Pixel users can get out of the Android Beta program without reset

Participating in an Android beta program involves certain risks and inconveniences. One is that you have to empty your entire device when you stop using Android Beta. That’s coming to an end now, as Google will allow Pixel users to exit the test program without having to do a full factory reset.

Android Beta

The Android Beta program gives you the chance to help test new software before it’s officially released. Once the ‘regular’ variant is rolled out to all smartphones, however, you will have to reset your entire phone to get out of beta. Of course you can use all kinds of cloud services to store your data, but it is still a bit of a hassle to make sure you don’t know anything you still need or want to keep for other reasons.

You will no longer need to reset that, because Google has indicated that Pixel users who are in the Android Beta program will soon receive an official stable release of the software when the beta ends. This way they can leave the beta program without having to rigorously clean up their phone (although a tidy phone is of course not an unnecessary luxury).

No more resetting

Yesterday there was another new release, the quarterly platform release of Android 12 on Pixel 6 (with only a few bug fixes in it. In the announcement, Google said that the transition from beta to normal will be easier, but only for Pixel users.

Google writes: “For future beta releases, we will ensure that all beta devices (Pixel 4, 4a, 5, 5a, 6, 6 Pro series) receive every official stable release to the public so that you can sign up for a limited time. Time to sign out without erasing data until you apply the next beta update. The next stable public release will be in June.”

Do you want to join? Then go to google.com/beta.