Android 17 QPR2 Beta 1 Is Out - Fixes the Gemini Crash That Was Randomly Rebooting Pixel Phones

Google released Android 17 QPR2 Beta 1 today for enrolled Pixel devices - the first preview of the December 2026 quarterly Android release. Eight bugs got fixed in this build, headlined by a system crash that caused Pixel phones to unexpectedly reboot whenever Gemini was invoked. Build number: CP41.260701.005.

The Gemini Crash Is Fixed - Along With Seven Other Bugs

Seven other bugs also got addressed alongside the Gemini reboot crash. Bluetooth bonds were silently disappearing after a remote reset, leaving users confused about why their paired devices disconnected without any error. Lock screen media player controls kept flashing on the screen despite the app's notifications being turned off. Notifications were going completely invisible in the notification shade until a system restart. A multi-finger drag-and-drop gesture was leaving apps deaf to all subsequent touch events. Three developer-facing issues round out the list: a broken ML-DSA key generation call using the "NONE" string constant instead of the class constant, misleading window bounds in AccessibilityNodeInfo.toString() debug output, and window-level blur effects failing to render - plus the "Allow window-level blurs" developer toggle resetting itself after every reboot.

QPR2 Beta 1 Includes a Minor SDK Update - Developers Should Start Testing

A minor SDK release ships alongside this build. QPR2 is the December 2026 update. Smaller in scope than Android 17's June launch, it still carries the API additions that typically land with quarterly releases - and the ML-DSA fix in particular matters to anyone building apps that use post-quantum cryptography APIs. Developers building against the latest API level should run their apps against this build now rather than waiting for the stable December release.

Pixel 6 and 6 Pro Get No More Android Betas - QPR1 Was Their Last

Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are done with beta updates. Android 17 QPR1 is their last beta series before those devices reach end of life, and they will not receive QPR2 OTAs. Every other Pixel from the 6a onward is supported in this release - Pixel 6a, 7, 7 Pro, 7a, Tablet, Fold, 8, 8 Pro, 8a, 9, 9 Pro, 9 Pro XL, 9 Pro Fold, 9a, 10, 10 Pro, 10 Pro XL, 10 Pro Fold, and 10a - plus the Android Emulator. System images are available at developer.android.com.

Read This Before Installing - You Cannot Go Back to Stable QPR1 Without Wiping Your Device

QPR1 stable is coming in the next few weeks. Skip this update if you want it. Installing QPR2 Beta 1 and then opting out of the Android Beta Program triggers a downgrade OTA that wipes all user data on the device - the order matters, and Google's warning about it is prominent in today's release notes. Google's insistence on including that data-wipe warning in every QPR beta suggests enough users have been burned by it to make it worth repeating. Opt out before installing to leave your data intact and receive QPR1 stable when it drops; enroll or check eligibility at google.com/android/beta.