Some Google Pixel (and other Android users) say their system language keeps changing automatically

Looks like some Android users are facing a weird issue wherein the primary system language changes out of nowhere. As per the reports I have seen, most users who are affected are Pixel owners, but I also came across some OnePlus users and even a Samsung Galaxy user complaining about the same problem.

For example, one Pixel 8 user said their primary system language is English. However, they saw that out of nowhere the language of their device’s Quick Settings menu changed to Chinese. The only way they can reverse this behavior is to restart the phone, but it’s not a permanent solution as the issue pops up again.

Following before and after screenshots were shared by them (click/tap to enlarge):

As you can see, their post went live on Google forums in February, and until now, it has got a whopping 343 upvotes, which indicates that hundreds of other users are also acknowledging they are sailing in the same boat.

Apart from this, I came across more such posts on Google’s forums as well as on Reddit. Here are a few examples:

Following are reports from multiple OnePlus users as well as a Samsung user:

I went through all these interactions, and found that the new language which takes over part of their device is mostly the secondary language they have selected. For some, it was Korean, while for others it was Chinese, Russian, or even Hindi. No one has a clue as to why it is happening, but from what I could see, the reports are still pouring in, with some saying that this issue infects some apps as well.

For example, the following screenshot was shared by a user saying the language of their Outlook app got changed:

From what I could understand, there is still no official fix for this problem. However, some workarounds have been shared. One is to change the secondary language of your device to a variant of English, like English (UK) or English (Canada). Another workaround is to delete the second language so that there is no secondary language for the system to switch to.

A group of users are also discussing if this problem is related to third-party apps like those from Microsoft. Here’s the discussion for your reference:

You can try these workarounds to see what works for you. Meanwhile, do leave feedback to Google, so that the company is aware how widespread the issue is. Hopefully, the fix should arrive in the next few weeks. In case you have something to share on the matter, please feel free to use the comments section below.