This Bizarre Google Messages Bug Is Causing Android Phones To Overheat
Google Messages, the app of choice for Android users who still rely on SMS, is not usually known for being buggy. That's not the case this time around, however, as a rather strange Google Messages-induced bug has led to overheating and severe battery drain issues on several Android devices. According to XDA Developers, the bug is invoked on some Android phones when users tap on the "images" icon for adding attachments while drafting a message. On most Android smartphones, this tap also opens up a small window that offers people a live camera view that can be used to take a quick picture. The whole point of this feature is to reduce the time it takes to separately capture an image and then attach that image from the phone's gallery without exiting the messaging app.
As one Reddit user would eventually figure out, some devices updated with a buggy version of Google Messages now experience significant battery drain when users invoked the live view screen from within the app. Users also report a noticeable increase in the temperature of their phones. As it turns out, these things happen because the Google Messages bug causes the app to continuously access the camera — sometimes for up to 24 hours straight — in the background even after users close the app. One user noticed that their Google Pixel displayed the green light for camera access even though the phone's display was off and the camera wasn't in use.
Is there a fix in sight?
Given that this bug has not yet impacted a large enough user base, Google is yet to acknowledge the problem or even issue a fix. While some users have claimed that a recent beta version of Google Messages has seemingly fixed the issue (via 9to5Google), it remains to be seen if this really is the case. Additionally, the behavior of the issue is unpredictable, with some users claiming that they are unable to recreate the problem in every instance.
With Google yet to issue an official update, users have suggested a few hacks as a workaround to this problem. The easiest way to fix this is by simply closing Google Messages from the "Recents" menu, after which point the app should no longer have access to the camera. The other, more drastic option is to revoke camera permissions from the Messages app. This workaround, however, also means that you will not be able to use the live view feature within Google Messages until the permission is turned back on. While the method to remove camera permissions differs from one device to another, you should be able to hold the "Messages" icon and open the dedicated settings menu for the app on most phones. After doing that, scroll down to the "Permissions" section and then make sure the part that says "Camera" has its toggle set to "Don't allow."