Android 15 problems and what you can do to solve them

23 Oct 2024, 16:28 by Taylor Kerns · Android Police

Android 15 started rolling out on October 15. It's been a relatively quiet release — its biggest new features are niche additions, and we're expecting the upcoming Android 15 QPR1 release to feel at least as substantial as the upgrade to Android 15 proper does. But with each new software update comes new issues, and Android 15 has its share: apps have misbehaved, system navigation has gone wonky, and some Pixel 6 phones have stopped working entirely. Here, we've rounded up the biggest problems Android 15's had so far, and what you can do about them.

Read our review

Android 15: My favorite features are far from flashy

A minor update with welcome quality-of-life tweaks

The big ones: Bricked phones, borked navigation

Judging by AP's firsthand experience and online discussion, major issues with Android 15 don't seem to be all that widespread. That probably won't be much comfort if you're affected by one, though — the bigger Android 15 problems can be significant, including one that's rendering some Pixel 6 phones inoperable.

Bricking Pixel 6 phones

Android 15 is the last major update the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are expected to receive, and it's not going great. Several users have reported that after updating to Android 15, their Pixel 6 phones stopped working entirely — they were bricked.

At first, the issue seemed connected to Android 15's new private space functionality, as early reports said devices went "completely dead" after enabling the feature. However, other reports don't mention private space, with one user reporting that their phone abruptly stopped working during normal use.

It's important to note this particular issue isn't universal, and we don't know how widespread it actually is. Some Pixel 6 users have updated and started using private space without issue.

How to fix it: If you're on a Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro and haven't updated to Android 15 yet, it'd probably best to hold off on updating until Google issues a bug fix for this particular issue. In July, Google acknowledged an issue that was bricking Pixel 6 phones after factory resets. In that case, the company told affected users to contact support. If your Pixel 6 has stopped working after updating to Android 15, that might be your best bet.

How to set up and use Private Space in Android 15

Work and play, separated safely

Back gesture not working

Less severe but still plenty annoying: some Pixel 8 Pro owners have reported that the system navigation gesture for back has stopped working reliably. Some users have reported that swiping in from the right side of the screen particularly no longer works; others say the back gesture is busted on both sides.

How to fix it: It seems likely Google will fix this in an update soon. In the meantime, if you're affected, you can fix the issue by switching to button navigation in your phone's settings, restarting your device, then switching back to gesture navigation. If you need a walkthrough, we have step-by-step instructions in the post linked below.

Android 15 bug makes Pixel users wish they could swipe back to Android 14, but there's an easy fix

Who says you can't go back?

Smaller issues: Instagram misbehaves, phones are restarting

The issues above have been the most widely reported, but we've seen reports of a few more issues that seem to be affecting multiple users since updating to Android 15.

Instagram stories are broken

Several users on have reported on Reddit that since updating to Android 15, swiping through stories on Instagram causes the app to become unresponsive.

How to fix it: Update the Instagram app. An update pushed to the Play Store shortly after Android 15's release fixed this bug.

Pixel 6 phones are restarting

There are a couple of reports on Google support forums and Reddit of Pixel 6 phones randomly restarting after installing Android 15. The Reddit report mentions that these restarts only happened when the phone is "plugged in to a hub that provides Ethernet and power" for more than a few minutes; one user posting on the Pixel Phone Help forum says their Pixel 6 restarts when phone's screen is locked while USB-C earbuds are connected, but only if media isn't playing.

How to fix it: Google itself hasn't responded to this bug, but a Product Expert on the Pixel Phone Help forum recommends affected users start their devices in safe mode to help determine if a particular app is causing the restarts. To start in safe mode, open your phone's power menu, then press and hold on the Restart option; the option to restart in safe mode will pop up. Anecdotally, one user on Reddit has reported that uninstalling the Life360 app stopped the restarts.

Checking for updates on the Play Store is unusually slow

A considerable number of Pixel users are having trouble with the Play Store since updating to Android 15, judging by numerous comments on Reddit. Specifically, users say the process of checking for app updates feels unusually slow since the update.

How to fix it: One Reddit user recommends a standard fix for weird app behavior: clearing the Play Store's storage and cache. Other users say that hasn't solved the problem, though. If the Play Store is taking forever to manually check for updates on your phone running Android 15, you may have to wait for Google to issue a bug fix.

Android 15 is here, and it brought new bugs

It wouldn't be a major Android update without some annoying teething issues during the release window. It seems like the update has gone smoothly for most users, but there are an unlucky few having issues that range from mildly inconvenient to extremely, device-brickingly inconvenient.

Google's undoubtedly at work addressing the numerous bugs that have cropped up during Android 15's stable rollout. If you're especially worried about a particular bug, there's not much harm in waiting for a fix before you grab the update — Android 15's pretty light on flashy new features.

Android 15: Availability, timeline, and what's new in Google's latest software release

Now available on Pixel 6 and newer