Joe Maring / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Some Pixel users noticed that their Play system updates suddenly rolled back to November of last year.
- Google confirmed this was a “display-only” glitch, and said a fix was on the way.
- We’re now beginning to see affected Pixel handsets go back to showing a January date.
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We normally expect updates to arrive sequentially, but earlier this month we noticed a spate of reports from users who were seeing their Google Play system update status wind the clock back to November 2025. Initially, it wasn’t clear if Google was actually moving back to an older update, or if the latest one was just labeled incorrectly. Late last week, the company confirmed the nature of the error with us:
“We are aware that some users are seeing an outdated “Google Play system update” date. This is a display-only issue. It does not affect device performance or security. We appreciate your patience and feedback as we work on a fix to ensure the labeling accurately reflects your current version.”
That fix appears to be rolling out now.
Yesterday, Google released Android 16 QPR3 Beta 2.1. After installing the update on a Pixel 10 Pro, we were prompted to install a new Play system update — and still saw that erroneous November 2025 date. But eventually a second Play system update hit our device, and we can confirm that after installing this latest patch, it’s now back to showing January.
Zac Kew-Denniss / Android Authority
That’s maybe not the February date some of you were expecting, but Play system updates lagging behind monthly security patches is nothing new. We’re just happy to see Google sort out that November mess, and stop needlessly confusing Pixel users.
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