Summary: Google has released Android 16 Beta 3.1 and it includes a handful of fixes for various bugs. The release is small but it solves a few inconvenient issues that were plaguing users. Google says that all Android 16 Beta 3 participants will be getting an Over-The-Air update for the 3.1 release.
Android 16 Beta 3.1 is officially here for users who are participating in the beta program, and it brings in a small handful of bug fixes. While this isn’t a large release by any means, it’s still a crucial part of ensuring the stable release is just that – stable.
Naturally, the Beta software in and of itself isn’t meant to be completely stable even if it is mostly problem-free. The very nature of a beta means that there could be bugs. And there always are at least a few. In the case of Pixel users who received the March update, a bug popped up that was causing the screen brightness to decrease or in Google’s words “oscillate.”
Most users seemed to be experiencing this bug when watching content on Netflix and similar apps. Google’s Android 16 Beta 3.1 release notes don’t mention anything about Netflix specifically. However, the link to the issue tracker does, and it explains that users would experience the screen brightness dip at certain times, and then shortly return back to normal. The issue also seemed to be consistent and not just a one-off.
While minor, you can probably see how a bug like this would continue to be annoying. Thankfully, Google confirms that the Beta 3.1 release for Android 16 fixes this issue. If you’re currently on Android 16 Beta 3, updating should get this bug to go away. Assuming you were experiencing it in the first place.
Android 16 Beta 3.1 also fixes the system settings app crashes
Another issue that was popping up for some users was the system settings app crashing upon launch. According to the release notes, this was only happening if the language was set to anything other than English. If that were the case, a user trying to launch the system settings app would experience a crash. Google says this would happen repeatedly, too. Which probably prevented users from accessing their phone’s settings. If not all of the time until the fix was deployed, at least a fair amount of it.
There were two other bug fixes deployed. One that solves the issue of the battery draining during a high CPU load, and one that fixes the issue that sometimes caused memory leaks in the system server.
Android Beta 3 participants will get an OTA update
If you’re already using Android 16 Beta 3 on your compatible device, then you’ll get an automatic update. Google confirms this will be coming in the form of an Over-The-Air update so keep an eye on those notifications. Or, you could head into the settings app and check to see if the update is available to download manually. Provided you’re not experiencing the bug that causes the settings app to crash.