Google’s Pixel update for May fixes weak notification vibrations on Pixel 6 phones

For several lines of Android phones, the switch to Android 12 has been a tough one, including withdrawn updates and occasional bugs. Still, the number of issues we’ve seen for Google’s flagship Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro devices alone has been surprising. Today, Google announced that the May 2022 update for Pixel devices is starting to roll out. It fixes an issue people noticed on the Pixel 6 phones after the March update, when the vibration for notifications was suddenly much weaker.

Two fixes apply to all Pixel devices from Pixel 3a to 6 that resolve issues that could cause the screen to wake up without interaction and an issue that could crash the launcher, but one line is only for Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro:

Improvements to haptic feedback under certain conditions and applications

When we wrote about the change, many people said they actually preferred the weaker messages, but without confirmation from Google in response to threads on Reddit and its support forum, we were not sure if it was a deliberate change that would remain so or an insect. I can confirm that on my Pixel 6, after installing the update, the vibrations are much stronger when set to maximum than they were before.

Now you should be able to adjust the strength to your liking in the settings menu based on your own preferences. According to Google, the May 2022 Pixel update will continue to roll out over the next week in phases; however, you can page load it on your device manually using the web-based Android Flash tool as described here or from a command prompt. Of course, these steps should only be followed if you are willing to accept some risk for your device, and if you are not in a hurry, you may want to wait and see if anyone finds a problem or two with this latest update.