A mess of its own making: Google nerfs second Pixel phone battery this year
A mess of its own making: Google nerfs second Pixel phone battery this year
arstechnica.com
A mess of its own making: Google nerfs second Pixel phone battery this year
52 comments
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I have this phone (6a). I put in the survey to get the 100 but so far I haven't seen a single $. Meanwhile I'm sitting on a fire hazard.
If they just made replaceable batteries, this wouldn't be an issue. My next phone is going to be the fairphone.
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I'm waiting to get a new phone until the EU battery requirements go into effect in a few years to see if replacing battery becomes easier to comply than it is now.
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Afaik the Pixel 9 would qualify under the new rules. So that's the bar.
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Well, great, but the fairphone is like 2 months behind on security patches, and they generally never do more than 1 OS update (for comparison, my pixel 7 has gotten 3 now, and with the 2 more years of support its likely to get 5 in total).
So basically instead of getting a phone that works for 8 years, you get a permanent security liability that is more likely to get water damage.
I mean sure, great idea, I would buy a phone with inferior CPU if I can support something good, but instead of something good I'm getting something inferior in every aspect just so I can change the battery in 2 years when I won't need the phone anyway because they just abandon any kind of timely updates anyway??
(BTW, I checked, the fairphone 5 is to this day still on android 14, a 2 year old OS. They could not care enough to update a 2 year old phone in 2 years except the legally necessary patches, they can't even release a monthly patch, and yet I should trust them with my most valuable data?)
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Replaceable batteries from next year.
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Stupid manufacturers. Would be a non-issue if you could just slide open the battery door, pop it out, and recycle it, like we could over the last 2 centuries. (The D battery was introduced in the 19th century).
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I opted for the $150 payoff and reduced battery capacity instead of a battery replacement. They made me sign up for Payoneer, who is going to take $39 plus whatever transaction fees they change. I bought this phone directly from Google, they could have just refunded my credit card.
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Get ready to install a custom rom without the battery patch.
The patch they put out for the 4A basically bricked the phone. Battery life was halved, and the charge indicator was practically useless (the number could drop massively within minutes), making the remaining half battery unreliable as well.
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I guess my IMEI isn't eligible even though it's a pixel 6a, they mentioned the 4a had two different battery manufacturers and only one was a problem but they didn't say the same for the 6a. The battery doesn't seem to last as long as usual but that's probably all the AI shit that I tried to turn off. I only need a phone that does messaging, plays music, takes good pictures, has maps and a small fast web browser. Everything else is just useless fluff.
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Try the SIM 2 slot (eSIM) IMEI as well. I tried the first IMEI and it said my phone wasn't eligible but the second one was.
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Mine appears to have only one, thanks for that though.
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They skirted around it on the official doc. They didn't explicitly say not all 6a devices are affected. They instead say if yours is affected, based on where you got it from and what are the laws in your area, you might be eligible for compensation or free repair.
It is entierly possible that hardware lottery is in play and some batts are feom a different supplyer. From what I gathered.
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Just flash gos
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This really sucks. I bought a Pixel 7 for the ROMs, GrapheneOS to be specific, so this puts me in an awkward spot. Wish I could have myself a Fair Phone and a Framework laptop.
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GrapheneOS is the most secure mobile OS and your model is not affected. I've got a 7a myself.
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Well, according to Google, you could be. Link
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This is about the 6a so you're not affected
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That's a good combo.
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It looks like I can go to a local repair shop to get the battery changed out. Anyone have experience with that option?
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I've seen others get the battery replaced, but it heavily depends on the phone. Samsungs can be pretty cheap from what I hear.
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As long as the repair shop is reputable it's not too hard. I was looking at options on iFixit when I first heard this update was coming down the pipeline. I guess I am lucky that mine was already a refurbished unit when I bought it so it looks like the battery has already been replaced.
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Google+Pixel+6a+Battery+Replacement/152516
I replaced a few batteries myself before in a Nexus 6 and a Pixel 4a. The guides really help as does having the right tools. It's also helpful that iFixit offers genuine battery replacements.
https://www.ifixit.com/products/google-pixel-6a-battery-genuine?variant=39912699330663
Currently out of stock but that's probably due to this update that wrecked so many users battery life.
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GOS for the win :)
52 comments
Pixel 6a, since it doesn't say in the title or preview.
Mine is fucked since the last update, the quick switcher flat out doesn't work anymore
If I wanted to flash a new ROM what are the options these days for backing up app data etc?
If you have root, try neobackup (fdroid)... But don't put too much faith in it.
Get a USB-C pendrive. Put all your photos/videos/documents on it. Write down the apps you use on a paper, or take a long screenshot of your app drawer. Anything cloud-based will carry over anyway.
Between ROMs? Basically none, unless you're rooted. Each one has its own (stock has Google's, GrapheneOS has seedvault).