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GrapheneOS Identifies Android 17 QPR1 Bug Causing Pixel Performance Issues
Confirmed
In Short: GrapheneOS has identified a performance regression in Android 17 QPR1 that can cause Pixel phones to lag, stutter, or freeze under memory pressure.
GrapheneOS has identified a performance regression in Android 17 QPR1 that can cause Pixel phones to lag, stutter, or freeze under memory pressure.
According to Android Authority, the issue stems from software components supplied by Google, affecting stock Pixel devices running the update.
In a poll conducted by Android Authority, about 20% of respondents reported new performance issues after installing Android 17 QPR1.
Another 31% of respondents said they experienced no new problems, indicating that the issue does not affect all Pixel devices equally.
GrapheneOS encountered the same issue after adopting Google’s updated firmware and drivers but has already patched the problem in its latest release.
GrapheneOS, which began as CopperheadOS in 2014, enhances security through sandboxing, exploit mitigations, and the Android permission model.
The GrapheneOS App Store is limited, but users can install third-party app stores without compromising security.
GrapheneOS is compatible with Android and can be installed on supported Pixel devices via a web installer.
The Motorola Signature 27 has become the first non-Pixel smartphone to receive official support from GrapheneOS, marking a significant milestone in mobile privacy.
Privacy advocates and security researchers have long been limited to Google’s Pixel hardware for GrapheneOS support.
GrapheneOS’s enhanced security measures include improved sandboxing, SELinux, and seccomp-bpf policies, making exploitation of the OS more difficult.
Despite these enhancements, adopting GrapheneOS requires some familiarity with the operating system and its security features.
What's confirmed
- GrapheneOS has identified a performance regression in Android 17 QPR1 that can cause Pixel phones to lag, stutter, or freeze under memory pressure.
- According to Android Authority, the issue stems from software components supplied by Google, affecting stock Pixel devices running the update.
- In a poll conducted by Android Authority, about 20% of respondents reported new performance issues after installing Android 17 QPR1.
- Another 31% of respondents said they experienced no new problems, indicating that the issue does not affect all Pixel devices equally.
- GrapheneOS encountered the same issue after adopting Google’s updated firmware and drivers but has already patched the problem in its latest release.
- GrapheneOS, which began as CopperheadOS in 2014, enhances security through sandboxing, exploit mitigations, and the Android permission model.
- The GrapheneOS App Store is limited, but users can install third-party app stores without compromising security.
- GrapheneOS is compatible with Android and can be installed on supported Pixel devices via a web installer.
- The Motorola Signature 27 has become the first non-Pixel smartphone to receive official support from GrapheneOS, marking a significant milestone in mobile privacy.
- Privacy advocates and security researchers have long been limited to Google’s Pixel hardware for GrapheneOS support.
- GrapheneOS’s enhanced security measures include improved sandboxing, SELinux, and seccomp-bpf policies, making exploitation of the OS more difficult.
- Despite these enhancements, adopting GrapheneOS requires some familiarity with the operating system and its security features.
What's still developing
- We recently asked Android Authority readers how their Pixels were behaving after installing the update, and performance problems stood out as the most common complaint among those who reported new issues.
- Now, GrapheneOS may have finally found the reason for at least some of that slowdown.
- That discovery also lines up with what Android Authority readers recently told us about their own Pixels.
- Pixel owners have reported a wide range of problems following the update, and plenty of devices appear to be running perfectly well.
- Affiliate links on Android Authority may earn us a commission.
- Android 17 QPR1 was supposed to improve Pixel phones, but for a noticeable number of owners, the September update seems to have had the opposite effect.
- Maybe I was expecting something radically different, but what I was greeted by not only looked like Android but behaved like it as well.
- For example, if I open Settings and go to Privacy & Security, there’s a section you won’t find in Android OS called Exploit Protection, where you can schedule auto reboots, USB-C charging only when the device is locked, the hardened memory allocator, and much more.
- That’s not to say that the average user couldn’t adopt this powerfully secure OS, but it will require a bit of reading (start out with the GrapheneOS FAQ ).
- Also: Why you should power off your phone at least once a week – according to the NSA And that’s important to understand: GrapheneOS is Android compatible.
- Within the GrapheneOS App Store, there’s an app called Accrescent, which is a private and secure Android app store.
- Also: How to clear your Android phone cache (and wipe out lag for good) After the installation (it took longer than expected), I fired it up, signed into my Google account (fortunately, 2FA worked as expected), and started installing the apps I need.