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Google Pixel 3 (XL) bricking out of nothing

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Re: Google Pixel 3 (XL) bricking out of nothing

#81

Post by walteweiss »

usui wrote: post #8

Especially with the Pixel lineup, there is a historical quality control issue with Google's phones that I'm worried hasn't been solved yet. I owned: - Pixel 3: Past few months, volume buttons and power buttons gradually stopped working. USB port works for charging, but when connected to a computer, port connects and disconnects in an infinite loop. Bluetooth connection with car always skips/stutters during Maps usage…

Nexus 4: partially unresponsive sensor, my very own Nexus collects dust, since it works actually, but it's unusable because of the sensor. I used it to watch some video before, since you don’t need sensor for that, but now it’s just collecting dust.

Re: Google Pixel 3 (XL) bricking out of nothing

#82

Post by RHSeeger »

I liked this exchange

    Case ID [9-2313000031523]
    Me: I am also recording this conversation
    Support: We do not allow you to record
    Me: So you can record, but I can't?
    Support: That is correct.
I'm pretty sure that, in the US, even in "2 party consent" states, once both parties are aware the call is / may be recorded, you're on solid ground. As such, if the Google end says "this call may be recorded", you can record. (IANAL, etc... just my understanding)

Re: Google Pixel 3 (XL) bricking out of nothing

#83

Post by micromacrofoot »

usui wrote: post #8

Especially with the Pixel lineup, there is a historical quality control issue with Google's phones that I'm worried hasn't been solved yet. I owned: - Pixel 3: Past few months, volume buttons and power buttons gradually stopped working. USB port works for charging, but when connected to a computer, port connects and disconnects in an infinite loop. Bluetooth connection with car always skips/stutters during Maps usage…

I really really wanted the Google phones to succeed, but after following a similar path with 5 completely broken phones (across 3 models) I've lost all hope. At one point with the 5X Google replaced my phone with another 5X that bootlooped within a week of receiving it.

So I begrudgingly switched to Apple. I haven't had a single hardware problem with my family's phones since. I will never pay for another Google phone. In hindsight I can't believe I tried again after the second time.

It's embarrassing that Google is continually having these significant hardware issues. Ultimately Apple didn't sell me on their ecosystem... Google did.

Re: Google Pixel 3 (XL) bricking out of nothing

#84

Post by SilverRed »

13of40 wrote: post #44
breput wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't forget the Nexus 6P. I got more settlement cash out of this one phone than every other class action item, combined, in my life. The Pixel "a" series is solid. The features that Google reserves for their flagship level is laughable (hey Soli) when all most people want is just a reliable phone with a decent update story and maybe a few "premium" features like water resistance and a headphone jack.

I had a terrible experience with the Pixel 3a XL: Within a couple of months the daughter board with the main microphone on it died, so I could only make calls in speaker phone mode or on Bluetooth. Then the USB-C socket degraded to the point where it wouldn't charge or the plug would just fall out. Sometimes it would half connect to the charger and vibrate every five seconds or so until it eventually died. It seemed…

I had an issue with my pixel 2 where something must have shifted in the camera and every photo would blurry on the top half.

Would have been fine to replace it myself but found out that you can not get new replacement parts for the pixel phones and that they are glued up tighter than an iphone with many users reporting that the screen shattered when opening the phone.

Never touching another google product again. While I have had the occasional issue with an Apple product, I have just walked in to the store, they run a few tests and then hand me a replacement on the spot.

Re: Google Pixel 3 (XL) bricking out of nothing

#85

Post by SilverRed »

jfrunyon wrote: post #76
908B64B197 wrote: post #52

Pixel 3 is EOL anyways as of October 2021. No more software updates and no security patch. Makes sense the hardware is EOL as well. Meanwhile an iPhone SE from 2016 can upgrade to the latest iOS. It just works.

An iPhone SE from 2016 has about 2 hours of battery life left and is slow as molasses to eke even that little out of it. I know because we have one that my toddler gets to play with once in a while. That's the only thing it's useful for.

Apple does battery replacements on them for a reasonable price. Might not be worth it for a phone that old. But it is nice that Apple keeps updating devices until virtually no one is using them anymore.

Re: Google Pixel 3 (XL) bricking out of nothing

#86

Post by SilverRed »

jfrunyon wrote: post #79
inshadows wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Planned obsolescence by bricking old hardware?

Really? You're going to suggest that Google is the worse perpetrator of planned obsolescence when Apple still slows down phones and uses their flawed design as a scapegoat (and originally did it secretly and lied about it)? Okiedoke. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-51413724

They slowed down phones to prevent them from crashing on peak voltage. If you remember the android scene around the same time, the Nexus 6P would just crash constantly when the battery got degraded.

If you asked the average user if they would rather that their phone crash, or have the top speed capped. They would all rather it did not crash.

Of course this should have been more visible to notify the user to get a battery replacement. Which it now is and there is a full battery health page. It was also never really secret or lied about. There was a mention in the change logs that no one reads.

Re: Google Pixel 3 (XL) bricking out of nothing

#87

Post by least »

I really loved my nexus 5 phone from Google until it got stuck in a bootloop and wouldn't charge. It was a a couple weeks out of warranty but they were nice enough to send me another one (with a charge hold) that almost immediately became a brick as well with the same issue and that one they would not replace.

It kind of sucks to see that this is still an ongoing issue on their newer and (much) more expensive phones. I've already sworn off getting another device from Google and this just reinforces this point. Samsung's hardware (with uh, one Note-able exception) has been solid and while it didn't get the same updates and of course had all the nonsense that Samsung added on top of the base android experience, was much better than any other Android device I've owned.

That said, the iPhone 4s I owned and the iPhone Xs Max I currently own are the two best phones I've owned and it's really not close. Of course it's frustrating dealing with the limitations of the OS and man would I love to sideload some of the great applications they have on Android, but the reliability and support are just unparalleled, not to mention iOS just kind of gets a lot of basic things right which makes it a much more enjoyable experience without tinkering.

Re: Google Pixel 3 (XL) bricking out of nothing

#88

Post by ehsankia »

axegon_ wrote: post #78
usui wrote: post #8

Especially with the Pixel lineup, there is a historical quality control issue with Google's phones that I'm worried hasn't been solved yet. I owned: - Pixel 3: Past few months, volume buttons and power buttons gradually stopped working. USB port works for charging, but when connected to a computer, port connects and disconnects in an infinite loop. Bluetooth connection with car always skips/stutters during Maps usage…

I used to have a 2XL and now a 5. To be honest I've never had a single issue. I did sign up for the android 12 beta and while there are some minor hiccups(completely normal phenomenon for any beta), things work pretty smoothly.

Yep, I've actually had every single pixel (XL, 2XL, 3, 4XL and 5). The only one that had issues was the 4XL, with the back peeling. Got a free swap that came in 2 days, and it was fine afterwards. I give my phones down my family afterwards and each one has lived 3-4 years easily.

Re: Google Pixel 3 (XL) bricking out of nothing

#89

Post by Dylan16807 »

jfrunyon wrote: post #79
inshadows wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Planned obsolescence by bricking old hardware?

Really? You're going to suggest that Google is the worse perpetrator of planned obsolescence when Apple still slows down phones and uses their flawed design as a scapegoat (and originally did it secretly and lied about it)? Okiedoke. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-51413724

> You're going to suggest that Google is the worse perpetrator of planned obsolescence

Yes.

The big problem was the deception, not the slowing. If they wanted to remove the speed difference between new and old phones, they'd have to slow them all down.

And especially because you can get a new battery, I find updates getting cut off so soon with android to be significantly worse than anything apple does.

Re: Google Pixel 3 (XL) bricking out of nothing

#90

Post by Dylan16807 »

dmitrygr wrote: post #47
userbinator wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The way to restore this is a qualcomm tool, but you also need a properly formatted and signed package to flash using the tool, and i doubt that google would give it to you. I don't know how it is now, but my almost-decade-old generic Mediatek Android smartphone (still working, although seldom used) lets you access the whole eMMC in a special recovery mode using SPFlashTool, and there's no signing required. Looks like…

The official answer is that with no bootloader locking, there is no way to prevent an evil maid attack (replace OS with a replica that logs your passwords, exfiltrate them later). The real reasons are anyone's best guess...

Which doesn't explain why you can't even wipe+unlock.
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