Google Working On A Fix For Pixel, Pixel XL SMS Bug

Google has confirmed that it is aware of the SMS bug that’s preventing Pixel and Pixel XL users from receiving messages. It has also announced that a fix is in the works.

On Tuesday, complaints of Pixel and Pixel XL owners have come into light. The owners are saying that their handsets seem to have an issue receiving text messages. Many echoed their concern via the Pixel User Community. Based on the transcript, the problem has been going on for months but some users are learning about it recently

“I just found out that my phone wasn’t receiving messages … thought it just started today but was informed that several messages were sent to me 4 days ago that I was not responding to either. Seems like it happened when I accepted the latest update,” one user wrote on Oct. 11.

Gary Gregg, the one who started the thread on Sept. 21, shared that his Pixel XL started to suffer this SMS bug after upgrading to Android 8.0. He claimed that while he was able to send text messages, his device wouldn’t receive any. He also revealed that he took his unit to an authorized Verizon store to have it checked, but the hardware tested normal, which was baffling.

Another Pixel owner complained about the issue on Sept. 26, stating, “My Pixel hasn’t received text for almost two weeks. Have worked with Verizon tech support to the point they are saying it is definitely a Google problem and can’t be fixed without an operating system update.”

The thread lengthened quickly with more and more users complaining about the SMS bug. Fortunately, the manager of the Pixel User Community finally responded to the commotion this week. He wrote: “Thanks for all the reports. The team is aware of this issue and working towards a fix.”

While it’s good that Google has now recognized the problem, several users did not wait for this response to come up with their own ways of remedying the issue. Many claim that rebooting the unit is one way to address the bug. Others say that doing a factory reset would suffice.

According to Android Central, some users rebooted their handsets and they started to receive text messages once again. Others found that factory reset is the one that works for their smartphones. One user pointed out however that factory reset does not work consistently. The user wrote that the issue kept on coming back within a week. These are just temporary fixes though, it’s still best to wait for Google to roll out a proper fix.

Meanwhile, user Justin Moore shared a lengthy post detailing what he did to fix the issue. Read his post below:

I finally got texts working again without a hard reset, but I tried a bunch of things so I don't know exactly which one fixed it ... I figured it was a permissions issue for Messages as it seemed to me that Oreo added a whole bunch of permission-related questions for me every time I opened known apps that I've been using for months or years.

Some of the steps I tried in roughly the same order that I tried them:

Remove Messages+ that got auto added to my phone (still can't send SMS)

Reboot my phone (still can't send SMS)

Power off, remove SIM, power on, power off, insert SIM, power on (still can't send SMS)

Set Messages as default SMS app (still can't send SMS)

Go into Security and app permissions and make sure Messages has permissions for all the things (still can't send SMS)

Reinstall Messages+ from the Play Store (give it all permissions when it asks) and then it said my messages were syncing and there was a message box with a loading bar that said something like "starting service...." (BINGO! I CAN SEND SMS AGAIN!) then I was able to send a text with Messages+. Immediately went to Messages to try and it said I couldn't without setting messages as my default app - so I did that and Messages worked again.

I then uninstalled Messages+ as I don't want to use that and now Messages stayed functional. I can send and receive texts. I never received any backlog of texts even though I know there was a backlog as my wife tried to text me a few times before I realized my texts weren't working.

Anyway - I can now send and receive texts again on Verizon w/ my Pixel XL without a hard reset. Maybe that helps someone else.