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A few reports are popping up online about a new bug that seems to be hitting several Google Pixel devices, causing them to decline phone calls randomly. The first report showed up on a Reddit post, followed by several comments of users experiencing the same thing, and has since been picked up by several tech news outlets.
The declined call bug was discovered when the user was getting reports from friends and family that they were trying to call, but it showed up as a declined call when the user checked the call log. This is happening despite the people calling being known contacts and the “Filter Spam Calls,” “Flip to Shhh,” and “Do not Disturb” features turned off. The user isn’t notified since the call is not logged as a missed call.
At least 4+ times a week, I’ll have someone tell me they tried to call me but I have no missed call notification. When I check my call log, it says the call was declined which obviously I didn’t do. My phone is usually face up on my desk or table when this happens and I don’t even see the call come through.
This is happening with contacts I have saved and not just unknown numbers. I’ll even ask the callers to call me again to test and it works so it’s not consistent.
Source: u/merryjaina onReddit
Google has not addressed or acknowledged this bug as of yet, so we are unsure if there is a fix in the works. Additionally, it doesn’t look like this is affecting a large number of Pixel users, although it seems to affect users on a variety of Pixel phone models. Finally, as Android Central has pointed out, this bug has been around since at least December of last year, evidenced by another Reddit thread that remains unresolved.
It’s easy to poke fun and say that this is a feature, not a bug, because “who still makes phone calls in this day and age?” However, the fact remains that being able to make and receive phone calls is the most important function of a smartphone, and missing a call without any indication that you have done so could potentially be life-threatening in emergency situations. So let’s hope Google addresses this quickly and provides a fix sooner rather than later.
Featured Photo by Daniel Romero on Unsplash
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