Google released the Android 16 update in June with a number of new features, including Live Updates and Auracast audio sharing and a phased rollout of Material 3 Expressive design. However, the new update has also brought with it a fresh problem that is now troubling many Pixel users.
The issue was pointed out by a user on Google’s Issue Tracker, first reported by Android Authority. As per the user, there is a problematic notification issue in Android 16 where the new OS does not play any sound when receiving a notification. This issue, as per the user, only occurs when there is a notification already in the notification shade.
The user states that their phone does not ring in such instances, even when the volume is set to maximum and the Do Not Disturb (DND) overrides are enabled.
“When testing notifications, we realized that subsequent notifications are not playing any sounds, even when volume has been set to the MAX volume, as well as Do-Not-Disturb override permissions are granted (although this issue exists both when DND mode is on and off),” wrote the user.
“Upon dismissing the notifications, the next notification WILL play a sound,” they added.
Several other users in the comment section reported facing similar issues with their Pixel devices, including owners of the Pixel 6, Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, and even the Pixel 9 Pro XL.
Google promises fix for notification issue:
Thankfully, Google has not only acknowledged the problem but stated that it has been fixed internally and will be included with the next update.
“Thanks for reporting this issue. It’s fixed internally and will be included in the next quarterly release,” the company wrote in response to the user.
It’s worth noting that users as late as August 28th report that the issue has not been fixed and the promised patch was not rolled out with the August 2025 update.
One user, while confirming that a fix hasn’t been rolled out with the August update in a post on Reddit, wrote, “Android 16 has a bug where notification cooldown appears to be active despite it being turned off in the settings. This is causing people to miss notifications and they might not even know it’s happening. This started with the release of Android 16 and the August update hasn’t fixed it.”
