Recently, the Pixel 6a smartphone has made headlines again, not with feature updates, but with thermal incidents. And Google is now preparing restrictions — not for users, but for batteries.
Pixel 6a, presented in 2022, is still confidently staying afloat. It runs on the first generation of Google’s proprietary Tensor processor and will receive updates until July 2027. However, this model has recently started having problems. They are quite serious and look quite unpleasant for users — burnt Pixel 6a cases indicate overheating and fire. One case of fire occurred in May, the other — most recently. Although these incidents initially looked like isolated incidents, the company paid attention to them and plans to take restrictive measures.
The company has officially confirmed that some Pixel 6a will receive a mandatory firmware update that will limit battery life after 400 charge cycles. According to Google, the purpose of this is to reduce the risk of battery overheating. In other words, if you’ve been actively using your smartphone for almost three years, it’s very likely that your battery will get a «leash». The charging power and actual capacity will decrease — whether you like it or not.
Harbingers of these changes can already be seen in the beta version of Android 16 (QPR1 Beta 2). In the Pixel 6a system settings, a message now appears about a «potential battery overheating issue». The notification, which appears after the battery reaches 375 charging cycles, informs you that as a precautionary measure «battery capacity and charging performance will decrease» after reaching 400 cycles.
Users are advised to replace the battery, and for support, it is suggested to go to: g.co/pixel/6abattery (although at the time of writing, this page is not yet operational).
To avoid any unpleasant incidents, we recommend that all Pixel 6a owners check the battery status right now. Go to Settings > Battery > Battery status. If you see a warning message — Do not delay, act. Either change the battery or consider a new smartphone.
It’s worth reminding you that this is not the first problem with Google smartphone batteries. Previously, similar incidents occurred with the Pixel 4a and Pixel 7a. The problem with the Pixel 4a was so serious that Google offered affected users a free battery replacement or cash compensation. The Australian authorities even announced a recall of the device, and the country’s Competition and Consumer Commission warned that «battery overheating could pose a risk of fire and/or burns to the user».
Source: androidauthority
Spelling error report
The following text will be sent to our editors: