I’m already seeing plenty of curious Pixel owners asking if they should boot up and run the first public beta for Android 11 as their daily driver. It’s a fantastic and warranted question, and while you’d think that a public beta is a safe thing to run as a daily OS, I’m here to tell you that you might as well wait and hold off on flashing Android 11.
Video: What’s new in Android 11 beta!
I hate to be the one to tell you, but Google is not joking when they call this a beta. Heck, I might even still label this as an alpha, since the majority of features the Android team highlighted yesterday when it was unveiled don’t work.
Here’s a few things not working properly:
- Bubbles – One of the premier Android 11 beta features, Bubbles are not working properly. Whether this is due to developers needing to enable them or something with updates, they aren’t working properly. The only app currently working with Bubbles is Facebook Messenger.
- Google Pay – Not a feature exclusive to Android 11, but a feature needed for many when it comes to “daily driver,” Google Pay does not work on “experimental” software.
- Updated Media Controls – Yet another feature highlighted by Google, it can work properly if enabled via the Developer Settings menu. Our hope was that it’d work without having to dig through settings, but this is a beta after all.
- It’s simply not stable – Kellen has had more issues than me in this department, but he is running into serious stability problems when running certain apps. For example, his phone froze while using Chrome, as well as when viewing a photo. These types of problems aren’t what you want on a daily driver.
If you have a Pixel as a secondary phone or something like that, then by all means, flash Android 11 and have some fun. If you only use one phone and need your Pixel to be reliable, I wouldn’t recommend it right now. It’s just not worth it. Maybe if you could at least test some of Google’s sweet new Android 11 features it’d be fun, but they aren’t even working.
TL;DR version: Nope, don’t flash the Android 11 beta to your Pixel.
It runs fine for me (we’ve all suffered through much worse on stable builds during the early Android days) but there’s just not enough “new” stuff to make the jump.
I’m totally one to sacrifice my daily driver just for small ui changes but even this update left me disappointed..
Not having any issues so far. Face unlock works fine. Haven’t tried Google Pay yet, but the info is there when I open the app. Banking app works fine with face unlock too. TMobile visual voicemail app is not working. Pixel 4XL.
Just used it in the car and absolutely no problems with Android Auto either. Seems like a daily driver to me.
Breaks the functionality of the DJI Fly app. So unfortunatelty I can’t take the Mavic Air 2 out. 🙁
Daily driving it. Some freezing here & there, nothing major on my 2 XL.
Been running it since yesterday at around 1 pm. Have had no issues, freezes, restarts etc. Seems great for a first beta
Yeah I made that mistake on my 4XL, now my SIM card won’t work with it so I had to go back to my Pixel 3 while I wait for the stable build to come back. However, its been over 24 hours now and still no stable build.
I have been running all the beta releases since they were first available for the Nexus and Pixel phones… I only do OTAs… NO Direct loading.
I have never had an issue…
Android Auto keeps disconnecting and reconnecting on my 2XL. Other than that it’s been fine.
Not having any issues so far. Face unlock works fine. Haven’t tried Google Pay yet, but the info is there when I open the app. Banking app works fine with face unlock too. TMobile visual voicemail app is not working. Pixel 4XL.
Just used it in the car and absolutely no problems with Android Auto either. Seems like a daily driver to me.
Seems like it’s an issue on the Fours
No problems on 3a. Last night Eye was watching YouTube and 2 videos stuttered a little bit. And that’s the only issues so far. Everything else great. Including the home control from power button and bank card also works fine from power button
Also running well on my 3a. I haven’t noticed any stutters on YouTube yet.
The only issue I had (which was a pretty big one) is when you have an app the uses the “display over other apps”, it doesn’t let the keyboard pop up when needed. I had “Edge Gestures” installed, and because of that, I couldn’t use the keyboard at all. Uninstalled Edge Gestures, then keyboard worked fine afterwards. Other than that issue, it’s been working great on my Pixel 4 XL.
Edit: Forgot to mention, Google Pay doesn’t work either.
The only issue I had (which was a pretty big one) is when you have an app the uses the “display over other apps”, it doesn’t let the keyboard pop up when needed. I had “Edge Gestures” installed, and because of that, I couldn’t use the keyboard at all. Uninstalled Edge Gestures, then keyboard worked fine afterwards. Other than that issue, it’s been working great on my Pixel 4 XL.
Edit: Forgot to mention, Google Pay doesn’t work either.
Thank goodness I don’t use my 2XL as my daily device, because System UI crashes every thirty seconds or so after updating to the beta.
I’ve experienced zero issues so far on my 3XL. It’s been the complete opposite experience I had when I downloaded the first 10 beta.
Eh, “Beta” is correct, especially at this early stage. We still have three months to go!
Losing G Pay “temporarily” is gonna be not as painful as it would have normally be, though I was able to use it yesterday after installing it.
Recents is noticeably buggy, but not a nuisance, yet.
Pixel 3XL running great. No major issues. I had to redo my fingerprints. No freeze ups. Phone calls work, incoming and out going. My banking app even works. I’ve tried just about every app on my phone without issues. Google pay doesn’t work(not allowing to add my credit card) but I don’t use it. Don’t know about bubbles and don’t care because everything I need works. So far so good
I have a Pixel 4XL and haven’t experienced any issues with it yet. I have been using chrome quite a bit and have not had any crashes or lockups. Its been pretty stable. The apps I use on a daily basis have been responding just fine. I am liking the expanded power menu a lot.
So Google Pay works for me, and I have not had the first problem. It’s pretty stable for me.
Wish I saw this article yesterday, it’s too late for me. It’s buggy as hell and Face Unlock doesn’t work either, making this Pixel XL 4 a PITA to use.
It’s been okay for me so far on my Pixel 2 XL but yeah most people shouldn’t take the risk. Since my phone is a little older I’m a little more okay with upgrading if the worst happens, but if it were a new Pixel 4 or something I wouldn’t be trying the beta right now.
Other than Google play, mine seems fine so far, but bubbles aren’t on the screen yet.
too late…
The average person should never download a beta. Betas are best used by developers, tech enthusiasts, etc. Your grandma or spouse doesn’t need a beta OS
I’ve had freezes, as well. So far the “fix” for me is locking and unlocking the screen…