Google admits that February update broke Pixel 6 series Wi-Fi; fix coming in March
We may earn a commission if you make a purchase from the links on this page.
Some Google Pixel 6 series owners discovered that the February update broke the Wi-Fi connectivity on their handsets. The issue shuts down Wi-Fi when the devices are locked, or doesn't turn it on at all. The official Google Reddit account posted a statement on the Google Pixel sub-Reddit earlier today.
The statement says, "Hey u/cheesehead78. Thanks so much for reporting this issue, we’re sorry that you’re experiencing it. After some investigation, we identified the root cause and determined that it impacts a very small number of devices. Of course, we realize this is a poor experience and immediately developed a software fix that will be available in the next Google Pixel Update, rolling out in March."
Some Pixel 6 series owners might be without Wi-Fi until March
There was some speculation that the "mystery" second February update released less than a week ago was disseminated by Google to fix the Wi-Fi issue, but that proved not to be the case. Verizon eventually released a changelist for the update that said, "The current software update provides performance improvements to your device."
Some Pixel 6 users had Wi-Fi broken by the latest update
Not everyone is pleased about having to wait until the March update to have the issue fixed. As Reddit user "jbockel" wrote, "How in the world is it acceptable to break Bluetooth+wifi in early Feb and push a fix over a month later? This is shameful."
"Also, as someone who has reached out to your support team on three separate occasions about this issue I can attest that they are wholly unprepared to help," he continued. "They have no idea what's going on and all wanted to warranty my P6P with a new phone. Google needs to do better."
"Also, as someone who has reached out to your support team on three separate occasions about this issue I can attest that they are wholly unprepared to help," he continued. "They have no idea what's going on and all wanted to warranty my P6P with a new phone. Google needs to do better."
If you don't want to wait until March to receive the update, those who joined the beta program and installed Android 12L Beta 3 found that this will fix the problem. Just keep in mind that Android 12L, a version of Android 12 for devices with larger screens, is still in beta and while some call the release stable, you might not want to take that risk.
Installing the latest beta version of Android 12L is one workaround if you can't wait until March
Still, if you want to give Android 12L beta 3 a whirl on your Pixel, click on the following link. A box on the header says "View your eligible devices." Tap on it and you'll see, well, your eligible devices.
Tap on the "+ Opt in" button and you'll be sent an OTA update to install within the next 24 hours. That is done by going to Settings > System > System update. When you want to return to the public Android updates, you'll go back to the same Android Beta System website, tap on devices, and click on "Opt out." Within 24 hours you will receive an update that will wipe your device and install the latest public version of Android.
As Google notes, "You will not be able to unenroll and revert back to a stable public release version of Android without first wiping all locally saved data on your device. You may also encounter issues restoring a backup."
Buy the Google Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro
Considering that the beginning of March isn't terribly far away, your best bet is probably to wait for Google's update to arrive. This is not the first time that Pixel 6 series users have had an update end up causing more problems for the phone. For example, twice Google has updated the Google Photos app only to cause problems for the Magic Eraser.
The first time, Magic Eraser disappeared following the update and Google sent out a fix that brought back the heavily promoted feature. The second time a Google Photos update negatively affected the Magic Eraser happened earlier this month when users trying to open Magic Eraser would find the Google Photos app crashing. Google pushed out a fix the very next day.
This time, with Wi-Fi connectivity impacted, let's hope the cure doesn't cause something else to go down.
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed: