Own an Android phone? You could be blocked from making calls unless you update NOW

Struggling to make or answer calls on your phone? You’re not alone. Google has warned that some models of Android smartphones are unable to make or receive phone calls due to a bug in the Google app. Thankfully, the Californian company has addressed the problem with a new update, but you’ll need to head to the Play Store to install it as soon as possible. 

A community manager for Google confirmed the glitch with phone calls was caused by a recent patch, posting on the forums: “After the latest update to the Google Search App on Android, the users of certain mobile phones are experiencing difficulty in receiving and making calls.”

If you have automatic updates disabled on your smartphone, or haven’t been connected to a reliable Wi-Fi signal for the last few days, you’ll want to manually install the update now. To do that, head to the Google Play Store on the affected device. Then, search for “Google” in the apps tab. Load up the store listing for the app, and there should be an Update button at the top.

Google describes its self-titled app as follows: “The Google app keeps you in the know about the things that you care about. Find quick answers, explore your interests and get a feed of updates on what matters to you. The more you use the Google app, the better it gets.”

A number of Android users have confirmed that updating the Google app from their device enabled them to make calls again. However, some people have claimed that deleting the app was the only way to restore that core functionality.

Smartphones are capable of hundreds of tasks – from turn-by-turn navigation, playing games, and shooting and editing video. However, calls are still hugely important. If you are in an emergency, the ability to make and receive calls from (almost) anywhere trumps all other features and tricks on your handset.

It’s pretty serious that Google accidentally disabled this core feature with an update to its app.

“You need a lot more vigilance on QA [Quality Assurance] for your updates so they the patch/update doesn’t disable my phone’s ability to make and receive calls,” one infuriated Android user published in a review on the Google app listing today. “Like the last one did this patch/update fixed it, BUT it should of NEVER HAPPENED with proper QA.”

Another angry reviewer posted: “It seems like Google does not test this app at all, at least not with LG phones. Few months ago it broke the assistant, so no hands free calls. Now, they turned the phone into, well not a phone. Complety broke dial out and receiving calls. If anyone struggling with no dial and phone stuck on dialing.” (sic)

Google hasn’t revealed the complete list of handsets impacted by the bug, but we’ll update this article as soon as we learn more about the brands and models involved.