It has been almost 15 days that Pixel 5 users are reporting bizarre issues with the Pixel Stand. There are few ongoing threads that can be traced to Reddit and Google forums related to Pixel 5 behaving weirdly with Pixel Stand App. The stand is an official wireless charger from Google. The bug was speculated to crop up with the latest Pixel stand app that got a recent update for home controls.
The speculations came out to be true. A couple of hours ago users reported that the recent update for the Pixel Stand app via Play Store has fixed the non-compatibility issue. The same needs to be confirmed officially by Google though.
It was brought to notice that the Pixel 5 screen when docked on the Pixel Stand for charging illuminates the room at night. It brightened up with a black screen, a clock, and notification icons only.
The switching on to full brightness happened even when the user had selected the option ‘screen off when dark’. The bug irritated the most while asleep.
The workaround from the Product Expert also did not solve the issue with Pixel Stand App. The solution given was to go for “Try toggling the setting off and on again and reboot the phone”.
Some users even tried to reset app preferences by turning “Always on Display” (AOD) off. It didn’t help either. The expert asked to drop in the issue via “system settings>about phone”
Few Pixel 4XL users on Android 11 also joined the conversation. They were facing it after upgrading from Android 10 to Android 11.
Another bug that Pixel 5 users are frequently complaining about is related to the abnormal behavior of Always On Display (AOD). The issue was first reported in October by a user when he tried to use a Pixel stand with his Pixel 5.
He reported the malfunction “being woken by the room being half illuminated by the clock screen (The black screen with just clock and notification icons)“. He was clueless about the bug since he had done the settings ‘Screen off when dark’. Initially, it appeared that the sensor or camera was not picking up signals in dark.
Pixel Stand issue is not the only one people are reporting. Some Pixel 5 users are struggling with assembly issues with no fix in sight. In fact, the mechanical gap between the screen display and the aluminum frame has been termed as a “normal part of the design” by Google Support. There were few ongoing reports on Pixel battery drain issues as well, especially after the Android 11 update.
Update as of 6th January on Google Pixel 5 AOD brightness issue on Pixel Stand
Google Pixel 5 AOD brightness issue was acknowledged by Google. A month later, a fix was rolled out in version v1.4.0.339169396 or later. But, users have not stopped reporting AOD flashlight issue. December and even the latest January patch update have not resolved it. The issue is quite annoying since “It’s too bright to sleep.”
In the ongoing thread, only one temporary workaround seems to work. It is to disable the Pixel Stand app. It can be done by navigating to “Settings > Apps & notifications > See all apps”. Search for Pixel Stand and tap the disable button.
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