Google’s latest security patch finally fixes a months-old bug, and a ‘critical’ security flaw

• Google’s latest Pixel software update fixes a few high-level security flaws
• It’s rolling out now for eligible Pixel phones and tablets
• The update also fixes a glitch with the ‘Back Button’

If you have a Google Pixel phone, make sure you’ve downloaded the latest security patch, as it includes several important updates that fix some potentially critical issues with your smartphone that you might not even be aware of.

There are a few high-level security flaws the patch solves, as well as one “critical” System vulnerability. According to Google, this flaw can be executed remotely (in combination with other bugs), and what’s more, it can be activated without any user interaction.

Yikes.

Google didn’t go into specifics about the hack beyond these details, but it doesn’t sound like one it would want to leave unaddressed.

Beyond security improvements, Google has also seemingly solved a Back Button bug, which saw it not work at times for users.

As you can see in the video above, users would swipe back on their Android 16 Pixel phone and nothing would happen – which isn’t ideal if you want to exit out of an app or conveniently return to a different screen.

It might have taken close to two months, but after beta users got the fix in July, the back button glitch should now be solved on all devices running Android 16’s stable version on their phone.

Are you ready to update?

If you want to upgrade your Pixel device, the patch is rolling out now to all Pixel tablets and phones launched since the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. Those two phones launched in 2021.

With automatic updates enabled, you might have already updated. However, to find it manually, you can head to your Settings app, then search for System Update and hit the Check for updates button to see if you’re up to date on your software.

If you have the August patch, then you’re all set, though it can take up to a week for updates to be made available to everyone – so if you are still on July’s update and see no option to install August’s, don’t worry, you’ll just have to wait a little longer for a fix.

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