Homeowners of some Google Pixel smartphones are reporting that sure YouTube movies are inflicting their gadgets to crash, reboot and, in some instances, lose mobile service.
In keeping with a current thread on Reddit, the issue solely happens when utilizing the official YouTube app, fairly than a third-party app or browser. Feedback on the YouTube video echo these considerations, with a number of Pixel 7 customers, and a few utilizing the Pixel 6, affected by issues. Non-Pixel telephones appear to be unaffected.
Homeowners of some Google Pixel smartphones are reporting that sure YouTube movies are inflicting their … [+]
Customers impacted by the issue report that their telephone crashes as quickly because the YouTube app hundreds up and reboots way more shortly than standard. In some instances, cell service then turns into unavailable till the person reboots the telephone once more manually.
Many different Pixel customers, alternatively, are in a position to view the video with no issues. This was additionally the case for me, so I’m unable to confirm or diagnose any points for now. Some customers unaffected by the issue declare to be working the newest beta model of Android, so it’s doable that the bug is confined to explicit software program variations.
The video was initially posted two years in the past, so that is extra seemingly a bug fairly than a deliberate try to prank Pixel customers. The state of affairs is paying homage to the bug that precipitated a ‘cursed’ wallpaper picture to crash Samsung smartphones a few years in the past.
Right here is the video in query. Pixel customers ought to keep away from viewing it until they’re ready for his or her telephones to reboot. I haven’t embedded it on this put up for apparent causes.
So what might be inflicting the crash? As was the case with the cursed wallpaper, it’s almost certainly one thing embedded within the video’s metadata that’s inflicting the Pixel’s software program to journey up. There’s nothing significantly esoteric concerning the video clip on this case: based on YouTube’s ‘stats for nerds’ readout, it’s an HDR video utilizing the VP9 codec and rec.2020 colorspace. Whereas a small minority of YouTube movies presently use this format, it’s on no account uncommon.
No lasting harm appears to have occurred to these affected by the bug so if it occurs to you, I’d sit tight and await an replace. There’s in all probability nothing fallacious together with your telephone’s {hardware}.
Comply with @paul_monckton on Instagram
