Possible Android 10 flaw causes Google Pixel, other phones to randomly lock up

Ben Schoon | Apr 20 2020 - 8:34 am PT

There might be a concerning issue hidden in the background of Android 10. Lately, more and more users have noticed that if an app locks up on their device, the entire system can grind to a halt on several devices with Pixels and other Android 10 devices experiencing the issue.

In case this hasn’t happened to you, here’s what occurs. When an app on your smartphone freezes — something that’s unfortunately common for the likes of Amazon, Reddit, YouTube, and some other popular apps — it brings down the entire system along with it. The problem is frustratingly random (making recordings very difficult to capture) and, really, the only solution is to just wait a moment for the OS to get things back under control.

Android Police first highlighted this issue, but it’s something that’s been plaguing some users for months. Replies to a recent tweet discussing the situation revealed replies from many Google Pixel owners on Android 10 who have noticed the freezing/lock up issue, but they aren’t the only ones. Some users are on OnePlus or Xiaomi smartphones and, seemingly, it’s not tied to the launcher either.

Personally, I’ve noticed this issue a few times on my Pixel 4 XL over the past several months. On top of that, I also ran into it a couple of times on a Samsung Galaxy S20+. Another member of the 9to5 team also noticed it on a Pixel 3, but that device was running Android 11.

What’s the issue here? Honestly, we have no clue at this point. I always figured this was a device-specific problem that wasn’t widespread, but it’s clear now that a lot of people have been seeing it happen on their devices. Troubleshooting also doesn’t seem to have much of an effect, though many see success simply turning the screen off and back on.

Google hasn’t commented on the situation yet, but we’ll update this article if/when they do.