Google Has Just Released The January Android Security Patch

Google has just released the January Android Security Patch for both the Nexus and Pixel devices that are still supported by these monthly security updates, which includes the Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL, the Nexus 6P, the Nexus 5X, the Pixel C Tablet, the Nexus 9, and the Nexus Player. While these will begin to start rolling out to the supported devices as an over-the-air update from today and in incremental batches, the Factory Images and the OTA Images are already available for download and installation over at the Google Developers website, and you can grab the necessary files for download from these pages, which you can access from the buttons below. With that said, you should only manually flash these files to update the device yourself if you are familiar with the process.

In addition to posting the Factory Images and OTA Images for the January Security Patch, Google has also posted the January Android Security Bulletin which details how many fixes there were and what the update contains. This is right on schedule with the rumor that Google would release the January patch to Nexus and Pixel devices on January 3rd, but also a few days after LG had already posted up their own Security Bulletin, although LG has yet to start pushing their January security patch to devices.

As is typical with past security patches Google has set up two patch level strings. One which is geared towards the Nexus and Pixel devices, and another string which is meant for Google’s Android partners, which are the various manufacturers that produce Android phones and tablets. There are a total of 95 fixes for the various vulnerabilities that were still present or arose following the December Security Patch, 23 of which are in the patch level string meant for Pixel and Nexus devices. The good news for the users with a Nexus pr a Pixel device is that there was only one Critical vulnerability listed and that needed fixing which is always a good thing. The unfortunate downside for Pixel and Pixel XL owners is that this update does not likely contain the fixes for the more recent bugs which have been plaguing users for issues with the audio and network connections.