Official Google Pixel 6 Case review

The Google Pixel 6, Google Pixel 6a and Google Pixel 6 Pro smartphones have extremely slippery surfaces. As a result, these devices can easily slip through your fingers. If it falls down to a hard surface, then it may cause visible damage. To combat the slipper exterior, Google has an official case that makes the phone easier to grip. Of course, the case also provides protection against shocks and drops.

So, are the official Google Pixel 6, Google Pixel 6a and Google Pixel 6 Pro cases any good when it comes to long term usage? You can find out in this review from Seeking Tech.

Grip

As we stated above, one initial benefit that we noticed immediately is that our Google Pixel 6 phone becomes much easier to hold. The thermoplastic elastomer exterior of the official case is rubber-like, which gives us a better grip when compared to the glossy finish of the smartphone.

Protection

The official case did a great job in absorbing shocks and drops initially. The inner polycarbonate kept our phone free of scratches.

Keep in mind that the cause will not fully protect the screen. Although it has raised edges that will help, the screen can still easily make contact with another object at certain angles.

Ports, Button and Camera Accessibility

The official Pixel 6 cases give you full access to the power and volume buttons. There are also holes at the bottom to accommodate the USB-C charging port to go along with the holes the two speakers. Moreover, the is also a big hole for the camera lens at the top.

Durability

The biggest issue we have with the official Google Pixel 6 case is durability.

The area with the power and volume buttons started to warp within a year. As a result, this makes these buttons harder to push and dust, dirt and other particles ended up getting to the case. Otherwise, the case was still protection our smartphone for many months after we noticed to warping.

Since our device was getting dirtier due to the warped edge of the power and volume buttons, we would occasionally remove the case in order to clean the phone. This eventually led to another issue as the top of the case ended up cracking.

More cracks started to appear and expand, leading to the thermoplastic elastomer exterior to warp with massive air bubbles. The inner polycarbonate also no longer fits our Pixel 6.

Unfortunately, our case ended up being so badly damaged in our phone would frequently fall completely out of the case and hit our face when we were holding it while lying down. Fed up, we eventually switched to another brand.

Recap

While the official Google Pixel 6 cases work well initially, the outer edge of the case started to warp after several months. It will eventually start to crack as well, which led to us having to replace it in less than two years of usage.

Along with the higher price tag when compared to the competition, we felt that we didn’t really get our money’s worth.

Instead of getting the official Pixel 6 case, we recommend that you go with cheaper alternatives. Even if those fail to provide long-term protection as well, they will be less expensive failures.

How to backup data on the Pixel 6, Pixel 6a and Pixel 6 Pro

You can easily backup the data and files you have stored locally on your Google Pixel 6, Google Pixel 6a or Google Pixel 6 Pro. This is helpful if you want to switch to another phone or factory reset the current device.

You can follow the steps laid out in this guide to see how you can properly backup the data and files on your smartphone.

How to manually backup data on Pixel 6

In order to manually backup data on your Google Pixel 6 series phone, you need to take the following steps:

1. Start by opening the Settings App from the home screen menu of your smartphone.

2. After opening Settings, you need to scroll down and then select System.

3. Inside the System menu, you then need to select Backup.

4. Once you get to the Backup menu, select the Account Storage option.

5. In the Choose Backup Account window, select the Google Account that you want to back up the data stored on your phone to. If you don’t see your account, then you can select the Add Account option in the window and then sign into your Google Account.

6. After choosing the backup account, you can then select the Back Up Now Option from the Back Up menu.

How to enable automatic backups on Pixel 6

By default, automatic backups should be turned on for your Pixel 6, Pixel 6a or Pixel 6 Pro. With this feature turned on, your phone will start to upload its data to the cloud after it detects that it has been charging idly for 2 hours.

To see whether or not automatic backups are currently enabled on your smartphone, you need to go open the Settings App and then select System > Backup. In the Backup menu, you then need to make sure that the Backup by Google One setting is enabled.

How to back up Pixel 6 using mobile or metered Wi-Fi networks

If your Google Pixel 6 series phone isn’t connected to a Wi-Fi network but you still want to back up your data, then you might want to do so through your mobile network or metered Wi-Fi network.

If you are interested in doing so, then you need to take the following steps:

1. First off, head back to the front page of the Settings App.

2. From there, you need to navigate downwards and then select System.

3. You then need to select Backup from the System menu.

4. After getting to the Backup menu, navigate all the way down and then make sure that the Back Up Using Mobile or Metered Wi-Fi Data Setting is turned on.

By using mobile or metered Wi-Fi Data for backing up the files stored in the local storage of your phone, you may be subject to network fees.

How to enable virus scan for Pixel 6, Pixel 6a and Pixel 6 Pro

The Google Pixel 6, Google Pixel 6a and Google Pixel 6 Pro comes with the Play Protect feature that will scan your phone for viruses, malwares and other harmful actions. To see how you can enable this function on your smartphone, you can take a look at this tutorial from Seeking Tech.

How to manually scan for viruses, malwares and other threats

To manually scan your applications for any harmful threats, you need to take the following steps:

1. To begin, you need to open the Settings menu on your Pixel 6 series phone.

2. In the Settings menu, you need to scroll down and then select Security.

3. After getting to the Security menu, you then need to select App Security.

4. Once you arrived at the Play Protect menu, you can then select the Scan option.

5. From the same Play Protect menu, you will find the Recently Scanned Apps section that shows a list of applications that have been recently scanned. You can also tap the Learn More option to learn more about the virus and malware scanning feature of Android.

How to setup real-time threat prevention on Google Pixel 6

By default, your Pixel 6, Pixel 6a or Pixel 6 Pro should have the Play Protect real-time threat prevent feature automatically enabled. To make sure that it is turn on, you can do the following:

1. Start by opening the Settings menu.

2. From the initial page of Settings, you then need to navigate downwards and then tap Security.

3. After you get to the Security menu, you then need to tap App Security.

4. You should now be in the Play Protect menu. Here, you need to tap the gear cog icon located on the top right side of the screen.

5. In the Play Protect Settings menu, make sure that the Scan Apps with Play Protect setting is enabled.

6. From the same screen, you can enable the Improve Harmful App Detection setting, which will send any unknown apps you have installed on your device to Google to improve detection when it comes to scanning.

7. You can also tap the Permissions for Unused Apps setting in the Play Protect Settings menu.

By doing so, you can view a list of applications you haven’t used for months. You can then set whether or not to limit any permissions from the unused apps.

To see how you can use the live transcribe feature of the Google Pixel 6a, you can check out this tutorial.

How to fix Android 13 slowdown issues on Pixel 6 phones

Your Google Pixel 6, Google Pixel 6a of Google Pixel 6 Pro may be running slower than usual after you update it to the new Android 13 operating system. To see how you can potentially fix this problem, you can take a look at this troubleshooting article from Seeking Tech.

1. The first step you can try is to see if there are any updates that you can download for the applications you have installed on your smartphone.

In order to do, you can try taking the following steps:

  • Start off by going to the Google Play Store App.
  • Once you get to the front page of the storefront, you then need to tap your Google profile picture, which you can find on the right side of the search bar located at the top of the screen.
  • In the pop-up Google menu, you then need to select Manage Apps & Device.
  • After getting to the Manage Apps & Device menu, you should see if there are any updates available. If there are, then you need to select the Update All option.

2. A new software update for the Android 13 operating system may also help speed up your Pixel 6 series phone. To manually check if there is a new version available, you can try doing the following:

  • The first step is to open the Settings App.
  • From the front page of the Settings menu, you then need to scroll down and then select System.
  • After arriving in the System menu, you need to tap the System Update option.
  • Your phone will then check to see if a new software version is available. If you want to check again, you can tap the Check for Update option.
  • If there is a new version, then the phone should start downloading and installing it automatically.

3. The Device Health Services App may have caused your Pixel 6, Pixel 6a or Pixel 6 Pro to run slower than usual. In this case, you can try deleting the data of this application by taking the following steps:

  • First off, you need to head to the Settings App.
  • You should then tap the App option in Settings.
  • Next, you need to tap the See All Apps option in the Apps menu.
  • Now that you are in the All Apps menu, you need to tap Device Health Services.
  • In the App Info screen, tap Manage Space.
  • Finally, tap Clear All Data in the Clear Storage screen.

4. The next potential solution is to factory reset your phone and then re-install Android 13 by doing the following:

  • To start up, make sure you back up any important data and files you have stored on your Pixel 6 phone. Otherwise, they will be deleted during the factory reset process.
  • Once you are ready to begin, you need to open the Settings App.
  • In Settings, navigate down and then select System.
  • Inside of the System menu, you should then tap Reset Options.
  • After you arrived at the Reset Options menu, you need to select Erase All Data (Factory Reset).
  • When the factory reset process is completed, you need to initialize your Pixel 6 series phone.
  • Afterwards, update your device to Android 13 again.

How to prevent Pixel 6 from restarting when using the camera

When trying to use the camera on your Google Pixel 6, Google Pixel 6a or Google Pixel 6 Pro, your smartphone may end up restarting on its own. This issue may occur more frequently after updating your phone to the Android 13 operating system.

To see how you can fix this crashing problem when using the camera, you can take a look at this troubleshooting article from Seeking Tech.

1. The first solution you can try is to close any other opened applications, aside the one that is using the camera.

The other apps could be conflicting with the camera, which could cause your smartphone to restart.

2. Along with opened apps, you can also try forcing stopping any of the apps you have running in the background of your device.

3. If your phone feels hot when touched, then we recommend that you let it cool down before you try using its camera.

There is currently an issue with Android 13 that may be causing the Pixel 6, Pixel 6a and Pixel 6 Pro to overheat. To see how you can potentially prevent your smartphone from getting too, you can take a look at this guide.

4. Make sure that you update the Camera App, as well as the other apps that use the camera of your phone, to the latest patch versions.

In order to update applications you have installed, you need to visit the Google Play Store App and then do the following:

  • Tap you Google profile picture located on the right side of the search bar located at the top of the screen.
  • You then need to go to Manage Apps & Device from the pop-up menu.
  • If new updates are available for your installed apps, then you need to tap the Update All option in the Manage Apps & Device menu.

5. As we stated above, the camera issue may be related to Android 13. Therefore, we recommend checking if there is a new system software update available that may fix the restart problem.

If you want to manually update your Pixel 6 series phone, then you need open the Settings App and then do the following:

  • Go to System from the front page of Settings.
  • In the new screen, you then need to select System Update.
  • Finally, select Check for Update.
  • If there is a new system software version to download, then your phone should start downloading and installing it.

6. A factory reset may also help. Before doing so, make sure you back up any files and data you have on your phone as this process will delete all of your personal information. Once you are ready, you can open the Settings App and then do the following:

  • In Settings, you first need to head over to System.
  • Next, you need to scroll all the way down the System menu and then select Reset options.
  • Finally, select Erase All Data (Factory Reset).
  • Once the process has been completed, setup your Pixel 6 series phone once again.

7. If the camera is still causing your smartphone to restart, then we recommend contacting Google to get additional support.

How to fix Pixel 6 overheating issues caused by Android 13

After you update your Google Pixel 6, Google Pixel 6a or Google Pixel 6 Pro to Android 13, you may notice that your smartphone is getting warmer than usual. To see how you can fix this overheating problem, you can take a look at this troubleshooting guide at Seeking Tech.

1. After updating your Pixel 6 series phone to Android 13, it may that some time for the new operating system to optimize the performance of your phone. As a result, the OS could end up draining more battery charge, which may lead to your phone heating up faster than usual.

In this case, we recommend that you simply use your phone normally for one week. During this time, keep an eye on the battery life and temperature of the device to see if it improves over time.

To learn more about how you can stop your Pixel 6 phone from draining battery after updating it to Android 13, you can check out this article.

2. If your Google Pixel 6 series smartphone is still overheating a week after you updated it to Android 13, then you should make sure that you have the latest patch versions of the applications you have installed on the device.

To manually update apps, you can try doing the following:

  • Start by going into the Google Play Store App.
  • From inside the store, you then need to tap your profile icon, which should be located on the right side of the search bar located at the top.
  • In the pop-up menu, you should then go to the Manage Apps & Device.
  • After getting to the Manage Apps & Device menu, select the Update All option if you see it under the Updates Available section.

3. You can also try clearing the data from the Device Health Services App by doing the following:

  • To start off, you need to head into the Settings App of your Pixel 6 series phone.
  • From Settings, you need to select Apps and then See All Apps.
  • In the All Apps menu, you need to tap Device Health Services.
  • Once you get to the App Info menu of the Device Health Services App, you then need head to Storage & Cache.
  • Inside the Storage menu of the Device Health Services App, select Manage Space.
  • After getting to the Clear Storage menu of the Device Health Services App, select Clear All Data.

4. A new system update may help reduce the internal temperature of your smartphone. In order to update manually, you can go to the Settings App.

Inside the application, you then need to select System > System Update > Check for Update. Afterwards, wait for the new firmware, if there is one available, to download and install.

5. Factory resetting your Pixel 6, Pixel 6a or Pixel 6 Pro may also help cool down your phone. In order to do so, you first need to make sure you backup any important files and data you have stored locally on your phone.

You should then head back into the Settings App. From the first page of Settings, you then need to select System > Reset Options > Erase All Data (Factory Reset).

Once you are done factory resetting your device, you need to go through the setup process. Afterwards, update the firmware of your phone as well as the apps that are installed on the device.

6. If your Pixel 6 phone is still overheating after you try all of the aforementioned potential solutions, then you might want to contact Google for additional support. There is a possibility that your device is defective and, therefore, may need to be repaired or replaced.

How to use the live transcribe feature of the Pixel 6a

You can use the live transcribe feature of the Google Pixel 6a in order to convert speech into texts. To find out how to use this function, you can take a look at this tutorial from Seeking Tech.

How to open the live transcribe menu on the Google Pixel 6a

  • To open the live transcribe menu on the Google Pixel 6a from the Settings App, you can do the following:
  • Open the Settings App and then tap Accessibility.
  • Inside the Accessibility menu, you need to tap the Live Transcribe option in the Captions section.
  • After getting to the Live Transcribe menu, you can enable the Live Transcribe Shortcut setting, which will add an icon to the bottom right side of the screen. To use this feature without a shortcut, tap the Open Live Transcribe option from the Live Transcribe menu in the Settings App.

You can also add the live transcribe shortcut to the Quick Settings menu by doing the following:

  • Pull down the Quick Settings menu by swiping downwards from the top of the screen.
  • Expand the Quick Settings menu by swiping downwards from the top again.
  • Tap the pencil icon.
  • In the Edit menu, drag the Live Transcribe tile to one of the top spots so that it will appear in Quick Settings.

How to use live transcribe on Pixel 6a

After opening Live Transcribe, your Google Pixel 6a should start converting any speech it detects from its microphone into texts on its screen.

To copy the texts to another app, tap and hold any words that appear on the screen. Afterwards, you can expand the text selection window, or select all the texts, from the transcription. You can then select the copy option to copy over the transcribed texts to a clipboard.

To change the transcribing language, tap the current language at the bottom of the screen.

You can also tap the keyboard icon to open the on-screen keyboard where you can type responses to the current transcription.

By tapping the gear icon, you will be able customize the following settings:

  • Change the font size of the transcribe text.
  • Switch between a light or dark theme for the live transcribe feature.
  • Enable or disable the Transcription History. When enabled, the transcripts will be kept for 72 hours. When disabled, the transcripts will only be saved for 24 hours.
  • Change the microphone input source for the live transcribe feature.
  • Set a primary language.
  • Set a secondary language.
  • Enable or disable the ability to use the internet to transcribed speech to text.
  • Add any custom word to the transcription algorithm.
  • Manually delete the transcription history.
  • Enable or disable phone vibration if your name is mentioned.
  • Enable or disable phone vibration when someone starts speaking again after pausing for at least 10 seconds.
  • Enable or disable any sound labels such as applause, laughter or music.

What to do if your Pixel 6a isn’t receiving any calls or texts

If your Google Pixel 6a isn’t receiving any calls or texts, then you can take a look at this troubleshooting article from Seeking Tech to see how you can potentially fix your issue.

1. The first step you can try is to check to your SIM settings. In order to do so, you can take the following steps:

  • Go to the Settings App.
  • Next, head over to the Network & Internet section.
  • Select SIMs.
  • In the SIMs menu, make sure that the Use SIM and Mobile Data settings are enabled. If the W+ Connections setting is available, then you should also make sure that you enable it as well.

From the same SIMs menu, you can also select Wi-Fi Calling if it is available. Afterwards, turn on this feature in the next screen.

2. You can also make sure that you aren’t blocking any numbers that you are expecting to receive calls and/or texts from. In order to check, you need to do the following:

  • Start by opening the Phone App on your Pixel 6a.
  • You then need to tap the More icon, which is represented by the three vertical dots icon located on the top right side of the front page for the application.
  • You should then select Settings from the small pop-up menu that appears.
  • In Settings, select Blocked Numbers.
  • In the Blocked Numbers menu, tap the X icon next to any numbers that you want to remove from the blocked list.

3. You may want to adjust the Call Screen settings as well. In order to do so, you can try taking the following steps:

  • Open the Phone App.
  • Tap the three vertical dots icon that should appear on the top right side.
  • Tap Settings.
  • Inside the Settings menu, tap Spam and Call Screen.
  • From the Spam and Call Screen menu, you then need to tap Call Screen.
  • Inside the Call Screen menu, we recommend that you set the First-Time Callers and Private & Hidden Numbers options to Ring Phone (Default).

4. For texts, you may want to consider disabling Spam Protection by doing the following:

  • Open the Messages App.
  • On the front page of the application, tap the three vertical dots icon.
  • Afterwards, select Settings from the pop-up menu.
  • Once you get to the Settings menu of the Messages App, you need to select Spam Protection.
  • From the Spam Protection menu, make sure that the Enable Spam Protection setting is turned off.

5. You can also try clearing the cache or storage of the Phone and Messages applications. To do so, you can take the following steps:

  • tap and hole the Phone App or Messages App on the home screen.
  • You then need to tap the “i” icon in the pop-up menu.
  • In the App Info section, tap Storage & Cache.
  • From the Storage section, tap Clear Cache or Clear Storage.

6. Make sure that the Phone and Messages Apps have been updated to the latest releases.

7. You should also make sure that your Google Pixel 6a has been updated to the latest software version as well.

8. Factory resetting your Google Pixel 6a may also help it receive calls or texts again.

How to use Pixel 6a to identify songs

The Google Pixel 6a can be used to help you identify a song that can be heard playing from another device. To find out how you can use this function on your smartphone, you can take a look at this guide from Seeking Tech.

How to enable the Now Playing feature

In order to turn on the Now Playing feature on your Google Pixel 6a, you need to take the following steps:

  • To start off, head over to the Settings App on your phone.
  • After arriving at the Settings section, scroll down and then select Display.
  • In the Display section, you then need to go to Lock Screen.
  • From the Lock screen section, you should then go to Now Playing.
  • In the Now Playing section, make sure that the Identify Songs Playing Nearby setting is turned on.

Your smartphone should now detect a song that is playing from another device near your phone. You should find the song’s title located at the bottom of the lock screen.

How to customize the Now Playing feature

To customize the Now Playing settings on your Pixel 6a, you can do the following:

  • Return to the Now Playing section, which you can do by opening the Settings App and then going to Display > Lock Screen > Now Playing.
  • In the Lock Screen menu, you can select Notifications.
  • In the Android System Intelligence menu, you can choose whether or not you want to get a notification when the phone recognizes a song being played. To turn this on, you need to enable the All Android System Intelligence Notifications setting and then enable the Recognized Music Notifications setting.
  • From the aforementioned Lock Screen menu, you can also choose whether or not to enable the Show Search Button on Lock Screen setting. By doing so, a search icon will appear on the lock screen when your Pixel 6a can’t recognize a song. You can then tap the search icon and try to manually find the song.

How to find the Now Playing history

In order to find a list of songs that have been previously identify by your Google Pixel 6a via the Now Playing feature, you need to take the following steps:

  • Go back to the Now Playing menu in the Settings App by going to Display > Lock Screen > Now Playing.
  • Next, you need to select Now Playing History.
  • In the Now Playing History, you will see a list of songs that were previously identified by your phone sorted by time and date.
  • In this list, you can choose to tag any songs with a heart icon to add to the favorites list.
  • You can also tap the History or Favorites icons located at the bottom to filter the list.
  • Finally, you can choose whether or not to add a Now Playing History icon to your home screen.

How to fix Android 13 Google Assistant issues on Pixel 6

After updating your Google Pixel 6, Google Pixel 6a or Google Pixel 6 Pro to Android 13, you may notice that activating Google Assistant will bring up the on-screen text box or virtual keyboard instead of automatically enabling voice input.

To see how you can fix this glitch, you can take a look at this troubleshooting article from Seeking Tech.

1. The first potential solution you can try is to check if you have the microphone permission enabled for the Google App. In order to do so, you can take the following steps:

  • First, you need to head to the Settings menu on your Pixel 6 series phone. To do so, you can open the Settings App or tap the gear icon in the expanded Quick Settings menu that you can pull down from the top of the screen.
  • In Settings, scroll down and then head into Privacy.
  • You then need to go to the Privacy Dashboard from the Privacy menu.
  • Next, you need to select Microphone from the Privacy Dashboard.
  • In the Microphone Usage menu, select the Manage Permission option located at the bottom of the screen.
  • You then need to select Google from the Microphone menu.
  • In the Microphone Permission menu of the Google App, make sure that the “Allow only while using the app” option is enabled. If it is already enabled, then you can select another option first and then select “Allow only while using the app” to see if switching this permission off and then on will fix the Google Assistant bug in Android 13.

2. You can also try disabling and then re-enabling the Google App by doing the following:

  • Go to the Settings menu of your Pixel 6, Pixel 6a or Pixel 6 Pro.
  • Next, you need to head to the Apps section in the Settings menu.
  • In Apps, select See All Apps.
  • You should now be in the All Apps section, where you need to select Google.
  • In the App Info section of the Google App, select Disable.
  • You should get a pop-up menu. Here, you need to select Disable App.
  • In the same App Info section of the Google App, select Enable.

3. You can also try uninstalling, and then re-installing, the Google App updates by taking the following steps:

  • First, you need to open the Google Play Store App.
  • In the Google Play Store, tap your profile picture on the top right side of the screen.
  • You then need to select Manage App & Device in the pop-up menu.
  • In the Manage App & Device section switch over to the Manage tap at the top.
  • Next, you need to select Google.
  • In the Google App page, select Uninstall.
  • Select Uninstall again in the pop-up notification.
  • Afterwards, select the Update option from the same Google App page.

4. You can also see if there is a new system update available on your Google Pixel 6 series phone by doing the following:

  • Go to the Settings menu on the device and then select System.
  • You should then go to the System Update section from the System menu.
  • Finally, select the Check for Update option.
  • Once the new firmware has been installed, check to see if the Google Assistant is working as intended.