Skip to main content

Some Pixel 3a owners say their new phone is randomly shutting down

Google’s midrange Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL smartphones have only been on the market a couple of weeks and some users are already complaining of random shutdowns.

Those affected have been posting details of the issue on a number of online forums, though at this stage the precise cause is far from clear. It’s also impossible to determine how many of the new handsets are suffering from the problem.

Recommended Videos

Reports suggest that after the phone shuts down, users have to perform a hard reset by holding down the power button for up to 30 seconds to get it working again, though it doesn’t necessarily prevent further shutdowns from occurring.

In a Reddit post, one owner described it as a “weird issue” that may be linked to Wi-Fi.

“Whenever I connect to my work Wi-Fi and let the phone sit for ~10 minutes it will require a reboot,” the owner wrote in the post. “It will do the normal lock and then after some time just shutdown, requiring me to hold the power button for ~30 seconds to restart it.”

The owner continued: “For the most part when I’m connected to my home Wi-Fi it will not duplicate this although it has crashed once or twice now at home in the 5 days I have had it. Leaving the phone with Wi-Fi off seems to prevent the crashing altogether.”

Someone else suspected the issue might be caused by a third-party app, but after running the device in safe mode, a seemingly random shutdown still occurred.

Another forum poster said three shutdowns happened in a single day, while someone experienced two shutdowns in the space of five days.

Google has yet to publicly acknowledge the issue. We’ve reached out to the company to find out what it has to say and will update if we hear back.

This isn’t the first time Google has experienced problems with its Pixel handsets. Just last week, the company agreed to settle a class action lawsuit brought against it over an issue that affected the original Pixel phone, which launched in 2016. The fault affected the device’s microphone, and while Google acknowledged the problem at the time, it continued to sell the handset and even handed out replacements with exactly the same fault. The settlement means some owners could receive a payout of $500.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
The Nothing Phone 3a button is no longer a mystery
A leaked image of the Nothing Phone 3a Pro.

For weeks, there has been significant buzz surrounding the Nothing (3a) series, which includes two phones set to be officially announced on Tuesday, March 4. One of the company’s teasers has focused on a new button, the purpose of which has remained a mystery until now.

We have learned that the new button will activate an AI assistant called Essential Space, which Nothing had previously teased. This button, likely named the “Essential Key,” is designed to simplify users' tasks. It allows them to take notes, record voice memos, and capture photos using AI technology. The AI will focus on “Smart Collection,” which will sort and categorize images, audio, and text.

Read more
Pixel Watch 3 gets key health feature Apple Watch doesn’t have
Someone wearing the Google Pixel Watch 3, showing the app drawer.

Last summer, Google announced the Pixel Watch 3, highlighting its “loss-of-pulse” feature. Regulators have now approved this feature, and according to the company, it will be available to users in the U.S. in March.

“Loss-of-pulse” is a groundbreaking feature that can detect when a user’s heart stops beating. If this occurs, the watch will automatically call emergency services for potentially life-saving care if the user does not respond to a prompt. This feature is ideally suited for those suffering from cardiac arrest, respiratory or circulatory failure, overdose, or poisoning.

Read more
Google gifts Pixel 9 owners fresh AI tools including new scam protection feature
Google Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL in hand.

Google is making it significantly harder for scammers to reach Pixel device owners. It plans to introduce new scam detection features for the Phone by Google and Google Messages apps in March, courtesy of AI.

According to a post on the Google Store, the new feature identifies conversation patterns most likely associated with scammers.

Read more