Pixel 6 / Pixel 6 Pro / Pixel 6a

T4rd said:
Are you using Nova with gesture nav or button nav? I'm assuming gesture nav is still broken using other launchers than the Pixel launcher, but hoping maybe Google threw us a bone on that (highly doubtful I know).
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I'm using the buttons at the bottom. There's a large section within Nova 8 specifically for gesture input, but I have no idea if it's good/bad or broken.
 
Apparently Google just announced that Android 13 will be rolling out to Pixel devices starting today. Nada on my end yet, but will probably keep checking before trying to update via my PC later in the week.
 
LOL, I'm impatient and just ADB sideloaded it. After all, that makes the upgrade process take like 5 minutes instead of an hour or two. Just like with the beta, it makes things feel snappier. Especially the fingerprint sensor.
 
After a day of using it (and comparing it to my wife's same phone on Android 12), I'd have to say that this is definitely the smallest major update I can recall for either iOS or Android. It feels more like a monthly update than a new numbered OS. The rollout of Android 12.1/L earlier this year included more surface changes.

13 includes better themed icons, improved Bluetooth, tweaked app permissions, and a couple unique touches (like a power button on the shade). There's also the fingerprint scanner "fix" for Pixel 6 devices. Whatever they did with it worked fantastically. I noticed that the 2-line clock has apparently been in Android 12 all along. They must've added that in one of the monthly updates and nobody noticed. That's really it in terms of new features...and 1/2 of those only apply to Pixel devices. I know Samsung is rolling out a new version of OneUI right now, too. For the other OEM's - the changelist is probably going to be tiny.
 
Domingo said:
After a day of using it (and comparing it to my wife's same phone on Android 12), I'd have to say that this is definitely the smallest major update I can recall for either iOS or Android. It feels more like a monthly update than a new numbered OS. The rollout of Android 12.1/L earlier this year included more surface changes.

13 includes better themed icons, improved Bluetooth, tweaked app permissions, and a couple unique touches (like a power button on the shade). There's also the fingerprint scanner "fix" for Pixel 6 devices. Whatever they did with it worked fantastically. I noticed that the 2-line clock has apparently been in Android 12 all along. They must've added that in one of the monthly updates and nobody noticed. That's really it in terms of new features...and 1/2 of those only apply to Pixel devices. I know Samsung is rolling out a new version of OneUI right now, too. For the other OEM's - the changelist is probably going to be tiny.
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Not a complete shock given how big a change Android 12 was, but still... it makes iOS 16 look like a full-scale overhaul by comparison. Not that this is necessarily a problem for now, mind you. Apple and Google have both had periods where they've clearly needed to hit the brakes and focus on polishing their software.
 
Weird shit going on with the wife's Pixel 6 Pro; I checked for update earlier and it started downloading the update. She uses the phone for a while and I check it again and now it says it's already up to date on Android 12 July patch still and doesn't pick up the update.

My Pixel 5 downloaded and installed it just fine. It's minor, but this janky shit keeps snowballing for me and is making Android more annoying than ever to use as I get older and have less patience for it. Unless Google pulled the update, which certainly isn't unprecedented, it makes zero sense.
 
T4rd said:
Weird shit going on with the wife's Pixel 6 Pro; I checked for update earlier and it started downloading the update. She uses the phone for a while and I check it again and now it says it's already up to date on Android 12 July patch still and doesn't pick up the update.

My Pixel 5 downloaded and installed it just fine. It's minor, but this janky shit keeps snowballing for me and is making Android more annoying than ever to use as I get older and have less patience for it. Unless Google pulled the update, which certainly isn't unprecedented, it makes zero sense.
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So there is one other possibility. There was a patch at the beginning of August that was still on the July Security Update but was designed to fix GPS issues.
https://www.androidcentral.com/phones/google-pixel-6-august-4-update-gps-fix
Could've been that? My wife's normal Pixel 6 hasn't gotten the Android 13 update yet and mine probably wouldn't have either had I not installed in manually. Whatever demographic we fall under = always last to get OTA updates.
 
Domingo said:
So there is one other possibility. There was a patch at the beginning of August that was still on the July Security Update but was designed to fix GPS issues.
https://www.androidcentral.com/phones/google-pixel-6-august-4-update-gps-fix
Could've been that? My wife's normal Pixel 6 hasn't gotten the Android 13 update yet and mine probably wouldn't have either had I not installed in manually. Whatever demographic we fall under = always last to get OTA updates.
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Upgraded my beta to retail about 6 minutes after I read I could. Took FOREVER to install, for whatever reason, considering I only needed a 36mb update since I was already on the latest beta.
 
Domingo said:
So there is one other possibility. There was a patch at the beginning of August that was still on the July Security Update but was designed to fix GPS issues.
https://www.androidcentral.com/phones/google-pixel-6-august-4-update-gps-fix
Could've been that? My wife's normal Pixel 6 hasn't gotten the Android 13 update yet and mine probably wouldn't have either had I not installed in manually. Whatever demographic we fall under = always last to get OTA updates.
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No, right after posted that, I see this.

https://www.androidpolice.com/google-accidentally-pushing-android-12-instead-android-13-pixel-users/

This is exactly what happened. I actually noticed that it said Android 12 on the update screen (screenshoted it too) and assumed it was just a typo (despite seeing 13 on my Pixel 5) and started the download. I didn't actually think Google was rolling the old Android update out to the phone again, lol.

Impressive how incompetent Google can be sometimes.
 
LOL, that's ridiculous. I'm definitely glad I side-loaded the damned update now.
 
I thought about sideloading Android 13, but my P6 is working great with 12. No need to upset the balance of the Force for now.
 
Mad Maxx said:
Found an excellent glass screen protector for the standard 6. Actually seems to enhance the performance of the fingerprint scanner on my phone.

Tocol Glass Protector

Includes 3 full sized screen protectors, 3 camera protectors, installation tray for $19 bux.
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Somehow missed that this was for the standard 6 and not 6 Pro and ordered them for the wife's 6 Pro. It takes 2 weeks for US Amazon orders to get to me in Italy so I had a big face palm when it arrived a few days ago and realized it's the wrong one. But fortunately I will have a standard Pixel 6 here soon and will decide if it's going to replace my 5 or had it down to my son to replace his 3a XL.

So does anyone recommend a good screen protector for the 6 Pro? The wife drops her phone almost on a daily basis, so she's been scared to use it for this long already without one. At least she has a decent case on it with a lip to protect the screen in a fall too, but at some point she will drop it in gravel or something and needs a screen protector for that.

Her 6 Pro has yet to receive the 13 OS update still after a few days. :rolleyes:

I will say that on my 5 so far 13 seems to have improved UI performance considerably, esp. using a 3rd party launcher like Nova with gesture navigation that was pretty janky before any time I swiped home I would get redraws constantly and briefly flash the multi-task screen for some reason. On 13 it gestures have functioned 100% as intended like on the Pixel launcher with animations left intact! Hope I'm not jinxing it, as I haven't seen it reported anywhere that Google has fixed gesture navigation on 3rd party launchers with this update (only seen reports of "hundreds" of bug fixes), but am really glad to have seen UI performance improved overall. I haven't seen this much of a difference in performance from an OS update since Jellybean and Project "butter". Has anyone else noticed it too? I figured it was just initially due to a clean boot ater the update and expected the jank to return after a day or so, but 3 days in now and it's still very consistent.
 
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My wife drops her phone everyday also. I get the cheapest tempered glass one with a guide to install and a five pack or something like that. She breaks them once a month and I just replace them. I found that even the best ones break when they are dropped repeatedly so she doesn't get the best ones anymore lol.

I have her in a Crave dual guard case and nothing else breaks knock on wood.
 
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I know I'm late to the party on this, but: the most recent monthly Android 12 updates (I don't have Android 13 yet) have made the Pixel 6's fingerprint reader much faster for me. Still a bit cautious, but I'm much happier with the experience. If Google can avoid introducing significant new flaws with the Pixel 7, it's going to have a pretty good phone on its hands.
 
I still need to reactivate my fingerprint sensor. A few weeks back I managed to catch my pixel in the car door while closing it.

Not that it matters.
 
Not sure if anyone else is experiencing this (only found it online in one other place), but FB reels are discoloured. Happens to about 90% of them. See below!

Screenshot_20220818-220158~2.png
 
So far I've noticed my battery % dropping much quicker. Could be a situation where my phone needs to re-optimize what apps I use or it might just involve the battery % being more accurate. That said, it's still at 30% after a full day of relatively heavy use. That's ideal IMO. Having had quite a few that would be in single digits (or occasionally even dead) at the end of the day, this phone gives me some breathing room. Especially with low power mode and whatnot.
 
auntjemima said:
Not sure if anyone else is experiencing this (only found it online in one other place), but FB reels are discoloured. Happens to about 90% of them. See below!

View attachment 502211
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Yes, I'm having that issue with videos. It is not on all of them, and I thought it was new Instagram fad. It looks terrible.
I use google maps and share location with family and I don't like that google always has a text bubble on the screen asking me to give it more permissions for some other feature. Not sure how to tell it, I like what I have, leave me alone.
 
Maybe there is something more that they are waiting to bring to light when the P7 goes on sale, because for a number release it's almost like the biggest change was the number itself.
 
XJJack said:
Yes, I'm having that issue with videos. It is not on all of them, and I thought it was new Instagram fad. It looks terrible.
I use google maps and share location with family and I don't like that google always has a text bubble on the screen asking me to give it more permissions for some other feature. Not sure how to tell it, I like what I have, leave me alone.
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My videos randomly went to black screens with audio and the discoloration went away. Then it changed back to normal. Must have been something on the FB side of things.
 
I've noticed some weird stuff with the camera if the phone gets too hot.

There's also some images that straight up screw with my phone even though I took them.
 
So far Android upgrade has been fine on my P6 128GB model. Have not used it much but we shall see.
 
My battery is improving, but I find that normal apps (like Facebook and Spotify) are/were draining it more than they were a week ago. I got a wave of like 15 updates on Sunday night, so those could be related.
 
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Okay, my battery is draining heavily again. I think some of it it might also be related to the new media shade and Spotify. After using Spotify (the shade stays open automatically), it starts draining things at double the normal rate. Yesterday I didn't open Spotify, hence it looked like the #'s were better. I'm going to watch this more carefully and close that shade immediately upon exit to see if that makes a difference.

Another theory is Bluetooth might be an issue. People on Google's forum and Reddit are reporting that it keeps trying to re-connect to BT items (like your car or earbuds) after connecting once.

EDIT: I'm now almost certain it's Facebook. There might be other contributors, but it's atop the battery % chart pretty much all day.
 
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I feel facebook's app is often an issue. I revoked all permissions (inc. run in background), and saw notable improvements in battery life (not pixel, but still).

Side question to anyone that got their phone from Google, how long do you have to send in your trade in?
 
TheSlySyl said:
I attempted with the 6a as well.
I haven't seen any promo though. I wonder if they only send it out to particular people?
They're also only offering $80 for my 4a.
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I'm finally getting the $300 offer to trade in my partners 3a. Pixel 6a has been ordered (For $136 total if they accept the 3a) and its ETA is in a few days!
 
I ended up doing a factory reset on my normal 6 that got upgraded to Android 13. With a Disney vacation rapidly approaching, having 30% less battery isn't an option. If I have to totally suspend FB for the trip, I probably just will. Things do seem to be improved thus far, though.

EDIT: Maybe that fixed it? It's only dropped 10% in the last 3 hours, which is maybe even better than before? Tough to say for sure since it's just a small window, though.

Worth noting on the trade-in front, apparently a bulging battery totally disqualifies you from any trade-in $. My wife's Pixel 5 trade-in got totally rejected in spite of having no damage to the screen, powering on fine, and checking all the boxes they mention, etc. Seems it's in the fine print. The bulging battery is why she needed the damned Pixel 6 in the first place.
 
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After my factory reset yesterday, things do seem to be back to normal battery-wise. I'm at 96% after 3 hours of typical use (along with email, FB, text, etc. notifications all on).
If your battery tanks like mine did, you might give it a shot. Lots of complex programs allow you to export your settings to a file, so it's not that bad to restore your stuff. Especially if you use Google's PW manager and/or "sign in with xxxx" functionality. Ditto with having copies of your photos, music, videos, etc. on another device. I started totally over sans a Google One backup and it still only took a few hours to get totally back.
 
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