Android 15 Update Reportedly Bricking Some Users’ Pixel 6 Units

Android 15 was rolled out by Google to eligible Pixel smartphones last week, but it seems like the update has affected an older model — the Pixel 6. Some owners have reported that the latest software update has ‘bricked’ their smartphone, rendering it unusable. While some users claim that the issue occurred after they enabled a new feature introduced on Android 15, other users state that their handset stopped working while they were using it. The Pixel 6 was previously affected by a multi-user bug that also caused some units to get bricked.

Pixel 6 Owners Report Android 15 Update Bricked Their Handsets

Recent posts by users on Reddit (via Android Police) suggest that some Pixel 6 units have been affected by the Android 15 update, causing them to stop functioning. User u/GegoByte claims that they enabled the Private Space feature after updating their handset to Android 15, but the smartphone stopped working after unlocking and opening an app stored in the new secure area.

The user also says that Google’s technical instructions to reboot the phone weren’t working on their Pixel 6 unit. Another user responded to u/GegoByte’s post, stating that their phone stopped working while they were browsing Reddit, and that a technician was unable to repair the handset. 

Similarly, Reddit user u/Homer_95 states that their Pixel 6 Pro stopped working while using the handset with the battery level around 45 percent. The user also claims that they were unable to turn on the handset using Google’s troubleshooting tools, and edited their post to state that was related to the Private Space feature. Another user responded to the post, revealing that they faced the same issue with their Pixel 6 Pro.

However, it’s currently unclear whether the Private Space feature is affecting Pixel 6 owners, as some owners who never used the feature after updating to Android 15 are also complaining that their smartphones stopped working. User u/WesternConfection435 says that their Pixel 6 was bricked after the screen displayed two “blue static bars” at the top of their screen. They also claim that they were unable to use the smartphone as the display would not turn on after the incident.

This isn’t the first update related issue to affect Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro owners — the Android 14 update that rolled out to Pixel phones last year left several models unusable due to a storage bug. Google eventually rolled out a software update to affected models, which also included some Pixel 6a, Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 7a, Pixel Tablet, Pixel Fold, Pixel 8, and Pixel 8 Pro units.