At the beginning of the year, Pixel 4a owners were surprised to get an email from Google, notifying them about a new update that would be arriving on their phones. While support for the Pixel 4a had already ended years prior, this new update was meant to “improve the stability of their battery’s performance.”
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A helpful feature that feels like a nerf
Although this seemed like a welcome gesture, the only issue was that this patch dramatically changed the performance of the phone, with battery life and charging speeds taking a huge hit. As you can imagine, this isn’t exactly an ideal scenario if you’re someone that’s been using their Pixel 4a without any issues.
A change that can no longer be avoided
Although some Pixel 4a users managed to delay it, it now looks like this update is rolling out to all. The report comes from 9to5Google, with users on Reddit sharing that the update is now being forced onto devices, and users are powerless to avoid it. Naturally, it’s a bit disappointing, but it’s also necessary, considering that this could lead to something more serious.
The good news is that some regions have options beyond just sticking with a Pixel 4a with bad battery life, with Google offering a free battery replacement. Google manages to take things even further if you don’t feel satisfied with that, offering a $50 payment, or $100 credit towards the purchase of a new Google phone from the Google Store.
So, if you have a Pixel 4a, and you aren’t really satisfied with what you’re using, or don’t want a battery replacement, these might be some options. Naturally, there is a timeline for all of this, with Google setting January 8, 2026, as the end date. If you’re in possession of a Pixel 4a, you have several months left to make a decision. You can head to the Pixel support page for all the details.
The wild part about all of this is that the Pixel 6a is also another device that is affected by this issue. The handset is also part of the Battery Performance Program, which means that the phone is also getting firmware that affects the battery and charging performance as well. The good news is that this only happens to affected Pixel 6a devices once the “phone’s battery has completed 400 charge cycles.”
So if you haven’t yet reached this, you won’t have anything to worry about, for now. However, if you are beyond this threshold, and you do see a warning, then you can download the update, or seek a battery replacement. Google is also offering compensation as well, so if the Pixel 6a is no longer something suitable for you, it may be time to upgrade.
Just be sure to check Google’s support page for all the details to ensure you know what you’re getting into. The unfortunate part is that we might start seeing more and more of this type of behavior in the future, as Google goes out of its way to ensure that users are safe by regulating the battery behavior of our phones. So, the only question now is what phones are next?
