What has happened to Android updates?
dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images
This shouldn’t happen. If there’s one critical area that sets Pixel apart from all other Android phones, it’s timely Android updates. But now something has gone badly wrong. And that’s bad news for millions of Pixel users as updates go completely missing.
Per Android Authority, “after more than 10 days of Google releasing the latest Android 16 update, many Pixel owners report not having received it. The majority of the complaints come from Pixel 8, Pixel 9, and Pixel 10 users. The reports come from different parts of the world and are not limited to a specific carrier or region.”
ForbesMicrosoft, Apple, Google And Amazon Accounts Under Attack—Act NowBy Zak Doffman
Even the official update page is unusual, listing just one device (the Pixel 9a) under Verizon. This despite a raft of important fixes detailed on the same page.
This has not been a smooth-running few weeks for Pixel owners. A later than usual update bulletin followed by these delays. This on top of the hangover from last year of various bugs seemingly addressed by the update itself.
There have even been flaws in the usually flawless background Play System updates. As @PixelUIByGoogle posted on X: “Some Pixel users have received the January 2026 Google Play system update (15 MB), which appears to be causing installation issues such as black screens and UI failures that often require a forced restart to fix.”
And when the January update has installed, it has been wrongly listed on-device as November. There was no update in December, given the break over the holidays.
ForbesMicrosoft Warns Millions Of PC Owners—Remove Windows UpdateBy Zak Doffman
Little surprise that Pixel forums are lighting up with complaints about missing updates. But as Android Authority notes, “we’re unsure why that might be the case or what’s causing the delays.” Other forum posts warn that the update starts but then fails.
No word from Google as yet; Pixel users just need to wait and see.