Google Battery Warning Made Worse By Pixel Trade-In Problems

Forbes

12 hours ago

Google will soon reduce the performance of Pixel 6a phones affected by a new battery overheating problem. If you plan to upgrade and trade-in, however, your used Pixel phone won't fetch much on the secondary market.
The battery problem was first spotted by Android Authority, which discovered a line of text buried in the Settings app of the Android 16 QPR1 Beta 2 specifically mentioning a Pixel 6a 'battery overheating issue.' This was later confirmed by Google, which says that a forthcoming update will reduce the capacity of the Pixel 6a battery, and charging performance, once it hits 400 charge cycles.
This comes after users posted on Reddit that their Pixel 6a handsets had caught fire. It's also not the first time a Pixel A-series phone has had battery overheating issues. The Pixel 4a suffered from a similar problem, while some Pixel 7a owners complained about swollen batteries last year. Google's fix for the Pixel 4a also resulted in an update that throttled the phone's battery life.
In both cases, a free battery replacement, or money towards a new phone, was offered. In the case of the Pixel 7a, the company was offering up to $456 under warranty, and $300 out of warranty. If Google makes a similar offer for your affected Pixel 6a, you should take it because the phone itself isn't highly valued on the secondary market, nor will it fetch much when trading in.
It's not just the Pixel 6a; the price of almost all used Pixel phones craters after one year. A-series devices are obviously budget phones, which will guarantee a low price when sold on the secondary market. But even Google's recent flagships struggle to net much when trading in. Take a look below at how Samsung prices Pixel phones when buying the Galaxy S25 Ultra.
Even Google offers little for its own devices. You will get more for a used Samsung or Apple phone when buying a new Pixel 9.
Your Pixel 6a won't fetch much when trading in. The best deal you will find is Samsung U.K.'s guaranteed £200 ($271.30) for any Android phone when buying the Galaxy S25. If you decide to sell your Pixel 6a on the secondary market, in good condition the phone will sell for roughly $100 on eBay. The situation is slightly better on Swappa, where you might net $120.
Considering that there have been three Pixel A-series phones with battery problems, all of which have virtually no sell-on value, if Google offers some money off of a new flagship phone in exchange for your Pixel 6a, take it.