An issue related to Android Oreo builds running on Google’s Pixel and Pixel 2-series devices is crashing many mesh routers, according to a sizeable volume of user complaints posted on official forums of various router manufacturers, Reddit, and Google itself. At least some routers from Netgear’s Orbi series, Eero, and Cisco have already been confirmed as being affected by the problem, with a few users even claiming their non-mesh devices are also crashing when used in conjunction with Google’s mobile offerings. One Google WiFi user also said they’re affected by the issue that they believe is caused by the Pixel 2 XL. According to them, waking the smartphone’s screen stops their network from operating for approximately a minute.
Representatives of the Mountain View, California-based tech giant already acknowledged numerous reports on the company’s official forums and asked users to continue sending them bug reports that should ultimately help the firm’s engineers identify the root of the problem. While some mesh network users recently speculated the issue is caused by the December Security Update for the Pixel devices, that doesn’t appear to be the case by virtue of the fact that original reports about the phenomenon started emerging no later than the first half of November. Regardless, as the volume of complaints appears to have significantly increased this month, it’s possible that the latest security patch either made the matter worse or ended up causing the same instability in another manner. The actual version of the Android operating system doesn’t appear to be a direct cause of the problem as users running both Android 8.0 and 8.1 Oreo reported issues with their mesh networks in recent weeks.
While the bug appears to be relatively widespread, it’s already been confirmed that it isn’t affecting every owner of Pixel devices who’s also a mesh router user. The problem may also transcend Google’s first-party Android phones, as suggested by one Galaxy Note 8 owner who recently posted to Reddit to complain about experiencing identical instability issues with their unspecified mesh network, though no similar reports have yet emerged. Limited user testing suggests the original Pixel phones downgraded to Android 7.1.2 Nougat with a manual firmware flash don’t appear to be crashing mesh routers they previously were so even if the latest security patch isn’t the culprit, some component of Android 8.X Oreo certainly appears to be.