In a Google forum and on Reddit, there have been increasing complaints that the Pixel 6 (review), Pixel 6 Pro (review), and Pixel 6a (review) smartphones from Google have stopped working after attempting to reset them to factory settings. What kind of sorcery is behind this?
The Pixel smartphones are considered the reference Android smartphone for each generation. They not only receive the latest Android versions first but also allow the testing of upcoming beta versions. Developers of independent Android operating systems, such as Lineage OS, also prefer to use them as test devices.
However, when experimenting and trying out new things, caution should be exercised, especially with the Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, and Pixel 6a models. An increasing number of complaints have surfaced, touting how these smartphones become unusable after performing a factory reset.
Restoring with ADB failed
When users of Pixel smartphones attempted to change the operating system version, they were initially shown a message that the system recovery could not be loaded due to corrupted data. Subsequently, it was suggested to reset to factory settings, which ultimately bricked the devices.
Reports claim attempts to restore the devices using tools like the Android Debugging Bridge (ADB) also failed. ADB is a software tool that allows executing commands from a computer to the smartphone via a command line.
No solution from Google in sight
It seems Google is already aware of the issue. The company allegedly mentioned to forum members that they are already addressing the problem. The source of the error is also unclear at the moment. The reports all come hail from the past two weeks. It is unclear how many users of the respective models, which were introduced in 2021 (Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro) and 2022 (Pixel 6A), are affected.
Google has not yet rolled out a solution to bring these non-functional smartphones back to ‘life’. Owners of the Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, or Pixel 6A should exercise patience in any case before resorting to a factory reset.
Are you a Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, or Pixel 6a user who has experienced the same? Or do you not dabble with such arcane knowledge that this doesn’t matter? Please let us know in the comments.
