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Google squashes Android Auto location bug so you can search for services near you again
It no longer thinks you're always at home
One of the little Google features we probably all take for granted is being able to easily find services near to us via Maps, Assistant, Search, etc. Unfortunately, some Android Auto users have been encountering a bug that meant searching for anything "near me" or "nearby" would return results close to the users' homes, rather than their current location. Thankfully, Google says it's rolled out a fix.
Google is working on a fix for the Nest app bug that's ruining your energy history
A partial outage is affecting the app, but Google is on the case
A number of users have been complaining of broken energy history data in the Nest app over the weekend. The thermostats themselves seem to be fine, but the app data is incomplete, which sounds like a real pain in the posterior. Thankfully, Google is aware of the issue and is currently working to fix it.
Google extends Pixel 4 XL warranty past 1 year in some countries for specific issues
If you run into one of a handful of power-related problems a uBreakiFix tech tells us are pretty widespread
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Google is extending the warranty for the Pixel 4 XL by an extra year. Before you get too excited, the extension only covers a handful of specific power-related issues, including charging, faster-than-expected drain, random restarts, and being unable to power on the phone. It's only valid for Pixel 4 XL's purchased in available markets previously limited to a single year of warranty support — specifically, in the US, Singapore, Canada, Japan, and Taiwan. Warranty eligibility for these issues as part of the extension can be verified online or in person at uBreakiFix.
Google yanks game from Stadia Store while progress-breaking bug is fixed
F1 2020 was pulled offline, but now it's back, and new customers won't be able to buy it until the issue is resolved
The official F1 2020 game has been pulled from the Stadia Store in the wake of a save corruption issue. Previously, the company pulled the game "offline" and prevented customers from playing it following those first reports of save issues. A community representative has since stated that it is now playable again for those that already purchased it, but the game has been pulled from Stadia's digital shelves until a solution is found.
The Google TV recommendations bug has been squashed so we can all sleep easy now
It was fixed in record time, too
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Great excitement accompanied the launch of Chromecast with Google TV, much of it around the new interface and what looked to be a much more robust recommendations system. The watchlist syncs with your Google account and, in theory, the For you screen should show you closely-matched content based on your search history, likes, and past viewing. There's even a screen where you can train it to know your taste better, but it's completely borked right now.
How to fix your OnePlus phone that's started bootlooping after installing its latest update
OnePlus and botched updates go hand in hand these days
OnePlus has become notorious for shipping either half-baked updates or ones that cause devices to bootloop or worse. The Android 12 developer preview for the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro was pulled back after it bricked devices. While the unstable nature of developer software dilutes the culpability to an extent, it's surely not acceptable when a stable OTA causes the same problem. Unfortunately, the stable OxygenOS 11.2.6.6 update for the OnePlus 9 Pro has lead to similar issues for some people.
Yet another security camera nightmare allowed users to see cameras that weren't theirs
The issue with Eufy cams reportedly affected only '0.001%' of customers and has since been fixed
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Earlier today, some owners of Eufy security cameras were able to access both live camera feeds and recordings for other Eufy customers — the nightmare scenario for many smart security camera owners. The Anker-owned company blames the security failure on a "software bug" that happened during a server upgrade. In a follow-up email, Eufy tells us only 0.001% of customers were affected. The company claims the issue was fixed by 6:30 AM EST, and customers should reboot their hardware and log out and back in on Eufy apps.
The curious case of Google Pay's disappearing American Express cards has been fixed
An expired certificate was the cause
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On Thursday, many American Express customers that had their cards loaded into Google Pay received a notice that their cards had been removed from the app. The cause was apparently a certificate issue, and over the next day or so, some customers had intermittent problems attempting to re-add their cards to Google Pay. We're told the issue has since been resolved, and though your disabled cards probably won't automatically reappear, you should be able to add them back now without any issue.
You should probably disable your adblocker if you use Google Docs until this issue is fixed
Recent changes in a filter list are causing Google Docs and Sheets to bug out, but a fix is on the way
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If you've been having issues with weird text formatting or just generally been unable to edit Google Docs or Slides for the last day or two, turns out that's A Thing. While we initially didn't know the precise cause or why it's only happening right now, Google Drive Product Manager Remy Burger is pointing at recent changes some adblockers have implemented — so disabling content blockers on Drive, Docs, Slides, and Co. might fix the problem for you.
Google is working on a fix for poor Netflix quality on Pixel phones caused by Widevine bug
The issue may also affect other manufacturers
Some Pixel owners have noticed over the last couple of monthly updates that their phones have lost Widevine L1 status, falling to L3 and rendering them incapable of playing back some DRM-protected content at high quality. More simply, that means they can't play HD content in apps and services like Netflix. By far the majority of devices are not affected and the cause isn't immediately clear. Google tells us it's aware of these reports and working on a fix, and devices from other manufactures may also be affected.
As more and more OnePlus 9 Pros end up in customers' hands, we're hearing reports that the phones may be prone to overheating — especially while taking photos or recording video. To the surprise of none of our readers, AP's own Artem Russakovskii (of #ArtemsLuck fame) has been running into the problem. Thankfully, OnePlus tells us this is a known issue that will be addressed in updates over the next few weeks.
Google can't seem to fix (or doesn't care about) broken app update notifications
The Play Store toggle doesn't seem to work at all on Pixel phones
When Google removed the ability for the Play Store to notify users of app updates, people were understandably miffed. This even led to a third-party solution being developed, before Google eventually saw sense and brought it back as an optional setting (albeit off by default). This functionality appears to be broken now on various Android phones.
Pixel 3a bug introduced in December 2020 update messes with the corners of the screen
It's a tiny issue, but you can't un-see it
Before smartphone makers switched to edge-to-edge, nearly bezel-less designs, we had a small transition. Some smartphones rounded-off the corners of their rectangular screens to emulate the high-end look. In many cases, these phones actually just had square displays, and the effect was done in software, or via masking in the front glass. That includes the Pixel 3a. And unfortunately for folks that own one, that software masking broke at the end of last year.
Wink slowly starts coming back online following week-long outage
The company is trying desperately trying to retain customers
Wink has been battling a severe outage for about a week and a half now, but it finally looks like its servers are slowly coming back online. The company has updated its status page, saying, "A fix has been implemented and we are monitoring the results. Most Hubs are back online." However, many customers are ready to cancel their mandatory subscriptions due to the events, and there's not much the cash-strapped company can do about it.
Google says the 'device not set up yet' error for Assistant device controls has been fixed
It was caused by a "limited experiment" rolled out to some users
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If your Google Home was telling you, "sorry, that device isn't set up yet," when trying to control smart home devices like your thermostat or lights today, you aren't alone. Not everyone is affected, but what appeared to be an Assistant-related outage affected Assistant-based smart home device controls for many. According to a Google spokesperson, the issue was due to a "limited experiment" and has now been fixed. Things should be back to normal soon.
The Wink smart home platform may be finally circling the drain. For the last week, customers have been reporting connectivity problems, and the Wink status dashboard has made a note of those issues since January 25th. The last update from the company was on Thursday, at which point it claimed "We have identified the issue and are implementing a fix." And yet four days later, Wink is still down.
ASUS finally has a software fix for phones losing HD Netflix support
The company previously asked owners to send in their units to get the fix
Some folks using the new ASUS ROG Phone 3 are having issues playing back HD content in certain apps like Netflix. The cause, as some of our more savvy readers might expect, is an issue with Android's Widevine DRM system, with some phone owners reporting that their L1 Widevine state has been lost, relegating them to standard definition playback. ASUS has now fixed the problem with a software update after initially asking customers to send in their phones to get back HD playback.
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When you run as many services with as many features as Google, bugs tend to pop up from time to time. The latest major bug concerns Google Search's custom date ranges, which are causing tabs to freeze when used. Google is working on fixing this and has presented a workaround for the time being.
This December Pixel Feature drop change still hasn't landed on all Pixels
The new Pixel Launcher grid size setting isn't there for everyone
Google's most recent December Feature Drop delivered plenty of new features for the company's Pixel phones. But one specific change is still missing for many device owners: the new grid size options in the Pixel launcher. I know it sounds pretty minor, but a surprising number of people were looking forward to the feature, which allows you to set custom grid sizes and adjust the density of icons on your Pixel's home screen. It can even help with accessibility for those without much in the way of fine motor control. But, unfortunately, the option still isn't present for everyone.
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According to Google's Workspace Status Dashboard and anecdotal user reports, Google Meet is having difficulties today. Although the problem isn't universal, some folks can't access the Google Meet site, which shows a 502 error. Thankfully (or unfortunately, if you're hoping to dodge classes), there's a workaround.