Sony’s Xperia 1 VII isn’t having the smoothest launch. Sales of the new flagship have now been suspended in Japan due to a serious issue causing random shutdowns and reboots. For a phone that was just starting to land in users’ hands, that’s not a good look.
It started in June, when pre-orders were quietly canceled without much explanation. Now we know why. According to Sony, some Japanese models are suffering from unexpected reboots, freezing, or just refusing to power on altogether. The issue seems widespread enough that Sony has paused sales entirely in its home market while it investigates.
Only certain models appear to be affected so far, including SO-51F, SOG15, A501SO, and XQ-FS44. One theory floating around is that the issue might be tied to Japan’s Osaifu-Keitai mobile payment system, but that hasn’t been confirmed.
The good news is that global variants of the Xperia 1 VII are unaffected. If you’re outside of Japan, you’re probably in the clear for now. Sony has released a software update (build 71.0.A.2.43) aimed at reducing the problem, and users experiencing the issue are advised to try holding the power + volume up buttons for 20 seconds as a soft reset. If that doesn’t work, Sony support is the next step.
It’s rare for a major flagship to hit a snag like this right out of the gate. Plus, it’s not a great sign for Sony’s momentum, especially given that the company doesn’t quite have the same presence in the smartphone market as it used to. Hopefully, the issue stays localized and doesn’t impact the phone’s broader release. We’ll be keeping an eye out.
