July’s Google Pixel update is here with more bad news than good

Google has just published an update for its Pixel phones, and it’s in the process of rolling out now. This isn’t a beta update, either — it brings the July 2025 security patches to everyone on the stable channel. While some might find relief in a couple of fixes it brings, others could find themselves shopping for a replacement phone after installing this update.

Google updated its factory images page today, adding the July 2025 firmware upgrades for all Pixel devices dating back to the 6a. This update has a build number of BP2A.250705.008 and contains the latest Android security patches, but there’s some bad news if you have one of Google’s sixth-generation Pixel models.

Some Pixel 6a users will have their battery life throttled

Today’s update marks the beginning of the Pixel 6a Battery Performance Program. Like the Pixel 4a “update of death” in January 2025, this firmware version will reduce battery life on certain Pixel 6a models in order to “address a potential battery overheating risk.” Google says this is a “mandatory software update” that will be automatically applied, and the company has already removed older firmware downloads for the Pixel 6a, so there’s no going back.

Not all Pixel 6a devices will see reduced battery life with this change — only what Google is calling “Impacted Devices,” and even then, just those that have been put through 400 charging cycles. You can check to see if yours is one of the affected models with Google’s eligibility page, and if it is, you can apply for a free battery replacement, a cash payment, or a credit to use towards a new Pixel.

RIP Pixel 6?

Notably, the Pixel 6 has been left off the supported devices list with today’s update. After unexpectedly receiving extended support beyond the initial three-year OS upgrades promise, 2021’s Pixel 6 and 6 Pro were just updated to Android 16 last month.

However, when Google announced the extended support, it said these models would continue to receive OS upgrades until October 2026, so we’re not entirely sure if this is the end of software support or if Google is just skipping this month’s update on these devices.

Still no back button fix

When Android 16 first rolled out to the stable channel last month, many users noticed a bug that made the back gesture unresponsive at times. Others noticed 3-button navigation randomly becoming broken, and both sets of users reported that restarting was the only apparent fix.

Google acknowledged the issue several weeks ago, saying a fix would roll out in the next update. So we were expecting that fix today, but Android Police founder Artem Russakovskii contacted Google to verify that was the case, and the company said this fix didn’t make the July deadline, so it wasn’t included in today’s update. In short, we will have to wait until August to receive the fix that beta users already got two weeks ago.

It’s not ALL bad news

If your back button is working fine and your Pixel’s series number doesn’t start with a 6, you’ll have some reason to be excited about today’s update — Google is including a fix for glitchy display graphics on Android Auto and in certain apps, and Wi-Fi performance has also been upgraded.

The update is in the process of rolling out now, but Google is sending it out in phases “over the next week.” To see if it’s available on your device, head to Settings → System → Software updates → System update and tap the Check for updates button.