Got a Pixel 6 series device? You may not want to factory reset it (Update: Fix coming soon)

Updated: July 2, 2024 (5:25 p.m. ET): Google has now acknowledged the issue and provided some tips to prevent the problem from occurring. According to the company, if you download a system update with your Pixel 6 series device, it is recommended to leave the device on and idle for 15 minutes after it restarts. You can then perform a factory reset. Or you can perform a factory reset before performing a system update.

For anyone with a Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, or Pixel 6a who is experiencing issues, Google says it has found the cause of the problem. It recommends keeping an eye on the thread on its support page while it works on a solution.

Original article: July 1, 2024 (6:12 p.m. ET): Several Google Pixel 6 series users have recently reported encountering an issue that causes their device to freeze during a factory reset. The issue appears to affect all three devices in the lineup, regardless of whether they are running the latest stable update or a beta version of Android 15.

According to user reports on Reddit and Google’s support forums (via Technical problems today), affected Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, and Pixel 6a models are failing to boot after attempting a factory reset and are displaying various error messages during boot-up. While some are reporting seeing an error that says the device “cannot load Android system,” others have highlighted an error that says the device is “unable to activate ext4 verity” because a “tune2fs” file is missing.

Attempts to recover the devices using the Android Flash Tool and Pixel Repair Tool also don’t seem to work, leaving users with no choice but to wait for an official fix from Google. Fortunately, Google seems to be aware of the issue.

According to a comment from a Platinum product expert in a related support forum thread, the relevant Google team said that this is a “known issue that is currently under investigation.” But since Google hasn’t issued an official statement, we don’t know if a fix is ​​in the works. We’ll keep you updated as soon as we have more details.

It’s worth noting that the issue doesn’t seem to affect all Pixel 6 users, as we managed to factory reset a Pixel 6 on the latest Android 15 beta and didn’t encounter any issues. However, we still recommend holding off on a factory reset until Google sheds light on the underlying cause.