Investigation Reveals Root Cause Of Pixel 4a Battery Issues

There has been considerable gossip going on recently regarding the battery performance of Pixel 4a. Especially after the new update which has been referred to as the update of death. 

If users have a Pixel 4a, they may have encountered this issue first-hand or at least heard about it. Users might be wondering whether this is merely a glitch or if Google deliberately altered the battery performance of the Pixel 4a. 

A recent investigation suggests that the changes introduced in the update could indeed be the reason why Pixel 4a is unexpectedly losing power. Interestingly, it appears that now all Pixel 4a devices are affected and the problem seems to be linked to those models that are equipped with batteries from a specific manufacturer. 

The latest update for the Pixel 4a has been scrutinized by Hector Martin, a security expert and the lead developer of the Asahi Linux project. It aims to adapt the Linux operating system for Apple silicon Macs. 

Martin has labeled the Pixel 4a’s update of death as a major misstep. Martin focuses that the recent update is purposefully throttling performance in a substantial way. He points out a couple of critical changes regarding the update. 

Initially, the software of the phone allowed the battery to charge up to a maximum of 4.44 volts; however, the new update has capped this at 3.95 volts. This adjustment effectively reduces the capacity of the battery, which means it can hold less energy at once. This leads to a shorter lifespan before requiring a recharge. 

Martin has elaborated, “3.87V nominal lithium polymer batteries have a max voltage of 4.45V or thereabouts, so the original setting was not wrong. But now they’re suddenly being very conservative.”

In essence, he is highlighting that phone batteries have a safe maximum voltage they can handle.