Some Pixel units are bricked after installing the March Android 16 QPR 3 update
With the update, Google improved the popular Circle to Search feature adding multi-object recognition and “Try it on,” which allows you to see how certain clothes will look on you. The fabulous At a Glance widget (well, I love it regardless of what you think) added sports scores and transit information in real time, and the Pixel overall added a bootloop on some devices. Wait! The latter’s not a feature that Google wanted to include with the latest stable Android QPR release.
But that is what was experienced by some Pixel users, at least some of those who were lucky enough to have their phones turn on. As you might gather from that comment, some users installed the update, and it was literally lights out for their Pixel. For some, they kept booting into Recovery mode, while others kept seeing the Google logo as they were viewing a loop of the initial boot screen. Other users received a warning stating that their data or the Android system was corrupt.
Those whose Pixel could boot into Recovery mode were able to reset their phone to Factory settings. While you could escape the issue by performing a factory reset, there is a reason why those are the two words that no smartphone owner wants to hear. A factory reset means that all of your data is lost, but I would say that this is preferable-albeit just barely-to having your Pixel bricked forever. Yeah, I’m just kidding about that. Reinstalling all of your apps is, in retrospect, a small price to pay to avoid bricking your phone.
Google is aware of the problem but has yet to respond
Even though Google is aware of the situation, it has yet to comment on it. I assume that if you could perform a factory reset, you’ve already lost all of your data and reinstalled it, allowing you to move on with your Pixel still in your hand. Others will have to wait for Google to release some sort of update that could help affected Pixel users. Keep in mind that you will not be able to install an older version of Android to solve the problem.
- The System UI / Launcher is completely dead.
- The notification shade cannot be pulled down preventing it from interacting with system toggles.
- The device defaults to “Charging Only” mode via USB.
He also calls his phone a paperweight (and it is an expensive one at that!). The Issue Tracker says, “The user requires an official, patched OTA file that resolves the underlying framework crash so the device can boot properly just once to extract critical local data.” Hopefully, Google delivers that soon.
