Google’s Pixel 6a has been on the shelf for a good few weeks now and has managed to win favorable reviews for the value it offers. However, this is still a phone like any other, which means there are problems galore in the early days following the market release.

We’ve been tracking the most frequently-reported pain points Pixel 6a users have run into so far. If you have Google’s latest mid-ranger in your pocket and are facing issues, here are some suggestions on how to fix them.

Fingerprint sensor woes

One of the most common issues that Pixel 6a buyers have complained about has to do with its in-display fingerprint sensor. For some users, the fingerprint sensor has been uncharacteristically slow or simply fails to recognize their registered fingerprint for unlocking the device.

A more serious issue that Pixel 6a owners have lately reported is that the device also unlocks with the unregistered fingerprints of another person. We haven’t been able to replicate it on Pixel 6a units being used by three members of the Digital Trends team, but the accuracy is definitely a hit or miss. Sometimes, it takes a healthy couple of seconds to unlock the device, and occasionally, it simply refuses to identify the registered fingerprint.

So far, Google hasn’t recognized the problem officially and won’t say whether it will be fixed via a software update, the way it resolved a similar issue on the Pixel 6 and its Pro variant. However, users have come up with a few tricks to address the problem.

If you’re facing trouble with slow or failed fingerprint recognition issues on your Pixel 6a, try a fresh registration process or add a new fingerprint of the same digit. To do so, you need to delete the existing fingerprint and go through the registration once again. For that, just follow this path:

Step 1: Open the Settings app on your Pixel 6a and tap on the Security option.

Step 2: On the Security page, scroll down and select the option that says Fingerprint unlock.

Step 3: Once you tap on the Fingerprint unlock option, you will see a prompt to enter the device PIN.

Step 4: After entering the PIN and arriving on the next page, tap on the Add fingerprint option to register another fingerprint. If you want to register a fresh imprint, tap the Bin icon adjacent to the original fingerprint labeled as "Finger 1" by default.

This might sound odd, but it does work. At Digital Trends, we've noticed some improvement following this approach.

The Android 13 update conundrum

Some users are also reporting that the Android 13 stable update, which started rolling out in August, has also improved the fingerprint sensor experience. The speed hasn’t increased drastically, but the instances where the sensor fails to recognize registered fingerprints have definitely toned down.

Talking about updates, though, some users are noticing that instead of seeing the Android 13 update notification, they are getting a prompt to download the Android 12 update despite the phone already running the latter build. Of course, don’t hit the install button when you come across this inexplicable error after performing a system update check.

But there’s a trick to getting the stable Android 13 update on your Pixel 6a in a few minutes. To do so, just follow these steps:

Step 1: Head over to the Android beta registration page on the phone’s web browser.

Step 2: On the Android Beta for Pixel page, tap on the Devices section at the top and scroll down to see your device(s) in a box.

Step 3: Tap on the blue Opt in button beneath the name and picture of your eligible Pixel phone.

Step 4: Now, go to the system update page by tracing this path: Settings > System > System update > Check for update.

Step 5: You should now see an update available for Android 13. Tap the Download and install button.

Step 6: Once the update has been installed, head over to the Android Beta page linked above and tap on the Opt out button beneath your phone’s name. Your phone is now on the stable build of Android 13.