Important points
- Google is rolling out a new minor update for the Pixel 5a, three months after software support ends.
- This update includes various fixes related to adaptive brightness, Bluetooth routing, and media player notifications.
- Google has a history of releasing minor bug fix updates months after Pixel devices reach the end of their product life.
Google launched the Pixel 5a in August 2021 and promised to provide three years of Android updates and security patches until August 2024. Google is particular about timelines and didn't release the September and October patches as the 2021 mid-range Pixel was nearing the end of production. of life. However, Google appears to be pushing the November 2024 security patch for the Pixel 5a, three months after the company officially ended support for the software.
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Is it time to upgrade?
The AP2A.240805.005.S4 build is apparently based on the August 2024 security patch, but has a more recent build date of November (via Droid Life). Google hasn't published a changelog for this build, and interestingly, the November 2024 patch announcement for other Pixel devices doesn't mention this update either.
One Redditor reported the following changes in the build.
Looking at the open source part of the update, it includes:
– Crash fixes for controlling adaptive/brightness and screen timeout settings when user restrictions on setting changes are involved.
– If a media player notification is dismissed, but not as a result of a user interaction that dismissed it, don't tell the media app that it was the user who closed it.
– Fixed stability of Bluetooth routing when no address is set
– Apparently at some point they considered including the 2024-09-05 security patch in this sunset update, but later changed their minds and removed it from the scope of the update.
Additional changes may be made to the closed source portion of the update.
Google has posted November OTAs and factory images for the Pixel 5a on its site for download. So you can manually sideload the build to your phone if you want.
It's no surprise that Google releases updates after the deadline
This isn't the first time Google has rolled out an update months after support for Pixel devices ended. Minor bug fix updates are typically released several months after support ends.
The company did the same with the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a (5G), with support ending at the end of 2023. However, Google rolled out a small update in February 2024 that addressed some fundamental bugs.
This will likely be the last update for the Pixel 5a, and there won't be any future updates unless Google discovers a major vulnerability.