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One of your smartphone’s key features is the ability to make and receive calls and text messages. When this basic functionality stops working, it makes sense that people will complain. That’s been the case with the Pixel 7, Pixel 8, and Pixel Fold: Customers report they are missing calls and texts, as phone aren’t ringing and texts aren’t coming through.
These issues are exceptionally difficult to deal with (Your phone should be, first and foremost, a phone.) But luckily, a fix is now available. That’s thanks to the second April Pixel OTA update, which Google claims should resolve the pesky cellular bug. The OTA update is now available and is slowly rolling out to Pixel owners with a Pixel 7, Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, or Pixel Fold.
This issue hasn’t plagued all users running a Pixel device, but there have definitely been enough complaints to get Google’s attention. But even if your Pixel is working fine, there’s reason to update as soon as it hits your device: The OTA update is part of the Pixel’s Android 14 QPR2 release, which also comes with new security patches for all Pixel devices from the Pixel 7 onward. While you should make a habit of always downloading security updates as soon as their available, customers facing cellular issues have some extra incentives in this case.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like the update is yet available for manual install. When using the Check for Updates option in my Pixel 8’s settings, I haven’t been able to get to it. It won’t hurt to check periodically, but this may be an update you have to wait for Google to roll out to you. That’s unfortunate, as I’m sure many would prefer to download the update sooner rather than later, but at least a fix is in sight.
Of course, whether this completely resolves the issues remains to be seen. The Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro both have a lot going for them: I praised Google’s approach to its latest lineup in my Pixel 8 Pro review. Hopefully, this issue is just a small speed bump in a continued string of successes for the Pixel smartphone lineup.
If you need a new Pixel phone, check out these great options: