A weird bug is affecting selected Pixel devices including the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro that sees some devices crash and soft reboot when a specific YouTube video is opened.
[Update 02/28]: Google has confirmed that this issue will be addressed in the upcoming March update but did not share details on what is causing the problems with this specific video.
However, it does appear that this problem is less prominent on devices running the recent Android QPR Beta and Android 14 Developer Preview 1. Until this fix rolls out, it might be worthwhile avoiding catching up on Alien movie clips.
The video in question is a 4K HDR clip from the movie Aliens, and when attempting to open it in the YouTube app, your Pixel 7 or 7 Pro might just hang, crash, and then reboot instantaneously. A Reddit thread first surfaced the issue, and at least at this stage it only appears as though this problem arises when loading the video in question (h/t Mishaal Rahman).
Top comment by Vratislav Jindra
A few years ago, the Pixel 2 was susceptible to constant crashing due to a wallpaper bug that has since been resolved.
It hasn't been resolved. The only thing Google did was remove the wallpaper that was causing the phone to crash from the Google Wallpapers app. It will still crash if you download the same photo from elsewhere and set it (or any other image with the same color depth) as wallpaper on that phone.
According to the thread, some Pixel 6 and 6a handsets also crash when loading the video. So it’s not limited to just the latest and greatest Google phones. Not all Pixel 7 series handsets will crash when attempting to play the YouTube video, and it’s unclear just what might be causing this. Some in the original thread have claimed that after rebooting, their device has temporary cellular connectivity problems. This often takes a few minutes to sort itself out, but a full reboot is often required.
Having tested this out — so you don’t have to — your phone may crash before the video has even loaded. Attempting to open the link on your Pixel 7 or just clicking within the YouTube app still soft reboots your device. Other devices such as the recently released Xiaomi 13 Pro appear to be unaffected.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen problems with images or videos causing crashes. A few years ago, the Pixel 2 was susceptible to constant crashing due to a wallpaper bug that has since been resolved. Another issue with a specific wallpaper caused Android phones to essentially brick when applied.
Like those previous issues, this could be related to the colorspace, but should we learn more we’ll be the first to let you know. Alternatively, if you have spotted any other YouTube videos or content that crashes your Pixel 7, let us know down in the comments section.
More on Pixel:
- Android 13 QPR2 Beta 3.2 rolling out for Pixel with Jio 5G enabled
- ‘Fixed on Pixel’ – How ‘Unblur’ actually works and what Pixel phones can use it
- LineageOS 20 now supports Google Pixel 6, Pixel 7, and more
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