Pixel 2 reboots while using third party apps, Google's investigating [Update: fixed]

Update 2 (November 10):

Google has officially called the bug fixed on Issue tracker. The fix will be included in Android Studio 3.0.1 and in Android Studio 3.1 Canary 3.

Update 1 (November 03):

The developer of Swipe for Facebook has updated the Reddit thread to reflect that Google has officially acknowledged the issue and a fix for it will be included in Android 8.1.

The issue has been acknowledged and the dev I’m in contact with mentioned that this is now slated to be fixed for Android 8.1 Oreo. Hoping there is also an update to the Pixel Launcher (and other launchers) to see if this can be hot-fixed in code, if that’s even possible app-side.

Original story below:

Since the day of their advent, Pixel 2 phones have kept Google on the run to fix the bucket full of issues the devices brought along – like screen flashes, mic problems, bluetooth or WiFi drops, and others. And looks like, there’s still a long way to go, as Pixel 2’s problems don’t seem to be packing bags.

Here’s the latest one: devices reboot/crash while using third party apps.

For the record, reboots aren’t hijacking Pixel 2 for the first time, as Google recently fixed spontaneous and PIP- related reboots issue in the October Security update. But now users are complaining of random reboots with third party apps.

While some of those affected mention that Pixel 2 completely crashes while accessing third-party Reddit apps, other say the device crashes with multiple third party apps (like Dropbox). Soon after the issue was reported, Google jumped into the picture, asking users to submit bug reports.

Here’s what Google employee Orrin said in a post on the official Pixel User Community forum:

Google also officially responded on Reddit threads discussing the issue, saying that factory reset isn’t a long-term solution as the moment the culprit app is installed, the reboot/crash issue will be back. Here’s the complete statement:

This brings us to another issue, which seems related. Basically, the developer of Swipe for Facebook pointed out the app’s recent update for Android Oreo (that included support for Adaptive icons) resulted in bootloop issue on devices – merely installing the app triggered crashes.

Specifically, a bug in the app’s code resulted in the device’s launcher (Pixel Launcher, as well as other launchers that support Adaptive Icons) crashing, which further lead to device reboots, forcing users to factory reset the device.

Clearly, that’s due to a bug in Android Oreo, otherwise, it’s not possible for a buggy app to crash the entire OS on a phone. Google is aware of this issue, as the complaint has already made its way to the company’s issue tracker.

Though the two issues appear connected, there’s no official confirmation about this at the moment. We are hopeful that Google will soon figure the root cause and do the needful to fix these issues.

Pixel User Community | Google Issue Tracker | Reddit 1 2 3