Huawei responds to HarmonyOS NEXT ‘lost hidden images’ issue

HarmonyOS NEXT beta update has unlocked a new ‘lost hidden album images’ issue for beta users. Some device owners reported that after installing the latest testing version, they lost all the hidden images from their Huawei handset.

The company kick-started the HarmonyOS NEXT public beta program yesterday for first-batch devices. The list includes the Mate 60 series, Mate X5, and MatePad Pro 13.2 tablet. Alongside new features, the update also brought in a nasty bug.

Some beta users started losing their hidden album pictures after installing the HarmonyOS NEXT public beta on their devices. The problem is quite disturbing as “hidden images” reflect confidential pictures that users often hide from prying eyes.

Although Huawei has officially responded on this matter. The company said that the HarmonyOS NEXT hasn’t resulted in the loss of any images. Rather, it has moved all the pictures to the .hiddenALbum section and stored them safely.

The Chinese tech giant added that this is a normal behavior of the software. But it will be resolved by the end of this month with new beta updates. By that time, users can try some temporary solutions that can help them to some extent.

“…it is expected to resolve in the upcoming versions released by the end of October. Please refer to the actual release time for details. Please wait patiently for the system version update and upgrade it on time.”

Temporary Solutions:

Users can go to the .hiddenAlbum album on the file manager. Now select all the images and tap on the “More” tab in the lower right corner. Click on Hide.

Doing so will let you access the lost images and re-hide them from the main album. Other than that, those who do not want to hide these pictures temporarily can wait for the next version. The new update will automatically shift images to hidden album.

HarmonyOS NEXT brings various features on board. But being a beta build, it also leads to certain irritating bugs that hinder user experiences to some extent. One such is the ‘lost hidden images’ issue in the HarmonyOS NEXT public beta.

Hence, it is better to take a backup of your device before proceeding with the beta update installation.

(source)