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Google Pixel 4a's old firmware is gone, trapping users on buggy battery update

androidcentral.com

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Re: Google Pixel 4a's old firmware is gone, trapping users on buggy battery update

#141

Post by QuantumGood »

OliveMate wrote: post #75

Hi, (soon to be ex) Pixel 4a user here. Regardless of why this update has happened, the way Google have went about this update is sketchy at best, and deceitful at worst. To be plain: this phone has been EOL for 1½ years now. This update has appeared out of the blue and specifically decimates the battery + charging capabilities. My most charitable view is that Google have found a major fault with the Pixel 4a battery…

The repair places have been overwhelmed; I've had three apppoints to replace my wife's 4a battery that have been cancelled because they ran out of stock due to huge unexpected demand.

Re: Google Pixel 4a's old firmware is gone, trapping users on buggy battery update

#142

Post by spencerflem »

j1elo wrote: post #51

I'm (we all are) constantly reminded to update our phones to latest available updates, but sh*t like this is what teaches users to instead disable and ignore updates indefinitely, under the premise of "if it works don't touch it" (addendum: "... because most probably an update will break it") And here I am, ignoring updates on my Pixel 6a since October 2024 (there were reports of crashes or bricking, what a surprise)…

It's crazy- I feel like outside of videogames, and sometimes programming languages, almost every single "update" makes things worse.

They shuffle the UI around, or put in more ads, or recently- add some new AI feature. Genuinely can't remember the last OS or App update I've been happy about.

Makes me sad to think of all the developers working long hours just to make their users upset.

Re: Google Pixel 4a's old firmware is gone, trapping users on buggy battery update

#143

Post by NotPractical »

bmaupin wrote: post #102

I'm trying to figure out what the actual latest update is doing regarding the battery. I found an update to the kernel binary but it doesn't seem the source has been updated. Can I submit a GPL request to Google to get the kernel source? https://github.com/bmaupin/pixel4a-battery-research

If you're reversing this: I was curious if Google determines if your device is "affected" using the phone's serial, or the battery's serial. I've seen reports that people who replace the battery manually outside of the program still experience diminished performance. But of course that could just be because they replaced their defective battery with another defective battery.

Re: Google Pixel 4a's old firmware is gone, trapping users on buggy battery update

#144

Post by snailmailstare »

snovymgodym wrote: post #112
chabad360 wrote: post #57

Speaking as a Pixel 4a customer with this update: I received the update, and like everyone else, my phone battery started draining incredibly quickly. However, after getting the free battery replacement, my phone's battery has returned to draining as normal (and on the plus side, has somewhat renewed the life of this phone).

I'm glad it worked out for you. The problem is, the Pixel 4a is not designed to have the battery be swapped and it's common to break screens and other parts of the phone in the process. You can look up what's involved and it's no surprise that this is the case. It's basically a nice little case of hardware and software anti-consumer policies working together to break people's devices and force them to consume more. W…

I think the EU is fixing it for the pixel 11a and up.

Re: Google Pixel 4a's old firmware is gone, trapping users on buggy battery update

#145

Post by JTbane »

spencerflem wrote: post #137
lynndotpy wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel this a lot. Android's used to differentiate themselves from iPhones by having useful technical features at a competitive price. I used to be die-hard pro-Android, but now I can find very few reasons to buy one. Now the Android UI is sparse and wobbly, Androids lost call recording, sideloading is limited, and they raised their prices to cost as much as iPhones. Meanwhile, iPhones got call recording, they opened…

Same- I stick with them out of spite, since I refuse to use a device that doesn't allow replacing the OS or installing your own software ("sideloading") But they're pretty clearly worse as phones and I'll go to my grave mad about the headphone jack.

I'm still mad that I have to keep track of a tiny 3.5mm to USB-C dongle.

Re: Google Pixel 4a's old firmware is gone, trapping users on buggy battery update

#146

Post by AnthonyMouse »

ycombinatrix wrote: post #96
eldaisfish wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nonsense like this is why I personally will never buy a google hardware product ever again. It is also why it is so difficult to recommend an android phone because of google being an advert company first.

apple is an advertising company too. what's the alternative?

Something like CalyxOS on Fairphone, presumably.

Re: Google Pixel 4a's old firmware is gone, trapping users on buggy battery update

#147

Post by chasil »

burningChrome wrote: post #140
chasil wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unless your Pixel 4a is from Verizon (locked), keep it. Unlock the bootloader, then install LineageOS, MindTheGapps, and Magisk. Once you have Magisk stabilized, install the Advanced Charging Controller, and configure it to halt charging at 80%. That should solve your problems, and turn the updates back on. I don't think there is a way to make Google Pay work in this configuration, which is a drawback. I can put all…

>>> Unlock the bootloader, then install LineageOS, MindTheGapps, and Magisk. Unless you have researched this and are comfortable doing these things, this is not something that's easy to do. I bricked my OnePlus Nord100 not once, but TWICE trying to install Ubuntu Touch. It happened because the Nord100 shipped with a more current Android version (11.xx) and Ubuntu can only be installed over two very specific versions…

I've loaded Cyanogenmod on the HTC Incredible 1 & 2, and the BN Nook color.

I've loaded Lineage on the Nexus 6, Oneplus 3a & 5 & Nord N200, the original Pixel, and the Pixel 3a XL.

Pixels are the most forgiving, and the hardest to brick. They are also the best for VoLTE.

I also have an N100, which is not supported by Lineage.

Re: Google Pixel 4a's old firmware is gone, trapping users on buggy battery update

#148

Post by spencerflem »

JTbane wrote: post #145
spencerflem wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same- I stick with them out of spite, since I refuse to use a device that doesn't allow replacing the OS or installing your own software ("sideloading") But they're pretty clearly worse as phones and I'll go to my grave mad about the headphone jack.

I'm still mad that I have to keep track of a tiny 3.5mm to USB-C dongle.

I lost mine yesterday -_+ have to buy a new one I guess

pure evil

Re: Google Pixel 4a's old firmware is gone, trapping users on buggy battery update

#149

Post by jerome-jh »

Contrary to was is said in the article, the 50$/100$ compensation was announced shortly before the update. It is no compensation for the mess they caused.

I still have not restarted my phone since the update. But my wife has and her phone does not hold charge for a day, compared to 48h before the update. Battery percentage gone completely unreliable. She's only doing slow charges since then in an attempt to have battery management chip somehow recover. Hard to see what they tried to "fix"

Re: Google Pixel 4a's old firmware is gone, trapping users on buggy battery update

#150

Post by ndriscoll »

deng wrote: post #97
ndriscoll wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This attitude (and the word "problematic") is so tiring. What is the actual problem with running it as your daily driver? What specific vulnerability are you actually concerned about? Unless there's something like an arbitrary code execution bug in one of the networking/radio stacks, "there aren't updates" is a statement with approximately zero useful information.

OK, let me google it for you: https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=2024-43096 https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2024-4377... https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2024-4377... https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=2024-49747 https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=2024-49748 These are just the RCE bugs without user interaction that were fixed with the January up…

So I'm not terribly familiar with Bluetooth. Are these something that can be exploited by an unpaired device?

"Google Android on a Pixel 4a is vulnerable to remote code execution by arbitrary nearby wireless devices" is certainly a better reason to not use one than "security updates have ended".

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