Pixel 6a gets a mandatory Android update next week with battery reduction
9to5google.comSounds like the same farce as with the forced Pixel 4a update. Not sure if they learned anything from that, other than to ignore the issues and move ahead anyway.
I'll have you know I did successfully claim my $50 from that refund program they did for the 4a.
> "enter your sn in this form to see if you qualify"
> enter sn
> "great, you'll hear from us in 2 weeks"
> 2 weeks pass
> "you're eligible! you can either have $50 or $100 towards a new phone"
> just bought a new phone, give me the 50
> "great, you'll hear from us in 2 weeks"
> 2 weeks pass
> "we use a 3rd party to issue refunds, download their app"
> download app
> setup account
> verify account
> enter bank info
> "great, you'll hear from us in 2 weeks"
> 2 weeks pass
> "sorry, we couldn't process your bank info"
> dammit, forgot app password
> recover app account
> re-verify app account
> reenter banking info
> "great, you'll hear from us in 2 weeks"
> 2 weeks pass
> "your bank info is verified. You'll get your refund within 2 weeks"
> 2 weeks pass
> money deposited
barely even worth it.
Alternatively I went with:
> "enter your sn in this form to see if you qualify"
> "Your pixel 4a does not qualify"
But why? Does it mean my battery is unaffected or their lawyers managed to weasel out of all the phones qualifying somehow?
Who knows? Well google certainly knows, but they ain't telling me.
from https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/07/a-mess-of-its-own-ma...
Perhaps your Pixel 4a had a non-Lishen battery? But if Google degraded your battery perf as well, then I have no idea.Pixel 4a units contained one of two different batteries, and only the one manufactured by a company called Lishen was downgraded. For the Pixel 6a, Google has decreed that the battery limits will be imposed when the cells hit 400 charge cycles. Beyond that, the risk of fire becomes too great—there have been reports of Pixel 6a phones bursting into flames.Same with my Pixel 6a. I wish they would provide more details about why it doesn't qualify.
I know that this is the outcome they're hoping for, but my usual behaviour is:
> Do nothing
It makes me a little bit mad but having $50 'stolen' from me just feels like par for the course these days.
Yeah, that killed my battery... at least it got me a free battery replacement, even though actually getting that locally was a bit of a pain. Couldn't "reserve" or make an appointment ahead. Just call uBreakIFix and if they had one, come in. That Google did the release that broke the batteries after they had recalled all the spares from the fixit companies was really poorly timed.
Still using my 4a, though have been thinking of a switch to the 9XL.
The Google Pixel 6a was released on July 21, 2022. A perfectly fine phone artificially obsoleted in 3 years? Time to switch to Apple?
I recently just got my RMA fulfilled for a Pixel 5 that developed a spicy pillow after 5 years, but I've already sworn off Pixel devices from here on out after this and a total lemon of a Pixel 6 I had bought my wife for her birthday.
In general, the whole planned obsolescence business model of smart phones has really soured my opinions of this technology that is now central to our lives.
The dodgy hardware doesn't reflect well on the Google/Pixel brand, that's for sure.
That said, I'm fairly happy with this because my 6a just sits around as an Android test device. Probably only has tens of battery cycles on it and might not ever reach the 400 cycle count where they've deemed this upcoming software nerf needs to kick in. So a free $100 and still keeping the phone is fine by me.
The shoddy QC in Pixel devices is bad enough I only recommend Sammy flagships to my Android friends. Doesn't feel like a great choice either with all the adware tbh.
I recently had to scrub my former employers S21 to send it back and evidently I have to say Samsung doesn't really do this anymore, at least not in the EU.
You are greeted with a screen with all the crap it wants to install after turning on the phone for the first time (which you can fully skip) and that's it. A One UI 7/8 setup can be pretty bare bones and minimalistic if you want, at least here in the EU.
I rather take my chances with googles hardware but decent software (or even amazing with https://grapheneos.org) than guaranteed awful samsung software
Speaking of, will GrapheneOS push this particular update?
Oh goodie. My 6a has had terrible battery life (and actually overheated about a month and a half ago while charging) yet my phone doesn't qualify for the replacement for whatever reason.
This is my 3rd google phone in a row with issues:
Nexus 6p - Had to have the battery replaced and then inexplicitly died, dead to the world Pixel 4a - Similar battery issues + a screen that physically fell out of the phone Pixel 6a - Battery woes BEFORE this update in the near future
I had a 5A inexplicably develop a crack in the screen literally before my eyes as I was holding it. I watched it propagate from left to right over about 6 seconds. If I hadn't seen it, I would never have believed it.
Not even worth arguing for a warranty at that point. Replaced the screen myself later.
The 5A had a serious motherboard defect that caused phones to become unusable. Google had a device replacement program that allowed owners to exchange dead 5As for newer models.
Took 5 minutes and they've confirmed they're going to deposit $100 into my bank account within 24 hours.
The 4a debacle was enough motivation to make me change teams and buy an iPhone earlier in the year, I opted for the $50 no questions asked cash from Google.
The only real thing I’m missing on the iPhone is Firefox/ublock origin combo.
Happy user of Orion/Ublock on iOS here. Maybe you want to give that a try.
That looks like a good suggestion to try out, thank you.
Did as advised, went to to support page, pasted the IMEI. Result? My Pixel 6a is apparently not a Pixel 6a for Google...
Same with me. I had just changed my SIM last month, forced by the phone company. Luckily I had an inactive eSIM from a trip abroad from last year as IMEI2; that Google liked.
Btw, changing the SIM card does not change the IMEI - that's tied to the phone.
planned obsolecence.