Google Pixel 4a's old firmware is gone, trapping users on buggy battery update

What the “battery performance” update actually does

• Update released for Pixel 4a ~1.5 years after official EOL; branded as a “battery performance” or “battery optimization” update.
• Many users report dramatic effective battery loss (e.g., from days to hours, or 100%→0% in under an hour) and much slower charging.
• Technical digging (kernel image changes, coulomb-count measurements) suggests it doesn’t increase drain, but hard-limits charge voltage/usable capacity and charge rate for specific battery batches.
• Reverse‑engineering and Google’s own FAQ indicate only some devices (“Impacted Devices”) are targeted, likely those with a specific battery model thought to be unsafe at full capacity.

Safety rationale vs. planned obsolescence

• One camp believes Google is preempting a Note‑7‑style overheating/swelling risk and silently capping batteries for safety.
• Another camp reads this as deliberate, anti‑consumer obsolescence: EOL device, vague wording, no clear safety admission, and a coincident Pixel price hike make it feel like a push to buy new phones.
• Several point out that if it is a safety issue, Google should say so explicitly; the current messaging (“optimization”, “may reduce capacity”) is seen as evasive.

User experience and compensation problems

• Real‑world impact ranges from “no change” to “phone unusable for work or travel.”
• Official remedies: free battery replacement at limited walk‑in/mail‑in locations, $50 cash, or $100 Google Store credit.
• Thread reports: slow or no response on credit, awkward terms (e.g., cash handled by a third‑party service with fees), overwhelmed repair shops, risk of breaking the non‑modular screen during replacement, and some regions effectively excluded.
• A few users say a free battery swap restored normal behavior; others were told a new battery may not help because the restriction is in software.

Rollback, custom ROMs, and firmware removal

• Google removed older factory images for the 4a (“sunfish”), preventing standard downgrades; this is seen as especially suspicious given other models still have old images.
• Some users with unlocked bootloaders manage to revert or switch to LineageOS / GrapheneOS / CalyxOS; others find this too complex or risky.
• There’s confusion whether third‑party ROMs will ship the new firmware and whether they mitigate or keep the cap.

Security, trust in updates, and ecosystem comparisons

• Side discussion: 4a stopped getting security updates in Aug 2023; some argue this already made it a risky daily driver, citing recent Bluetooth RCE CVEs. Others say “no updates” isn’t automatically dangerous and criticize exaggeration in security bulletins.
• Incidents like this, plus past buggy Pixel updates, reinforce a “if it works don’t update” mindset, particularly among less technical users.
• Many commenters say this episode pushes them away from Pixels entirely, often toward iPhones or Fairphone, despite Apple’s own “batterygate” history.
• Broader concerns raised: right‑to‑repair, forced/opaque updates as de facto property damage, disappearance of small phones and headphone jacks, and Google’s perceived indifference to long‑term device stewardship.