Taking care of some early adopter headaches
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- Wallet bug still lingering
It should come as no surprise that the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro are two of our favorite Android phones available right now. They each build on the success of their predecessors in some key ways, offering improved designs, some new software tricks, and more. Their launch has also been significantly less bug-ridden, though that’s not to say it’s been without any flaws. Today, two lingering system updates are arriving to help alleviate some of the biggest headaches for Pixel 7 owners.
Face unlock was one of the show-stopping features of the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, allowing for faster unlocks on the lock screen than with your fingerprint. Unfortunately, as we discovered after their announcement, face unlock was limited to just the lock screen; other biometric locks, like password managers or mobile payments, still require a fingerprint. Unfortunately, users trying to activate Google Wallet through the lock screen found themselves experiencing failed payments, all surrounding face unlock. Rather than ask for another authentication screen, the card would automatically decline, kicking shoppers back to the lock screen before allowing them to attempt another transaction.
Thankfully, it seems like this issue is being worked on. Google recently rolled out a change to Pixel 7 devices through a Play system update, one that — according to Google’s changelog — changes how Wallet’s lock screen shortcut acts. With this update, Pixel 7 users should be redirected to the “Google Wallet home screen,” which sounds like it might fix the bug.
[Phone] Wallet access from lock screen will be redirected to Google Wallet home screen on Pixel 7 (Pro).[4]
Up until this afternoon, Pixel 7 users have been stuck running July’s system update, unable to access anything newer, which would’ve prevented this patch from reaching users. It seemed as though a future patch to Android would be necessary to fix this, as units running QPR1 Beta 3 were upgraded to October’s system updates. QPR betas are previews of upcoming Pixel Feature Drops, giving us insight into what Google has coming down the pipeline for its phones. Thankfully, that’s finally changing — and just in time, too. Both my Pixel 7 and my Pixel 7 Pro received their October Play Services updates between 2:40 PM and 3:20 PM ET, arriving in two patches.
We’ve reached out to Google for comment on what exactly this change to Wallet should bring. In the meantime, we’ll also update this article once we’ve had a chance to test out how the shortcut now works on Pixel 7 devices. AP editor Manuel Vonau didn’t notice any changes in how Google Wallet’s lock screen shortcut acts on a Pixel 7 Pro running QPR1 Beta 3, though we’re continuing to look into exactly what this fix means for users.
UPDATE: 2022/10/26 16:14 EST BY WILL SATTELBERG
Wallet bug still lingering
After publishing our initial coverage, I headed to my local grocery store to pick up some milk try out this latest Wallet fix. So far, I’m not seeing anything new. Although I never experienced getting my charges declined, accessing Wallet through the lock screen shortcut with the phone only unlocked with my face still gave me an error message. It prompted me to unlock my phone with my fingerprint and try again, but when I did, the NFC payment wouldn’t register. I ended up swiping home, then going to the Wallet app directly to compete my transaction — exactly what I’ve had to do for two weeks now.
So, regardless of Google’s patch notes, my experience is unchanged. Still, it’s clear Google is playing catch up with the Pixel 7’s Play Services status, and it might need additional work, as I’ve also learned that QPR1 Beta 3 users are also receiving new Play updates for October. It seems as though we’ll have to wait for a future Play Service update to hit beta over the next few days. That’s disappointing news for Pixel 7 users, but at least the main bug — the lack of any available service patches — is finally fixed.
