Google has just issued a critical update for Pixel users. “We encourage all customers to accept these updates to their devices,” the Android-maker says. The update includes a fix for CVE-2026-0073, an Android vulnerability which exposes phones to attack. “User interaction is not needed for exploitation.”
But this update also comes with a very different but equally serious warning, which Android Authority says “has once again highlighted a long-standing issue for developers and advanced users” with Pixels in hand.
“Warning,” Google says, “the May 2026 update for Pixel 10, 10 Pro, 10 Pro XL and 10 Pro Fold devices contains a bootloader update that increments the anti-roll back version for the bootloader. This prevents the device from rolling back to previous vulnerable versions of the bootloader. After flashing the May 2026 update on these devices you won’t be able to flash and boot older Android 16 builds.”
Google says the same for Pixel 6 (6, 6 Pro, 6a) and Pixel 8 (8, 8 Pro, 8a) devices: “After flashing the May 2025 update on these devices you won’t be able to flash and boot older Android 15 builds.”
So, why is this such an issue? “The problem isn’t just about losing the ability to downgrade to an older Android build,” Android Authority explains. “Users say that if a Pixel enters certain deeper recovery states, the phone can effectively become unusable. This can happen in various scenarios, like when you’re flashing a factory image or an OTA, and something breaks midway.”
This update is on the way now. Per Droid Life, “Google (and its carrier partners like Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T) will begin pushing these updates over-the-air shortly (Settings>System>Software updates>System update).”
Google has set out the issue in more detail: “The Android 16 build resides in the inactive slot (seamless updates) of the device. The inactive slot contains an older bootloader whose anti-rollback version has not been incremented. If the active slot is then flashed with a build that fails to boot, the fallback mechanism of seamless updates kicks in and the device tries to boot from the inactive slot. Since the inactive slot contains the older bootloader, the device enters an unbootable state.”
If this happens, Google can recover the device — but you cannot.
