While Google’s latest devices hasn’t reached the level of infamy its Pixel 2 range did, it’s fair to say that Pixel 3 smartphones have experienced their fair share of issues so far. Adding to the growing list of problems is a charging bug that sees the handsets overheating and potentially shutting down.
A plethora of Pixel 3 and 3 XL users have flocked to various social media sites to complain of the new issue, describing exceedingly hot smartphones while on charge. This goes beyond the traditional heating of the battery expected when a device is on charge, even providing the user with a warning that features are “limited” until the phone cools down, according to 9to5Google.
In some cases, multitasking can trigger a complete shutdown, with the rebooted device outright telling the user that it “turned off due to heat.” This is often triggered when performing actions on an extraordinarily scorching device, such as video calls or the booting of applications like YouTube, preventing the internal components from irreparable harm.
Both the scale and cause of the issue have yet to be determined, with users claiming to suffer from the problem across chargers provided by Google, third-parties and Google’s wireless Pixel Stand. Those affected are still waiting for official word when they can expect a fix, joining the ranks of memory crashes and the ugly second notch already known to plague Google’s devices.
Many are hoping the problem to be software based in order for update-based mitigations, however there’s a distinct possibility that the issue is located within the hardware. In the meantime, those affected are urged to seek official support to see if they are eligible for an exchange of their faulty device.
KitGuru Says: My first-generation Google Pixel did get noticeably hot while charging, as did my HTC One M9, but only to the extent of the devices slowing down. Hopefully Google has a fix in the works for Pixel 3 owners soon. Have you experienced any problems with your Pixel 3 or 3 XL?