Google Hits Pause On Major Pixel 6 Update To Fix This Annoying Flaw
If you are the proud, yet possibly very irritated, owner of a Pixel 6, you may have noticed that you have not yet received the announced December update that was suppose to fix many of the issues and bugs the phone has been experiencing. That is because Google has decided to pause its distribution of the update as it looks into connectivity issues phones are reportedly having. This is probably not the news many wanted to hear from Google, as they continue to struggle with bugs such as the under-the-screen fingerprint sensor not working properly.
To be clear, however, other Pixel model owners are reporting similar issues with connectivity. On a recent Reddit post, one Pixel 6 owner stated that Google had reached out to them after the owner reported connectivity issues. Google's response indicated that its engineers had identified a potential solution and would like to push a change to the user's phone to see it if improved the issue. In the comments of the post one Pixel 4a owner said they had been experiencing connectivity issues since the phone updated to Android 12 as well.
Some of those who commented on the Reddit post said they had been able to achieve a slightly better connectivity experience once their carrier had made an update to their Carrier service. One person posted that after turning off adaptive connectivity, clearing the cache of everything services related, and restarting the phone, they had been able to achieve better connectivity. Yet another said that turning off WiFi calling seemed to fix it for them. If one thing is certain, it is that there does not seem to be one clear cut fix at this time.
In its most recent statement, Google states that it has identified a fix that will roll out in another software update that will more than likely be in late January. Again, this is not the news many Pixel owners were hoping for. Google went on to add that the January update would include all the fixes and improvements that were supposed to be sent in the December update.
For those who were lucky enough to receive the December update before it was paused, Google says that if you are experiencing mobile connectivity issues you can revert to the previous software version. If you want to try doing this you will need the Android Flash Tool (flash.android.com) and perform a factory reset. The company does recommend you to back up your phone before doing this. If you are not having the connectivity issue many others are having, then you will probably just want to leave things alone.
While it is not uncommon for Pixel owners to experience issues with phones due to them being the first to test out a new Android OS, it is still not a fun time. But that is one of the things you pretty much sign up for when you choose a Pixel phone. Hopefully Google has indeed identified the issue and a fix for the connection issue, along with other bugs. We will have to wait until late January more than likely to know, however.
Another area Google is seeing issues is in a pair of signature calling features. The company has disabled the Hold For Me and the Call Screening features as it looks into problems that people have been reporting since the last update. The Hold For Me feature was launched in 2020 as a means for people to make calls and avoid having to wait on someone to answer. The Call Screening feature guards against spam calls. If you have not yet received the December update you will still have access to these two features.
As Pixel owners grow in frustration at the issues they are facing with their new devices, Google is trying to fix as many as possible as quickly as they can. For those with connection issues, those fixes cannot come quickly enough. If you are a business person or anyone that relies heavily on a phone operating as an actual phone, the latest issue may be something that causes you to pull out your backup or even shell out the money for another phone. Hopefully Google will be able to remedy the bugs and issues soon.
