Android 14 Beta 3 breaks the fingerprint sensor entirely on some Pixel phones

Ben Schoon | Jun 7 2023 - 3:41 pm PT

If you’re looking to update to Android 14’s latest beta release, you may want to be cautious, as the update has broken the fingerprint sensor for some Pixel owners.

The update to Android 14 Beta 3 has, for some, left Pixel devices without an operable fingerprint sensor. Not only does the sensor not work, but Android also doesn’t seem to recognize it’s there. Any settings or UI elements tied to the sensor have disappeared, leaving a PIN/password/pattern as the only way to unlock the device. This also applies to apps such as password managers that may use the fingerprint sensor.

My own Pixel 6 Pro is affected, and there are also reports across Reddit, Twitter, and a thread on Google’s Issue Tracker for the problem. It seems to only affect Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, and Pixel 6a devices as far as we can tell from current reports, though. It’s also not happening to all users – for example, my colleague Kyle Bradshaw’s Pixel 6 Pro is unaffected. We can’t rule out whether other Pixels are affected, though, so sound off in the comments if your fingerprint sensor is working and what device you’re on.

There’s no obvious workaround for this, though we’d suspect a factory reset may fix the problem. Rolling back to a previous version of Android may fix the issue too. Notably, we did also find one report of the same issue from Android 14’s first beta release.

As often happens with these beta releases, this is a great example of why you shouldn’t install it on your daily driver.