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

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[–] 68 points 1 year ago (5 children)

400 cycles? So, a year? One year.

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  • [+] 16 points 1 year ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (5 children)
  • [–] 13 points 1 year ago

    My math was assuming that most users do charge every night, and again during the day 2-3 times a month. 365 + (12x3) = 401. So it seems like we have both ends of standard usage. They've basically just said that this battery will only last one year of standard usage before they intentionally hobble it.

    If that's for safety reasons, they need to stop putting unsafe hardware into their handsets.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (3 children)

    How do you know how many cycles it has? Is there a way to see that, or are you just counting days?

    I have a Pixel 6, don't charge it overnight. Batteries fine, yet.

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  • [+] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (3 children)
  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago*

    I have the menu in GrapheneOS's settings on a Pixel 7 Pro.

    My cycle count is 590, but I'd like to know if that number includes the previous owner's usage on the stock OS from before I installed GrapheneOS right after I bought it second-hand. Got a clue?

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    Ok. I'm still on Android (15) and I don't t find this Information anywhere.

    I did not downvote you. People sometimes downvote when they think your comment is factually wrong. Don't take it personally.

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    [–] 42 points 1 year ago (11 children)

    subpar? this is just capitalism ensuring we “need” a new phone.

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  • [–] 21 points 1 year ago (5 children)

    My next phone will be a Fairphone 6, even though they're not officially sold here in Brazil.

    And when that one breaks... Maybe no phone at all.

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  • [+] -1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)
  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Ask a friend to buy it in europe and send it to you

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  • [+] 13 points 1 year ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 child)
  • [–] 9 points 1 year ago

    Releasing a Pixel without QA issues. Level: IMPOSSIBLE

    sent from Pixel 9 🫩

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  • [+] -16 points 1 year ago (10 children)

    Ah the classic "I read the headline but not the article post"

    Tldr because you're lazy: oh a certain brand of battery, 400 recharge cycles because after that risk of fire increases so they nerf it. Only on the 4a and 6a series.

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  • [–] 17 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

    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.

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  • [–] 0 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    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.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year 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?

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  • [+] 25 points 1 year ago (6 children)
  • [–] -2 points 1 year ago (5 children)

    Well there are multiple companies that make the batteries

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  • [–] 18 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    I wonder who selected the companies to provide the batteries

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  • [+] -8 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    Why is this your random go to? Kinda apple user of you.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    mate if a badly made product makes it into your hand it's the company that made it and sold it to you's responsibility. "we used a subcontractor" is not an excuse. this is not random. it's simply saying that google made a crappy product by cutting corners intientionally to boost short term profits at the cost of their consumer. if you think that's what apple users do you haven't met a single one

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  • [–] 0 points 1 year ago

    My wife uses apple. She's had several phone updates that Nuke her battery. She's also had a watch update that filled her storage up 98% that if she received a text through her watch it would say "storage is full"

    What I don't get it is, not ALL pixels are affected. Only SOME of them are. So Google has several suppliers to make their phones and only a few of those batteries are shit.

    Not to mention Google said "we took this L, we will replace your battery for free"and everyone is like "NuH man Google just wants my money because I got their cheapest phone"

    Keep in mind too, the 4a only had update support until 2023, this is knowledge you can understand when you purchase the phone. Like the 9a has update support until 2031

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    [–] -1 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    I'd be emailing and calling and bitching then. Super shitty

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  • [+] -50 points 1 year ago* (12 children)
    1. It's a budget variant,
    2. The Pixel series are midrange, not high-end or flagship

    This doesn't seem like that big a deal, especially as it's a software update. Easily fixable with a firmware update like GrapheneOS

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  • [–] 24 points 1 year ago (6 children)

    Pixels of this generation can get up to $1500 USD. If that's not flagship territory, I don't know what is.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

    True, but that's just the price they charge. The actual value of CPU performance, build quality and part quality indicates a midrange device.

    In regards to the Pixel Fold (the $1500 devices), well, those in the market for a foldable already prefer to sacrifice device longevity and some practicality for the double screen, and usually aesthetics and gimmicks cost more than bare practicality. The foldables are in a different league, but still are outclassed by others in their price range.

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  • 48 comments in c/android@lemdro.id view that post
    [–] 76 points 1 year ago (5 children)

    Pixel 6a, since it doesn't say in the title or preview.

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  • [–] 11 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    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?

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  • [–] 22 points 1 year ago* (9 children)

    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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  • [–] 38 points 1 year ago (5 children)

    That's gotta be the most American thing I've ever heard - your refund going through a third party who takes a 30% cut. What a joke.

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  • [–] 12 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    It's to deter people, that simple.

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  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    A civilised country would've regulated those kinds of anti-consumer practices decades ago. The heck are you lot doing?!

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  • [–] 35 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (17 children)

    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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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

    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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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    My pixel phone is a ticking bomb.

    You can put other OSs on the fairphone instead of their defaults.

    But yeah it's frustrating no matter what there is a downside of just owning a stupid phone.

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  • [–] -3 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    You can put other OSs on the fairphone instead of their defaults.

    Calyx only releases patches when Fairphone releases them. They are therefore just as bad with updates, while completely managing to hold up with the pixel releases in a timely manner.

    My pixel phone is a ticking bomb.

    Maybe you shouldn't have lobotomized yourself. Anyway, since you did that already, let me remind you that you can get a battery replacement for like 50€.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago

    Calyx only releases patches when Fairphone releases them

    There are other roms than calyx and stock you can put lineageos on it and they are great with updates usually within a few days of a patch coming out they'll push an ota

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 1 year ago (10 children)

    Replaceable batteries from next year.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (7 children)

    Replacable as in "not permanently glued into the phone". You'll still have to be an expert to take it apart without damaging it and replacing the battery with new one like you do now with every phone.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 1 year ago (6 children)

    Nope, the law specifically states you have to be able to remove the battery without any special tools.

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  • [–] 0 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    A tiny screwdriver and a sprunger aren't special tools

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 1 year ago (3 children)

    They're tools as per the EU law

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (2 children)

    Now I'm confused. Does the law say no special tools or no tools?

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  • [–] [S] 3 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Let me not misrepresent. As per https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2020/0798/COM_COM(2020)0798_EN.pdf

    Waste portable batteries incorporated in appliances that are readily removable by the end user without the use of professional tools shall be removed and discarded by end users in accordance with paragraph 1.

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  • [+] 11 points 1 year ago (3 children)
  • 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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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    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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  • 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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  • [–] 9 points 1 year ago (6 children)

    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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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    GrapheneOS is the most secure mobile OS and your model is not affected. I've got a 7a myself.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Well, according to Google, you could be. Link

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

    I've made a support request and chose the payout version rather than a free walk-in repair for my 7a. I will be contacted by an agent within three weeks. Probably have to revert to Google stock if I have to send it in.

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  • 2 comments in c/Anticonsumption@europe.pub view that post
    [–] 11 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    tl;dr: the purpose is to reduce fire risk from aging poor quality batteries, but if Google had used good quality batteries to begin with this wouldn't be an issue

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  • 1 comment in c/arstechnica_index@rss.ponder.cat view that post
    [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    Gee, maybe getting rid of user swappable batteries wasn't such a good idea

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