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Australia made explicit risks of "fire and/or burns" for non-updated 4a models. Google didn't explain exactly why it shipped a mandatory software update to the Pixel 4a, an Android phone from 2020, earlier this year. The nature of that update, which gave some models all but unusable battery life, provided some clues, as did later software analysis. But now, Australian authorities have provided a more concrete answer: battery overheating and fire risk. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) Product Safety arm issued a recall for the Pixel 4a late last week. The reason, the commission said, is that Google's firmware update and battery changes served to "mitigate the risk of overheating" because "an overheating battery could pose a risk of fire and/or burns to a user." Do you own this product? Credit: ACCC Product Safety In the US and elsewhere, Google's messaging did not use the term "recall." Google stated on its "Pixel 4a Battery Performance Program" page that "certain" Pixel 4a models "require a software update to improve the stability of their battery’s performance," which also "reduces available battery capacity and impacts charging performance." Google said it is still safe to charge a Pixel 4a. A Google spokesperson provided a statement to Ars regarding the ACCC notice. Of note is the point that Pixel 4a devices with hampered batteries are still, technically, usable; the ACCC does not make a point of suggesting owners stop using the device: Australia's notice does not offer any remedies beyond what Google has offered and functionally serves as notice that it's important to update the devices. The notice includes links to Google's device checker and appeasement options—a $50 USD payment, a battery replacement, or Google Store credit. Google's support page states that its update and remedy options are separate from statutory rights provided in various countries. Google's update to affected Pixel 4a devices drastically reduced their charging potential, essentially by half. One Ars staffer saw their Pixel 4a battery life drop to less than two hours on a full charge. Code in the updated Pixel 4a kernel, examined by noted hardware analyst Hector Martin, suggested that batteries had either "ATL" or "LSN" profiles. Those with the LSN tag—potentially the battery cell maker Lishen—had their charging capacities capped. This post was updated at 1:30 pm ET with a response from Google. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of February): 874 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

It's hard to say why Google is doing this instead of a recall. What exactly is wrong with the batteries in some of Google's Pixel 4a phones still out there? Google has not really said. Now that many Pixel 4a owners are experiencing drastically reduced battery life after an uncommon update for an end-of-life phone, they are facing a strange array of options with no path back to the phone they had. Google's "Pixel 4a Battery Performance Program," announced in early January, told owners that an automatic update would, for some "Impacted Devices," reduce their battery's runtime and charging performance. "Impacted" customers could choose, within one year's time, between three "appeasement" options: sending in the phone for a battery replacement, getting $50 or the equivalent in their location, or receiving $100 in credit in the Google Store toward a new Pixel phone. No safety or hazard issue was mentioned in the support document. Ars has reached out to Google about the Pixel 4a battery updates and appeasement options provided and will update this post with any response. The curious kernel Google did not explain why only certain devices were affected, but Hector Martin—of Asahi Linux, open source Kinect drivers, and other fame—took apart the update's binary kernel and has some guesses. Martin points out that the updated Pixel 4a kernel has these interesting characteristics: It seems to have been built by a Google engineer "on their personal machine, not the proper buildsystem." There is no source provided, as would normally be required of a Linux kernel build, though it may only need to be provided on request under the GNU General Public License. The maximum charge voltage of certain battery profiles changes from 4.44 volts to 3.95, which would mean batteries cannot charge to anywhere near their former potential. There are two main battery profiles, with distinct "ATL" and "LSN" markers; Martin suggests they relate to Amperex Technology Limited and Lishen, manufacturers of battery cells. LSN-tagged batteries assigned the "debug" profile can see capacity reduced from 3,080 milliamp hours (mAh) to 1,539 mAh. Two hours on a charge or less Credit: Ron Amadeo One Ars staffer who had a Pixel 4a still in use received the update. They saw their battery life drop from "Still working" to "Two hours on a charge," in their estimation. They had chosen the Google Store credit option before the update arrived and before the battery life drop became apparent. Once chosen, a different appeasement option could not be selected. Others have noted all but unusable battery life on their phones, as seen on subreddit threads and blog summaries. Even technically savvy Pixel owners will have a hard time avoiding the update. Google last week removed all of the Pixel 4a's factory images from its website, preventing owners from rolling back their firmware without having to go hunting for an image (or convert to a third-party offering, like LineageOS). With no source and debug code posted for the tweaked kernel, third-party firmware providers cannot easily incorporate the battery fixes. Some Pixel 4a owners have reported that, even after a battery swap, their devices have the same limited battery capacity. This would affirm Martin's suggestion of a faulty battery cell type and that batteries with those same cells are still being used in replacements. (Martin's post provides serial numbers one can look for on the battery part to indicate the cell manufacturer.) $30 per year to receive $50 As seen on a wiki page on the Pixel 4a battery program hosted by repair advocate and YouTube creator Louis Rossman, and noted by Pixel 4a owners on Reddit (and the Ars staffer), the $50 credit offered by Google is paid out through vendor Payoneer. Signing up to be paid through Payoneer requires providing a Social Security number or other identification, birth date, and checking account details to a financial services firm most non-business owners would not recognize. Payoneer notes on its site that it charges a $30 annual account fee for accounts that receive less than $2,000 in 12 months. It is seemingly left up to Pixel 4a owners to close out their Payoneer accounts after receiving their credits. Choosing the $100 Google Store credit might seem the better option, but there is a caveat there, too. The discount applies only to Pixel phones and only to devices that are not otherwise on sale. Credit: Ron Amadeo The big question: Why? As we noted when Google first announced the update, a lot of Pixel 4a batteries are now four to five years old. Some have been kept as secondary (or "junk drawer") phones, and many are already at diminished capacity, especially when at low charge levels and in cold conditions. If every Pixel phone this old received a battery-minded final update, intended to prevent sudden shutdowns (akin to Apple's originally unannounced iPhone slow-down fixes), there wouldn't be quite the amount of outcry and confusion there is now. But Google has not said why certain Pixel 4a phones are "Impacted Devices" and others are not. It has not clarified what issue is so notable or severe as to push an automatic update to a phone from 2020, such that its battery life is all but decimated. No news or community reports have surfaced yet of Pixel 4a devices causing fires, or even simply failing to function, after four years. It's an automatic update with a strong fix, but for what? Google's support page only states that the update will "improve the stability of their battery's performance." This is true in the sense that, if you stop using a severely capped Pixel 4a entirely, its battery can provide a stable amount of output (none) into the future. Google support staff have suggested to more than one 4a owner that yet another future update could force a factory reset and automatic update. That hasn't come to pass, at least in the timelines suggested by support staff. But all of this raises the question as to how this confusing process is better than a traditional recall, if there really is some kind of danger, to device or human, with a certain set of batteries. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of January): 487 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

It's intentional, and eligible users can get cash or free battery replacements. The Pixel 4a, a well-regarded release in Google's line of budget-minded phones with nice cameras and decent stock software, was not supposed to get any more updates. This week, it will receive a rather uncommon one—one that intends to lower its reported battery life. The Pixel 4a, released in the summer of 2020, was discontinued at the end of 2022. It received its last official software update in the summer of 2023, followed by a surprise security update in November 2023. Throughout 2024, there were no updates. This week, owners of the 4a (and likely many former owners) are getting a new update, along with an email titled "Changes coming to your Pixel 4a." The email addresses "an upcoming software update for your Pixel 4a that will affect the overall performance and stability of its battery." The automatic software update to Android 13 "introduces new battery management features to improve the stability of your device," which will "reduce your battery's runtime and charging performance." Google goes into more detail on a support page about the "Pixel 4a Battery Performance Program," noting that only some "Impacted Devices" will see the reduced capacity and charging performance. Those with such devices (determined by a survey) have three options beyond just taking the hit: sending their phone in for a free battery replacement, receiving $50 (or the non-US equivalent) payment, or getting $100 toward a new Pixel phone from the Google Store. Those with impacted phones have one year from the scheduled software update on January 8, 2025, to choose an "appeasement option." Google has skipped the details on why "available battery capacity and charging performance" are taking a hit and what makes a device "Impacted," stating only that the company has "determined that certain Pixel 4a phones" need to "improve the stability of their battery's performance." But there are some educated guesses to be made. Given that the batteries in most Pixel 4a phones are somewhere between two to five years old and some of them were likely kept in capacity-diminishing low states of charge, many are in rough shape. Being in such rough shape, they may not provide all the power demanded by the phone, especially in notably cold or hot conditions. By constraining the battery levels at which the phone can operate, Google can prevent phones from dealing with inconsistent power that can result in unexpected behavior or shutdowns. It's akin to what happened with older iPhones being slowed down in late 2017, except Google is coming out in front of its software fix and compensating users for the change rather than waiting for it to play out in the courts. Ars has contacted Google for comment and will update this post if we receive a response. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend