[Updated] Some Pixel 7 & 6 users report playing specific YouTube video reboots device & triggers network connectivity issues (workarounds inside)

New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….

Original story (published on February 27, 2023) follows:

Google Pixel smartphones are undoubtedly the top-tier line of Android-based devices due to the stock Android experience they provide.

Also, many people value the improvements and upgrades that Google offers. Pixel devices stand out from the competition because of their quality cameras and a number of additional capabilities.

Google Pixel 7 & 6 rebooting while playing a YouTube video

Some Google Pixel 6 and 7 owners (1,2,3,4,5) have been reporting an issue where their devices are rebooting when playing or watching specific YouTube videos.

It legit screwed my phone up for about 5 minutes. Cellular network wouldn’t connect. Had to reboot again.
Source

My Pixel 6a reboots if I search in YouTube app for “Alien 4K HDR | Get Out of There”, even before I hit “play”
Source

To make matters worse, this bug then triggers network connectivity issues (1,2) for some. It appears that it likely has something to do with the flaw that made Samsung devices freeze and enter a bootloop.

Not all are facing this problem as some Pixel devices (1,2,3,4) seem to be unaffected. So, it’s the Pixel 6 and 7 devices that are the most impacted.

Fortunately, the most recent beta update is free of this bug (1,2,3,4). so, Pixel users with devices running on Android 13 QPR2 beta are able to watch YouTube videos without any issues.

Workaround for network issues

Since the sudden reboot is also triggering network connectivity issues, one can do the following:

Similar, just hit airplane mode for a second and it should work again after that (I did that myself)
Source

Although Google hasn’t commented on this issue so far, those affected can try upgrading their devices to the latest beta update. One can also try the above-mentioned workaround to solve the connectivity bug temporarily.

We hope that the team comes up with a permanent fix for the issue where watching some YouTube videos is rebooting the Pixel 7 and 6 devices.

We’ll keep tabs on the issue and update this article as and when something noteworthy comes up.

06:30 pm (IST): It appears that the problem where a Pixel device would reboot on watching a specific YouTube video has been fixed.

NOTE: You can also check the Google Pixel 7 series bugs/issues and updates tracker and Google Pixel 6 series bugs/issues and updates tracker for more information.

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