Google Pixels get the January update with MS Teams 911 call fix — excluding the Pixel 6
Google has started rolling out the January update for Pixels. I know, it’s a Tuesday, and they usually land on Monday, but that sometimes happens on holiday weekends. There’s one other big kink, though: The Pixel 6 and 6 Pro aren’t in on the party just yet. Google notes that the update for its latest phones will be delayed until later in January.
This isn’t a feature bump update, so the changelog is mostly limited to fixes, and that includes a fix forthat bug that could cause 911 calls to fail in very specific circumstances. (If you missed that bit of news, you can reada more detailed explanation for how it works.) On top of that, you can expect fixes for connectivity (both cellular and Wi-Fi), a handful of UI tweaks to address issues, and a more accurate data usage monitor, among other more minor changes.
The update should be rolling out for the Pixel 3a series through the Pixel 5a, including everything in between. As noted, the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro won’t get the update until later in January,as Google previously said. (At the time, it wasn’t clear if that meant the update would be delayed for every device or not.) Previously, Google had to pull the December update for the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro due to an issue that could cause dropped and disconnected calls. That means the majority of Pixel 6 and 6 Pro phones right now are running November 2021 patches, even as their older siblings are now advancing to the January 2022 update. That also meansa few extra weeksbefore Pixel 6 owners can take full advantage of their new Pixel Stands.
When it comes to that 911 call bug, there was some concern that Google might not be able to patch all affected devices. It’s a very serious issue affecting all Android phones running 8.0 and later, but Google only issues patches for more recent versions. However, Google has apparently backported those patches all the way back to Android 8.0 and 8.1, meaning any Android device running January 2022 patches (or “2021-13 patch levels, which is weird) should be patched for this issue.
The update should be rolling out shortly to currently supported Pixels excluding the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro.OTA imagesfor manual installation andfactory imagesare also available if you absolutely need to pull the updates down manually.
Also notably, this isn’tGoogle’s final sunset update for the Pixel 3 series. That will presumably land some other time in the next couple of months.
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