It’s not clear at this time what is causing the issue, but it seems to be fixable, at least temporarily, with a reboot.įrom what we can piece together, it seems that the Google Assistant is spontaneously activating on some Pixel 6 devices, whether from the phone mishearing a sound as “Hey Google” or from something inadvertently long-pressing the lock button. We were able to consistently recreate the issue, as seen in the video below, but only on one of the handful of Pixel 6 devices our team has. On one of our own devices, we’ve found that the first Google Assistant command after unlocking your phone will take longer than normal to process, and when it does process, it will almost always be interpreted as a command to call one of your contacts. Most who report the issue say that the “Hey Google” hotword was never said, let alone a request to call a contact. Upon listening to one of their own microphone recordings saved by the Assistant, one reader said that “it sounded nothing like” a command to call someone.
Most – but not all – people who experience the issue will see an entry from the Google Assistant in “ Google My Activity” history, assuming your account is set up to save history. In speaking with a few people who experienced the issue on their own Pixel 6 phones, the common pattern seems to be that Google Assistant is responsible for placing these calls. Typically, this issue occurs when the phone is not in active use, which makes it all the more confusing for the person receiving the call.
The latest issue, reported numerous times on Reddit and confirmed to us by a few readers, sees Pixel 6 phones placing unexpected calls – sometimes referred to as “pocket dialing” or “phantom calling” – to people in the contacts list. As is often the case, though, Pixel phones are not without their issues, especially at launch.
Here’s how to fix the issue.īetween the impressive camera upgrade and the all-new Google Tensor chip inside, the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro have been surprisingly popular phones. Some Pixel 6 owners have found their phone spontaneously placing calls to contacts, and Google Assistant may be to blame.