Google's mandatory Pixel 6a battery management starts arriving next week
TL;DR Google updated the Pixel 4a for battery management concerns earlier this year.
We recently spotted Google planning a similar approach to battery failures on the Pixel 6a.
Google now shares its full Pixel 6a strategy, with an update heading out July 8.
Google's got a battery problem with Pixel phones. Early this year, we learned of Google's plan to issue a new update for the aging Pixel 4a, but rather than giving the phone a fresh version of Android, this update was all about trying to mitigate problems caused by the phone's battery overheating during charging, impacting battery life or even leading to fires. Then just a few weeks back we spotted evidence in Android 16 that suggested Google was planning a similar update for the Pixel 6a. Google ended up confirming that strategy, and today we start getting the full details on how this 'fix' is rolling out.
Just like with the Pixel 4a before it, today Google has posted a Battery Performance Program support page for the Pixel 6a. There, the company reveals that it intends to issue 'a mandatory automatic software update to Android 16.' This release will start going out to Pixel 6a phones beginning on July 8.
Don't like the sound of a mandatory update and are already getting ready to flash your Pixel 6a with a different release? Not a bad idea, but Google's clever, too, and earlier today Droid Life spotted Google deleting its public archive of Pixel 6a firmware images:
Alright, so if this is happening, like it or not, what does that mean for you and your Pixel 6a phone? Basically, Google has identified a class it's calling 'Impacted Devices,' which consist of some, but not all, Pixel 6a hardware. The company does not go into any great detail explaining what specifically differentiates an Impacted Device from one that's not, but presumably we're talking about battery or charge-management hardware.
If your Pixel 6a is not one of these Impacted Devices, you've got nothing to worry about — you'll get this mandatory update, sure, but your phone will keep right on working like normal.
If it is an Impacted Device, though, then the second factor comes into play: Once your handset completes 400 charging cycles, a new battery management system will kick into effect, limiting your charge and ultimately resulting in what will likely be reduced battery life.
While there's no way to disable that limit when operating your Pixel 6a with its original battery, there is a path forward from this, and Google invites Pixel 6a owners to check if their phones are eligible for battery replacements (or at least a compensatory cash payout).
Once there's a fresh battery installed in your Pixel 6a, you'll once again be able to charge it to its full, rated capacity. All told, none of this great, and it sounds like a headache that no Pixel 6a owners really deserve, but we can at least appreciate that Google is trying to get ahead of this after the whole Pixel 4a debacle, and hopefully prevent more fires before they happen.
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