Google’s Latest Update Is Making Pixel Phone Vibrations Sound Hollow

Google recently released the March 2025 update for its Pixel phones. The changelog reveals new features and improvements as part of the update, but one thing it did not mention is making your Pixel phone’s vibrations sound hollow.

Ringing hollow

According to posts on Reddit, quite a number of Pixel users are complaining that the vibrations on their phones sound a bit hollow after the update. Many users agree that something feels a bit different, but they can’t quite put their finger on it. This seems to affect users with different Pixel phones, so we know that it isn’t isolated to a particular model.

Users of the Pixel 8 Pro, Pixel 7 Pro, and a couple of Pixel 9 Pro users are sharing similar sentiments. Some of these users speculate that the update might have adjusted the adaptive vibration tolerances, while some claim that the vibrations feel even stronger after the update. Either way, many agree that something doesn’t feel quite right.

Google did not mention anything about adjusting haptic feedback strength in the update, so there’s a good chance this could be a bug. If that’s the case, Google needs to fix it in a later update. However, it’s not a breaking bug. If you’re affected, you can still use your phone without any issues. The vibrations might feel funny or off, but otherwise, everything that should work still works. We wouldn’t be surprised if eventually, users get used to these vibrations.

The March 2025 Android update

The March 2025 update is bringing quite a number of changes to its Pixel phones. For starters, Google is expanding AI availability to more countries, including Japan and Germany. The update also brings the Pixel Camera up to version 9.8, introducing some small tweaks and changes.

Google is also introducing a new connected camera feature. This allows Pixel users to connect their phones to another compatible phone or camera and stream from it remotely. This gives users more options when it comes to live streaming and could save them money if they want to put together a slightly more sophisticated setup.

Last but not least, the March 2025 update expands on the satellite message/SOS feature on Pixel phones. Now, Pixel 9 users can connect with emergency services in Europe, Hawaii, Alaska, and Canada via satellite.