Google has released Android 17 QPR2 Beta 3 for Pixel devices, with the update arriving as a surprise on Friday and becoming the biggest update of the current testing cycle. In addition to the fixes, the system also gets new protections against phone scams.
In Beta 3, unlike previous versions, developers have fixed an issue where opening the notification panel or quick settings could cause visual glitches and unexpected restarts of the smartphone. We also fixed an issue where the device health and support tools were displaying incorrect battery health warnings to users.
The main innovation is to prevent abuse of call forwarding. Regular applications will no longer be able to use the sendUssdRequest() API in the background to send redirect code with CALL_PHONE-only permissions. If a program attempts to perform such an operation, the request will be blocked. When manually entering the corresponding code via the standard dialer, Android now displays an additional warning and asks you to confirm the action.
This restriction does not affect other USSD commands, such as mobile payment transactions or account verification. This beta version works on various Pixels (from Pixel 6a to the current Pixel 10 series) as well as Android emulators. You can get updates through the Android Beta program.