Dig into the settings of your Android phone or tablet and you’ll find a “check for update” button in the System Update section. Tap it and… most likely nothing will happen.

At least that’s been true for years. But it looks like it’s finally starting to change.

Multiple users are reporting that the latest version of Google Play Services actually seems to make the “check for update” option do what you’d expect it to: search for available updates and prompt you to download and install them if any are available.

You’ll need to wait for Google Play Services 12.2.09 or later to roll out to your device… or sideload it manually onto your device. It’s also unclear at this point whether the update affects all Android phones or only Google Pixel and Pixel 2 devices, but multiple redditors are reporting that they checked for updates and saw nothing… then updated to the newer version of Google Play Services and saw the February updates for their devices right away.

It’ll be interesting to see how this affects phones from other companies, since over-the-air updates for most Android phones are delivered by phone makers, not by Google.

via Android Police, Droid Life, and +ArtemRussakovskii

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3 replies on “Android’s “Check for update” button finally seems to work (with Google Play Services 12.2.09)”

  1. I agree with Some Guy. This has always worked for me too. It just only works when there is in fact an update available for your particular phone from your particular carrier.

  2. Color me skeptical. I suspect it’s just coincidence or that the update requires that level of Play services. Also, I’m not sure what button you’re talking about. Mine automatically checks for updates when I go to System Updates.

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