What you need to know
- Several Surface Duo and Surface Duo 2 owners have run into bugs after updating to Android 12L.
- The phone app has several issues, including not allowing people to hang up or its user interface not appearing when someone receives a call.
- The frequency and number of bugs varies from device to device.
Microsoft recently shipped Android 12L to the Surface Duo and Surface Duo 2. While the update improves the devices in several ways and includes a list of new features, it also appears to have some bugs. The Surface Duo subreddit has a growing "glitch list" breaking down problems have seen since upgrading.
The Android 12L presents a variety of issues to those affected by bugs, but the most prevalent appears to be related to the phone app. Some people are unable to end calls while others are unable to answer calls when their phone rings.
The Search bar also appears to have some issues. "My biggest bug is the search bar not working now and then. A restart fixes it, or I just fire up Edge and do my search from there," said Ill_Attention4749 on Reddit.
A separate Reddit post claims that Android 12L caused the battery of a Surface Duo 2 to drain quickly.
One Reddit user asked if they could roll back to Android 11 after their device heated up.
YouTuber Shane Craig demonstrated several of the bugs in a video. He also shared feedback provided by his followers and the Surface Duo community.
The frequency of problems can vary quite a bit between devices, even when running the same software. Two of our staff members have Surface Duo devices running Android 12L. They've only run into a few issues, though one of them was unable to end a call once.
There's a good chance that Microsoft will ship an update fixing the most pressing bugs in the near future, though the company hasn't confirmed anything yet.
