{"id":256124,"date":"2026-01-28T16:15:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T16:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/256124\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T16:15:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T16:15:10","slug":"the-latest-pixel-software-issues-raise-old-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/256124\/","title":{"rendered":"The latest Pixel software issues raise old concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"

I woke up to reports of a problem with the latest Pixel software update<\/a>. It immediately brought back memories of faulty software on my Pixel 6, with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth issues plaguing users for months. <\/p>\n

This latest issue stems from the January patch, with users complaining of Wi-Fi that disconnects and won\u2019t even scan for networks, and unreliable Bluetooth connections.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s always background noise whenever a new update is released, with some users experiencing intermittent problems.<\/p>\n

However, this latest issue appears to be more widespread. Google would be wise to get out in front of any software issues.<\/p>\n

The company has built up plenty of goodwill with solid hardware and software in the last few years, but it wasn\u2019t that long ago that things were different, and Google\u2019s software was seen as a liability to many buyers.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\t\t
\n\t\t\tI’ve had enough \u2014 Google still has these 5 Pixel problems to sort out in 2026
\n\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

My Pixel wish list for 2026<\/p>\n

The Pixel 6 made me not want to use a Pixel ever again<\/p>\n

Software issues crushed the phone<\/p>\n

\"Back<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve never been more disappointed with a smartphone than the Pixel 6. It completely soured me on Google\u2019s smartphones for two years, and most of the issues were avoidable.<\/p>\n

It was a poor marriage of hardware and software, and Android 12 wasn\u2019t ready for primetime.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, I never encountered the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth issues that many others did, but my fingerprint sensor only worked half the time, and I had to do several hard restarts a day after crashes.<\/p>\n

Google didn\u2019t address most of the issues for two months, leaving users with faulty phones while the company worked on a fix.<\/p>\n

Overheating Tensor chipsets didn\u2019t help, and the entire experience was unpleasant.<\/p>\n

The Pixel 7 was lackluster, and consumer confidence in Google phones dropped.<\/p>\n

A Statista Consumer Insights<\/a> survey from the period found that 57% of Pixel owners said they were very likely to switch brands with their next purchase.<\/p>\n

Something needed to change, and it did.<\/p>\n

Google turned a corner with the Pixel 8<\/p>\n

Hardware and software became reliable<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

It felt Google was rudderless with its phone hardware until the Pixel 8.<\/p>\n

For the first time in a while, the company had a cohesive design to work off of, and its software felt right.<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t holding my breath every month, waiting to see what would be broken by the latest patch or Pixel Feature Drop.<\/p>\n

Most of the overheating issues were resolved with the Tensor G3, and I was truly impressed by the Pixel\u2019s battery life for the first time.<\/p>\n

The Pixel 9 and 10 series followed up on that success, and Google\u2019s done a wonderful job of rebuilding confidence in the Pixel brand.<\/p>\n

I recommend the Pixel 10 to first-time Android buyers<\/a>, and Material 3 Expressive is the best Android software I\u2019ve used in a long time. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s intuitive, but more importantly, it runs smoothly. I don\u2019t experience crashes and hiccups, problems that I used to have daily with Google\u2019s older software.<\/p>\n

Everything seemed headed in the right direction, and I haven\u2019t had to complain about Google\u2019s missteps in a while.<\/p>\n

I hope that trend doesn\u2019t reverse, but today\u2019s news is unsettling.<\/p>\n

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are mission-critical features<\/p>\n

Updates can\u2019t break the way we communicate<\/p>\n

\"Google<\/p>\n

Pixel update issues used to frustrate me more than software problems with other manufacturers because they often interrupted communication.<\/p>\n

Wi-Fi is a must-have for so many people, especially if you\u2019re on a limited data plan.<\/p>\n

Bluetooth is how our phones communicate with the tech around us, whether it\u2019s our smartwatches or cars.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the reason why we have a smartphone in our pockets to begin with, so anything to do with communication has to be solid 100% of the time.<\/p>\n

My Pixel 7a had a modem issue where it wouldn\u2019t effectively switch from 5G to 4G LTE when the signal was weak. I lost messages because of it.<\/p>\n

That can\u2019t happen. It\u2019s not ideal, and Google would still catch grief, but if there is even a hint that an update could cause issues with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, it shouldn\u2019t be released.<\/p>\n

The January update was delayed as it was, and I\u2019d hate to think it\u2019s because Google knew there was a potential issue.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t that long ago that people didn\u2019t trust Pixels<\/p>\n

Google\u2019s worked too hard over the last few years to turn things around.<\/p>\n

The company has the best plan for AI on smartphones I\u2019ve seen, and Material 3 Expressive<\/a> is a significant step in the right direction for Android software. <\/p>\n

However, updates matter, especially if you\u2019re selling phones with promises of seven years of support.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, as we\u2019ve seen, past trends are not a measure of future performance \u2014 and Google needs to get a handle on any software issues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I woke up to reports of a problem with the latest Pixel software update. It immediately brought back…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":256125,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[342,111,139,69,145],"class_list":{"0":"post-256124","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-mobile","9":"tag-new-zealand","10":"tag-newzealand","11":"tag-nz","12":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=256124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256124\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/256125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=256124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=256124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=256124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}