In this guide, we will show you different methods to fix the black pixel screen issue when receiving notifications in Android 12. On paper, the Android operating system should be best optimized for the Silicon Valley giants’ offerings. However, the reality is far from it. Immediately after Pixel users installed the twelfth iteration of the operating system build, they were plagued by a plethora of bugs and issues.
Not satisfied with that, Google decided to release the December OTA update, which was enough to ruin the OS and its UI/UX in every possible way. Device crashes into recovery mode, Bluetooth not working, inconsistent network, screen timeout not working, system UI not responding and missing vibration mode icon are just some of the after effects.
Unfortunately, this turns out to be an endless list, with new bugs being added to it every day. As of now, several Pixel users have voiced their concerns that their device’s screen goes almost black when they receive a notification, with only a small visible hole in the middle. This issue occurred immediately after installing the December update.
It looks like the blur effect when receiving a notification has turned pitch black instead. And the problems you might have in such a situation don’t even need documentation. What requires immediate attention, however, is how this problem can be fixed at the earliest. Well, this is where this tutorial should come in handy. In this guide, we will show you different methods to fix the problem with pixel black screen when receiving notifications in Android 12.
Fix Pixel screen turns black when receiving notifications
Note that there is no universal solution as such. You need to try each of the workarounds below and see which one works best in your favor. So with that in mind, let’s get started.
SOLUTION 1: Try these quick tips
The tweaks mentioned below are quite easy to perform, but would only give you a temporary break from this problem. The duration of effect varies from until the next notification arrives (items 1 and 2) to a day or more (item 3). But since they barely take a second or two to run, you could try them right away:
- Wipe away the notification and the screen will be back to normal until the next notification is received.
- Lock and unlock the device and the black screen will disappear until the next notification.
- Restart your device and the problem occurs only after a day or two (or even longer).
FIX 2: Update the Android system’s web view
Many users were able to fix the black pixel screen issue when receiving notifications in Android 12 after updating the Android System Webview app to the latest version. So go to the Play Store and find a pending update for this app [direct link], download it and install it immediately. Once you are done, restart your device and then check if the problem is fixed or not.
FIX 3: Downgrade to November OTA
Since the issue was first reported after installing the December OTA, there are two different approaches you can take to fix the problem. Either wait for the January 2022 update or downgrade to November 2021. While updating to the latest update would be a better approach, unfortunately said update is delayed and would not be available until the end of January (at least).
And not everyone could use their device for over a month with this black screen issue. So in this case, you could opt for the downgrade process. But that would require an unlocked bootloader and a factory reset. If that’s all well and good, then please take a look at our guidebook How to Downgrade Pixel Devices via Android Flash Tool.
With this in mind, we round up the guide on how to fix the problem with the black pixel screen when receiving notifications in Android 12. We have listed three different methods for this. Let us know in the comment section which one has meant success for you. Likewise, any questions you have are welcome in the comments section below.