Here's why you should not update your Pixel to Android 10 right now
Pixel owners were ecstatic when they heard that Android 10 had started rolling out on September 3rd. Most had no issues installing the latest build of Android and were soon enjoying the revised gestures, the system-wide Dark theme and the other new features that came with the update. Others though were not as lucky. Pixel users took to sites like the Google Issue Tracker forum and the Pixel Phone Help community forum to discuss how Android 10 had broken certain sensors on their phone.
If you haven't updated your Pixel to Android 10, you might want to hold off doing so for now
Pixel owners whose phone was impacted by the update might take some solace in the fact that Google is aware of the issue. A post on the Issue Tracker site made early this morning (3:45 am) from a Googler, requested more information from affected Pixel users. The problem was discovered by users who installed Android 10 using an OTA update, and those who flashed the new build on their phone. The only way to get the sensors working right now is to downgrade to Android 9, which can be a mess for those who have never flashed a factory image on their phone before. One Pixel owner claims that he was able to get all sensors but the proximity sensor working again by downloading a free version of an app called Sensor Kinetics from the Google Play Store. The only other course of action for the average Joe is to get by without these features until Google pushes out another update.
Active edge, proximity, ambient light, accelerometer, flip to shh, lift to wake, double-tap to wake, all do not work on any version of Android 10. But everything works again on Pie."-Nikhil Nangia, Pixel Phone Help forum
A quick scan of the posts written by affected Pixel users seems to indicate that the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are the most affected by this issue. Our Pixel 2 XL (which was already running Android Q beta 6) updated to Android 10 without an issue.
This is not a good time for bad news related to the Pixel handsets to surface. Google has made it clear that it sees the upcoming Pixel 4 series as a competitor to the Apple iPhone and Samsung's Galaxy flagship models. The company has upped the ante by sending out an actual photograph of the Pixel 4 shortly after unofficial renders were disseminated. It also posted a photograph showing the sensors that will be used for its more secure Face unlock system and delivered a video showing Face unlock and the new Motion Sense features in action. The latter uses Google's own Soili radar-based chips to allow subtle hand gestures to control the phone. And as we pointed out yesterday, Best Buy has already started promoting the Pixel 4 line even though it won't be unveiled until next month.
The Pixels have a reputation for launching with a number of annoying issues, most of which (outside of the Pixel 2 XL's screen burn-in problem) are immediately fixed by a software update. No, we are not talking about a disaster like the BlackBerry Storm 9530. Still, if Google wants to take on Apple and Samsung (especially with its pricing), the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL must launch without any of the problems that afflicted Pixel owners in the past. Just last month, Google agreed to settle a class-action suit filed by owners of the OG Pixel for $7.25 million. The issue, in this case, was the failure of the phone's microphone to work due to a hairline crack in the solder used for the part.
If you have yet to update your Pixel to Android 10, we'd suggest that you wait until Google sends out a patch to fix the issue.
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