The Android November security patch has just started rolling out, and it has something great in tow for Pixel users plagued by a bug that silenced their starred contacts in Do Not Disturb (DND) — the problem should now be fixed. No more missed calls from your loved ones when it's important. If you experienced that problem, make sure you go to your system settings and hit that update button.

A few Pixel owners took to the Google support forum following the initial Android 11 update. They complained that their phones didn't ring for starred contacts anymore, even though they set up the feature that way on Android 10. That had serious consequences: One affected person reported that their elderly mother couldn't reach them while she was lying on the floor with a broken ankle.

There were a few troubleshooting tips, like making sure you haven't turned off all notification sounds via your volume rocker menu and some elaborate workarounds that included allowing repeat callers. If you're curious, you can get into the details in the following paragraphs, but you should really just hit your Pixel's update button to get rid of the problem once and for all.

Original article:

Workaround #1: Allow repeat callers

Tap "People," then "Calls," and then toggle on "Allow repeat callers."

Many people could remedy the problems with a workaround posted by forum user Frank Longest. He writes that starred contacts could ring his Pixel 4 again after he turned on "allow repeat callers." You can find that option by searching your phone settings for that term or by going to Sound -> Do Not Disturb -> People -> Calls. This will also allow non-starred contacts to reach you when they call twice within 15 minutes, so it's not ideal.

Workaround #2: Tweak Phone notifications

Open Phone app info, tap "Notifications," "Incoming calls," and choose "Override Do Not Disturb."

If that doesn't do the trick, forum user Titusz Rónai reports that you might also have to go to the Phone app info (tap and hold the icon in your launcher and look for the circled i symbol), and then Notifications -> Incoming Calls -> Advanced -> Override Do Not Disturb. However, this might cause the Phone app to always ring, regardless of who calls you.

Problems with these workarounds

These solutions won't help with text message notifications from starred contacts — those remain silent for most people who successfully used these workarounds.

On top of that, these tricks don't seem to work for everyone, and forum user Henk Elemans reports some more strange shenanigans: With repeat callers allowed, his phone would ring, but the display wouldn't turn on automatically, which we can confirm. When turned on manually, the ringing would stop, and he had to go to the Phone app to accept the call. With repeat callers disabled, the screen would turn on, but there wasn't any sound.

Workaround #3: Factory reset

If none of these measures help, you might even have to factory reset your phone, though this is the most drastic and time-consuming route. To do that, make sure that you've backed up all of your data in the cloud or to another device. Then look for "factory reset" in your Pixel phone's settings. Since we don't know what exactly the culprit is, it's entirely possible that the problem persists after resetting and restoring your phone from an Android backup, so you might even have to start from scrap completely. This solution really should be your last resort.


While I can't reproduce these problems myself, they seem widespread, and it's unlikely that all the affected accidentally broke their setup themselves. Google must've changed something for a specific subset of users following the Android 11 update, and our best hope is that the company is bringing a fix with the next security patch. You might want to hold off from factory resetting until that update rolls out early next month.

UPDATE: 2020/11/02 11:54am PST BY MANUEL VONAU

Fixed with November security patch

This problem has been fixed with the November security patch. Download it as soon as possible to get rid of it once and for all.

Source: Google Support Forum (1), (2), (3)

Thanks: Tim