Pixel 3 XL Users Report 'Buzzing' Sound, Google to Fix Photo Saving Bug

Google's Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are experiencing several issues as per initial reports by early adopters. Up until now, there have been multiple users and reviewers claiming that the audio quality while recording videos on the two flagship smartphones turns out to be poor, an issue to which Google had also responded. Some also claim that there is imbalanced audio output from the front-firing speakers of the Pixel 3 XL, while others say the phones have a major memory management issue and also that photos do not save automatically. Yet another audio issue has now sprung up, and Google has responded to the photo saving bug.

Audio issues are now quite evident on the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, whether be it quality during video recordings or speaker imbalance due to the difference in size of audio drivers on the Pixel 3 XL. Now, a report by Android Police states that users are experiencing a static, buzzing, and distorted sound even when listening to audio at low volumes. These issues are limited to just the Pixel 3 XL for now.

As per certain reviewers on Twitter, different notification sounds, songs, and videos are triggering this weird buzzing sound. Some are even saying that the sound is different depending on how the back glass is touched. There are several Reddit threads on this issue as well; one of them says it's kind of an electric distortion similar to the static in FM radio. One user goes on to state that “the speaker lightly buzzes from 500-2500Hz, and buzzes very loudly at 20-500Hz. Higher volumes can drown out the buzz but it's still audible, whereas lower volumes can make things almost unlistenable.” Many others have also since taken to the website to report their issues. Some of them say that the issue disappeared over time, while others have taken it in for a replacement.

This issue is similar to what Google's Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL experienced about a year ago. Pixel 2 users, back in the day, reported a faint “buzzing” sound when the phone was placed close to the ear. The issue was soon fixed by Google in a software update.

Separately, Google has now responded to the photo saving bug that was reported earlier this week. In a comment to Android Police, the tech giant stated, “We will be rolling out a software update in the coming weeks to address the rare case of a photo not properly saving." This will come as a respite for the several users who had been facing the issue. The report also goes on to state that Google has confirmed this fix will also roll out to the Pixel and Pixel 2 series.

Can Google Pixel 3 succeed in India without massive discounts? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.