I went to service center, and they have my phone (ROG 3). They didn't even know what widevine is at first, and wanted me to contact Netflix.
I had to explain to them that widevine certification is system certificate, and it is not issued by netflix.
It has been 3 days without my phone. They gave me an old spare phone, which is slow and buggy, but at least I can stay in contact.
On the last update from them, they said that the instructions they followed which was provided by Asus , gave them error, and they're awaiting follow up response from them.
For something which is not my fault, I have to go through a lot of trouble. I went to service center twice on a work day, which is 18KM from my home. I was expecting it to be a quick fix, considering it is a software issue. They would just flash the certificates and I will have my phone back same day. But, it was not the case, because Asus doesn't provide service themselves. They use third party service providers, which service more than one brand. The same service center was accepting Realme and BoAt devices, other than Asus.
The whole arrangement is less than ideal and not as smooth as I hoped. Given that all their service centers should've received a detailed memo with instructions to solve this issue on the spot if any service center receives a phone which has this issue, or similar software issue that was either caused by OTA update, or their software bug.
But, unfortunately, it is not the case. The service center representative was not even aware of the situation.
There is a reason why Apple or Samsung has better after sales service and hence their devices cost little higher. It is not all about electronics and how much punch it packs on paper. There are lots of things that makes user experience better all over, especially after sales.
Asus is far away from that, and it will take a lot of effort from their side to reach there if they want their customers to trust them and keep coming back to them whenever they need upgrade. Otherwise, unfortunately, this is going to be my first and last Asus device.