Much needed March security patch and March Feature Drop are finally here for the Pixel 6 models
Typically, Google sends out its monthly updates on the first Monday of each month. So that means Pixel users should have received the March update, including the March Feature Drop, on the sixth of this month. But Google was a week late. Alright, so on March 13th, Pixel 4a (5G), Pixel 5, Pixel 5a, Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 6a, Pixel 7, and Pixel 7a users received the March update, right? Wrong. For some reason, those with the Pixel 6 series (including the Pixel 6a) did not receive the update on that date.
What made this a precarious situation was a vulnerability that allowed certain phones using a Samsung modem to have incoming and outgoing data intercepted by an attacker who only needs his victim's phone number in order to access the data from the modem. The Pixel 6 series were among the phones affected by the vulnerability but this flaw was patched with the March update. And that update was scheduled to arrive on March 20th-two weeks later than originally scheduled.
For those who didn't want to wait until March 20th, we pointed out that joining the QPR Beta program and installing QPR3 Beta 1 would give Pixel 6 series users the March security update. Those who did install the Beta now have to wait until June 6th to exit the program or they will have to wipe all of the data off of their device as a penalty for "early withdrawal."
The March Feature Drop and the QPR2 update has been released for the Pixel 6 line including the Pixel 6a
Now, the $64 million question for those who did not join the Beta is whether the March QPR2 update with the March Feature Drop was released for the Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, and Pixel 6a today. And the answer is "YES!" As long as you did not already install the QPR3 Beta 1 update, you should go to Settings > System > System update and install the QPR2 update.
The update includes a larger digital clock in the left corner of the full Quick Settings page, and the percentage of battery life is replaced by the days or hours of battery life remaining. The Health Connect app is now pre-installed; that app collects health and fitness data collected from other apps.
The March Feature Drop brings the improved version of Night Sight (which allows you to capture photos in low-light environments without flash) to the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro with the rollout of version 8.8 of the Google Camera app.
So now all is peaceful in Pixel land and even Peter Pixel (the counterpart to Apple's Johnny Appleseed) is at rest knowing that the March update patches both the Modem vulnerability and the flaw in the screenshot Markup feature that could allow a bad actor to reverse edited screenshots to find personal information. But rest up fellow Pixel users, You never know what's coming next.
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