The Android November security patch has just begun rolling out, and for Pixel users afflicted by a bug that silenced their starred contacts in Do Not Disturb (DND), it has something fantastic in tow. The issue should now be solved. When it’s necessary, no more missed calls from your loved ones. Make sure you go to your device settings and hit the update button if you have encountered the issue.
A few Pixel owners took to the Google support forum following the initial Android 11 update. They complained that their phones didn’t ring for starred contacts anymore, even though they set up the feature that way on Android 10. That had serious consequences: One affected person reported that their elderly mother couldn’t reach them while she was lying on the floor with a broken ankle.
There were a few troubleshooting tips, such as ensuring that via your volume rocker menu you haven’t switched off all warning sounds and some elaborate workarounds that included activating repeat callers. You can get into the specifics in the following paragraphs if you’re interested, but you really should just click your Pixel update button to get rid of the issue once and for all.
Solution 1: allow repeat callers
Many people could remedy the problems with a workaround posted by forum user Frank Longest. He writes that starred contacts could ring his Pixel 4 again after he turned on “allow repeat callers.” You can find that option by searching your phone settings for that term or by going to Sound -> Do Not Disturb -> People -> Calls. This will also allow non-starred contacts to reach you when they call twice within 15 minutes, so it’s not ideal.
Solution 2: tweak Phone notifications
If that doesn’t do the trick, forum user Titusz Rónai reports that you might also have to go to the Phone app info (tap and hold the icon in your launcher and look for the circled i symbol), and then Notifications -> Incoming Calls -> Advanced -> Override Do Not Disturb. However, this might cause the Phone app to always ring, regardless of who calls you.
Solution 3: factory reset
You can also have to reset your phone in the factory if none of these steps help, but this is the most drastic and time-consuming path. Make sure you’ve backed up all of your data in the cloud or on another computer to do so. Then, look for “factory reset” in the settings of your Pixel phone. Because we don’t know exactly what the culprit is, after resetting and restoring your phone from an Android backup, it’s entirely possible that the issue continues, so you may even have to start from scrap entirely. Your last resort really ought to be this solution.
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Cristian Penisoara is a Guides Writer and Android specialist at Droid Tools. An Android user since version 2 and a professional event photographer, he combines technical curiosity with a detail-oriented approach - every guide he publishes is tested step-by-step on a real device before it goes live.
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