Google asks 5G Pixel 6 users to help it test a fix for the connectivity bug
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Earlier this month, Google admitted that the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro were both suffering from connectivity issues. The company did say that it was investigating the problem in a post written in the Pixel Support Forum. Some Pixel 6 users had this problem before the December update was issued while others didn't have this issue until the December update was disseminated.
Google asks those complaining about the Pixel 6 connectivity issue to test a possible solution
Nearly a week ago we told you about a solution discovered by a Pixel 6 user that helped him solve the problem on his phone. Installing the latest Google Carrier services beta update from the Google Play Store exterminated the bug and Google seems to be testing a similar but not exact fix. According to Reddit users (via 9to5Google), those who submitted a complaint to Google about this problem received a message from the company.
Google wants Pixel 6 users with a connectivity issue to help test a possible fix
In the message, Google wrote "Thank you for providing a bug report and additional information. Our engineers have identified a potential solution and they would like to push a change to your phone to see if it improves the issue."
Google needs the unique IMEI that belongs to your handset. To find that information on your Pixel, go to Settings > About Phone > IMEI. The company adds that "understanding cellular coverage in your area is important to this research." As a result, Google wants to know a "general description" of the user's location at the time the phone lost connectivity.
What Google is looking for is information about a cross street and whether the user was in an office building, a house, or outdoors when the phone lost connectivity. However, the firm points out that it doesn't need precise information.
With the IMEI information provided to Google, the company will send users a targeted update to Carrier settings. This is not an OTA update and carriers will be able to push out the targeted update in the background. Also found on iOS, Apple defines it this way: "Carrier settings updates let your carrier provider update carrier network and related settings to improve cellular network connectivity and performance. Carrier settings updates can also add support for new features like 5G or Wi-Fi Calling."
You can find out which Carrier Services version that you're using by going to Settings > Network & Internet > Internet > Select [the settings gear next to] your carrier name > Carrier settings Versions. One Reddit user in the U.K. said that after receiving the update, his Pixel 6 model was still "completely unusable at home." And others who tried to update the Google Carrier services beta update also found that it didn't work.
In Europe, Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro users were connected to Carrier settings version 48 with the update bringing version 49 21-12-20 to these handsets.
One Pixel 4a5G user tried something else which he posted on Reddit. This new attempted fix calls for the user to turn off adaptive connectivity, clear the cache of everything services-related, and restart the phone. "This solved the issue for me on my 4a5G," he wrote. Unfortunately, it did not work for others who tried this exact same thing.
Google has a backlog of issues to fix
Google has a number of bugs to exterminate even though it has already delivered fixes for several issues including one that made ghost calls to random people. One that was pushed out tried to improve the lagging in-display fingerprint scanner on the two Pixel 6 models.
Whether it was done to save money, we don't know for certain, but Google went with an optical fingerprint reader instead of an ultrasonic one. Some did say that the biometric reader improved following the update, but for many the lagging fingerprint reader remains the main point of aggravation with their device.
Now is the time to pick up your Google Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro
Another bug that might have been fixed via the December update is the one that made Magic Eraser disappear on the phones. Ironically, the app allows users to make unwanted people and things disappear from a photo. It is not supposed to make the app itself disappear.
Recently, Pixel 6 users have found issues with the accelerometer not working which prevents the phone from rotating to the proper orientation. Once Google catches up with the backlog of problems, the phones should be fine. This is exactly what happened with earlier Pixel models including this writer's Pixel 2 XL which was purchased in August 2018, 10 months after being released, with not one bug left on the phone.
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