• Android 17 QPR3 Beta 1 is rolling out to Pixel phones ahead of its expected stable release next year.
• Google is fixing a long list of issues, including crashes, fingerprint freezes, eSIM problems, Wi-Fi failures, battery drain, and Bluetooth audio glitches.
• A stable release is targeted for March 2027.

Google just released Android 17 QPR3 Beta 1, and if you have a Pixel, you will want to check this out. The update was rolled out to Pixel testers today with builds for everything from the Pixel 6a to the Pixel 11 family. Most devices are getting DP11.260918.006, while Pixel 11 owners are getting DP11.260918.005.

For the uninitiated, these QPR updates ride on top of Android 17's initial launch and deliver fixes and performance tweaks every three months. They avoid breaking changes to the API, so developers are able to test with confidence.

So what's been fixed? Quite a bit. Google killed 20 bugs this round, including a nasty fingerprint unlock freeze, an eSIM profile that quietly flipped back to off, and a camera bug that spun your video feed 90 degrees during desktop-mode calls. Here is the complete list of fixes Google is pushing out.

• Audio output device cannot be switched while playing audio from apps without active media controls. (Issue #259180936)
• Apps crash when attempting to start a foreground service from a Quick Settings tile. (Issue #299506164)
• Application icons in the app menu display with excessive spacing. (Issue #316288379, Issue #300758716)
• App previews fail to display in the recent apps screen. (Issue #515091621)
• NFC service crashes with DeadObjectException and stops detecting tags after the initial scan on Android 16. (Issue #456078994)
• Device freezes and becomes unresponsive when unlocking with the fingerprint sensor. (Issue #490719716, Issue #514867650, Issue #523022829)
• Device crashes when selecting the require eyes to be open option in Face Unlock settings. (Issue #466618368, Issue #522677686)
• MediaPlayer crashes when handling non-ASCII audio attribute tags. (Issue #552043106)
• Applications freeze and trigger an Application Not Responding (ANR) error when launched. (Issue #484969809, Issue #475406236)
• Camera feed is rotated 90 degrees when using video calling apps on an external display in desktop mode. (Issue #432390710)
• User interface issues when navigating back to the home screen from an app. (Issue #566639975)
• Unexpected dot displayed on the Mobile Data icon in Quick Settings. (Issue #551150806)
• Front camera fails to function while screen recording is active. (Issue #523313834)
• Calling apps crash with ForegroundServiceStartNotAllowedException when handling calls immediately after device reboot. (Issue #409069722)
• eSIM profile cannot be enabled and silently reverts to off in Settings. (Issue #541436675)
• Excessive battery drain during idle when Flip to Shh is enabled. (Issue #560036427)
• Settings app crashes when opening battery settings. (Issue #554603197)
• Audio playback stops on active LHDC v5 Bluetooth devices when a second connected device disconnects. (Issue #554992287)
• com.android.phone crash loop and complete loss of cellular service when the modem reports unexpected SIM slot indices. (Issue #554049220)
• Wi-Fi fails to automatically reconnect during background wakes when hardware PNO scans fail or are unsupported. (Issue #551970385)

QPR3 should see the final, stable release by early next year. Want to jump back to the stable channel without completely wiping your phone? Don't install this update yet and wait for the public QPR2 launch by unenrolling from the Android Beta Program.

Jay Bonggolto always keeps a nose for news. He has been writing about consumer tech for as long as he can remember, and he has used a variety of Android phones since falling in love with Jelly Bean. Send him a direct message via X or LinkedIn.