Trouble in Pixel Paradise: A New Google Home Glitch Emerges

Attention Pixel phone owners! If you’re running Android 16 and using the Google Home app to create or edit your Routines, you might be in for a bumpy ride. Users are reporting an annoying bug that causes interface elements to vanish beneath the status and navigation bars, making it tough to manage automations.

When users navigate to the Automations tab, crucial buttons like 'Remove action' are being hidden out of view, baffling many as they try to customize their routines. Even the page titles are getting blocked by the front-facing camera, leaving many users frustrated.

For those employing the classic 3-button navigation mode, the situation is even trickier. The 'Remove action' option becomes virtually unclickable, with only the 'Save' button peeking above the navigation bar just enough to be usable—if you're lucky. Gesture navigation seems to escape this issue but comes with its own set of problems. Users can't save customized actions, such as setting specific light colors from the full-screen picker, causing even more headaches.

Navigating Around the Bug: A Temporary Solution

In a bid to work around these frustrating limitations, some users have found that rotating their phone to landscape mode allows them to hit the elusive checkmark button. Alternatively, using system-level gestures for navigation can provide a little relief, but every workaround seems to be just a band-aid on a larger issue.

What’s Causing the Chaos?

The core of the problem lies in the way apps targeting Android 16 interact with the system's edge-to-edge display feature, making it impossible for Google Home to escape the crowded UI. Users are hoping for a fix to roll out in the next update, as the current situation persists with Google Home version 3.34 on Pixel devices—thankfully, Samsung users don’t seem to be facing similar troubles.

Stay Tuned for Updates!

As Google works behind the scenes to resolve this issue, keep your eyes peeled for updates that could restore smooth sailing for Routines in the Google Home app. In the meantime, don’t let these glitches dim your smart home experience!