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Chromecast with Google TV has an annoying Bluetooth audio issue, but there's a simple fix
Get rid of stuttering performance while using YouTube or YouTube Music
The Chromecast with Google TV is a brilliant product, as noted in Ryan's review, but it's not without its flaws. Since getting one a week ago, I've found Google's new Android TV skin to be a delight, so much so that my far more powerful Nvidia Shield has been relegated to the bench. The experience isn't perfect, however, and I've had to close misbehaving apps on several occasions. The most notable issue I've faced relates to Bluetooth audio, but thankfully there's an easy fix.
Google finally fixes widespread connection error plaguing Assistant on Android Auto
Many users subjected to frustrating 'This internet connection isn't strong enough' error message
After a large number of complaints about a bug affecting Assistant on Android Auto, Google has finally released a fix along with the latest version of the Google app that should put the issue to bed. A post outlining the problem on the Android Auto support site received more than 1,200 upvotes and a similar number of replies from other afflicted users.
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- The file is now available on APK Mirror, though as many readers have pointed out, it may not force the fixes on your device, even after clearing cache and restarting the app. Your mileage may vary.
Using beta software is more often than not a gamble. It's nice to be able to check out all the new features, but some things may be terribly broken. That's the case with Android Q's universal dark mode implementation. As early adopters noticed, there's no toggle to easily enable or disable it, meaning users were stuck with whatever they had chosen on Pie before updating (unless they used adb to change it). Google Photos was one of the most obvious victims of Q's dark mode. The app looked like a chimera of light and dark, but the latest update has now fixed most of it.
Over the weekend, an update to the Google app beta accidentally broke weather for the At A Glance Widget, affecting Pixel owners, some third-party launcher users, and anyone who manually added the widget since that became an option. Thankfully, an update (v9.0.4) which is rolling out today fixes the problem.
Last month we reported that the Pixel 3 and 3 XL had an intermittent problem with third-party apps when using the camera. Those that ran into the issue would get a "fatal error" or similar warning as the camera failed to work in the app, a problem that would then persist in those apps even across reboots. Although not everyone was affected, we've seen reports that the issue has been resolved for many with the recent December patches.
Some of you may have recently encountered an annoying bug in Google's SMS app Messages (formerly Android Messages) whereby the search function would no longer work — ironic when your company is primarily known as a search engine. Thankfully, a fix has now been released and the issue should no longer present itself.
A couple years back, Microsoft released a Bluetooth-compatible version of its Xbox One controller, further cementing the company's game controller dominance. But when it came to using one with an Android device, there was a big catch: button mapping was broken compared to other controllers. According to a recent change on Google's bug tracker, that problem has been resolved in Android P.
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Verizon Wireless began rolling out a software update yesterday (August 10th) to fix what seems like a set of fairly uncommon bugs related to video calls, phone calls, and the iris scanner. The bug-fixing update also brings the July security patch.
Reliably making phone calls on your smartphone is easy to take for granted, but there's nothing like disrupted and dropped calls to help you appreciate that simple function again. Some Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ owners are having their voices muted or distorted during calls, or having their calls dropped altogether. Now Samsung is starting to roll out a software update in some countries to fix these issues.
According to a statement made by a Google employee on the Pixel product forums, a somewhat widespread problem with receiving MMS messages on the Pixel 2 XL has been resolved. But if you ask the people that claimed to be affected, you'll get a very different answer.
OnePlus' phones are a great value, but they've each individually had a few drawbacks. One negative they all had in common, though, was a DRM deficiency. None of the company's handsets supported the correct Widevine level required for HD playback in Netflix. Distress on the subject came to a head late last year, and OnePlus surprisingly announced that it would add the feature in the future. In a comment on OnePlus' forums today the company confirmed that it was now able to update handsets to support it, but the process will require that you physically send the phone back to OnePlus for the update.
I love my Huawei Watch because it can vibrate and notify me silently of new messages and calls without disturbing everyone around me like my phone does, but recently I've stopped using it for anything else because of the lag. One out of every 3 or 4 taps or swipes seems to stutter and take forever. And I often find it faster and easier to take out my phone and do things than wait for Android Wear's whims to execute a command.
Around a week ago, BLU issued a broken software update for its Life One X2 phone. In at least some cases, users who applied the update were locked out of their phones. Late this afternoon, BLU's official Twitter account—which, much to the chagrin of affected users, was silent on the subject for almost a week—issued a statement that the problem had been fixed via a new update.
The saga of recurring reminders on Android Wear has been a long and dramatic one. For the uninitiated, some saw their recurring reminders on Android Wear being regularly marked as done and disappearing without having seen them. First, it was broken, then it was fixed, then it wasn't actually fixed. But today it's fixed. Again. Probably. We'll see.
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- Community Manager Earnest has posted on the Android Wear Help Forum, stating that the issue is now resolved. The fix is part of the Google app v7.8 update, which you can grab from APKMirror or wait for it to be pushed to you through the Play Store.
Android Wear 2.0 has had some growing pains. Many users (including some of us at AP) would rather use version 1.5, due to major changes to how notifications are displayed and other annoyances. And as with any major software update, there have been a few bugs here and there.
Android Auto seems to have had a lot of issues as of late, which isn't great considering you don't want to be fiddling with a screen on your dash while barreling down the freeway in a two-ton mass of metal and glass. In keeping with that theme, a recent issue left users unable to read or reply to messages on their Android Auto head units. Fortunately, though, Google was able to fix this via a server-side update.
If you are a Magisk user, and you fired up Pokemon Go or Android Pay today just to be met with an error message, you aren't alone. The game of cat and rooted mouse continues, as Google's detection methods have expanded again to catch Magisk 13.2, which is the latest version. But, Magisk developer topjohnwu expects to have things fixed soon.
At least since December, the Play Store on Android TV has had a particularly annoying issue. When selecting one of several app categories, including 'Action Games' and 'News,' the entire Play Store crashes. Now the issue appears to be finally fixed.
Some android users have been suffering from delayed or inexistent notifications since November. The issue mostly affects Gmail on Nexus devices running Marshmallow (but other apps, devices, and Android builds have also been reported). Two weeks ago, Gmail 5.10 rolled out but the updated app only fixed synchronization for Hotmail accounts, not other types and most importantly, not Gmail accounts. At the time, we knew that the more pervasive sync bug had been identified by the team, but that the fix hadn't been implemented yet.