Owners of the Pixel 10 are saying apps are crashing left and right after installing the October update, and early signs point to the Pixel 10 Pro being hit hardest.
Threads on Reddit and the official Pixel support community (example 1, example 2) describe apps hanging on splash screens, rejecting touch input, or crashing. Google has not confirmed the issue, but reports are ramping up as the rollout expands.
What users are seeing on Pixel 10 after the October update
The typical complaint is that an app opens, but then hangs at the very first frame, either crashing out or sitting lifeless until the system offers to kill it.
Some users say the issue is affecting a range of first-party and third-party titles, from messaging and maps to banking and streaming. Some note that it does load, but tapping anything sends it back into a crash loop.
Reboots and cache wipes don’t seem to consistently fix the issue. Reports that new installs work for a time and then stop are common among multiple commenters. Exact numbers are hard to come by, but community threads on the issue have swelled into multiple hundreds of comments describing a widespread regression in stability instead of isolated app defects.
Why the October update may be the culprit on Pixel 10
Pixel updates may have physical contact with three moving parts: the system build of the Android system, Google Play system modules (Mainline), and, finally, Google Play Services. If one part moves ahead without proper coordination with others, mild API mismatches can cause crashes or “Application Not Responding” situations. On Pixels, Play Services is particularly important because it handles the sign-in process, location tracking, notifications, Wallet configurations, and a wide variety of lower-level APIs that modern apps use.
Developers may be familiar with crash spikes that occur when an OS update changes behavior in the Android Runtime (ART) or restricts permissions on background activity and input. In this case, a number of the reports came to an impasse: looking at more and more of them only pointed toward a systematic conflict between the October system bits and recent Play Services stuff, which also helps to explain why so many completely unrelated apps all fail in exactly the same way. That’s actually not so unusual; prior Android-wide “episode” flare-ups with WebView or Play Services have resulted in general app instability until a server-side or component update went into place.
A workaround exists, but there are big caveats for Pixel 10 owners
Some have reported on Twitter that they were able to restore stability by removing Google Play Services and the Play Store updates after loading October’s patch. The explosions stop when these parts are reverted to an older version, according to reports. But this method can also sign you out of your Google accounts, break notifications, disable Wallet payments, and temporarily affect security features (such as device finding or 2FA prompts). Others also said the crashes came back after a later restore was performed.
Simply put, it is a high-stakes temporary measure, not a panacea. If you rely on apps and services that have Google account dependencies, this workaround might cause more problems than it solves. A lot of users don’t want to touch core services and are opting instead to wait for an official patch.
Safer steps to consider now before trying risky fixes
There are a handful of lower-risk strategies some Pixel 10 owners have used to make their phones less wobbly:
- Verify whether there are any updates for Google Play Services, the Play Store, or “Google Play system update” under system settings, and reboot.
- Clear only cache (not data) for Google Play Services, Google Play Store, and affected apps, then reboot.
- Make sure you’re not part of beta tests for Play Services or the Play Store, which can deliver early builds that work in different ways on new system versions.
- Boot to safe mode to eliminate conflicts from third-party utilities (like aggressive battery savers or overlay apps), then slowly turn the apps back on if things are stable.
If these don’t work, avoid factory resets until Google’s team offers guidance. For users, a reset hasn’t consistently resolved the issue and adds unnecessary work without addressing the root of the issue.
What to expect from Google as it investigates app crashes
Because complaints have piled up so fast on consumer forums, an official response is probable. Google can address problems like this through a small over-the-air patch, a Play Services update, or a server-side configuration change that does not need the user to do anything. Traditionally, widespread stability problems rooted in core components are fixed within days after having been exposed, though not always.
Meanwhile, if you have not updated to the October patch yet, you may want to hold off until a new fix is announced. Impacted users should leave feedback in the phone’s support channel (especially if log files are attached to aid triaging). Keeping an eye on the Pixel community forum and the public issue tracker might also give you early visibility into progress on a fix.
Bottom line: It seems that the October update has brought a compatibility glitch of some sort causing everyday apps to behave in new and unexpected ways, especially on Pixel 10 Pro. For now, until Google releases an update that addresses the bug directly, it’s best to wait and be careful when troubleshooting.