Here’s how long your Google Pixel phone will get software updates

With the release of the Pixel 8 in 2023, Google made a widely praised announcement. Going forward, Pixel phones would get seven years of software updates – not just routine security patches, but also major operating system upgrades. It was a stronger promise than even Samsung, the largest Android device vendor, made in 2019 when it committed to three years of major OS updates for low-end Galaxy devices and seven years for some flagships. Rapid loss of software support was previously one of the main reasons why Android phones failed to retain their value for long. It was therefore crucial to commit to this support for the future.

Many popular smartphones are currently in their last year of support, but how many years of life does your Pixel phone have left? This may not be obvious unless you know the exact month and year it was released. Google begins the service period for a given Pixel smartphone the month it becomes available for purchase on the Google Store website in the United States.

Google’s Pixel release date page is a helpful guide here. First, all Pixels from the original model up to the Pixel 5a are outdated and no longer receive updates.

If you own a phone from the Pixel 6 or 7 families, or the original Pixel Fold, it will receive updates for five years from the month it goes on sale. This means that the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro will receive their latest update by the end of October 2027, while the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro will currently reach their end of support in October 2026. The Pixel A-series phones are released at a different cadence, so the support windows differ accordingly. The Pixel 7a will stop updates after May 2028, while the Pixel 6a will lose support after July 2027.

The Pixel 8 and later come with a seven-year warranty, meaning the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro will stop receiving updates after October 2030. So it’s still worth buying a discounted Pixel 8 with the lifespan it packs. The Pixel 9 and 9 Pro (released in August-September 2024) will do the same after these months in 2031, the Pixel 10 and 10 Pro 2025 after August 2032 and the new Pixel 11 and 11 Pro after August 2033.

The Pixel 8a, released in May 2024, will see support expire after May 2031. The Pixel 9a, shipped in April 2025 after an announcement in March, will no longer receive updates after April 2032. Finally, the Pixel 10a, released a little less than a year later, will receive a final update around March 2033.

If you want to keep your Pixel phone alive after Google removed it from the update schedule, you have few options. Of course, you can continue to use it with the latest software update it receives, but this will expose your phone to security risks in the long run. Part of an Android phone’s routine update schedule includes security patches, usually released on a monthly cadence. Once these updates are stopped, newly discovered security issues will not be fixed, leaving owners of older devices exposed. If possible, you should get a new phone, or at least upgrade to a phone that still receives security updates.

You might assume that installing a custom ROM or OS image on your old Pixel would give it a new lease of life after Google discontinued it. However, whether you go for a full-scale OS with a locked bootloader like privacy-focused GrapheneOS, or go for a ROM with an unlocked bootloader like LineageOS, you won’t be fully protected against security threats. This isn’t to say that you can’t run DIY software on a broken Pixel, but rather that updates to these projects won’t benefit from the original equipment manufacturer’s (OEM) firmware, kernel, and vendor code. See the GrapheneOS explanation if you’re curious.

If strong security is not important to you, LineageOS is the best supported ROM. It runs on an unlocked bootloader, so apps that require strict security during verified booting, such as banking, mobile wallets, and games with anti-cheat measures, will no longer work. However, Lineage still supports the original Pixel from 2016, as well as almost every other Pixel phone since. On an outdated Pixel, you will receive LineageOS security patches for Linux kernel and framework security, covering some of your bases, but not all.