Pixel 4a and the inevitable battery issues

Earlier this month Google announced a software update to the Pixel 4a, under the Pixel 4a Battery Performance Program. This comes after going without any software update since 2023. For users of the Pixel 4a, this update claimed to “improve the stability of their battery’s performance”. However, for some devices, this update would have negative effects which “reduced available battery capacity and impacts charging performance”. For devices that are negatively impacted, Google would offer a battery replacement or monetary compensation where a replacement is not possible. The press coverage on the announcement was met with skepticism and so was the general opinion on social media and forums. I, on the other hand, was hopeful. After all, the announcement says the update will mean the battery performance would be the same as before, and if not, your phone is an “Impacted Device” which Google is already aware of and would offer a replacement for.

What did strike me odd was the lack of explanation on what the update actually did besides improving stability, and if the battery performance would remain the same why even bother with the update after all these years? Why make this update mandatory?

I’ve been a Pixel 4a user since January 2021, and for the last few months have been looking for phone repair stores that would be willing to replace my battery for me. Every store I spoke to would not replace the battery of a phone this old, or asked for a high price to order the specific parts but didn’t guarantee a successful job. Looking at iFixit, the job seems more than I can handle myself, so I lug around a battery bank wherever I go to ensure my phone lasts through a full day. On occasion my phone shuts down with the battery left and doesn’t turn on until plugged into a charger. I quickly checked my phone’s IMEI after reading the announcement to see if I was one of the lucky ones capable of receiving a replacement, but alas, I was not. No worries, I can only hope the update somewhat improves “stability”.

On 14 January my phone received the update, and after using it for 17 days I can say just about nothing has changed. I wish I had concrete data on battery life and screen time before and after the update but I don’t. From my day-to-day usage, I can tell there’s no difference, and I still experience occasional shutdowns¹. All that for nothing. What about the sceptics? Reading through some forums it seems the update had a negative effect on some users. Device owners reported a further degraded battery experience, or in some cases poor battery performance when the phone previously worked fine. Yikes. What about those Pixel 4a devices that Google claimed the update wouldn’t fix? For regions without battery replacement options, Google offers $50 compensation or $100 towards a new Pixel phone. Talking to a few stores in the Netherlands the price for replacing a Pixel 4a battery is close to 150 Euros. More disappointment.

Maybe I came out of this lucky after all, my battery performance is still poor but it hasn’t seem to have gotten worse. This does sour my otherwise great experience using a Pixel phone when it comes time to upgrade to a new device.