Pixel November update causes AOD, lock screen and camera bugs

What is going wrong

Some Pixel owners are reporting a range of problems after installing the November 2026 update, which Google began rolling out on Tuesday. According to Android Authority, the issues are being described mainly on Reddit and appear to be sporadic rather than widespread.

The affected features include the always-on display, the lock screen, the notification drawer, Desktop Mode and the cameras. The same update also brought new AI features, especially for the Pixel 10 series, along with what Google described as dozens of bug fixes.

Always-on display and lock screen trouble

One user with a Pixel 9 Pro Fold described several faults around the lock screen. When locking the phone, the notification drawer sometimes stays on screen instead of the always-on display, which is the dimmed clock and notifications shown when the phone is idle. The inner screen also no longer lights up automatically when the foldable is opened, and stays dark until the power button is pressed.

Another owner of a Pixel 10 Pro XL says the lock screen clock style cannot be changed, and that restarting the phone does not help. Android Authority notes these reports are individual accounts and the problems do not affect everyone.

Notification drawer feels sluggish

Several users say the notification drawer now needs extra swipes to close. One reports that collapsing it takes three swipes instead of two when notifications are pending, and two instead of one when the drawer is empty. Others describe the drawer as slow, and one says swiping down on the home screen no longer pulls it down reliably.

Desktop Mode problems after the update

Desktop Mode, the Pixel feature that runs a desktop-style interface on an external monitor, has also drawn complaints. One user says audio from an external monitor connected over HDMI through a USB-C dock now plays through the phone's speakers instead, although it worked correctly before the update.

The same user reports that the icon dock in Desktop Mode disappears when the phone's screen locks automatically, forcing the display to stay on. A second user says they see the same behaviour. There is also a complaint that full-screen apps hide the dock but do not expand to fill the space left behind.

Pocket touches and frozen cameras

Two issues appear to affect a larger group of users. The first is accidental touches: shortly after the screen is locked, the phone still responds to touches, so it can wake up in a pocket even with Tap to Wake turned off. One user says the screen stays responsive for about 4 seconds after locking, and more than half a dozen people in the same Reddit thread confirmed the behaviour. The suggested workaround is to wait about 5 seconds before putting the phone away.

The second is cameras freezing. Some owners see a black viewfinder instead of the camera image, across every app that uses the cameras. A factory reset reportedly does not fix it. A workaround shared on Reddit involves turning the camera off for 5 seconds, waiting about 5 minutes, then turning it back on, and many users say this works. Android Authority notes that Google's official PixelCommunity Reddit account has acknowledged the camera issue, which suggests a fix may be coming.

Who is affected and what to do next

The reports cover several models, including the Pixel 9 Pro Fold and Pixel 10 Pro XL, but the problems do not appear to be widespread at this stage. Android Authority points out that the rollout only began on Tuesday, so the full picture may still change.

There is no official fix yet for most of these issues. Owners affected by the camera freeze can try the documented workaround, and anyone with other problems can report them through Google's support channels or the PixelCommunity subreddit. It is sensible to wait for a follow-up patch rather than factory resetting, since that has not helped in the reported cases.