Welcome to our latest #GooglePixel article for this week. In this one, we try to address some Android or operating system problems that were reported by some members of our community for the past few days. Hopefully you’ll find our solutions helpful.
If you are looking for solutions to your own #Android issue, you can contact us by using the link provided at the bottom of this page.
When describing your issue, please be as detailed as possible so we can easily pinpoint a relevant solution. If you can, kindly include the exact error messages you are getting to give us an idea where to start. If you have already tried some troubleshooting steps before emailing us, make sure to mention them so we can skip them in our answers.
Below are specific topics we’re bringing for you today:
Problem 1: Google Pixel “Your device is corrupt. It can’t be trusted and may not work properly.” error when booting up
My Google Pixel is not switching on. It gives security warning “the device is corrupted. It won’t work properly” then it switches off. It is not booting into recovery mood neither in safe mood. I fotgot to enable oem locking so bootloder can’t be unlock. What should i do? It is a verizon variant. — Azeemk35
Solution: Hi Azeemk35. If you’re getting this error, “Your device is corrupt. It can’t be trusted and may not work properly.” it means that the device has detected a problem with the operating system which may be compromise your data or loss. When restarting your Pixel phone, the system does a quick self-check to ensure that Android is not corrupted and normal security features are implemented as they should. If this self-check procedure detects some unofficial modifications to the operating system, or if it’s corrupted, you’ll most likely get the message.
Now, since we don’t know the full history of your device and your problem description does not give much workable information, our question to you is, did you intentionally modify the official software of your device. If you did, then you can simply ignore the message and continue to start the device by pressing the Power button once. We assume that you know what you’re doing (since you tampered with the official software yourself in the first place) so use the device at your own risk.
However, if you never intentionally tampered with Android, we suggest that you avoid using your phone. Somebody must have changed the software of the device so you should let that person change everything back to stock if you’re not comfortable using your phone. Before you let that person reflash a factory image to your device, be sure to create a backup of everything important to your Google Drive.
If you never let someone tamper with your phone’s software intentionally ever, we recommend that you return the phone to the manufacturer so they can reflash the firmware back to stock. Should you want to do the flashing yourself, make sure to do some research first. You can find a lot of guides in the internet on how to do it.
Problem 2: Google Pixel stuck in bootloop
Hi. I bought the Google Pixel about 2 months ago in London. I’m now living in Australia and it won’t boot past the bubbles on the home screen. I tried doing a hard reset and all the other procedures listed on this page, but have had no success. Can you please advise next steps? As I’m sure you understand, I need my phone, it’s the main way I keep in touch with my family while abroad. What’s the best way to get this fixed and replaced ASAP? — Stephanie
Solution: Hi Stephanie. The best and only effective solution to this issue, apart from contacting the phone manufacturer and sending the phone in, is factory reset. This means wiping the device clean and returning all software settings back to their, well, factory state.
Try a booting your Pixel to safe mode first
Before you do that drastic solution though, we suggest that you try to restart the phone to safe mode first. If the phone boots to safe mode, that means that the cause of the problem is most probably software- or app-related, which you should be able to fix at your end. To boot to safe mode, follow these steps:
- Turn off the device by pressing and holding the Power button.
- Once the handset options appear, tap Power off and wait for the device to shut down completely.
- Then, press and hold the Power button until the Google logo appears. Release the Power key.
- With Google logo still on screen, press and hold the Volume down button.
- Continue to hold the Volume down button until “Safe mode” appears in the lower-left of the unlock screen then release. This may take up to 30 seconds.
Remember, if the phone boots successfully to safe mode, you must also check if the phone works properly. Safe mode disables third party apps so you won’t be able to use them at all. To return to normal mode, simply restart the phone.
Wipe the phone with factory reset
If the phone won’t boot to safe mode at all, then that’s the time that you should continue with factory reset. Here’s how it’s done:
- If your device is on, turn it off.
- Press and hold the Volume down button. While holding Volume down, press and hold the
- Power button until the phone turns on. You’ll see the word “Start” with an arrow around it.
- Press the Volume down button until you highlight “Recovery mode.”
- Press the Power button to start recovery mode. You’ll see an image of an Android robot with an exclamation mark (you may also see “No command”).
- Press and hold the Power button. While holding Power, press the Volume up button once. Then release the Power button.
- If “Wipe data/factory reset” isn’t highlighted, press the Volume down button until it is. Then press the Power button to select it.
- Press the Volume down button until you highlight “Yes” (or “Yes – delete all user data”). Then press the Power button to select it.
- After the reset is complete, press the Power button to select “Reboot system now.”
- When you’re done, restore your data.
Problem 3: Google Pixel missing chime when restarting
I have a fairly new Pixel phone. After the Oreo upgrade, it made the “power on” chime once or twice but now it has quit making the chime at all on power up. I have called Tech Coach and they know nothing . The phone works fine, so this is probably a detail in the new Oreo upgrade. I have checked all of the sound settings under the “settings,” but can’t find anything there. Any ideas? — Tom Forrest
Solution: Hi Tom. Good thing you brought this missing chime up. We also noticed that our own Pixel no longer does the chime either when restarting or when loading it up after turning it off. Android constantly evolves and features come and go so for some reason, Google may have intentionally removed it. For whatever reason, we may never know.
Problem 4: Google Pixel XL freezing problem with Texas Holdem Poker Pro app
ORIGINAL PROBLEM: I just bought the pixel XL which I was playing Geax Texas Holdem poker apps on without an issue. Two weeks later the Pixel XL forced a system update of the new Oreo on me which caused all the game functions to hang so badly I cannot use them after years of playing. What do you think happened and what can I do? I’ve performed a factory reset which did not help. I’ve contacted Google who wanted debugging reports which I’ve sent and my carrier came up with glitches they said doing a remote diagnostics test. My home wifi is working correctly and is set at a very fast speed. Please can anyone offer any credible knowledge on this? Thank you kindly. — LA
FOLLOW UP: I left an earlier question here that is still being reviewed for answers. It’s about the hanging/lagging going on in the newest forced system Oreo update along with the many other problems Google owners are having. I’ll share how Google offered to help: they want my phone back (leaving me phoneless) and then they will send me another refurbished one under my warranty for a price! I just bought this phone 3 weeks ago! Google with its billions do not care if consumers get what they pay for and I’ve had it with these Goliath corporations selling over rated priced junk to the public. It’s time to bring on David and his slingshot! So this girl’s question is who’s willing to take on the role of David? I wonder if Zuckerberg knows or would even care how his customers are treated? Nah! — LA
Solution: Hi LA. Being Google flagship phones, the Pixel and Pixel XL devices normally receives the latest Android updates, which is quite cool. However, it also means that Pixel devices are the first to experience problems should there be any incompatibility issues with some apps. We think this is what’s happening right now.
While Google developers strive to minimize bugs as much as possible in their new Android products, they are as constant as the sun in our everyday lives. There are millions of variables in an Android environment and not every issue can be anticipated. It’s possible that the new Android Oreo update may have messed up the apps you’re having trouble with. But in the same vein, it’s also possible that the opposite is true — that it’s an app issue and the app developers themselves may have released an incompatible version.
Since you’ve already contacted Google, we also suggest that you let the app developers know of the problem too. Not all app-related problems are caused by Android coding issue. Just like an operating system, apps are also made up of codes, which an app developer can mess up from time to time. Be sure to ask direct assistance from them to see if they’ve heard of your experience from other Pixel users.