Google’s March 2026 Feature Drop was supposed to bring shiny new bells and whistles to the Pixel lineup, and while it did do that with Gemini, Magic Cue, Now Playing, and At a Glance-related updates, it also introduced a major battery-related ‘bug’ that you might not appreciate.
After the update, Pixel users started taking to platforms like Reddit to describe the new ‘bug’ that brings an annoying behavior change to their devices’ 80% charging limit.
The tool, which was once a helpful battery longevity tool, has turned into a software-induced bottleneck.
The feature, up until now, has functioned this way: You plug in your phone, it charges at max speed, and it stops charging when the phone reaches 80 percent battery capacity. While it’s plugged in, if and when the battery drops to 79 percent, the device resumes charging until it reaches 80 percent again.
That behavior, however, has changed after the March update.
Users are now reporting that their Pixel normally charges up to 76 or 77 percent, and then hits the wall, with the final 3 or 4 percent taking an agonizingly long time to complete (via PiunikaWeb).
This isn’t an isolated incident, as it has been reported by many, including a new Pixel 10a owner, indicating that this isn’t a hardware bug. Instead, it is a software-tied limitation introduced with the new update.
Wait, this isn’t a bug?
Users have speculated that Google might be aggressively slowing speeds to reduce heat and preserve battery health, and that does appear to be the case.
In an IssueTracker comment last week, a Google dev confirmed that the slower charging speeds are intended:
This behavior is related to the 80% Charge Limit feature. In the current software build, the device charges at normal speeds until it reaches approximately 77%, at which point it transitions to a lower current to reach the final 80% limit. While this may result in slower charging speeds near the limit, it is intended to manage battery health and should not impact normal device usage. We are currently working on optimizing this user experience.
Some users are fine with the change. “I can just unplug at 77%. 3% is like 15 minutes of screen time. Not going to change my life,” wrote user std_phantom_data.
On the other hand, some users want choice. “Please change this behaviour or at least give me an option to not want this. I specifically want bypass charging and not trickle charge till I stop using the phone,” wrote a user on the above-mentioned IssueTracker post.
Considering that the change is here to stay, if you do not like it, your best bet is to disable the charging limitation. Alternatively, wait and see what Google means when it says it is going to be “optimizing this user experience.”
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