2d ago

Google launches Extended Repair Program for Pixel 7a battery

Google starts Extended Repair Program for Pixel 7a battery swelling

After 4a and 6a, now is the time for 7a to shine!

Though, is it still in early beta and apparently very few models seem to be affected and there isn't any word of system update to nuke the battery life on this model. But it goes to show that Google is treating the A series really badly.

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Guess I'll just wait for my 8a to spontaneously combust in a couple of years
- you joke but my 4a almost did this. the damn charger port melted
  
  How did your 4a perform after it got the battery maintenance update? I remember folks saying the battery life went down to only couple of hours of continuous usage and even charging speeds were finicky.
  Edit: I read in another comment by you that you had a 6a as well. That is still under official software support right? Is it even usable after update?
  
  That's bad! Was that before or after they announced there were issues?
When I contacted Google a year ago about my swelling 7a, they simply reimbursed me the full purchase price. I then replaced the battery myself. Great customer service and I now have a perfectly working 7a that only cost me 50 euros. So this program already existed for some time, specifically for the 7a.
My regular Pixel 7 (not 7a) has a swelled battery and I can see the screen starting to separate from the rest of the case.
The phone would be otherwise still fine despite being 2 years old. I'm sure even if it was covered, Google would find some way to not repair it under the program because it is a carrier unlocked model running GrapheneOS.
I would opt for third party repair but the place I used for this exact problem before (replacing swollen battery on a Samsung phone) was a little sketchy and when I got it back, there was evidence they tried to rifle through my device.
Aside from taking this to Rossman himself, I'm wondering if there are any other reputable 3rd party repair options.
- The phone would be otherwise still fine despite being 2 years old. I'm sure even if it was covered, Google would find some way to not repair it under the program because it is a carrier unlocked model running GrapheneOS.
  I had a different, also known hardware issue with my pixel 8 screen. I also use grapheneos. I used the pixel replacement policy that google had (the phone was still under warranty) and I didn't even bother to put the OS back to default, just erased everything on it. They didn't even bother to check for the default software, just that they got a pixel 8 back from me.
- I have a 3yrs old samsung, heck even a 2019 redmi smartphone which work and did not get a swollen battery. 2yrs is a very short timeframe for battery being toast. Goes to show the way google cheaps out on battery components.
Right, so which phone should I buy second hand that has a great camera and doesn't cost the earth?
I had a 4A, currently I have a 6A, and I was going to get a 7A but apparently that's a bad idea too. Fuck's sake.
- One that's not an A? I buy all of mine used and they're very reasonably priced.
  
  I've not checked the sizing but I thought the whole point was that the A variants were smaller? My 6A is already much larger than I'd like. I'm not trying to watch movies on these damn things! 😂
- Pixel 7 is around $160-180 used right now, that might be a nicer option than the 7a.
  Alternatively do the 7a and get a free new battery from Google if it pans out that way..
- A 7A. Just replace the battery.
  
  Don't. It's a horrible overheating piece of crap. I literally cannot shoot more than about 3 minutes of video with the flash turned on (at 1080p, not 4k, and not encoding as hevc either). The phone overheats and turns off the flash.
  Keeping the phone in my pocket, out of direct sunlight in my car? I see the "3d buildings have been disabled because your phone needs to cool down" every single day. And I live in Malta; in the summer it's a 20 minute trip, at most.
  And even then, the battery life sucks anyway.
  Android 16 is buggy af too, though that's not specific to the 7a.
  
  Could the same not be said for the 6A?

25 comments