New warning for Pixel users as update bricks devices.
Millions of Pixel users have already upgraded to Android 15, with the latest version of the OS promising a wealth of security and privacy updates. Announcing its release last week, Google promised “security features that help keep your sensitive health, financial and personal information protected from theft and fraud.”
But it’s not all smooth sailing. As picked up by Android Police, “reports are emerging that the Android 15 update is causing Pixel 6 devices to brick unexpectedly, leaving them unusable… Google devices seem to be having trouble with Android 15 in general. Just a few days ago, Pixel 8 Pro users reported issues with the back gesture.”
The surprising culprit appears to be one of those heralded security updates. Android 15’s private space enables users to hide apps behind device-level security. “Just giving a PSA to anyone who has a Pixel 6,” posted one Redditor late Sunday. “Don’t enable the private space feature if you upgrade to Android 15. I unlocked the private space area, opened an app I installed in it, and it bricked my Pixel 6. I can’t turn the phone on or reboot it using the methods provided by Google. It’s completely dead.”
As Google explains, “private space in Android 15 acts like a digital safe on your phone. You can create a separate private space to organize sensitive apps, like your social, dating or banking apps. When private space is locked, apps remain virtually invisible to others and are hidden from your apps list, recent apps view, notifications and settings. To access private space, there’s an additional layer of authentication to keep apps secure and away from prying eyes. And for additional privacy, you can choose to hide the existence of private space from view on your phone.”
This was not an isolated incident, which has led to suggestions that users hold off from updating until there’s more clarity. “Don’t upgrade yet,” warns PC Mag. “For the time being, there are no fixes. Thus, Pixel 6 owners may want to avoid updating to Android 15 or using Private Space if they’re already installed it. The issue seems to have only affected the Pixel 6 and, according to one Reddit user, the Pixel 6 Pro.”
According to Android Police, “after spotting this thread, we noticed the same behavior on our Pixel 8 Pro, but Android Authority says both of their Pixel 8 Pros were unaffected. Dozens more users have responded to a Google Tracker thread reporting similar experiences.”
This isn’t the only issue for Pixel users, with the lack of Google’s new network security features also a surprise given they featured in an Android 15 beta. But for affected users, this new issue will taint the update and create serious short-term concern.
I have reached out to Google for any update on this reported issue and the likely timing of a fix—one assumes one will be made available very soon.