Google Pixel phones reportedly freezing for minutes at a time

midian182

Posts: 9,632   +120
Staff member

Google’s Pixel smartphones are two of this year's greatest handsets, offering the best Android software experience yet. The many excellent early reviews resulted in Google underestimating demand for the devices, but it seems they’re not without their issues.

First came reports that purple shade and random artifacts were affecting some Pixel users’ cameras. This was followed recently by claims that the handsets’ audio can distort when played at maximum volume within certain apps. There have also been reports of LTE connectivity problems.

But the latest problem - discovered on Google’s product forums by Android Police - appears more serious. Since November, there have been numerous reports of Pixel phones suddenly freezing and becoming unusable. On some occasions, the navigation buttons disappeared. The handsets can stay in this state for a few seconds to several minutes.

It was thought that third-party apps like Life360’s Family Locator were causing the freezes - some users of the GPS tracking application found uninstalling or disabling it fixed things. But others who haven’t installed that particular piece of software have also run into the same problems, so it seems the source of the issue is unclear. Many reports say it appears to occur randomly, and one user even said it happened when the phone wasn’t in use.

Both Pixel and Pixel XL owners have reported their handsets randomly freezing, suggesting a common hardware problem. Clearing the cache or performing a factory reset isn't helping things, either.

Google has yet to make a statement regarding the issue, and it’s unclear exactly how many owners have been affected.

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I've yet to encounter any of this. The only issue I have is occasionally, a youtube video will freeze on a frame, while the audio continues. The app is completely responsive, and choosing a new spot on the seeker bar or going to another video fixes it.
 
WHAT????? Did I read that right? They finally found a way to make a teenager stop talking for several minutes at a time??? That will go down as the single greatest invention of the 21st Century!!!
 
I hadn't encountered any of these problems and couldn't understand why until it was pointed out to me that I don't use a Pixel device. I wonder if that explains it... ;) I might buy a 2017 model though, if Google releases a Pixel 2 XSB (Extra Small Budget)
 
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I've had a Pixel since early November, and I haven't encountered this yet. Hopefully I never will!
 
Not a good second showing for HTC on nexus/pixel devices. The nexus 9 had issues as well.

Also not a good showing for google. these issues were acceptable on $350 nexus phnes, but not $650 pixel phones.
 
I have never had an issue with my Pixel in the two months I've owned it.
Good for you, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't like to see users complaining about having a "dead Pixel" and the tech support asking them if their monitor is still covered by the warranty, rofl.
 
Oh gosh, this is terrible, oh wait for an update to fix the bugs.........

oh gosh, this is android OS btw. no updates till next product launch

If it is hardware then good luck amigos!
 
I've yet to encounter any of this. The only issue I have is occasionally, a youtube video will freeze on a frame, while the audio continues. The app is completely responsive, and choosing a new spot on the seeker bar or going to another video fixes it.

That happens a lot on my S7, too, particularly when I change resolutions.
 
Oh gosh, this is terrible, oh wait for an update to fix the bugs.........

oh gosh, this is android OS btw. no updates till next product launch

If it is hardware then good luck amigos!

You obviously have never owned a google device, only the non-google android devices. All devices made by google get regular updates. I have had several in just the last few months. The releases have improved a lot over the last couple of years. Shame they still seem to suffer from day one issues, not enough testing .... At least now I know to wait to see if the problem gets fixed before I consider an upgrade.
 
Oh gosh, this is terrible, oh wait for an update to fix the bugs.........

oh gosh, this is android OS btw. no updates till next product launch

If it is hardware then good luck amigos!
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: The iPhone demographic.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: The iPhone demographic.

Good luck sir!

As a previous owner of Nexus 5, hopefully Google learned a lot before. The Note 7 is what I considered the ace of android. Too bad it exploded in ashes.
 
You obviously have never owned a google device, only the non-google android devices. All devices made by google get regular updates. I have had several in just the last few months. The releases have improved a lot over the last couple of years. Shame they still seem to suffer from day one issues, not enough testing .... At least now I know to wait to see if the problem gets fixed before I consider an upgrade.

My bad. I compared them to a lot of androids in the market. Thanks for pointing it out. upvoted!

I owned androids like Nexus 5 and some cheap china clones. I dont consider the software support for the nexus line in par or higher than regular android makers. The xda forums is what makes android powerful but It was a lot of pain browsing the xda forums just for a fix and keeping up with them. I value my time and I dont waste my time browsing searching reading just for a product fix.
 
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