First-gen Pixel phones aren't receiving SMS messages

Google's Pixel 2 is finally here, and while it's a worthy upgrade from last year's model, we don't blame those that want to hold onto their 2016 Pixel for a bit longer. The first-generation Pixel and Pixel XL are still great phones, but a bug has popped up that's preventing some users of the devices from receiving SMS text messages.

This is an issue that's apparently been going on for some time now, and our own Daniel Bader has been affected by it as well. Basically, if you have a Pixel or Pixel XL, there's a chance you won't receive text messages that are sent to you.

That's a bug that could prove to be extremely annoying, and unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any specific reason for it happening. A lot of users on Google's product forums report that they're having the issue with Pixels on Verizon, but others are using the phone on Big Red without any issues at all. Others also claim that the bug first popped up after updating to Android 8.0 Oreo, but then again, another person says that they had the issue prior to the Oreo update.

Thankfully, a manager from the Pixel User Community responded to these complaints with the following message:

Hey all,Thanks for all of the reports. The team is aware of the issue and working towards a fix. Some of you have mentioned that rebooting or factory resetting the device resolved the issues. Definitely try to reboot, and if you factory reset, make sure all of your data/info is backed up.I'll keep you all posted!

Some people report that they started to receive texts once again after a simple reboot, but for the majority of people (including Daniel), a full factory reset is required. It's good to know that Google is aware of the problem at hand and working on a proper fix, but we can only hope that that resolution comes sooner rather than later with a problem as serious as this.

Joe Maring

Joe Maring was a Senior Editor for Android Central between 2017 and 2021. You can reach him on Twitter at @JoeMaring1.