Google is pushing out a fix for the big Android 14 multi-user bug

If you’ve been keeping up with the latest Android 14 bug news, you’ll know that a serious issue has been affecting Pixel owners with multiple profiles on their devices. Now it seems help is on the way, as Google is rolling out a fix.

The fix is part of the November 2023 update for Pixel devices, and (as spotted by 9to5Google), it mentions a bug that has been “occasionally causing devices with multiple users enabled to show out of space or be in a reboot loop”.

Pixel users should start seeing the update appear from today (November 7), though as usual it’ll take a few days to reach everyone. You can manually check for updates on a Pixel phone by going to System and System update in Settings.

At this stage there’s no confirmation that people affected by this particularly nasty bug have had their issues resolved, though we’re taking Google’s word for it that the software update will be effective. However, there’s no mention of a fix for the screen tint problem that some Pixel 8 owners have been reporting.

Data recovery

The note attached to the software update confirms that the storage and reboot issues have been noticed on Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, Pixel 6a, Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 7a, Pixel Tablet, Pixel Fold, Pixel 8, and Pixel 8 Pro devices – so everything Google has released since late October 2021.

Google acknowledged the problem last week, and confirmed that it was related to having multiple user accounts on a device running Android 14. At that point it said it was “investigating” ways of recovering lost data – but based on the most recent update, that’s looking unlikely for those most seriously affected.

As per an updated support post, those users who can get into their phones but can’t access files should be able to access their data again once the update is installed. However, for those users whose devices are stuck in a reboot loop, the new software patch “may not enable data to be recovered”.

If your phone or tablet is constantly rebooting, you can do a factory reset using the buttons on the device. This will reinstall Android, and enable you to install the latest update – but any data (like photos and documents) you’ve not already backed up somewhere else will almost certainly be lost.

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