If you own a Google Pixel 6a, you install the latest Android 16 update now.
This mandatory software update, which begins rolling out worldwide today (July 8), will cut the risk of the serious battery overheating after multiple Pixel 6a owners reported their handsets catching fire. Multiple Pixel 6a owners have written about their harrowing experiences on social news website, Reddit.
"My Pixel 6a just caught fire in the middle of the night. It was charging on my nightstand. Thankfully, I'm a pretty light sleeper and woke up when I heard the battery begin to shoot out hot gas. About 2 seconds later, there was a fireball on my nightstand," one Reddit user shared in a forum dedicated to the much-loved Google Pixel brand.
Another similar post reads: "I was jolted awake at 4am to the sound of my phone screaming its overheating noise at the volume I'd set for my alarm, in addition to the strange sound of the insides of the phone blasting out the right side, accompanied by the horrific smell of burning chemicals and electronics.
"Despite the initial confusion at all of this, I managed to find the phone in the dark very quickly. It was incredibly hot and I honestly don't know how it didn't burn me as I tossed it away from me onto the tile floor.
That got it away from flammable things but closer to my smoke detector, setting that off about a second later. I turned on a light, grabbed the side of the phone that wasn't melting and chucked the still smoking and sizzling Pixelbomb outside on my concrete patio. As I later discovered, the phone had actually started a small fire on some of my clothes before I got it off the charger and to the floor.
"If I hadn't been just a few feet away from the phone to act as quickly as I had, I would've been dealing with a nasty house fire. If this happens to someone who's not able to quickly remove their burning phone and get it to a non-flammable surface, it will be catastrophic."
There enough of these reports that Google has decided to take action. To safeguard against this overheating problem, Google's new software update will reduce the overall battery capacity once the device has reached 400 charging cycles.
"Until your battery reaches this point, you will not experience the battery-related changes and the new features will remain inactive, even though the update is installed," Google explains in about the issue.
For those who don't know, a "charge cycle" refers to the process of using and recharging 100% of the battery capacity, though not necessarily all at once. For example, if you use 50% of your battery one day, recharge it, then use 50% again the following day before charging, that would only count as one full charge cycle.
According to Google, Pixel 6a owners will receive a notification when their smartphone has reached 375 charge cycles — giving them a heads-up that its new battery management features will soon kick in. When these safety measures take effect, you might notice reduced battery life and slightly slower charging speeds.
Google says you might also notice "short-term changes to how the battery-level indicator on your phone shows your battery capacity as your phone learns its revised battery capacity", so don't always trust the remaining battery percentage that shows in the corner of your phone screen when judging if you need to top-up or not.
Not every Pixel 6a will see the new restrictions imposed after 400 charge cycles. Google says it will only enforce the new limitation on "impacted devices" that reach above the 400 recharge threshold.
It hasn't offered more details about exactly what else makes a Pixel 6a an "impacted device".
My Google Pixel 6a spontaneously combusted in the middle of the night
byu/zaliver inGooglePixel
If the mandatory Android 16 update has decided that your Pixel 6a is impacted by the battery issues, Google is offering a free battery replacement. to determine if your Pixel 6a is eligible.
Replacing the battery should solve the issues around overheating and swelling — and means your Pixel 6a won't have its battery life artificially limited. Free battery replacement will be available via walk-in or mail-in repair centres from July 21 in the UK, United States, Canada, Germany, Singapore, Japan and India.
Another Pixel6a sets itself on fire while charging overnight, 6/3/25
byu/optimistprime3 inGooglePixel
Google might not offer a free battery replacement if your Pixel 6a displays any of the following traits:
The Pixel 6a's battery problems emerged publicly back in May, when reports started to surface of battery swelling, with some confirmed cases of a Google-designed device even catching fire.
This isn't the first time Google has dealt with battery troubles with its Pixel lineup. Earlier this year, in order to avoid similar issues with the lithium-ion cell.
In that case, Google offered a choice of either a free battery replacement service for Pixel 4a, a one-off cash payment of £40, or £80 store credit to put towards the purchase of a new Pixel phone from the Google Store.
And the battery headaches for Google Pixel owners don't end there. The Californian company has launched an extended repair scheme to fix battery swelling issues on the Pixel 7A. There are walk-in centres to fix the battery troubles in the United Kingdom, as well as United States, India, Canada, Germany, Japan, and Singapore.