March security patches now available for Pixels and Nexus phones; expect your OTA soon

Pixel 2 XL
Pixel 2 XL (Image credit: Android Central)

Factory images with the March 2018 patch for the Pixel and Pixel 2 family, the Nexus 6P, and Nexus 5X are available at the Google Developer site and can be manually installed today, and OTA updates are expected to begin shortly.

These are part of the March Security Bulletin and besides patches for the critical vulnerabilities found in Android and hardware partner's code, some bug fixes and software improvements are inbound for Google's family of devices. Don;t get excited, though, there's nothing fun in there.

  • Improve screen wake performance with fingerprint unlock (Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL)
  • Improve audio performance when recording video (Pixel 2 XL)
  • Improve crash reporting (Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL)

I guess better crash reporting could be fun for some of us, though. And if you've been unlucky and have been bit by the "fingerprint unlocking slow-down bug" you are probably happy to see some more fine tuning being done.

The usual applies: you can grab the factory images and flash things yourself, or hang tight as Google says to expect an over-the-air update soon, which it encourages you to accept. Fast updates are one of the reasons to buy a phone from Google, but faster updates through a USB cable are an even better reason. Here's what you need.

Jerry Hildenbrand
Senior Editor — Google Ecosystem

Jerry is an amateur woodworker and struggling shade tree mechanic. There's nothing he can't take apart, but many things he can't reassemble. You'll find him writing and speaking his loud opinion on Android Central and occasionally on Twitter.