Pixel phones and their long list of problems
If you have been following my recent coverage on our website, you might be aware that Pixel phones have become a total mess recently. For those unaware, users have started experiencing different issues on their Pixel phones after installing the March update, which includes problems like battery drain, a bootlooping bug, and a big drop in performance.After plenty of online complaints, it was expected that Google would resolve everything in the following updates. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, and all these issues are still present on the smartphones even after the April and May updates.
OnePlus has joined the party as well
The About Phone window of the Pixel 10 Pro XL and the OnePlus 13. | Image by PhoneArena
I was totally wrong in thinking that I wouldn’t hear about the bootloop bug in any other smartphone. A similar problem has been reported on OnePlus phones as well after installing the recently released OxygenOS versions 16.0.7.XXX and 16.0.5.XXX.
What’s basically happening is that after installing these updates, users found that their devices failed to reach the home screen and got stuck in the boot loop. The good news is that after spotting this issue, the updates have been paused temporarily until a fix is found.
Not the first time for OnePlus
OxygenOS has been one of the many reasons why I often recommend buying a OnePlus phone. I, personally, feel that it’s very fast, has a very clean design, and also receives regular updates.
Also, since the merger of OnePlus and Oppo, background development would have become more streamlined, especially since both companies would be sharing resources. Because of all these reasons, it’s very shocking for me to see issues like this that require a complete halt to updates.
Interestingly, this isn’t the first time a bootloop problem has been reported on OnePlus phones. A similar incident happened back in 2023 when, after installing OxygenOS 13 on the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro, some users complained that their devices got stuck in the bootloop. The problem was quickly addressed in the following update.
Definitely not a great year for software updates
You will always find me hitting the “update now” button right away whenever any update is available for any of my Android devices. But 2026 has taught me that this isn’t always the right thing to do. Sometimes updates can make things worse, and that’s what has happened with my Pixel 10 since the March update.Its battery life has really declined. I’m losing almost 30% charge in just an hour, even with normal use. Now OnePlus appears to be in the same boat.I was about to install the update on my OnePlus 13, but thankfully I read my colleague Alan’s post about this issue. Fortunately, as mentioned above, things are being investigated, and a solution might be out very soon. Until then, I would highly advise you to not try to sideload the unofficial copies of 16.0.7.XXX or 16.0.5.XXX from any third-party sources.
And as a Pixel user who has been suffering from the bootloop problem or any of the other issues mentioned above… well, we don’t have any other option than to wait and hope that Google finally resolves everything in the June update.
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