By

David Nield

published about 7 hours ago

Something's up

The Google Pixel 6. (Image credit: Google)

If your Google Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro is struggling to get a stable network connection lately, you're not alone: the problem appears to be reasonably widespread from what we can tell, and now Google has confirmed that it's "actively investigating" the issue.

That update from Google comes via 9to5Google, and Google has emphasized that the December software patch is not the root cause of the problems, as some had speculated (the timings did appear to match up).

Right now, Google doesn't have an answer for what is going on, but we do at least now know that engineers are looking into it. For the time being there's no indication of when everything might get back to normal for affected users.

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Call me, maybe

You don't have to go far to find reports of users struggling to get connected to a cellular network on their Pixel 6 or Pixel Pro phone: these reports have popped up on Reddit, the official Google support forums, and the issue tracker that Google runs.

"No or minimal signal, was already wondering if something was up with my provider," writes one user experiencing the problem. Another reports that cell signal strength has "dropped significantly" in recent days.

The issues seem to be centered on European countries, including Germany, France, Belgium and Spain, suggesting it's a region-specific problem. Restarting the phone does seem to fix the issue in some cases, but only temporarily.

Analysis: customer service matters

Google can be proud of the reception that the Pixel 6 and the Pixel 6 Pro have been given since they launched in October 2021: they're well designed, they're powerful, and they offer the photo quality that we've come to expect from the Pixel series.

If Google is serious about taking on the likes of Apple and Samsung at the top of the smartphone tree, however, it needs to make sure that every aspect of the business is well covered – and that includes prompt and reliable customer support.

This is something Apple does really well. identifying problems when they crop up, and giving users a variety of ways to get their iPhones repaired: through an Apple Store, for example, or by sending the device directly to Apple instead.

Now it's up to Google to show it can respond quickly to issues with its handsets, and get fixes rolled out promptly. That will do wonders for user confidence in Google's devices, both now and in the future (for handsets like the Google Pixel 6a).

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Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. On TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables.