A mess of its own making: Google nerfs second Pixel phone battery this year
arstechnica.com
People don’t upgrade phones every year anymore—longevity matters.

I wonder if there is something subpar about whoever Google is getting the batteries from for the A series phones.

  • Humanius@lemmy.worldEnglish
    16·
    9 hours ago

    I own a Pixel 6a, and I’m not happy about the whole situation for several reasons:

    • The update is mandatory and instant the moment it is received. You don’t get a choice in the matter.
    • The only reason I am aware of my battery being nerfed is because I had read this article and because I paid attention during the update. There is no clear indication after the update that they might have nerfed my battery life.
    • Google is not communicating clearly whether my phone is one of the so-called “affected devices”. There is a tool that allows you to check “eligibility”, but it only reports eligibility for a refund. My phone is not eligible for a refund, so does that mean my phone is not an “affected device”? It doesn’t say.
    • After calling support Im not much wiser. All they told me is that “if my phone gets warm sometimes, or the battery drains too fast” that might mean my device is affected. But clearly they should know whether my device is affected otherwise they wouldn’t be able to determine whether I’m eligible for the refund.

    This is also not the first time Google burned me with a bad quality battery. This just strengthens my resolve that my next phone won’t be a Pixel. Which is a shame, because I like these phones otherwise.

    The Fairphone is looking quite interesting.

    • SolidShake@lemmy.worldEnglish
      11·
      4 hours ago

      So why not do the no cost battery replacement that Google is offering everyone with a 6a?

      Fairphones do look nice. Those are like what the nothing phones wanted to be but just didn’t.

      • Humanius@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        3 hours ago

        Google is not offering me a no-cost battery replacement.
        I’m not eligible for any replacement or refund according to their own support page

        Edit: Here’s proof.

        On the one page they are talking about “impacted devices”, but on the other page they say I’m not “eligible” for a refund of repair.
        So they do not confirm whether my phone is unaffected or not. They only say I won’t get a refund.

        I’m highly skeptical when a massive corporation uses inconsistent language like this. Especially when they don’t clearly define what they mean with the terms “impacted” and “eligible”.

        Are there situations where impacted devices may not be eligible?

    • Turret3857@infosec.pubEnglish
      2·
      7 hours ago

      I had to get rid of my 4a because of the bad battery thing before that went public. The charger got so hot it melted part of the port, no refund offered, out of warranty. Now you’re telling me this same shit could happen with my 6a?

      I know for a fact my next phone will be the Fairphone 6. Fuck this and fuck google.