Pixel 6’s Big December Update is Now Available

After a week delay, it is now time for the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro to get their big December update from Google. This is the update that not only brings in Pixel Feature Drop goodies, it also fixes dozens and dozens of bugs from Android 12’s initial release. This is a really important update that you’ll want to grab right away.

The update will rollout with a few different builds that will hit your phone depending on carrier or country. For most of our readers, you’ll see SQ1D.211205.017 as the US carrier build. Other builds to be aware of are SQ1D.211205.016.A1 (Canada and TW) and SQ1D.211205.016.A4 (EMEA carriers).

• UPDATE 12/15: Google added build SQ1D.211205.016.A5 for AU carriers today.

To check for the update, assuming you don’t want to manually flash it with a factory image or OTA file, you’ll head into Settings>System>System update and tap the “Check for update” button.

Pixel 6 December update fixes so many bugs

What’s fixed here? You can see the full list of changes from our post last week, but some big ones to be aware of are:

• Fix for issue occasionally preventing audio playback from speaker in certain conditions
• Fix for issue preventing Now Playing to search for unrecognized music
• General improvements for battery & thermal performance in certain conditions
• General improvements for fingerprint sensor stability & performance
• Fix for distorted audio over Bluetooth in certain scenarios
• General image quality improvements in camera preview/capture
• General improvements for camera stability & performance
• General improvements for auto-focus response in certain capture modes
• General improvements for color consistency in viewfinder preview
• Fix for issue causing blank viewfinder preview in certain conditions
• Add additional example images for display color options in Settings
• General improvements for Adaptive brightness response in certain conditions
• Fix for occasional screen flicker during brightness adjustment
• Fix for issue preventing Smooth Display to switch display refresh rate in certain conditions
• Fix for issue causing Play store app installation to pause indefinitely in certain conditions
• General improvements for network connection stability & performance
• Fix for issue preventing lift to wake and double tap to wake in certain conditions
• Fix for issue preventing Always-on-display from turning on in certain conditions
• Fix for issue causing unexpected haptics or vibration in certain conditions
• Improvements for Internet tile in Quick Settings
• Fix for issue causing persistent app media controls in notification shade in certain conditions

And trust me, that’s only a tiny portion of what Google fixed. The full list of bugs that have been squashed might be the biggest we have ever seen in a monthly update from Google. It’s obvious that Android 12 brought forth major changes to the platform that Google is still trying to get right. This update should help with a good portion of the bugs you have been experiencing.

Pixel Feature Drop too!

As I mentioned earlier, this month’s update also includes Pixel Feature Drop goodies, so that means new features to check out. This is kind of a snoozy feature drop, if I’m being honest, but Snapchat users will like it, Now Playing is getting sweet new controls, Ultra-wideband file sharing is coming to the Pixel 6 Pro, and you might be able to use your phone as car key.

Again, the update is arriving as early as today. If you aren’t seeing it, you could always flash the update manually to get it quicker. It’s not a difficult process, but can be frustrating if you haven’t done it before.

Important links:

• Factory Images (instructions)
• OTA Files (instructions)