This new Android safety feature could interfere with fast charge, and here is why

Of all the new features of Android 16, advanced protection is one of the most important. It is a powerful rocking that activates many safety features through the operating system and in compatible applications, protecting high -risk users from sensitive intrusions and leaks. With a single tap, it allows more than a dozen features, with more plans for future updates.

Later this year, Advanced Protection will add a functionality called USB Protection, designed to guard against malicious USB devices. However, there is a warning: this may not work properly with your phone’s fast charge capabilities. Fortunately, there is a simple bypass.

According to Google, the USB protection function “prevents[s] Physical attacks attempting to use the USB port by defecting to load only for any new USB connection while the device is locked. »By deactivating data access to the equipment, this feature stops USB -based attacks that use vulnerabilities in the device’s USB battery or forcibly try the lock screen.

If you connect a USB device while your phone is locked, however, you will need to unlock it, then reconnect the device to operate it. We already knew that this would be the case when we reported the functionality earlier this year. What we did not know at the time, however, is that this behavior would also affect the fast load, at least in some cases.

In the latest Android Canary version, we noticed that Google has activated the USB protection function and also changed its implementation. For example, the notification that appears when you connect a USB device while your phone is locked has been reformulated and now includes a “silence” button to repeat it until you restart.

By digging into the construction for other modifications, we have spotted new text channels which explicitly indicate that you may need to unlock and reconnect your device for a quick load:

Although it is not entirely clear why it happens, it could be a consequence of the speed with which the load protocols such as the work of provision of USB power. To avoid damage, these protocols require negotiations based on data between the charger and your phone to determine the correct voltage to be used. USB-PD uses two dedicated lines called configuration channels for this process. Although these lines are not used for the signaling of general data, advanced protection could always deactivate them by abundance of prudence.

However, when I tested this on my Pixel 8 Pro, I did not notice any difference in load speed when I connected it in the event of locking versus unlocked. I obtained the same speeds of several USB-PD chargers in the two scenarios, and I have never seen a warning as to the need to replace my device. This could be due to the fact that USB-PD is not affected or because the fast load warning is simply not yet done. It is possible that this problem affects only fast -owners’ fast load protocols that use traditional USB data lines, but it is too early to say it with certainty.

In all cases, it is clear that the new USB protection feature of Advanced Protection will affect the fast load in certain situations. The good news is that the bypass solution is simple: if you see the warning, simply unlock your device and reconnect the charger.

Given that this feature is live in the latest version of Canary, it will probably make its debut in the second version of the quarterly platform of Android 16 (QPR2). This version is scheduled for December, which corresponds to Google’s promise to add USB protection following advanced protection later this year.