It’s been four weeks since Android 16 started rolling out on Google Pixel phones, the first Android phones to get the update.
The new update brings a host of new features, including Live Updates (similar to Apple’s Live Activities) which offers real-time tracking for services like food delivery and navigation, Advanced Protection Mode (geared towards journalists and public figures), anti-scammer measures during phone calls, and a new look for the main interface, among many more features besides.
The bumper back update is the latest major software update for all Android phones, rolling out on Pixel handsets first.
However, some users are reporting issues with the new update, particularly around the lock screen, with problems described on the Pixel Phone Help forum and on Reddit.
The problems centre around tap-to-wake not working, the screen not turning on (or being slow to turn on) after hitting the power button, extreme variations in brightness, and fingerprint scanner problems.
Even turning the phones on and off again doesn’t seem to help the issue fully, with some users saying it helps in the short term, only for the problems to return once again in a few hours.
How to fix the lock screen issue on Google Pixels
Thankfully, a product expert on Google’s forum has offered a workaround for some of the issues, advising people to reset their adaptive brightness as a way to manage the erratic brightness issue.
This can be done by going to ‘Settings’, then ‘Apps’, then ‘All apps’, then ‘Device Health Services’, then ‘Storage and cache’, then ‘Clear storage’, and finally tapping ‘Reset adaptive brightness’.
With the problems ongoing for almost a full month now, Google is reportedly working on a long-term solution for the issues.
The problems appear to be reserved for Google Pixel phones at the moment, with no reports of similar experiences for other smartphone users on Android 16.
