Software updates don’t always go as smoothly as everyone hopes, and Google is no stranger to things going wrong with Pixel updates. It seems Google is in a familiar situation with the March Pixel Drop — with the update causing fingerprint scanner issues for some users.
The problem isn’t just a case of the fingerprint scanner glitching, and struggling to recognize fingerprints it previously had no issues with. Some owners have also found that the whole fingerprint scanner has been disabled after installing the update.
Various Reddit users have reported this problem happening to their Pixel devices. It sounds like the bug is a rare one, but the fact that it’s happened certainly isn't a good look for Google, especially as one Redditor said that all their banking apps needed resetting after the loss of the fingerprint scanner.
And the frustration is understandable. After you’ve gotten used to unlocking your phone and sensitive apps with biometrics, it’s quite difficult (not to mention irritating) to go back to using passcodes and patterns.
From the sounds of things various Pixel generations are affected by this, including Pixel 9, Pixel 8 and Pixel 7. But thankfully some users have discovered a way to kickstart the fingerprint scanner. One user noted that repeatedly restarting their phone brought the scanner back to life, while another managed it by fully shutting down their phone and turning it back on.
So if this issue has happened to your Pixel, the best solution right now really does seem to be turning it off and on again.
There’s more to this update than broken biometrics
This isn’t the only problem affecting the March Pixel Update, though. Pixel 7 and Pixel 8 users have reported that haptic feedback is different after installing the update. People seem to think that the feedback is now “softer” or “looser” than before, which makes it feel less precise in the process.
Naturally people aren’t all that happy about it. Not just because they don’t like change, but because the new feedback feels worse thanks to the update. It’s not clear whether this change was intentional or not.
But it’s not all bad. A user in the U.K. spotted that Satellite SOS was active after installing the feature. I saw the same welcome message after installing the March update on my Pixel 9 Pro, so I can confirm that satellite connectivity seems to be available in the U.K. now.
However I have suffered no fingerprint scanner issues, so you shouldn’t let fear of things breaking put you off updating.
Especially not when this Pixel Drop also includes updates to Pixel Studio, the ability to wirelessly connect to another Pixel device’s camera, an option to share your location in the Find My Device app and more.
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