, the Google app is not infected in any way, all you have to do is make some tweaks, and you should be good to go.
On your Huawei device, you would need to go to Settings > Apps > Optimizer > Storage > Clear Cache & Clear Data. Once that is done, open the Optimizer app, click Settings in the upper right corner, and select Wi-Fi- and mobile data for Antivirus software update. After it is done, you should get an 'Update Complete' message. You will have to be sure that you are connected to the internet.
After that, simply open the Google app on your Huawei device to see whether the problem still persists or not. The company claims that the issue is no longer there on Avast's side, so you should be good to go. The issue that occurred yesterday managed to scare almost everyone who experienced it. After all, the Google app being infected with a virus does not send the right kind of message, but thankfully, the issue was neither with Google nor with Huawei or Avast, for that matter. It simply happened because of some changes made to the Google app. As far we can tell, no other manufacturer's device had a similar trigger.
About the author: I have been tinkering with Android devices ever since the early days of the HTC Desire. Over time, I have grown a fondness for the ecosystem and now I cannot live without it. Although some might believe that I have sold my soul to Android, but I believe it is not the case. You can find me writing tutorials and posting guides on a number of different smartphones. When I am not writing here, I am wasting myself away in books, journals, or on Steam.
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