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OnePlus accidentally sent some users a creepy yet hilarious push notification

Published Jul 1st, 2019 6:38PM EDT
OnePlus 7 Pro
Image: Zach Epstein, BGR

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How would you feel if you got a random push notification one morning that just read “Hahahahaha”?

For a number of OnePlus 7 Pro users on Monday, that wasn’t a hypothetical question. Some of them got spammed with what OnePlus acknowledged was the result of a botched internal test that led to some global users reporting some bizarre push notifications on their devices.

Some of them, for example, were greeted with a string of characters in Chinese that translates to “Hahahahaha” in English. Others got a series of Latin alphabet characters. Both of which understandably caused some users to freak out, wondering if they (or OnePlus) had been hacked.

OnePlus, which unveiled the OnePlus 7 Pro in May as the priciest handset from the company to date, said the errant push notifications were the result of testing for an Android Q update. The company also sent out a message apologizing for the error and pinning it on work done during the internal test:

OnePlus also followed up with a statement assuring users that this was a harmless result of a test and that the “incident does not indicate any risks for your personal data.” Everyone got a good laugh — how could you not, when you get a notification out of the blue that’s just laughing at you? — and it also calls to mind another mishap involving a gadget appearing to laugh at its users.

At one point, you may recall, some Amazon Echo users were reporting that the device’s digital assistant Alexa seemed to be audibly laughing at them, for no reason. There was a reason, Amazon eventually countered. In some rare instances, Alexa reportedly easily mistook some words and phrases for the command “Alexa, laugh” — a problem that’s now been fixed.

Andy Meek Trending News Editor

Andy Meek is a reporter based in Memphis who has covered media, entertainment, and culture for over 20 years. His work has appeared in outlets including The Guardian, Forbes, and The Financial Times, and he’s written for BGR since 2015. Andy's coverage includes technology and entertainment, and he has a particular interest in all things streaming.

Over the years, he’s interviewed legendary figures in entertainment and tech that range from Stan Lee to John McAfee, Peter Thiel, and Reed Hastings.