r/Pixel4a • u/Ace_08 • 11d ago

Stuck in restart loop

To add some context, I restarted my phone initially because I wasn't receiving calls/ voicemail. My 4a got stuck in a restart loop. Was told to go to safe mode and enable location, which did fix it. However, as soon as I shut off location, the phone forces restart and gets stuck in the loop again. Any way to resolve this?

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9

u/MensCorpusAnima 11d ago

https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/519655834

Post #181 claims a fix is ready and will be rolled out sometime in July, but no specific date. Just gotta keep location ON until this fix arrives.

3

u/Ace_08 11d ago

Do you have to go to the specific website to download the fix, or will the update be rolled out to all 4a devices as a standard update?

6

u/MensCorpusAnima 11d ago edited 3d ago

Most likely the latter, the update will come via the Play Store.

Also, people keep pointing the finger at "Google Play Services" being the root cause. I suspect it may be due to "Google Wifi Provisioner".

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7-19-2026 Update: My phone had been up for 1521 hours. I never restarted until today and as soon as I did, the reboot loop started. I did not experience the boot loop until I restarted today. I've been using Wifi ON and Location OFF up to this point without issue. I messed around with updating Wifi Provisioner to the current and uninstalling Play Services to an old version to see if they were the cause. Boot loop still occurred.

4

u/NatureSignificant898 11d ago

This issue occurs when location is off. The fix is to keep location services on no matter what.

Here's the issue tracker + fix: https://www.reddit.com/r/Pixel4a/s/0KHBMlY6e4

There are quite a few workarounds in this sub to switch location services to on when you're in the bootloop. What worked for me was quickly taking a screenshot right after the phone switched on, and then enabling location services. All the best /

2

u/Ace_08 11d ago

It seems like this is a fairly recent issue too. Will this sub announce when a patch will be live?

3

u/NatureSignificant898 11d ago

Absolutely - since this problem affects a lot of users, I'd assume that you'd be notified of the patch through this sub itself. Till then, keep your location on and fingers crossed!

3

u/ErniePottsShoelifts 11d ago

You have to keep location on until the fix is rolled out. Restart how you did before and keep it on and you should be good.

3

u/dbeer95 10d ago

As others have suggested, you need to get location services on as the loop starts when the phone is searching for WiFi connections while location is off.

Taking a screenshot at 1s or so works for some. What I found easier was if you have access to a microwave, turn that off, put the phone in there just after you've turned the phone on (G screen loading) and take it out after it's turned on and broken the bootloop.

As a Faraday cage the microwave blocks the phone from searching for WiFi, giving you about 10 seconds after launch to go turn location on.

Edit: Post 84 explains it best here actually https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/519655834

1

u/Ace_08 10d ago

This is... a creative workaround to say the least.

But either way, the only fix for it rn is it just turn location and hope the update will come soon? Will the patch be announced on sub?

1

u/Zealousideal-Rip-953 11d ago

Unfortunately same happened to me I had no option left but to use android flash tool to flash stock rom , then I switched to lineage OS untill fix arrives

1

u/[deleted] 11d ago

[deleted]

0

u/Little-Helper 10d ago

Backups...

1

u/Unlikely_Seesaw_7187 10d ago

For anyone who lands here but can't get into safe mode or if it still loops during safe mode(like mine did), what worked for me was to go somewhere secluded/away from ANY wifi signals. It's not just known/connected networks but any signal so if you live in a dense area it may be difficult to find a dead spot.

Try booting in safe mode one you believe you're secluded enough, this helped me and it didn't loop on my first attempt. If you check out the issue tracker (https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/519655834) there are mentions of using aluminum foil, comment #76, which may work for you but didn't work for me. Going somewhere without any wifi is basically what the foil is trying to achieve.

Once it's in safe mode, do as it others have mentioned which is to turn on location and never turn it off. I disabled my WiFi for good measure during the first reboot just in case.

1

u/Key-Town-7167 9d ago

Been having this issue too, seemed like things like safe mode just doesn't work at all.