If you’re running the Android 16 QPR2 beta program on your Pixel, wait to download beta 3 until you’ve turned off desktop mode. Just Google rolled out the third beta todayand there’s a nasty bug that causes SystemUI to crash when the experimental desktop feature is enabled.
The issue was also spotted by tech journalist Mishaal Rahman, who posted a warning on Reddit’s Android Beta community. Several Pixel users had already reported installations failed after attempting to install Beta 3 via OTA, with devices ranging from the Pixel 6a all the way up to the all-new Pixel 10 Pro and Pixel 10 Pro Fold being affected. Some users even experienced soft bricking, where their phones got stuck in a boot loop after the update failed.
The fix is simple but easy to miss. Before updating, go to Settings > System > Developer Options and turn off “Enable desktop experience features”. Once done, the OTA update should install without any issues. Several users who initially experienced installation failures confirmed that Beta 3 worked after disabling desktop mode.
But what if you’ve already updated and your phone is stuck? There is still hope. Rahman shared an ADB command that can rescue affected devices: adb shell settings put global override_desktop_experience_features 0.
This requires having USB debugging enabled before the issue occurs and gaining shell access during the splash screen. For those without access to ADB, Android should automatically revert to Beta 2 after a few failed boot attempts, giving you the option to disable Desktop Mode and try again.
One unfortunate caveat: you won’t be able to re-enable Desktop Mode after installing Beta 3. The feature remains broken in this release, so if you’re using it for testing or everyday use, you may want to skip this beta entirely.
This is likely the last beta before the stable rollout, which will arrive as part of the December Pixel Drop update. Although Beta 3 doesn’t bring as many new features as previous beta versions, it does include numerous bug fixes and a new security patch level.
Nonetheless, the folks at 9to5Google have posted an interesting video showing most of the notable changes in the beta. You can view it below:
