Google Releases New Pixel 4a Update, Affected Owners Can Claim Eligible for Free Battery Replacement

Affected Pixel 4a owners can apply for one of the appeasement options until January 8.

Written by Nithya P Nair, Edited by Siddharth Suvarna | Updated: 8 January 2025 18:40 IST

Google Releases New Pixel 4a Update, Affected Owners Can Claim Eligible for Free Battery Replacement

Pixel 4a runs on Android 13

Highlights

Google is offering an update to Pixel 4a phones this week
Some Pixel 4a phones may face charging issues after receiving update
Impacted devices are eligible for battery replacements or cash

Google announced the Pixel 4a back in 2020, which reached its software end cycle with the Android 13 update. Now, Google confirmed that it is releasing an update to Pixel 4a units this week. The software update will address the battery performance stability of the old Pixel smartphone. In certain Pixel 4a phones the software update will reduce available battery capacity and reduce charging performance. Google is also offering compensation for affected users.

As per Google's support page for the Pixel 4a Battery Performance Program, the smartphone manufacturer will roll out an automatic software update for Android 13 to all Pixel 4a devices starting January 8 in order to improve the stability of the battery's performance. Google states that for certain models, the software update reduces available battery capacity and impacts charging performance.

Google Provides Appeasement Options for Affected Pixel 4a Owners

"After the software update is downloaded, your device will restart automatically to apply the update. For some devices (Impacted Devices), the update includes new battery management features to improve the stability of your battery's performance, so the battery may last for shorter periods between charges" said Google. Users of Impacted Devices may notice other changes like reduced charging performance or changes to the battery-level indicator.

All Pixel 4a units will get the update but only a few may experience a decline in their battery performance. Given the reduced battery capacity, Google says affected Pixel 4a users can claim a free battery replacement. If you are not opting for a free battery swap, you can choose between a one-time $50 (roughly Rs. 4,000) payment or a $100 (roughly Rs. 8,000) credit toward a new Pixel phone from Google's online store.

Affected Pixel 4a owners can apply for one of the appeasement options until January 8. Battery replacement service is available at walk-in repair centres in India, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Singapore. Mail-in repair is available for customers in the United States. Battery replacement is only available in eligible locations and while battery supplies last.

Google Pixel 4a

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Reliable camera performance
Lean software with guaranteed updates
Stereo speakers
Vivid OLED display
Light, built well

Bad
Relatively low battery capacity
No ultra-wide camera

Read detailed Google Pixel 4a review

Display 5.81-inch

Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G

Front Camera 8-megapixel

Rear Camera 12.2-megapixel

RAM 6GB

Storage 128GB

Battery Capacity 3140mAh

OS Android 10

Resolution 1080x2340 pixels

More Google mobiles Google mobiles price in India

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Further reading: Pixel 4a, Google

Nithya P Nair

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Nithya P Nair is a journalist with more than five years of experience in digital journalism. She specialises in business and technology beats. A foodie at heart, Nithya loves exploring new places (read cuisines) and sneaking in Malayalam movie dialogues to spice up conversations. More