Don't try to use Magic Eraser on your Pixel 6 (Update: Google fix rolling out)

Update, February 4, 2022 (04:29 PM ET): Sure enough, Google is now pushing out a fix for this Magic Eraser problem. If you turned off auto-update for your Google Photos install, turn it back on again so you can get the latest server-side update for the app. It should fix the Magic Eraser crash issue described below.

Original article, February 4, 2022 (11:00 AM ET): One of the standout exclusive features of the Google Pixel 6 series is the Magic Eraser tool. Using the power of Tensor’s AI smarts, Magic Eraser can completely remove objects from photos, giving you all the power of Photoshop with little editing skills needed.

See also: Fun and ridiculous examples of Magic Eraser

Unfortunately, Magic Eraser on Pixel 6 phones is broken at the moment (via Android Police). If you try to use the tool, Google Photos completely crashes.

The problem appears to stem from the most recent version of Photos. Folks not on the latest version can still use the Magic Eraser tool. Unfortunately, Photos sees server-side updates, so there’s no way to downgrade to the previous version. Once you’ve got the update, you’ve got it.

Magic Eraser on Pixel 6 broken: What can you do?

Theoretically, Google should be able to push out a fix for this problem quickly. However, this problem is yet another software issue plaguing the latest Google phones. It’s not a good look for the Big G no matter how you slice it.

If you have a Pixel 6 and Magic Eraser still works, be sure to prevent Photos from auto-updating. You can do this by going to the Google Play Store, searching for the Google Photos page, tapping the three-dot menu in the upper right corner, and unchecking the “Enable Auto-Update” feature. You can probably turn this back on a few days from now, as it shouldn’t take long for Google to realize this is a problem.

In the meantime, if you can’t access Magic Eraser and really need it, we have a roundup of great photo-editing apps for Android.