Android 17 QPR2 Beta 6 Leaves Pixel 11 Waiting

Google released Android 17 QPR2 Beta 6 on September 24, 2026, nine days after Beta 5, to stop Pixel phones crashing in ordinary use. The build is CP41.260831.007. It keeps the August 5, 2026 security patch and Google Play services 26.28.33, so this is a stability drop, not a new monthly patch.

The package covers Pixel 6a through the Pixel 10 family, plus Pixel Tablet and Pixel Fold. It does not cover Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL, or Pixel 11 Pro Fold, and it never will cover Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro.

Nine Days After Beta 5, the Crash Patch Lands

QPR2 betas had been landing on a roughly two-week rhythm. Beta 5 broke that the other way, arriving 18 days after Beta 4. Beta 6 then arrived in nine days, the shortest gap of this cycle, because testers were still hitting reboots while scrolling, opening a camera, or passing a face or fingerprint check.

Mishaal Rahman, who handles community engagement for Android at Google, posted that CP41.260831.007 would be available for the Pixel 6a and later. That phrasing usually includes the current flagship. The images that actually appeared stop at Pixel 10a.

THE QPR2 BETA CADENCE

1. July 20, 2026: Beta 1 (CP41.260701.005) opens the 2026 Q4 Android preview for Pixel 6a and newer.
2. August 3, 2026: CP41.260717.006 ships 14 days later.
3. August 14, 2026: Beta 3 lands after 11 days.
4. August 28, 2026: Beta 4, the Platform Stability build, lands after 14 days and later gains Pixel 11 packages.
5. September 15, 2026: Beta 5 (CP41.260828.004.A8 and CP41.260828.005.A6) lands after 18 days, the same day Android 17 QPR1 goes stable.
6. September 24, 2026: Beta 6 (CP41.260831.007) lands after nine days as a crash patch.

Emulator images remain available for x86 (64-bit) and ARM (v8-A). The public 2026 Q4 release this beta is previewing is still months out, which is why a nine-day fire drill in September is a bad sign rather than a treat.

The Six Bugs Still Breaking Daily Use

Google’s notes put six issues listed for Beta 6 at the top of the file. None is a new camera mode or a desktop window. They are the bugs that make a daily driver feel broken: a reboot in the feed, a fold that dies when Instagram opens the viewfinder, a Recents card that will not swipe away.

FIXES IN BUILD CP41.260831.007

Beta 5 already claimed a fix for unexpected reboots during continuous scrolling in media-heavy apps (issue 544291113). Nine days later Google is still patching crashes, reboots, or hangs when scrolling, under a new tracker number. The fold-specific camera reboot needed four issue IDs. The kernel crash sits in the identity flow, which is a nasty place for a reboot because the phone is already in the middle of proving who you are.

Pixel 11 Testers Sit Out the Rescue Build

Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL, and Pixel 11 Pro Fold were already on the QPR2 beta by early September. Beta 5 even shipped named factory zips for those four (cubs, grizzly, kodiak, yogi). Beta 6’s packages do not include them.

Rahman’s first post still said Pixel 6a and later. Pixel 11 owners who checked Settings the same afternoon found no OTA. He followed up from the same account.

📣 Android 17 QPR2 Beta 6 is coming to Android Beta testers!

CP41.260831.007 will be available for the Pixel 6a and later. Happy testing! pic.twitter.com/sH2V6d0Yf9

— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) September 24, 2026

We’re working to deliver QPR2 Beta 6 builds for the Pixel 11, stay tuned!

Mishaal Rahman, community engagement for Android at Google, on X

On September 25, 2026, those Pixel 11 images were still absent. The newest phones in the beta program are the ones still sitting on the build that was crashing in the feed. Google’s QPR2 enrollment pages still name the Pixel 11 series as eligible for the program. This specific drop did not bring them along.

End of the Line for Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro

Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are not in a holding pattern. They are out of QPR2. Google cut them from the beta on July 20, 2026, when QPR2 Beta 1 opened, and confirmed Android 17 QPR1 as their last quarterly. That stable QPR1 build went out on September 15, 2026.

The two phones went on sale after an October 19, 2021 launch. Google later stretched their software promise to five years, which runs through October 2026. A final security patch can still land in that October window. There will be no QPR2, no 2026 Q4 platform drop, and no more betas.

Pixel 6a stays on the list. Same generation name, later ship date, and it still gets CP41.260831.007. Owners of the original Tensor flagships are watching a cousin phone collect crash fixes they will never see.

Call-Forwarding Codes Now Need a Confirmation Dialog

The Beta 6 notes also repeat QPR2’s fraud work on call forwarding. The platform now parses USSD codes such as *21# when an app fires TelephonyManager.sendUssdRequest(), and it blocks the quiet ones.

CALL FORWARDING FRAUD RULES

• API lock: sendUssdRequest() can no longer run call-forwarding codes with only the CALL_PHONE permission; a standard app that tries this in the background is blocked and gets USSD_ERROR_NOT_ALLOWED.
• Dialer prompt: a person who types a forwarding code in the system dialer now gets an OS confirmation dialog before the command runs.
• Other USSD: non-forwarding codes, including mobile money and account checks, stay unchanged; apps that still need a forwarding setup are told to switch to ACTION_DIAL so the user can confirm.

That work is not why Beta 6 shipped in nine days. It is sitting in the same notes as the scrolling crash because QPR2 is still carrying a minor SDK bump with no planned app behavior changes, while the daily-driver bugs keep coming in.

OTA Sideloads and the Cinnamonbun Flash Tool

Enrolled Pixels pull the build from Settings, then System, then System update. Google also posted Beta 6 OTA images for Pixel for machines that need a sideload after a bad flash, and factory images for a clean install. The preview slug on the flash site is cinnamonbun-qpr2-beta6, matching Android 17’s dessert name.

The supported set for this build is Pixel 6a, Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 7a, Pixel Tablet, Pixel Fold, Pixel 8, Pixel 8 Pro, Pixel 8a, Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, Pixel 9 Pro Fold, Pixel 9a, Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, Pixel 10 Pro XL, Pixel 10 Pro Fold, and Pixel 10a. Anyone not already in the Android Beta for Pixel program should back up first. The Android Flash Tool for Beta 6 walks through an unlocked phone over WebUSB in Chrome or Edge 79 or later.

Open Issues Between Here and the Q4 Drop

QPR2 is the 2026 Q4 Android release Rahman previewed when Beta 1 opened in July. It is supposed to be polish after Platform Stability in Beta 4. Instead Google is still closing kernel panics in the biometric path and a scroll crash that survived the previous beta.

Pixel 11 testers remain on the older QPR2 build until Google cuts those images. Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro are done with this train. Everyone in the middle can take CP41.260831.007 now and see whether the feed, the fold camera, and the Recents swipe finally stay up.