Millions of Android phone owners receive ‘critical’ free upgrade no-one should ignore

GOOGLE has issued an Android update that patches up a critical storage error that saw customers lose access to precious files and 17 security flaws

The tech giant rolled out its long-awaited Android 14 operating system in early October.

GettyThe update is available for the following Pixel devices: 4a 5G, 5, 5a, 6, 6 Pro, 6a, 7, 7 Pro, 7a, Tablet, Fold, 8, and 8 Pro[/caption]

But at the end of the month, a number of Google Pixel users reported a ‘bug’ that left them unable to recover some of their stored memories, such as old images and videos.

Pixel users were then launched into an endless loop of rebooting in an attempt to fix it – or settling for a factory reset of their device.

A Google spokesperson told 9to5Google at the time: “Depending on the device, this issue can result in the primary user being unable to access media storage.

“Alternatively, the issue can reboot the device with a ‘Factory data reset’ message.

“If this message is accepted, data that is not backed up can be lost, and if it is declined, the device repeatedly reboots with the ‘Pixel is starting’ message.”

In some cases, the camera app also wouldn’t open and users couldn’t download anything because their devices said the storage was full.

Android owners with a Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 7 or Pixel 7a handset were most affected.

In a blog post published last night, a Google representative explained that the company is rolling out an Android update over the next two weeks that “will return their devices to an operable state.” 

A handful of Pixel owners told Forbes that the update had fully resolved the media storage issue.

The November patch also remedies more than a dozen ‘high’ and ‘critical’ security issues.

A separate Google bulletin lists an additional eight security fixes.

The update is available for the following devices:

Pixel 4a

Pixel 5G

Pixel 5

Pixel 5a

Pixel 6

Pixel 6 Pro

Pixel 6a

Pixel 7

Pixel 7 Pro

Pixel 7a

Pixel Tablet

Pixel Fold

Pixel 8

Pixel 8 Pro