Alarming Android 14 Storage Bug Locks Users Out Of Phones, Which Pixels Are At Risk

Though Android 14 may be Google’s baby, it does not appear to be playing nice with Google’s Pixel phone lineup. On Reddit and in Google’s issue tracker, users who upgraded to Android 14 on Pixel devices are reporting that they are losing all data after their phones get soft-bricked by the update in a “ransomware-esque” fashion. The only connecting feature, it seems, between all these users has something to do with multiple profiles on Android devices.

On October 17th, a bug appeared on Google’s issue tracker, which said, “pixel 6 can't access storage with multiple profiles after updating to android 14.” This user noted that the primary user profile could no longer access storage while the second profile still could. Throughout October, over 400 comments on the issue rolled in, with many of them expressing similar issues. Furthermore, several other duplicate issues were filed on the Google issue tracker, yet it doesn't seem as if any of these issues are being investigated yet.


Over on Reddit it's a similar story, with posts cropping up about Pixel phones "getting stuck on boot" and people losing data garnering a similar amount of attention. Between all this coverage, one would think a bug as significant as this would get quashed quickly. However, we are now eleven days from it being tracked, and Google has evidently not moved on the issue, leaving many users frustrated.


Sadly, as it stands, the only recourse for this issue is factory resetting your device, which is rather problematic. While it is unclear if this issue corrupts or deletes media, a factory reset would certainly make you lose all your photos and videos. However, if you need your phone day-to-day and cannot wait for a fix, this might be necessary. It should also be noted that this bug is affecting a good chunk of Pixel device owners, including those with the Pixel 7, 7a, 6a, 6, Fold, and Tablet. 

At the end of the day, we will have to see if Google replies to this issue here soon, as it is a growing problem. It is also concerning that there has yet to be an evident reply or a note that the Google team is aware of the problem, so it begs the question of what exactly is going on over there. Perhaps we will find out soon, so keep an eye out for a patch from Google and stay tuned to HotHardware for updates.