website SEOWebsite Traffic
We may earn a commission when you click links to retailers and purchase goods. More info.
Last month, Google announced that it would issue a mandatory software update to a “subset” of Pixel 6a owners to take care of a battery overheating issue or concern. The update was scheduled for July and we are now in that month, with the update likely arriving as early as next week. Google appears to be preparing for an imminent release by removing all factory image files for the Pixel 6a, just like they did when a similar issue popped up for the Pixel 4a.
Pixel 6a battery overheating update: Backing up for a second, for those who missed it, Google confirmed in June that the Pixel 6a needed a special update to reduce the risk of potential battery overheating. They said at the time that only a subset of devices would need the update, which would reduce the battery capacity and charging performing of devices after they reach 400 charge cycles.
We saw something similar happen with the Pixel 4a at the beginning of the year, where Google announced that they needed to stabilize the battery performance of the 4a by sending it a mandatory update. Owners of impacted devices were offered things like free battery replacements, $50 payments, or discount codes for the Google Store to upgrade to something else. Google called this the “Pixel 4a Battery Performance Program.”
For the Pixel 6a, they seem to be suggesting it affects a smaller percentage of owners and will notify those impacted this month with information on what they need to do with their device. At the time of this post, Google has not yet posted that info, although I’m sure it will look a lot like this Pixel 4a support page.
Yesterday, Google pulled all of the Pixel 6a factory image files from their stable release pages, as well as all current beta pages. They also removed the Pixel 6a from the OTA files page. The only thing left for the Pixel 6a is a “Coming soon” note on the factory image page that is simply waiting for this special battery update. The Pixel 4a, when it received its battery update, was reduced to a single factory image file, which remains the situation today.
For those with a Pixel 6a, the end of your time with that phone might be near. If you receive communication from Google, that probably suggests an upgrade to something new would be a wise decision.
We’ll let you know as Google shares more information.