Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
TL;DR Android 16 QPR1 beta users were stuck on the beta branch, and they could not exit the beta program without wiping their data.
Google is now rolling out a new update that lets users exit the beta program and switch to the stable branch without losing data.
This update is available for users who have not yet installed the Android 16 QPR2 beta. If you have, a similar No-Data-Wipe OTA will be released once Android 16 QPR2 stable update is released in December.
Android 16‘s first stable release for the Google Pixels was missing highlight features like Material 3 Expressive and Live Updates, which made the release feel a bit of a letdown. These features were slated for Android 16 QPR1 instead, so many enthusiasts jumped onto Android 16 QPR1 betas to experience the promised features. Google rolled out Android 16 QPR1 stable to Pixel devices earlier this month, finally bringing the highlight features, but users who jumped to the beta were stuck on the beta branch. Google is now finally rolling out an exit update for beta users, letting them jump to Android 16 QPR1 stable without wiping the data on their phone.
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Several Reddit users have reported receiving a No-Data-Wipe OTA on their Pixel device that is enrolled in the beta program. This update comes on top of the already installed Android 16 QPR1 Beta 3.1 update, letting users finally get back onto the stable branch (with build version BP3A.250905.014) without needing to wipe their data.
This has been a rather long wait for beta branch users, especially considering Google’s staggered approach to releasing Android 16 features. Those who had installed the beta were impatient enthusiasts like me, who wanted to get the promised new features as soon as possible. Making such impatient enthusiasts wait almost a month to return to the stable branch is almost cruel. Some of us have already jumped onto Android 16 QPR2 betas, while others swallowed the bitter pill and accepted the data wipe.
If you held off so far, you can safely accept the No-Data-Wipe OTA on your phone to exit the Beta program and return to stable Android 16. If you don’t see the update yet, many users have reported that the OTA can be triggered after rebooting their phone.
If you joined the beta program and have been accepting all updates coming your way, there’s a very good chance you already have Android 16 QPR2 Beta 2 installed on your phone. You can still exit the beta program, but your phone’s data will be wiped. If that’s not acceptable to you, you will have to wait for a similar No-Data-Wipe OTA, which will be released once Android 16 QPR2 is released in the stable branch, which should happen on December 2, 2025.
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