Isn’t a smartphone supposed to work as, you know, a phone?
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Look, I know there’s a joke that nobody uses a smartphone as a phone anymore, but I don’t really think that’s true. In between the relentless spam calls, there are still plenty of reasons your smartphone needs to be connected to your carrier’s network. As much as data-driven communication platforms have changed the game, traditional phone calls and SMS-based text messages are still part of daily life, even in 2024.
So, when your Pixel decides it no longer wants to reliably connect to your carrier’s network, it’s going to throw a bit of a wrench in your life. If this sounds like your experience with your Google-made smartphone, you aren’t alone—a lot of Pixel owners are experiencing network issues right now, across Pixel devices.
As reported by Android Authority, more and more users are complaining about their Pixel phones not working as, well, phones. Users will miss phone calls entirely, and only notice after they see the call went directly to voicemail, while text messages don’t appear as they’re received, but rather pop in all at once in batches. It’s affecting multiple types of Pixel, as well, including Pixel 7a, Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 8, and Pixel 8 Pro.
In a Google Support thread about the issue, users blame the March 2024 update for causing this chaos, and suggest the April 2024 update didn’t include a patch for it, either. (It isn’t present in the release notes.) One alleges this update somehow messed with the phone’s IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem), which is responsible for powering different communication standards on the Pixel. One commenter goes so far as to say the SMS issues have nearly driven them to iPhone, saying, “Google – are you getting the message?”
We don’t know exactly what is causing this network issue with Pixel, and it’s not affecting each and every Pixel user, as this Android Police commenter would like readers to know. But there are enough Pixel devices experiencing network problems around the world that this seems to be an issue Google can address. I’ve reached out to Google regarding the issue, and will update if I hear back.
In the meantime, it seems like the only temporary workaround is to toggle wifi off and on again, to essential toggle wifi calling off and on again as well. Reports suggest the workaround will allow calls and texts through as normal, but only temporarily, as the issue does seem to come back in time.