March security patch starts rolling out to Pixel 6 series after delay

The March 2023 security patch is now rolling out to Google’s Pixel 6 series of phones, including the Pixel 6, 6 Pro and 6a.

The update was initially delayed, with other Pixel phones getting it on March 13th — a week later than usual. However, the Pixel 6 devices were mysteriously absent from the 13th release.

There’s some speculation that the delay was related to the first-gen Tensor chip since it’s a common element across all three Pixel 6 devices. Plus, there’s the recent revelation that exploits in Samsung-made modems could allow malicious actors to access things like phone calls or text messages using just your phone number.

A patch for the exploits rolled out in the March security update for Pixels, but since it was delayed for the Pixel 6 series, some have wondered if there was an issue related to fixing those flaws on phones with the first-gen Tensor chip.

Of course, we don’t know for sure if that’s the case, though it seems possible. Regardless, the update is rolling out now. You can get it by heading into Settings > System > System update.

Aside from security fixes, the March patch includes some changes to the appearance of Quick Settings and minor tweaks to the Pixel Launcher. There are also tons of other bugfixes for the Pixel 6 series, including extra tuning for haptics, a fix for a bug that stopped the bootloader from unlocking in certain conditions, and a fix for a problem that stopped the devices from booting to Android.

Source: 9to5Google