Are you seeing a huge “white wall” at the bottom of Google search pages? If so, you’re likely experiencing a Google Search bug, a new software glitch confirmed by the search engine giant.
“We’re aware that for some people, our search results page might not be fully rendering. We’re actively working to resolve this bug,” the Google Search Liaison team wrote on Twitter.
Google hasn’t said what the problem is, or why the problem is only present for a small subset of Google’s Android user base, but the problem is occurring in both the Google app as well as on Google’s mobile web browser, Chrome. There is no specified timeframe from Google as to when impacted users can expect the bug to be fixed.
The earliest report regarding the Google Search bug was made on July 20th, though many users say the bug has only persisted a day or two for them. All handsets, including Android-powered flagships such as the Galaxy S9, Galaxy S10, and even Google’s Pixel phone series have been affected by this bug. You can see screenshots of the problem below.
A number of software bugs or glitches have occurred around Google Search within the last few years. Back in 2017, Google’s pill-shaped search widget on its Pixel Launcher for its phones stopped working. Users would type in search terms and click the magnifying glass symbol, only to see nothing happen afterward.
An apparent software glitch last summer with Google Search caused users’ incoming text messages to appear in Google search when users typed “1975..com” into the search engine box.
A Google search spoofing bug was reported in 2017 by UK security expert Weize Beukema, though Google dismissed it at the time as insignificant and not worth fixing after it discovered the glitch.
Google finally said it would fix the issue earlier this year. Last summer, Android users reported that the Google Play app store search function was broken, bringing up duplicate and generic search results after a handful of apps or app no. 20, whichever comes first.
While Google is working on a fix for its search engine troubles, Android’s owner is preparing for the rollout of Android Q this fall (Android 10, whose name is unknown). In mid-May, under the Executive Order of US President Donald Trump, Google removed Shenzhen-based Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. from Android, revoking Huawei’s Android license and leaving the Chinese corporation without mobile software.
While Trump has relaxed the ban on Huawei, giving American high-tech companies the opportunity to sell to Huawei again (and granting new selling licenses to American companies looking to churn a profit), Google has said nothing to Huawei in terms of whether or not it can or will ever be re-invited back to Android. Google’s revocation of Huawei’s Android license is complete on August 19th after the US government granted Huawei a three-month reprieve.
Huawei has told Google that if it departs from Android, Google (and Android) would lose 800 million users, but this isn’t the case. Right now, Huawei is the one losing out in Europe due to its phones arriving with Android 9.0 Pie without the promise of future updates. The company has reportedly seen 40-60% sales decline in smartphones in Europe during the time of the ban and is set to lose $30 million over the next two years.
Google has argued that Huawei phones without Google’s Android are an even bigger security risk than Huawei, but to no avail. Right now, there is no word on when Huawei will be taken off the Entity List — which means that Google’s Android license revocation is sure to come to pass unless Trump and China have better negotiations in the coming days.