It’s not unusual for a software update to cause problems for some users and not others, but it’s always strange when the fix is relatively simple. For users of Google Pixel phones, these minor glitches haven’t been uncommon over the past few years, even though some bigger issues — like the Pixel 9 Pro camera bar detaching — have often overshadowed the smaller ones. The March Android 15 Pixel Drop rolled out last week, and some users are experiencing a strange fingerprint reader issue on certain Pixel devices.
If you’ve updated your Google Pixel 9 or Pixel 9 Pro device in March, you may have found that your fingerprint reader is completely disabled. A few users on Reddit have reported this issue, with one user saying that they had to reboot their device seven times before it was fixed, while another said the problem was resolved only after completely powering down the phone and then turning it back on. This problem is extremely rare, and on the GrapheneOS forums, the official account of the mobile operating system mentioned that an estimated 1 in 1,000 users, or 0.1% of those updating their Pixel 9, were affected.
Fingerprint scanner problems are not new
This isn’t the first time in recent years that the fingerprint scanner has been at the center of issues for Pixel users. The Android 14 QPR2 Beta 2 broke fingerprint scanners for some people, and in 2023, Pixel 7 devices had scanner issues as well. Even a year before that, the Pixel 6 series also had glitches. Android 15 promised to eliminate faulty biometric models, and Google has been working on improving biometric authentication at the OS level, so this odd issue might be a result of the changes made by Google. However, the rarity of the problem seems to point towards easily identifiable diagnostic checks.
It wasn’t just the biometric scanner causing problems for Pixel users. The recent update has also made the haptic feedback on Pixel 7 and 8 devices unnervingly strong, and it’s unclear if this was an intentional change or just another bug. Just two days ago, we reported another Google product plagued with software glitches: some older Google Chromecast models are facing content casting issues. Google is currently working on a fix for this and has urged users not to factory reset their devices.
