There are a selection of belongings you need your cellphone to do reliably: entry the web. Make calls. Present instructions by way of GPS. What you do not need it to do, reliably or in any other case, is catch on fireplace. That appears a easy sufficient demand for a contemporary gadget to satisfy, however somebody apparently forgot to inform sure fashions of the Google Pixel.
As Android Authority reviews, it appears a small variety of Pixel telephones are catching fireplace. The key phrase right here is small—at the moment, the outlet has tracked 5 such reviews, particularly pertaining to Pixel 6a telephones, which have caught fireplace over the previous 12 months. Nonetheless, it is a regarding pattern, one which appears to have led Google to situation an Pixel 6a replace earlier this month. The replace brings “battery administration options” to those gadgets that sharply reduces the gadgets’ efficiency in an effort to take pressure off of their getting old batteries. Google did the identical for the Pixel 4a earlier this 12 months, additionally in an effort to decrease fireplace danger.
A lot of these updates are a double-edge sword: One the one hand, you’ll be able to’t permit telephones to function in an unsafe method, and if these gadgets are operating so scorching that their batteries catch fireplace, you might want to take motion. Nonetheless, the efficiency discount signifies that some Pixel 4a and Pixel 6a gadgets will turn out to be so gradual as to be borderline unusable.
What’s worse, the replace would not appear to have prevented all Pixel 6as from catching fireplace. Android Authority says it tracked 4 Pixel 6a fires earlier than the July replace, however the fifth occurred two weeks after Google issued that replace. The cellphone in query belonged to this Redditor, who posted their expertise to r/GooglePixel. OP woke as much as a “horrible scent and a loud noise,” solely to find their Pixel 6a was burning. They pull it off their nightstand by the wire and threw it onto their tile flooring, however not earlier than their sheets had caught fireplace as nicely. In addition they skilled throat ache after inhaling the smoke from the Pixel 6a.
OP confirms that they had beforehand put in the replace, so if that is correct, no matter Google included within the “battery nerf,” as some customers name it, didn’t forestall the incident. The consumer was charging their Pixel with their Steam Deck charger, which is a comparatively highly effective 45W energy adapter, however even nonetheless, customers should not must be nervous about their charger inflicting a hearth.
What do you assume to this point?
What to do you probably have a Pixel 6a
Should you’re eyeing your Pixel 6a proper now in search of indicators of smoke or warmth, I do not blame you. First issues first: Be certain that to put in the newest battery replace. Even when it reduces efficiency, it possible does scale back the danger of a hearth attributable to the battery—even when it did not assist the Redittor on this case. In spite of everything, we do not know the precise situation of the consumer’s battery. Even when they did not discover any swelling, if their 6a’s battery was already weak, the warmth from charging might have triggered it to blow up, or just catch fireplace.
You can even look into Google’s battery alternative program. Should you gadget qualifies, you will get a free battery alternative in your 6a. You’ll be able to take the cellphone in particular person to a Google-authorized restore retailer in the event you stay within the U.S., Canada, UK, Germany, Singapore, Japan, or India. You can even select to mail it in in the event you stay within the U.S. or Canada. For extra info, see Google’s battery alternative program web page right here.
Keep in mind: If any gadget exhibits indicators of battery failure, together with swelling, warmth, or smoke, don’t plug it into energy. As an alternative, in the event you can, energy down the gadget, and take it to a tech recycling middle.
