Google’s March update is causing fingerprint problems for some Pixel users

It’s not atypical for software updates to cause problems for some users and not others, but it’s always strange when the fix is a simple one. For users of the Google Pixel line of phones, these small errors have not been uncommon over the years, even though some of the bigger problems — like the Pixel 9 Pro camera bar being prone to separating — rightfully overshadow tiny glitches. Back in January, we asked if any Android Police readers have been having issues with their Pixel phones, and while some said they’ve yet to encounter bugs, many have said that their constant problems with both critical and non-critical software features have disappointed them. The March Android 15 Pixel Drop came out last week, and some users are experiencing a strange fingerprint reader issue on some Pixel phones.

After updating your Google Pixel 9 or Pixel 9 Pro devices in March, you may have discovered that your fingerprint reader is completely disabled. Some users on Reddit have reported the issue, and while one user said they had to reboot their device seven times before the problem fixed itself, another said that only after fully shutting down their phone and then powering it back on, it was fixed. The issue is extremely rare, and in the GrapheneOS forums, the official account of the mobile operating system reported that its estimate of how many people it has impacted is 1 in every 1,000, or 0.1% of Pixel 9 users who updated.

Fingerprint scanners have been problematic

This is not the first time that fingerprint scanners have been at the forefront of Pixel users’ problems in recent years. Android 14’s QPR2 Beta 2 broke some people’s fingerprint scanners. There were problems with the Pixel 7’s scanner in 2023, and the year before that, the Pixel 6 series had errors, too. Android 15 promised to eliminate faulty biometric models, with Google having worked on enhancing biometric authentication at the OS level, so maybe this odd issue is a result of the changes under the hood Google has made. Regardless, the rarity of the problem speaks to no easily identifiable diagnostic check.

It wasn’t just the biometric scanner that caused problems for Pixel users; the recent update unpopularly strengthened haptic feedback for Pixel 7 and 8 devices, and it isn’t clear if this is intentional or just a bug. Just two days ago, we reported on another Google product suffering from software glitches. Some older Google Chromecast models are suffering from content casting problems. Google is currently working on a fix for this and has urged users not to factory reset their device.