Another battery-related incident surrounding the Pixel 6a has been posted by its owner on the social media platform Reddit, making it yet another tale of how Google’s previous-generation mid-ranger, which was previously hailed as providing decent value for money, has turned into a ticking time bomb that could go off without a moment’s hesitation. This explosion also puts into perspective why the Mountain View giant is pushing its battery software update, which reduces the fire risk, but at the expense of battery capacity and charging performance.
The owner mentions that he managed to pull the Pixel 6a from its charging cord, implying that the Google-made device might have been charging overnight
The incident transpired on July 26, with Reddit user ‘footymanageraddict’ mentioning below that as the Pixel 6a was going up in smoke, his bedsheets also caught fire, with the air conditioning’s floor unit also receiving damage. Of course, the aftermath left the smartphone’s owner with a sore throat the entire day because he was inhaling smoke caused by the explosion. The individual has provided all details below.
“Happened yesterday (26/7). I got woken up with a horrible smell and a loud noise. Fire had already started and i managed to throw the phone on the tile floor pulling it by the cord. The phone was sitting less than 40 cms away from my head on my nightstand. Sheets caught on fire. My ac (a floor unit) had damages on its surface from the fire. My throat hurt the whole day from the fumes i inhaled (My room door was closed because of the ac being on so i basically breathed the smoke for a longer time than i would want trying to stop a fire from spreading). I need help on how to contact support about this through email. I posted on the forums but I’m not sure if there’s a better way to do so. Terrible experience all around. I was lucky that the battery side was away from me and not facing towards me.”
Another image showing the Pixel 6a completely charred from the mini-explosion
While it is stated that the Pixel 6a was pulled from its charging cable, the owner does not mention if it was being topped up overnight. Generally, it is a terrible idea to keep charging any device while you are sleeping, and since smartphones have had a long history of racking up explosions, one would think to take extra precautions. Then again, there is no telling what sort of batteries Google sourced and from which supplier.
Perhaps those cells would run the risk of exploding after being used for several years, but no evidence supports our claim. What we do know is that Google issuing the software update to limit the battery charging performance and capacity after 400 cycles means that there could be something going on behind closed doors that we are not aware of.
News Source: Reddit