Google Pixel Phones Getting February 2021 Update With Touchscreen Fixes and Security Patches

Google Pixel phones are receiving February 2021 security update with some bug fixes and patches for several vulnerabilities. The update is available for Pixel 3 and beyond, and is being rolled out in phases, that means not every Pixel phone owner will receive it immediately. The Pixel Security Update for February 2021 fixes a sensor issue and touchscreen issues on the Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5. On the other hand, the vulnerabilities that have been patched range from high to critical severity.

On its official support page, Google shared that the February 2021 Android Pixel Security Update has started rolling out for Pixel 3/ Pixel 3 XL, Pixel 3a/ Pixel 3a XL, Pixel 4/ Pixel 4 XL, Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a 5G, and Pixel 5. The fixes present in the update include an issue that prevented certain sensors to from being detected at startup. This fix is available for all the Pixel phones mentioned.

Google Pixel 4a 5G and Pixel 5 get a fix for the touchscreen issues that led to unresponsive navigation buttons, edge taps, and others. Pixel 4a 5G users had complained of touchscreen issues after the December 2020 update and at the time, Google said that these will be addressed in the next update. However, the January update did not fix the issues for users. Now, the February update that carries “further tuning and improvements for touch experience” is expected to address these issues.

Coming to security patches, the February 2021 update for Pixel phones resolves Android runtime, framework, media framework, system, Google Play system, Kernel components, and Qualcomm components. These vulnerabilities range from high to critical severity, with a critical one present in media framework that could have allowed a remote hacker to execute an arbitrary code. A critical vulnerability was also present in the system, Qualcomm components, and Qualcomm closed-source components.

Google says this over-the-air (OTA) update is rolling out in phases on carriers and phones. If you want to check for the update manually, head to Settings > System > Advanced > System update and you should see the update here, if it has been released for your Pixel phone.

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