Android Pie is the first time we've seen such a wide adoption of a new platform version at launch. Google's Pixel phones have it, of course, but we've also seen the stable and final version come to Essential's PH1. Google tells us that the phones from Sony, Xiaomi, Nokia, Oppo, Vivo, and OnePlus that were part of the Android P beta will all be updated early this fall, as well as all qualifying Android One devices. And with any new software, there will be bugs.
More: The Android P Beta includes phones from 7 manufacturers in addition to Pixels
Android Pie has its share of those dreaded "unintended behaviors and features" that software developers hate to see and we hate to stumble across while we try to use our phones. Some are minor, some are going to be inconvenient, and some might be a reason to hold off on updating if you haven't already. I've looked through bug trackers, official forums, Reddit, XDA forums, and every other place I could think of to see what folks are saying to build out a list of the most significant (read: most often reported) bugs for phones with the official Android Pie release.
Here's what's happening as of late August 2018.
Pie bugs across the board
These are the issues that users with all phones have reported seeing. It's likely that these are actual platform bugs and fixing them for one phone fixes them for all.
- Battery draining fast while idle.
- Battery draining fast with Adaptive Battery enabled.
These two bugs may be an incompatibility with specific apps. That could mean an adjustment in the Android framework is needed, or it could be poorly developed apps going rouge. Or both.
- Google Assistant voice match settings not stored correctly.
This could be a bug in Assistant or it could be a bug in Android Pie. What I know for sure is that several folks have reported that using a shared Google Home product involves retraining Assistant to your voice each time you want to use any personalized setting or feature.
- Bluetooth connection and volume bugs
There will always be Bluetooth issues when a project uses the latest open-source Bluetooth stack and tries to connect to other devices that use proprietary older versions of the standard. This is why some companies are late to adopt the newest version of Bluetooth and why Bluetooth in your car — which is probably a very old version and in dire need of an update — can suck. Google will get these issues fixed in time for the next version of Bluetooth to arrive.
Original Pixel and Pixel XL
- Home and recents buttons disappear; sometimes require a reboot to come back
- Phone becomes unresponsive while charging
- Fast charging no longer working with some chargers
- Other parties unable to hear during an outbound call
- OTA update still failing for some users
Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL
- Constant scanning for Wi-Fi networks
- Incoming calls default to speakerphone when answered
- Video capture freezing after a minute or two
- Adaptive Brightness feature not triggering as expected
- Display can become too bright or too dim while using the automatic setting
Essential PH1
- Wi-Fi connection issues
- Call volume bugs (too loud and too quiet are both reported as bugs)
- Notch settings in the developer options are gone
Some of these bugs are self-explanatory, and some total code geek level. Some can also be a coincidence where multiple users have a hardware fault and some may be present on your phone even if you've never done the thing needed to trigger them. Hunting and killing bugs is hard but having more phones see Android Pie earlier than ever before will help get them sorted and fixed.
I know plenty of other people are seeing some bugs, maybe these or others that aren't listed. If you're using Android Pie and seeing things that are off-kilter, jump into the comments and let everyone know what you're seeing and on what phone.
To file an official bug report, look here for the right place to talk about your particular device.
Update August 2018: This post will be continually updated until every major bug in Android Pie has been found and squashed. We hate bugs!
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