Category: Google Play Services

It looks like Google is once again set to rebrand an Android named product or service to something more Google generic.  In the latest beta of Google Play Services, version 12.5, references to Android Wear have been changed to Wear OS, complete with a new “W” icon and everything.

New Wear OS References in the Google Play Services Beta

The change was first spotted in name only in the version of Play Services that came in the Android P Developer Preview.  But a new beta rolled out to those in the beta channel for the app and you get the above changes when using the Nearby feature of Android.

With the release of the March Android Security Update patches earlier today, the opportunity has come to test the Check for update button on Pixel devices.  And guess what?  It works again.

The saga of the Check for update button has been going on for months – really years if you take in the fact that it has never really done anything in the past.  That changed late last year when Google indicated that the button would actually go tap the update servers in Google and give you the latest update for your Pixel or Nexus.  Then an update to Google Play Services broke it.  Then a new beta of Google Play Services was released with the explicit indicator that it fixed the issue.  But that update came out after the February Android Security Update patches.  So today was the first real opportunity to test it.

Last month, Google announced that they were going to be releasing an update to Google Play Services to address a network issues caused by the service.  The issue would essentially flood your home network with packets as your phone would continually try to connect to Chromecast devices on it – your Chromecast and Google Home devices specifically.

The update, at the time, rolled out into the beta for Play Services but today is rolling out to everyone.  The new build is version 11.9.75 and should be coming to devices over the course of the next few days.

Google is set to roll out an update to Google Play Services tomorrow aimed at addressing the slow WiFi issue that some users of Chromecast and Google Home have experienced.  The issue cropped up a couple of weeks ago and at first, was thought to be an issue with the new Google Home Max.  It turns out that Google Play Services was the culprit.

For those that haven’t encountered the problem (good!), it comes down to Android devices on your network as well as Chromecast and Home devices.  Essentially what was happening is that Android devices on the same network would see the Cast enabled device and flood your network with packets.  That would cause slowness or instability.  It was effectively an internal DDoS attack.

Google has begun rolling out a significant update to Google Play Services for Android that has a significant number of fixes and improvements for users.  The updated build is version 8.7.03 for those keeping score at home and should be hitting your compatible device in the next few days.  So what exactly is Google Play Services?  Think of it as the glue that binds your phone to Google Play so you can authenticate and update apps and services on your phone.  It’s not sexy but it is important and when it doesn’t play nice in the sandbox, it can make things a bit challenging.