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Google starts rolling out January update for the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro

Arriving much sooner than the original “late January” target from Google or this morning’s carrier date, the next patch for the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro is now beginning to roll out following a long delay.

After the December OTA stopped rolling out in late 2021, Google announced that the next Pixel 6 update would arrive later in the month than usual. This “pause” — along with the unprecedented removal of the factory images — was due to “some users” encountering dropped or disconnected calls. The company also had to disable Hold For Me and Call Screening from the Phone app “in light of a bug in the December Android update.”

The January security patch rolled out normally at the start of the new year for all other Pixel phones, and is now making its way to the 6 and 6 Pro:


As of today, there is only one build for each phone, while this January patch addresses 10 issues and Chromecast volume controls. As of Google publishing the images for manually install/sideloading, tapping “Check for update” does not yet trigger the on-device OTA. The date suggested by the Canadian carrier today could be when that starts occurring. [Update: The OTA is rolling out to phones as of Friday afternoon.]

Pixel 6/Pro January patch

Framework

  • Fix for issue causing screen to unlock after missed call when no screen lock is set.

Network & Telephony

  • General fixes & improvements for network 
  • Fix for issue preventing emergency calls in certain conditions while some third-party apps are installed.

Power

  • Fix for issue preventing Pixel Stand setup to start after updating apps in certain conditions.

System

  • Fix for issue causing incorrect data usage accounting in Network menu on some networks.

User Interface

  • Fix for issue causing a black frame to appear when dismissing the Assistant overlay on the lock screen
  • Fix for issue causing memory leak in system UI under certain conditions.
  • Fix for issue causing navigation bar to be hidden when switching device orientation in certain conditions.
  • Fix for issue causing PIP window to render incorrectly for certain apps.

Wi-Fi

  • Fix for issue causing Wi-Fi network to drop connection in certain conditions.

December patch

Apps

  • Fix for issue causing Assistant to unintentionally start a phone call in certain conditions *[1].
  • Fix for stuck or frozen app UI in certain conditions *[7].

Audio

  • General fixes & improvements for audio playback issues in certain apps *[1].
  • Fix for issue causing audio noise in videos captured while using certain phone cases *[1].
  • Fix for issue causing microphone to cut out during calls in certain conditions *[1].
  • Fix for issue causing occasional audio glitch when adjusting volume levels *[1].
  • Fix for issue occasionally preventing audio playback from speaker in certain conditions *[1].
  • Fix for issue preventing Now Playing to search for unrecognized music *[1].

Battery & Power

  • Additional improvements for battery charging information shown in notification shade *[4].
  • General improvements for battery & thermal performance in certain conditions *[7].
  • General improvements for wireless charging in certain conditions *[5].
  • Improvements for alignment detection on Pixel Stand in certain conditions *[5].
  • Fix for issues occasionally causing incorrect Battery usage accounting to display in Settings *[7].

Biometrics

  • General improvements for fingerprint sensor stability & performance *[1].
  • Additional fixes for issues preventing enrollment of new fingerprints in certain conditions *[1].

Bluetooth

  • Fix for distorted audio over Bluetooth in certain scenarios *[1].
  • Fix for issue causing Bluetooth to turn on after disabling in certain conditions *[7].
  • Fix for volume adjustment issues with certain Bluetooth audio devices *[7].

Camera

  • General image quality improvements in camera preview/capture *[1].
  • General improvements for camera stability & performance *[1].
  • General improvements for auto-focus response in certain capture modes *[1].
  • General improvements for color consistency in viewfinder preview *[1].
  • Fix for issue causing blank viewfinder preview in certain conditions *[1].

Display & Graphics

  • Enable ANGLE graphics support library for certain apps and games *[1].
  • Add additional example images for display color options in Settings *[7].
  • General improvements to keep the screen on after multiple manual wakes *[7].
  • General improvements for Adaptive brightness response in certain conditions *[7].
  • Fix for occasional screen flicker during brightness adjustment *[1].
  • Fix for issue preventing Smooth Display to switch display refresh rate in certain conditions *[1].
  • Fix for issue causing screen flicker after locking or unlocking device in certain conditions *[1].
  • Fix for occasional white screen flash after display goes to sleep *[7].

Framework

  • Fix for issue causing app icons to display as pending downloads after installation completes *[7].
  • Fix for issue causing Play store app installation to pause indefinitely in certain conditions *[7].
  • Fix for issue occasionally preventing Work Profile setup to complete in certain conditions *[7].
  • Fix for issue preventing all settings or apps to be restored from backup during setup in certain conditions *[7].

Media

  • Fix for issue causing system crash during media playback in certain conditions *[7].

Network & Telephony

  • General improvements for network connection stability & performance *[7].
  • Fix for crash in Settings when toggling Airplane mode on certain network configurations *[7].
  • Fix for issue that disabled call features on certain devices or networks in certain conditions *[1].

Sensors

  • General improvements for sensor stability & response in certain conditions *[2].
  • General improvements for Quick Tap response & performance *[2].
  • General improvements for Auto-rotate response in certain device orientations *[4].
  • General improvements for Adaptive brightness response in certain conditions *[7].
  • Fix for issue preventing lift to wake and double tap to wake in certain conditions *[1].
  • Fix for issue preventing Always-on-display from turning on in certain conditions *[1].
  • Fix for issue causing unexpected haptics or vibration in certain conditions *[1].

System

  • Kernel update to 4.9.279 for Pixel 3a & Pixel 3a XL.
  • Kernel update to 4.14.243 for Pixel 4, Pixel 4 XL & Pixel 4a.
  • Kernel update to 4.19.202 for Pixel 4a (5G), Pixel 5 & Pixel 5a (5G). 
  • General improvements for system stability & performance *[7]
  • Fix for issue causing device to freeze after sleeping while charging in certain conditions *[1].
  • Fix for issue occasionally preventing OTA updates to install *[7].

User Interface

  • Add Material You dynamic theming support for the device boot animation *[7].
  • Improvements for Internet tile in Quick Settings *[7].
  • Improvements for Quick Settings layout in certain device orientations *[7].
  • Fix for issue causing display to stay on during wireless charging *[5].
  • Fix for issue causing Game Dashboard icon to display over lock screen *[7].
  • Fix for issue causing incorrect colors or theme to display in Quick Settings in certain conditions *[7].
  • Fix for issue causing lock screen icons to display in notification shade in certain conditions *[7].
  • Fix for issue causing notification History & Clear all buttons to occasionally display incorrectly *[7].
  • Fix for issue causing persistent app media controls in notification shade in certain conditions *[7].
  • Fix for issue causing persistent call notification in certain conditions *[7].
  • Fix for issue causing persistent Turn off work apps button in app drawer *[7].
  • Fix for issue causing screen flicker after locking or unlocking device in certain conditions *[7].
  • Fix for issue causing Settings to crash in Conversations menu in certain conditions *[7].
  • Fix for issue causing undismissable Game Dashboard button during gameplay in certain conditions *[7].
  • Fix for issue causing app drawer to scroll to the top after clearing search query *[7].
  • Fix for issue causing certain home screen icons to appear misaligned in certain conditions *[7].
  • Fix for issue enabling Quick Settings toggles to be tapped from home screen in certain conditions *[7].
  • Fix for issue hiding date or time in Quick Settings in certain conditions *[7].
  • Fix for issue occasionally causing blank background on home screen after setting wallpaper *[7].
  • Fix for issue occasionally causing Quick Settings to pull down after unlocking device *[7].
  • Fix for issue occasionally causing UI elements to display with transparent backgrounds *[7].
  • Fix for issue occasionally displaying Work Profile badge icon on personal apps or contacts *[7].
  • Fix for issue preventing conversation bubble to be dismissed in certain conditions *[7].
  • Fix for issue preventing search results to display in Settings in certain conditions *[7].
  • Fix for occasional screen flicker in notification shade when dragging from top of screen *[7].
  • Fix for occasional flickering when quickly switching between apps in certain conditions *[7].

Wi-Fi

  • General improvements for Wi-Fi stability & performance *[7].
  • Fix for issue that would occasionally disconnect device from Wi-Fi in certain conditions *[1].

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Avatar for Abner Li Abner Li

Editor-in-chief. Interested in the minutiae of Google and Alphabet. Tips/talk: abner@9to5g.com

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