December 2021 Android patch fixes tons of bugs (Update: Pixel 6 version removed)

Update, January 5, 2022 (09:58 AM ET): The December 2021 Android security patch for the Pixel 6 series just keeps getting messier. First, Google didn’t post the downloads for the update. Then, it did post them, but later paused the rollout of the update due to rampant bugs. Now, via 9to5Google, we see that Google has delisted the downloads for the Pixel 6 series from its factory image and OTA hubs. This would appear to prevent people from manually installing the files.

Interestingly, we have the direct file links preserved in our list below and they appear to still work. This likely means Google just removed the URLs from the lists while leaving the files themselves intact. We’ve left the links alive in this post but used a strikethrough to signify the danger of installing them. With all the problems going on, we don’t recommend installing the December 2021 update on your Pixel 6 phone if you can avoid it.

Original article, December 6, 2021 (01:58 PM ET): It’s a good time to be a Pixel user. On top of the general Android update arriving later this month, Google announced earlier today a handful of software features coming soon to Pixel phones. That update coincides with the December 2021 Android security patch, which is available now for all Google Pixel 3a and newer smartphones.

Factory images and OTA files are now available for the Pixel 3a series, Pixel 4 series, Pixel 4a, Pixel 4a 5G, Pixel 5, and Pixel 5a. Pixel 6 and 6 Pro downloads will not be available until later this month, but we’ll update our list once Google posts them.

Google has confirmed a number of bug fixes and performance improvements coming along with this update. The company has issued fixes for the Assistant randomly calling numbers on the Pixel 6, in addition to fixes for lots of audio and video playback issues on the new smartphones. There are far too many little updates to go over in this article, so check out this link for the full list of fixes coming to all recent Pixels.

From the security side, Google has also posted its December 2021 Pixel Update Bulletin, which details all of the security issues the company patched with this update.

December 2021 Android security patch links

Note: These links are for the US unlocked models only. If you have a carrier-branded Pixel or live in a different country, you will need to visit here for factory images or here for OTA images.