UK phone manufacturer Wileyfox undergoes administration to pay off debts

In 2015, a company by the name of Wileyfox in the United Kingdom seemingly came out of nowhere with two Android phones powered by Cyanogen OS. Wileyfox followed these up with its Spark lineup and the Swift 2 in 2016, and early 2017 saw the debut of the Swift 2 X.

The company's been mostly quiet since then, but according to a former employee that recently took to Reddit, Wileyfox is currently undergoing an administration.

Existing phones won't see any software updates during the administration.

Administration is a process that businesses sometimes undergo in the United Kingdom, and when this takes place, the company in question hands itself over to either one person or a group that's in charge of finding ways to pay off existing debts to impatient creditors.

The former employee that shared this news was a community manager that's been laid off as a result of the administration, and at this time, it's unclear what'll happen to Wileyfox. It's possible this is just a bump in the road and things will be able to go back to normal, but it could also be the beginning of the end for the OEM.

If you're the current owner of a Wileyfox phone, the administration process is also going to have an impact on you. According to the former employee, software updates are no longer happening and any claims for repairs and warranties are up to the decision of the administrator(s).

It's never fun reporting on stories like this, so here's to hoping that Wileyfox can come out of this administration stronger than ever and get back to making awesome products.

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Joe Maring

Joe Maring was a Senior Editor for Android Central between 2017 and 2021. You can reach him on Twitter at @JoeMaring1.