A surprise update to the Pixel 4a has left many copies of the smartphone almost unusable. Furious, their owners are increasingly considering taking Google to court.
Why change smartphone when it still works very well despite the years? In agreement with this philosophy, many people still own a Pixel 4a of Googlereleased in 2020. Especially since there is a Pixel 4a 5G, which allows it to stay in the race at least in terms of connection speed, if not raw power. Officially, there are no more updates for the 4a since September 2023.
However, a surprise patch was deployed last February. Impossible to say why, Google does not publish the list of changes made. At the beginning of January 2025, the firm does the same thing again, but this time it explains that the update will improve battery stability, at the cost of slightly degraded autonomy. Given the edifying testimonies that followed, that’s an understatement. Many say that since then, their Pixel 4a only lasts a few hours before needing to be recharged.
Legal action against Google over a Pixel 4a update? Some consider it
Complaints are quickly pouring in on social networks like Reddit. We can read extreme cases like that of a Pixel 4a goes from 100 to 0% battery in 40 minuteswithout doing anything with it. For its part, Google reacts by offering a free battery replacement for all impacted users. Or one $100 voucher to buy a new Pixel.
-Problem: Not all stores have batteries for Pixel 4a. In addition, if another problem is detected when sending it to the technical service, Google forces the mobile owner to pay its repair. Otherwise, no new battery. As for the $100 credit, they don't reduce the bill that much since the cheapest current Pixel requires adding 400.
Read also – Google Pixel 4a 5G: it manages to increase the autonomy of the smartphone by 20%, here’s how
Faced with this situation, which some do not hesitate to describe as a “scam”, Internet users are starting to discuss a class action against Google. A process that would have little chance of succeeding here, but in the United States, the dissatisfied could well find an attentive ear.
