Google’s May Pixel update fixes weak notification vibrations on Pixel 6 phones

Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge

There have been withdrawn updates and occasional bugs for multiple lines of phones. The number of issues we have seen for the flagship devices of the company has been surprising. The update for the Pixel devices is starting to roll out. It fixes a problem that people noticed on the phones after the March update, where the notifications were much weaker.

There are two fixes for the devices from the 3a through the 6 that resolve issues that could cause the display to wake up without interaction and a problem that could crash the launcher, but only one is for the 6 and 6 Pro.

Improvements for haptic feedback under certain conditions and use cases

Our May software update is now rolling out to supported Pixel devices! The update includes:



Improvements for haptic feedback

Fixes for display & launcher

Latest security fixes



Device applicability varies



Learn more on our Community post: https://t.co/36iwv6s3WS

— Made By Google (@madebygoogle) May 2, 2022

When we wrote about the change, many people said they preferred the weaker notifications, but we weren't sure if it was an intentional change that would stay that way or a bug. After installing the update on my phone, the vibrations are stronger than they were before.

You should be able to adjust the strength to your liking in the settings menu. You can manually sideload the May 2022 Pixel update on your device by using the web-based Android flash tool, which is described here or in a command prompt. If you're not in a hurry and you're willing to accept some risk to your device, then you may want to wait and see if anyone finds an issue with this latest update.