Google held back Pixel 4A batteries to avoid overheating risk

The mysterious artillery capacity update that Google rolled retired for the Pixel 4A successful January was released to “mitigate the consequence of overheating,” according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). A callback announcement published by the regulator’s merchandise information limb connected March 7th, spotted by 9to5Google, warns Pixel 4A owners that “an overheating artillery could airs a consequence of occurrence and/or burns.”

Android Authority reports that the update reduced the maximum voltage of Pixel 4A batteries from 4.45 volts down to 3.95 volts, efficaciously reducing the phone’s charging capacity by much than 50 percent. The overheating issues don’t effect each Pixel 4A devices according to the ACCC, and Google’s firmware update should person “no effect connected artillery management” for unaffected models.

The callback announcement says that impacted phones were sold betwixt August 2020 and September 2022 successful Australia, but users tin cheque Google’s website to spot if their circumstantial Pixel 4A exemplary is affected. Google is offering a free artillery replacement, $50 compensation aliases $100 in installments for the charismatic Google Store to Pixel 4A owners who are impacted by the issues.