Bad news alert for all you Pixel 9 and Pixel 10 fans: Google has officially decided to leave that annoying speakerphone glitch hanging, leaving users frustrated and without a proper solution. If you've ever been in the middle of a call and tapped that speaker button only to watch it freeze or ignore you, you're probably dying to know why this is happening—and what you can do about it.
Quick Summary
- Folks with Pixel 9 and Pixel 10 phones are dealing with a glitch where the speakerphone switch in the Google Phone app either delays or straight-up doesn't work when you try to use it.
- This seems to stem from the most recent update to the app itself.
- Google has made it clear they won't be patching this up anytime soon.
Have you noticed the speakerphone button in your Google Phone app acting up recently? If so, rest assured you're in good company—it's not just a one-off quirk on your device. Owners of the Pixel 9 series started complaining about this hiccup a few months back, and now it's spreading to the shiny new Pixel 10 lineup as well (check out our hands-on preview of the Pixel 10 Pro XL for more on these devices). The real kicker? It looks like Google isn't planning to step in and sort it out, which has left many users scratching their heads.
Let's break this down a bit for those who might be new to troubleshooting phone apps. The speakerphone toggle is that handy button you press during a call to switch from holding the phone to your ear to blasting the audio through the device's speaker—super useful for multitasking, like cooking dinner while chatting with a friend. But in this case, when you tap it, there's often a noticeable lag, or worse, nothing happens at all. This problem first popped up around May 2025 for Pixel 9 users, according to various online forums like Reddit, where people shared their frustrations. Fast forward to now, and Pixel 10 owners are reporting the same headache. From what users have pieced together, the culprit appears to be the fresh user interface (UI) overhaul that Google introduced in the Phone app. For example, one clever user mentioned that by downgrading to an earlier version of the app—essentially rolling back to the old look and feel—the button started working smoothly again. It's like the new design, while aiming to modernize things, accidentally broke a core feature that we all rely on.
Diving deeper, if you head over to Google's official Android Issue Tracker (that's basically their public bug-reporting hub where developers and users flag problems), you'll see a bunch of similar complaints piling up. Sites like PiunikaWeb have been covering this too, highlighting how the delay in the speakerphone toggle has lingered for months since the Pixel 10's launch. Then, on October 19, Google dropped their verdict: they're marking it as 'Won't Fix (Infeasible).' In their words, they don't have sufficient details to act on it right now, and they're suggesting affected users start a fresh report with more specifics and a link to the original thread. Ouch—that feels like passing the buck back to us everyday users.
But here's where it gets controversial: Is Google really too busy with flashy AI features to bother fixing basic call functionality? Some might argue this shows a lack of attention to the nuts-and-bolts stuff that makes our phones usable day-to-day, while others could say it's just the growing pains of rapid updates. And this is the part most people miss: even if it's labeled 'infeasible,' user pressure has reversed decisions like this before in the tech world.
Stuck with this glitch yourself? Don't worry—there are a couple of practical ways to sidestep it for now. First off, the speakerphone option in your call notifications (that pull-down shade during a call) seems to work just fine without any hitches. Alternatively, if you're comfortable tinkering, you could download and install an older version of the Google Phone app from a trusted source to get back the reliable interface. For beginners, think of this like swapping out a faulty part in your car radio to restore clear sound—it's a temporary fix, but it gets you back on the road. With any luck, if more of us keep reporting it clearly and persistently, Google might reconsider and dive back in to resolve this once and for all.
What do you think—should Google prioritize core features like this over experimental updates, or is it on us users to adapt? Have you run into this bug, and if so, which workaround are you using? Drop your thoughts in the comments below; we'd love to hear if you're team 'fix it now' or if you've got a different take. And as always, thanks for joining the conversation—check out our comment policy to keep things civil and fun.
