Google Pixel 5

[Update: Fixed] Some Pixel 5 units appear to have volume level issues

Damien Wilde | Jan 6 2021 - 12:31 am PT

The Pixel 5 has already had a pretty rocky start to life, thanks to issues pertaining to display gaps, the battery indicator stalling, a proximity sensor flicker bug, and now some volume level problems.

[Update 01/06/2021]: This issue has been resolved as of the January 2021 update for Pixel devices. If you are still encountering issues, it would be wise to get updated as soon as you are able.

Original article below dated 11/17/2020:

Growing reports on Google’s Support Forums contain complaints over the volume level control on new Pixel 5 units. The issues manifest in two areas. Firstly, when watching video content, the volume level can just randomly drop without any sort of warning. Secondly, you may suddenly notice a massive bump in system volume levels such as notification tones, touch sounds, a screenshot click, and system sounds. The problem is that when using the system-level volume controls and sliders, the issues still persist on some Pixel 5 handsets.

Reports of this issue have been around since mid-October, but have been growing on sites like Reddit as more people have received their pre-orders and picked up the device. Luckily, Google is now aware of the volume issues plaguing some Pixel 5 owners and a Google Community Specialist gave the following response over on the Pixel Help Forums:

With each new Pixel phone we work to improve volumes to make sure customers don’t miss important phone calls and notifications. On Pixel the settings for ringtones and notifications are tied together so these volume changes affect both of these settings. Thank you for your feedback about these settings and we will work to make improvements in future updates on Pixel 5.

Having experienced this personally, it can be quite alarming to have your phone suddenly blast out when you thought you set the volume to its lowest level. Of course, a temporary solution is simply to put your phone into vibrate or silent mode — something which you may actively have to do on a daily basis if afflicted.

Google’s response to public complaints does point toward a fix for this bug in the (hopefully) not-too-distant future. If you are encountering volume issues on your Pixel 5, you can always submit a bug report by heading to Settings > About phone > Send feedback about this device, which may help in getting this problem sorted even sooner.