As some of you may know, Android 14 Beta 3 arrived about a week ago with a major bug. It removed the fingerprint scanner functionality altogether for some Pixel users. Well, Android 14 Beta 3.1 is now here, and it brings back fingerprint sensor functionality to those affected.
Android 14 Beta 3.1 brings back fingerprint scanner functionality to affected Pixel phones
Just to be perfectly clear, the fingerprint sensor bug hit only some Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, and Pixel 6a users. It didn’t affect any other phones, it would seem. Well, this update should fix things for you, if you’ve faced that issue. It’s a hotfix update if you will.
There are two entries in the changelog here. The first one relates to the fingerprint sensor bug, while the other one mentions fixes for “platform compatibility issues that were affecting mapping SDKs”. That basically caused dependent apps to crash in some cases.
The update is rolling out to all Pixels from the Pixel 4a (5G) and up
This update is now rolling out to Pixel phones, not just the Pixel 6 series. It’s rolling out to all Pixel phones from the Pixel 4a (5G) and up. So, the list includes the Pixel 4a (5G), 5, 5a, 6, 6 Pro, 6a, 7, 7 Pro, and the Pixel 7a.
As per usual, this rollout is staged, and it may not be immediately available to your device. If it’s not, it will be soon. It is rolling out over-the-air (OTA), and only to users that are enrolled in the Beta program, of course.
If you do want to sideload it, because you simply cannot wait, Factory images and OTA files for all devices are available from here. Before you proceed, though, make sure you know exactly what you’re doing, as you could brick your device if you don’t. If that’s the case, it would be best to wait for the update to reach you organically.