Pixel 4a 5G, Battery Health - Warranty?

Lwilbo666 on 01/12/2022 - 22:26

Does anyone have any experience with Australian Consumer Law in regards to a mobile phone battery being "reasonably durable"?

Basically I have a Pixel 4a 5G that was purchased on 27/12/2020 from Officeworks that has 75.16% estimated battery capacity (extracted from the bug report log).

As to be expected the battery life is a bit crap now compared to when it was new…

I guess the next thing to do is to contact Google and see what they say, but I suspect they won't be particularly helpful… So I suspect I will be looking to play the ACL card…

ACL guidance (Guidance on the consumer guarantee as to acceptable quality and ‘durability’) has an example about a 24month contract… But this phone wasn't purchased under a contract… But I feel it should somewhat apply…

And Apple have their batter health cutoff as 80% I believe? So there is some precedent to say that 75% isnt acceptable right? Or am I being unreasonable?

Thoughts and advice please! :)

Mobile Google Mobile Phone Android

Comments

  • GreyChris on 01/12/2022 - 22:53

    I have a 4a 5g too. Funny you say that. Since android 13 it's atrocious. I've made the background a black screen which has helped but it's pretty bad these days.

  • HairyChickens on 01/12/2022 - 23:48
    +1

    "On the other hand, Maya’s phone may be reasonably durable because a reasonable consumer may not expect a mobile phone to last longer than 3 years given the portability of a mobile phone means it is likely to be subject to greater wear than a refrigerator."

    I think its around 2-3 years for a major fault for a phone

    Apple offers 1-year limited warranty but I think they were sued and now require an additional year to cover things like this. Don't quote me though. Hopefully more knowledgeable OzBargainers can chime in or you may need to do your own research around this.

    There is the possibility that Google will make the excuse that batteries are consumable and therefore not covered under warranty.

    • wilbo666 on 02/12/2022 - 07:29

      Yep, that was the exact example I was referring to! :)

      It would be great if there was clear guidance on what was acceptable!

      Hopefully others can chime in! :)

      • HairyChickens on 02/12/2022 - 19:44
        +1

        Honestly, if Google won't do the repair for free or for a decent price maybe consider getting a decent high-capacity power bank for the missus if she's happy with that.

        • wilbo666 on 02/12/2022 - 21:04

          She will definitely not be happy with that haha.

          It's not a bad suggestion, don't get me wrong! But it won't work for her :)

  • dcep on 02/12/2022 - 01:12
    +7

    Missing the old days of replaceable batteries … just pop it out and chuck a new 1 in

    They made the excuse to delete back cover for the sake of unibody metal / glassback finish / IP rating / being thinner

    But this is also plastic everywhere and even the dinosaur Galaxy S5 can achieve IP67 with headphone jack + SD card

    They did this purely for forced obsolescence

  • bobokingdom on 02/12/2022 - 07:30
    +3

    This may not be something you want to hear but battery is consider a consumable item. Its wear and tear depending on the usage (did you expose to heat (like summer sun @ the beach), how many charging cycles (for example, Apple is 80% at 500 charging cycles), when did you charge the battery (fully emptied or always connect to chargers or charging when driving around using Android Auto) and how old is the battery.) You can definitely "ask" Google about a warranty repair, they may grant it depending on the agent.

    (This is the same as Tyres on a new car, ACL will NOT cover this if you have driven 50,000km in 6 months as a Uber.)

    This maybe useful for you as well: https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/10227672?hl=en

    • wilbo666 on 02/12/2022 - 07:46

      I get what you're saying, but to use your example, if you only got 500km out of your tyres in 6months (on a new car, with a wheel alignment, without any defects or issues with the car) that wouldn't be acceptable would it?! :) A big part of my post was to try and find out what my expectations should be! (ACL is usually pretty good for some guidance, as are the experiences of others! :)

      And just for context it's my wife's phone. Zero hanging out at the beach. Zero android auto. I'm not sure how to find the number of charge cycles but I'd be happy to look that up! In general I'd say it's been pretty well cared for, not smashed from 0% to 100% and regularly back again FYI. Oh and it's 23months old…

      • bobokingdom on 02/12/2022 - 12:29

        Well, even in Apple context, they are speculating 80% after 500 cycles. If your wife charges her phone once a day, it will be nearly 700 cycles. Looking at that, 75% capacity is NOT a bad number. (BTW, I am not sure whether you can see the charging cycle on an Android Phone)

  • Glenningvalley on 02/12/2022 - 07:43
    +1

    My wife's 4a5G has had shocking battery from the start - purchased through JBHIFI - and they didn't want to touch it for a replacement/refund (funny that) and google had send a replacement (warranty repair) which was pretty much the same - in the end we had to turn off the NFC for to last the day.

    • wilbo666 on 02/12/2022 - 07:48
      +1

      This guy actually started out pretty solid for us! (Shame to hear about your crappy experience :( )… But in the last month or so I've started to get a few grumbles out of the key stake holder, so something has to be done!

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 02/12/2022 - 10:59
    +1

    A battery is a consumable. Try begging to Google, if they won't play ball then upgrade your phone.

  • mrvaluepack on 02/12/2022 - 12:51

    So what exactly are you getting now? You not able to get through a full day without having to charge in midday?

    • wilbo666 on 02/12/2022 - 13:10

      Wife's phone so can't really quantify it exactly for you sorry… but if the reported "battery capacity" is down to 75% that means screen on time would be down from… let's pick some arbitrary numbers… 8hrs down to 6hrs….

      I can sorta see why the wife would notice… :)

  • ShannonN on 03/12/2022 - 03:21

    so just to clarify for me its after 2 am here. Are you or wife saying you start the day with a fully 100 % charged battery and within minute it drops to 75%?

    or the battery drops with hourly usage? Maybe you need to review what apps are constantly running, usually you can see how much time an app is running for and battery consumption. Just turn off unnecessary stuff like NFC, Pretty animated backgrounds etc. Hope you get it sorted

    • wilbo666 on 05/12/2022 - 21:43
      +1

      If you create a bug report you can extract the "battery capacity" from the phone.

      What this tell me is that the current battery capacity is 75% of what it would/should have been when it left the factory…

      Similar to how apple report battery health…

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