When you buy a smartphone, you can expect its battery to degrade over time. The rechargeable batteries inside consumer electronics are consumable components, and eventually, they’ll wear out. Smartphone brands have gotten better at effectively communicating this to the average user, displaying the current battery health of a phone as a percentage relative to when it was new. While you can expect your phone to lose capacity over time, you might not expect a mandatory over-the-air software update to throttle your phone’s battery and charging capabilities out of the blue.

That’s exactly what happened to Google Pixel 4a and Pixel 6a owners last year. In early 2025, Google announced a “Battery Performance Program” for the Pixel 4a, and offered free battery replacements for affected devices for one year. A few months later, the company launched an “Extended Repair Program” for the Pixel 7a to address unexpected battery swelling. By July 2025, the Pixel 6a had a Battery Performance Program of its own, and a similar battery replacement offer.

Starting with the Pixel 9a, Google made the Battery Health Assistance feature mandatory for all new devices, effectively guaranteeing your battery life and charging speed will drop as your phone ages — even for flagships like the Pixel 10 and Pixel 11 series. Google isn’t the first company to run into battery issues. In fact, many of the big smartphone companies have gone through something of the sort, including Samsung and Apple. But it’s impossible to ignore the trend of reliability issues affecting Pixel batteries.

Google throttled battery and charging on two Pixel models

If you haven’t gotten a free battery replacement already, you’ve missed your chance

The Google Pixel 4a (top) is subject to a “Battery Performance Program.” The Google Pixel 9a (bottom) is unaffected.

Google’s Battery Performance Program first hit the Pixel 4a, as outlined by a support document. The company said that certain Pixel 4a phones needed “a software update to improve the stability of their battery’s performance.” The solution was an automatic update to Android 13. Sounds great, right? For the affected devices, it’s anything but. Google explained that the mandatory software update “reduces available battery capacity and impacts charging performance.”

It’s unclear exactly how many Pixel 4a phones were affected, and it’s important to note that not every Pixel 4a saw reduced capacity and impacted charging performance. The Pixel 4a 5G wasn’t affected, either.

Google rolled out a similar Battery Performance Program for the Pixel 6a, but the reason was different. For the Pixel 4a, Google cited a need for improved battery stability. This time, the company said a mandatory update was required to “reduce the risk of potential battery overheating which could pose a risk to users,” according to a separate support document. Again, only certain Pixel 6a phones were affected. In this case, the reduced battery capacity and charging performance only took effect on impacted devices after they reached 400 charge cycles.

The mandatory software update is affecting impacted Pixel 6a devices at half their battery’s rated lifespan.

The Pixel 6a’s Battery Performance Program kicking in at 400 cycles is notable, because Google says the Pixel 4a is rated to retain up to 80% capacity for about 800 charge cycles. The mandatory software update that reduces battery capacity and charging performance is affecting impacted devices at half their battery’s rated lifespan. Of course, the other alarming part of this Battery Performance Program is that it’s designed to address a potential safety hazard. Lithium-ion batteries are dangerous when they overheat, and problems can cause damage or injury.

Google did give affected users a chance to take one of three “appeasement” options: a free battery replacement, a cash payment, or a Google Store credit towards a new Pixel. For the Pixel 4a, the cash payment option was for $50 and the Google Store credit was in the amount of $100. For the Pixel 6a, the cash payment option was for $10 and the Google Store credit was in the amount of $150. Unfortunately, Google only let users participate in these programs for a period of one year — if you haven’t taken advantage of it yet, you’ve already missed out.

Since this is a hardware problem, Google arguably should’ve offered the support program for longer. Additionally, Google could avoid replacing batteries if Pixels were exposed to liquids, or had other forms of damage, such as “exposure to sharp objects or excessive force.” If your Pixel had out-of-warranty damage, you might’ve had to pay a fee to get your free battery replacement. The remedies Google offered might not have been enough to satisfy users that saw a mandatory software update nerf the battery life and charging speeds of their Pixels.

The Pixel 7a is a sign Google isn’t entirely out of the woods

There’s an extended repair program for the Pixel 7a, and you still have time

The Pixel 4a and Pixel 6a are older devices at this point. The natural question is, should users of newer Pixels be concerned about their battery’s reliability? There isn’t a perfect answer to that question, but the Pixel 7a provides another point of reference. In April 2025, a Google support document outlined an “Extended Repair Program” for the Pixel 7a’s battery. The company said “certain Pixel 7a phones may experience unexpected battery swelling.” To address the issue, Google again offered free battery replacements and other appeasement options.

Google went on to explain what can go wrong for owners of affected Pixel 7a phones:

• Visible swelling of the device. The phone may appear thicker than usual, or the back cover might be bulging.
• Phone cover bulging or separating from the device. This is noticeable by gaps or openings along the edges of the phone.
• The phone’s battery is draining significantly faster than usual, even with minimal use, or fails to charge.

While called an Extended Repair Program rather than a Battery Performance Program, this is yet another example of a confirmed battery issue affecting an A-series Pixel model. Again, we don’t know exactly how many Pixel 7a units were affected. But are flagship Pixel models immune from the battery reliability problems?

Newer Pixels have a battery management feature you can’t turn off

If you own a Pixel 9a, Pixel 10, or Pixel 11, Battery Health Assistance is mandatory

Recent Pixel flagships haven’t been subject to a battery performance or extended repair program so far. However, it’s worth noting that new Pixel phones have mandatory battery management features that proactively throttle your phone’s battery life and charging speed. Specifically, a feature called Battery Health Assistance is enabled by default on the Pixel 9a and newer, and it can’t be turned off.

This setting reduces the battery’s maximum voltage starting at 200 battery cycles, and continues the gradual reduction as the phone’s battery reaches its rated lifespan of 1,000 battery cycles. It also adjusts the phone’s charging speed. In simple terms, Pixel 9a, Pixel 10 series, and Pixel 11 series owners may notice shorter battery life and slower charging after crossing the 200-cycle threshold. Crucially, this isn’t strictly as a result of expected battery degradation. It’s because of a proactive battery throttling feature, and you don’t get the option of disabling it.

So far, we’ve seen confirmed battery reliability issues affecting the Pixel 4a, Pixel 6a, and Pixel 7a. Around the same time, Google made Battery Health Assistance mandatory on new Pixel phones. Google didn’t just throttle the battery and charging performance of two older, A-series Pixel phones — it also makes battery throttling part of the plan for new flagships.