Update 03/07: Google recently made a statement regarding the issue, including advice for how to avoid it.
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Google Pixel 6 users should hold off on factory resetting their phones due to a recent report from users claiming their phones have been bricked as a result.
Originally spotted by Tech-Issues Today some Pixel 6 users have reported on the Google support forums that their phones have entered a bootloop after factory resetting the phone. According to the forum thread, when trying to boot the phones an error message states “cannot load Android system. Your data may be corrupt. If you continue to get this message, you may need to perform a factory data reset and erase all user data stored on this device”
When users receive the error message, they can try again, but this secondary attempt rarely succeeds. The other issue is that further attempts to factory restore the phone often lead to more alarming messages, including the device missing critical files such as “tune2fs” or the phone failing to “enable ext4 verify.” Both of these systems are crucial to the running of the phone.
This issue does not appear to be a one-time glitch as users on Reddit have begun to report the same issue. The number of people having the fault would indicate that this is an issue with the software, rather than a hardware issue like the volume button fault in the Google Pixel 7. According to the support page thread, Google is aware of the fault and is looking into the problem. We have reached out to Google for comment and will update you when we have an answer.
Thankfully, it doesn't appear that the Pixel 6a or Pixel 6 Pro currently have the same fault and there’s also no indication of the bug appearing on more current models like the Pixel 8.
This kind of news is often concerning, but it will likely get a quick solution from Google. For now we would recommend holding off on factory resetting your device until there is a solution. Alternatively, if you decide to move to a new phone, we have a list of the best Android phones to help you pick your next device.
