After March update: Pixel owners report freezing lock screens
Users report that their Pixel smartphones are having problems waking up on the lock screen after installing the March Pixel Drops.
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After the update comes the next bug. Pixel owners report that their Google smartphones are having problems after installing the Pixel Drops (Android 16 QPR3) from early March: their devices freeze on the lock screen and in the always-on display. Google is apparently aware of the error.
Restart required
"My phone has froze 4 times while on the lock screen. Tapping the screen still gives haptic feedback and pressing and holding the power button seems to bring up Gemini, despite the screen not changing. I have to press-and-hold the power and volume up buttons to force a restart," describes one user on Reddit his problem. Numerous other Pixel owners are reacting to this thread, having the same problem with their devices.
"My phone just crashed on the AOD screen (Always-on Display) while I was driving and using Android Auto via Bluetooth; I had to force restart the phone," wrote another user in the subreddit r/GooglePixel. Numerous other users are complaining about the problems, which apparently only occur after the March Pixel Drop.
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Further update likely required
Google seems to be aware of the issue and is asking users in the various threads to contact them via direct message. A concrete solution is not yet in sight, although one user mentioned that a Play System update resolved the problem on their device. However, other users could not confirm this. One Redditor also wrote that his smartphone worked perfectly again after rolling back to the February 2026 update (build number BP4A.260205.001.A1). However, the lock screen issue reappeared after reinstalling the March 2026 update.
It is to be expected that Google will soon deliver a fix. At least last year, shortly after the release of Android 16, Google pushed out a fix for a similar lock screen problem. At that time, it took almost four weeks.
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