A noticeable number of Pixel users have complained on Reddit about a frustrating issue. Their phones freeze on the lock screen or always-on display after installing the March 2026 Pixel Drop and security update.
Some say they can feel haptic feedback when tapping the screen, and trigger Gemini with the power button, when the phone screen goes off. The reports are mostly coming from Pixel 9 and 10 series owners, and a few Pixel 8 Pro units. There's little you can do to solve the problem, but users have found workarounds.
Force restart your Pixel or install this update
The March Pixel Drop brought many improvements, including upgrades for Circle to Search. It's no longer limited to one object and you can circle an entire scene, which then breaks into individual items you can search or buy. The same update is now causing issues for users, although the said issue isn't entirely new.
It appeared in previous Android 16 beta builds. What's happening now is likely from the kernel, which is the core of the operating system. It's active and provides haptic feedback, but the user interface thread, which is the process responsible for drawing the lock screen and updating the Always-On Display, is stuck in a loop.
One user tested it by rolling back to the February Android 16 build, and the phone immediately started working normally again. Then they reinstalled the March update, and the lock screen freezing issue came back right away.
Force restarting the device using the power and volume buttons seemed to help some users. It should terminate the stuck UI process and clear everything currently in memory.
It'll restore your phone's normal behaviour since the bug lives in the current running state and not permanently on the device. You may want to disable the Always-On display afterward to prevent the issue from reoccurring.
If that doesn't work, update the Google Play System. One user shares how they installed the January 1 Play System version and noticed that the problem stopped occurring. It's part of Project Mainline, where Google updates core parts of Android through the Play Store instead of making you wait for a full system update. The updates handle security, system services, media components, and some background frameworks.
Google may be working on a fix
Google has responded to the issue on Reddit through its official PixelCommunity account, although they don't have a solution yet. Instead, they reached out to affected users to gather more details. It almost always leads to a fix, so we should expect it soon.
The Android 16 Beta 3 bootloop issue with Desktop Mode presented a similar challenge for users in starting devices properly. Google had to pull the update and quickly release a patched version Beta 3.1 to fix it.
Google support may not be the most supportive solution right now, but it's worth a short. One user mentioned how they were told to factory reset their phone, which is really the worst case scenario. You'll lose all your data.
