It's been a long few months for Google Pixel 6 users with a myriad of problems and bugs affecting the phone and Pixel 6 Pro since they launched in October. Just because 2021 is almost over doesn't mean the issues are, and there's time for more smartphone shenanigans.
Case in point, the Hold for Me and Call Screening features have been temporarily disabled, as confirmed by a post on the Google support forums made by a product support manager.
The former of these features lets the phone automatically monitor the call when you're put on hold and notify you when someone is ready to talk again, and Call Screening gives you more information on who's calling you and why before you pick up the phone.
It's worth noting that these services didn't work in all countries where the Pixel 6 was sold, so some Pixel users might not have noticed the features being disabled in the first place.
The support post blames 'a bug in the December Android update' which means the features needed to be disabled for the time being.
Google has said it's 'actively working on resolving this issue', so hopefully, you won't need to wait too long to get the useful telephone screening features working again.
Analysis: the long Pixel problem road isn't over
The Google Pixel 6 family caught headlines when launched due to being the first exciting Pixel phones in years, but when the initial excitement died down the trouble began.
We've seen issues where the phone will randomly call contacts, refuse to connect to Android Auto, not charge at the full speed, flicker the screen sometimes, fail to call on Wi-Fi, stop the fingerprint scanner working if your phone decharges, and more.
We've even written up a full list on the various Google Pixel 6 problems we've seen.
Even two days before the support page post, a widespread issue came to light as lots of Pixel users reported their connection kept dropping out, though Google stated that wasn't because of the December Android update which caused today's issues.
So the long Pixel problem road isn't over just yet, and we'll likely keep writing news stories on the Pixel 6 issues well into 2022. That's well worth considering if you're looking to buy the phone soon – but bear in mind that not all users get every issue, so the failings may not be as pronounced as they initially seem.
