Google Pixel Phones Could Get a Repair Mode — What Is It?

Google Pixel phone users could soon rest assured their data is safe while their phones are under repairs.

The search giant is reportedly developing a "Repair Mode" that Pixel phone users can enable when they send their devices in for repair to secure their data without doing a factory reset.

Google has yet to officially announce when this feature will be available to Pixel phones.

Keeping Data Safe

Cellphone and smartphone users know how nerve-wracking sending their phones in for repair feels. The repairs may or may not work; they sometimes even break the phone if the phone technician is not careful.

However, what's more nerve-wracking is the idea of the phone technician illegally accessing their data for whatever end. With the technical know-how they have, they could access the data stored in a phone, from the contents of their gallery to their various payment options if left unsecured.

Many phone users resort to doing a factory reset to prevent a phone technician from accessing their data, but it also makes restoring them without a complete backup to their phone impossible. Thankfully, Google is working on a feature to solve this predicament.

A report from Android Authority revealed that Google is developing a Repair Mode for its Google Pixel phones. While time will tell what this Repair Mode will do, Android Authority based its speculation on the code it found in the first beta Google released for Android 14 QPR1.

According to Android Authority, the feature seems to simulate a factory reset instead of the real thing using a mechanism called Dynamic System Updates (DSU) it introduced in Android 10.

To simulate a factory reset, Google's Repair Mode allegedly swaps out the data partition, leading the phone to use the original system partition but a new, empty data partition. This simulation would allow a Google Pixel phone to retain its original data but act and look like it went through a factory reset.

Google's Repair Mode might have taken inspiration from the "Maintenance Mode" Samsung Galaxy phones have. According to 9to5Google's report, this mode locks a Galaxy phone into a special temporary profile that allows a phone technician to thoroughly test the device while leaving its user's data secure.

When this feature will drop remains a mystery, but since its code is present in the first beta for Android 14 QPR1, Repair Mode could appear in Google Pixel phones once Android 14 QPR1 is officially released.

Google Pixel Android 14 QPR1 Details

Aside from the Repair Mode, Google's Android 14 QPR1 update will bring new features to support Google Pixel phones. According to an earlier 9to5Google report, the update brings a feature called "large screen user per-app overrides," which apply overrides to selected apps on specific large-screen devices.

It also introduces a new settings menu that lets users change apps' aspect ratio. Much like the previously mentioned overrides, this new menu is implemented on select large-screen devices like the Pixel Tablet and Pixel Fold.

Finally, Google's Android 14 QPR1 update also comes with fixes to a handful of issues, like when the system UI sometimes crashes after notifications are posted or interacted with.