A recent software update meant to stabilize battery performance on the Pixel 4a has had an unexpected side effect: Some Pixel 4a owners are reporting that their phones can now barely hold a charge. There's a particularly egregious example on Reddit, where a user reported that their phone is down from seven hours of screen time on a single charge to just 30 minutes.

Pixel 4a's battery performance issues

Earlier this month, Google published a detailed document explaining the Pixel 4a software update to Android 13. The company says that some people are experiencing a degradation in the battery's capacity, runtime, or performance, as is expected with lithium-ion batteries of a certain age. However, in the Pixel 4a's case, Google decided to push a software update to provide more stable battery performance, but the caveat is that it may lead to reduced battery life and slower charging. 

In the document, Google said, "For some devices (“Impacted Devices”), the update includes new battery management features to improve the stability of your battery’s performance, so the battery may last for shorter periods between charges. Users of Impacted Devices may also notice other changes, like reduced charging performance or changes to how the battery-level indicator on your phone shows your battery capacity." As a result, some Pixel 4a users have been left with phones that can barely hold a charge. 

How to check if your Pixel 4a is impacted

Google calls affected Pixel 4a "Impacted Devices." You can check if yours is one of them by going to this Google Pixel support page and follow the on-screen prompts to opt for one of the three offered solutions. You'll be able to either ask for a free battery replacement, request store credit, or take the cash payment.