- Android 16 is causing problems for some Pixel devices
- Navigation buttons and gestures are freezing
- As yet Google hasn’t said anything officially about the bugs
Android 16 was officially pushed out to Pixel owners last week, but reports are coming in of the software update causing some pretty major bugs on certain handsets, related to gestures and interface and navigation.
As noted by Android Headlines, the reports say certain navigation buttons and gestures don’t respond as they should – meaning certain operations (like going back to the previous screen) take seconds to complete, or don’t happen at all.
It’s not difficult to find users having problems: on Reddit, we’ve got posts about unresponsive buttons on a Google Pixel 8, swiping up not doing anything on a Pixel 9 Pro XL, and multiple gestures not functioning on a Pixel 6.
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Over on X (formerly Twitter), Artem Russakovskii from Android Police says the back gesture only works intermittently since updating to Android 16 – and there’s a screen recording included so you can see what happens (or rather, doesn’t happen).
Problems for some
Here’s a demo of the back button randomly not working on Android 16.I grabbed a bug report and submitted it to Google engineering along with this reproduction screencast. Hopefully, they’ll figure it out. pic.twitter.com/nEmifqQRvbJune 14, 2025
While there are numerous reports of issues online, these problems clearly aren’t affecting everyone: since upgrading to Android 16 on my Google Pixel 9 phone, I haven’t noticed any problems using the navigation gestures.
As yet, Google hasn’t yet said anything officially about these problems. If you are affected, you can report the bug to Google. With so many users now complaining, no doubt this is going to get addressed sooner rather than later.
What makes these bugs particularly annoying is that they relate to a fundamental part of the user experience, and affect multiple apps and screens. Being able to get around your phone is a pretty fundamental part of using it.
Android 16 brings with it a number of useful upgrades, including a new Pixel VIPs feature for your favorite contacts, but we’re still waiting for the big Material 3 Expressive revamp to arrive – which should be along later this year.