One of the things that’s a fundamental truth when it comes to smartphones is that if you want to use Android on your fancy new flagship, it has to have the Android operating system properly installed on it.

And while most people would properly expect that to be a no-brainer kind of situation, it turns out that some unlucky Google Pixel 2 XL owners found out that sometimes mistakes happen, even in this regard. The issue has been brought up on forums like Reddit and Ars Technica, and was reported on recently by Android Police.

According to those affected, the issue is presented to them as soon as they turned on their new phone for the first time. As you can see from the image at the top of this article, the phone informs the owner that it cannot find a valid operating system, and then adds that the device “will not start.”

Google does suggest visiting a link on another device, but, as it turns out, those who do don’t find any fixes presented because the specific error message isn’t listed.

As of right now the only fix appears to be sending the handset back to Google and hoping that the unit they send back is properly configured with Android ready to go right out of the box. While Google will more than likely make exceptions for exchanges, especially when it’s a manufacturer’s defect (which is now covered by a two year’s manufacturer warranty), one has to hope that their chosen model can make a hasty return with Google seeing tight supply at the moment.

Have you run into this issue? Do you know anyone who has? Have they already sent their unit back?