Sony Halts Xperia 1 VII Sales in Japan Due to Device Malfunctions

Sony has temporarily suspended sales of the Xperia 1 VII due to reports of the smartphones unexpectedly shutting down, entering an endless reboot loop, or failing to power on altogether, effectively becoming unusable.

The manufacturer states that this issue affects specific versions of the device intended for Japanese mobile carriers:

— Xperia 1 VII SO-51F (for NTT Docomo, Inc.)
— Xperia 1 VII SOG15 (for KDDI Corporation)
— Xperia 1 VII A501SO (for SoftBank Corp.)
— Xperia 1 VII XQ-FS44

According to Sony, there have been no reports of similar issues concerning the Xperia 1 VII outside of Japan.

The company advises users experiencing these problems to back up their essential data, perform a factory reset on their devices if possible, and attempt to update the software by simultaneously pressing the power and volume up buttons for 20 seconds, after which they should install the latest software update.

Currently, Sony is investigating the cause of these malfunctions. It is likely that the issue is related to a software glitch specific to the Japanese variant of the smartphone, as reported by Android Authority.

Sony announced the new Xperia 1 VII in May. The new device bears similarities to its predecessor, the Xperia 1 VI, but comes with various enhancements.