- Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL owners report swollen batteries and peeling back covers.
- Some users have been able to get replacement units out of warranty while others are not as lucky.
Swollen batteries are serious business in the gadget field, but we usually only see this phenomenon on old devices. Unfortunately, the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL also seem to suffer from this problem.
Android police I discovered a Pixel Phone community thread filled with Pixel 3 series owners who complained about a battery swell issue. In particular, people find that the back covers of the phones fall off due to this problem. Some users only discovered the problem after taking their phone out of a case. Hence, you may also want to check that you have a Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL in a case. Check out some of the examples below via the thread.
The problem seems to be causing the phones not to be able to charge wirelessly as well. However, this is also a security issue that calls into question the IP rating. What is Google doing about it?
Some customers report that Google refuses to fix the devices because the warranty has expired, while others say that Google replaced the phones anyway. It seems like the search giant is just making a one-time exception in the latter case, according to the community thread and a reddit thread. A Pixel community user also noted that Google offered to replace the phone even though it was bought second-hand through an auction website.
In addition to not being able to charge the Pixel 3 devices wirelessly, some users also noticed tell-tale signs such as phones slipping off the Pixel Stand charger, case buttons not aligned with the phone buttons, battery draining quickly, and general overheating.
We asked Google for a comment on this issue and will update the article if they get back to us. Has the back cover of your Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL come off due to a swollen battery? Let us know in the comments!
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