Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL Affected by Random Reboots, Some Users Report

Weeks after a handful of its units were shipped without software, some Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL users are now reporting an issue that randomly reboots their handsets. The issue is believed to be caused by the LTE modem on the new Pixel models, and Android 8.1 is likely to resolve the flaw.

A significant number of Pixel 2 users have reported random rebooting of their devices on Google Product Forums. Google's Issue Tracker also highlights a mass-level existence of the issue. As Android Police spotted, one of the affected users, Narder Babbili, claims on the Pixel User Community that reboot occurs randomly due to a flaw in LTE on the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. "Obviously, leaving LTE off is not feasible, but hopefully it points Google in the right direction for fixing this," the user wrote in a forum post on the Pixel User Community.

It appears from the user reports that a reset or switching to the safe mode doesn't resolve the rebooting issue. In an instance, a user even lost a video due to random reboots. Some users received a replacement unit of their Pixel 2 after reporting the issue to Google. However, the fresh units are also reported to have the same issue.

Some users stated on the Pixel User Community that they started facing random reboots on their Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL after installing the November security update. While switching to 3G temporarily resolve the issue, some of the affected users have found a stable experience after installing a developer preview build of Android 8.1. But the beta version is certainly not designed with a stable experience in mind. Therefore, it is expected that Google would resolve the rebooting issue with the public release of Android 8.1 that will arrive sometime in December.

We have reached out to Google for more clarity regarding the update and its official comment on the random rebooting issue.

Launched in India earlier this month, the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are the latest flagship smartphones by Google. The smartphones have high-end hardware that includes high-resolution 18:9 OLED display panels, Snapdragon 835 SoCs, 4GB RAM, 64GB and 128GB onboard storage. Despite featuring premium specifications, both the Pixel 2 models have so far often been caught with some bugs and flaws. The handsets were found to have screen burn-in issue and audio recording bug while capturing videos soon after their announcement in October. Also, software-based snags were reported lately that caused buzzing sound on some Pixel 2 units and even disabled voice input over Bluetooth.

Earlier this month, some of the early Pixel 2 XL buyers had reported that their units were shipped without an operating system. Google offered replacements for those units through its support page.