this post was submitted on 11 Jul 2025
168 points (99.4% liked)

Android

20370 readers
260 users here now

The new home of /r/Android on Lemmy and the Fediverse!

Android news, reviews, tips, and discussions about rooting, tutorials, and apps.

πŸ”—Universal Link: !android@lemdro.id


πŸ’‘Content Philosophy:

Content which benefits the community (news, rumours, and discussions) is generally allowed and is valued over content which benefits only the individual (technical questions, help buying/selling, rants, self-promotion, etc.) which will be removed if it's in violation of the rules.


Support, technical, or app related questions belong in: !askandroid@lemdro.id

For fresh communities, lemmy apps, and instance updates: !lemdroid@lemdro.id

πŸ’¬Matrix Chat

πŸ’¬Telegram channels / chats

πŸ“°Our communities below


Rules

  1. Stay on topic: All posts should be related to the Android OS or ecosystem.

  2. No support questions, recommendation requests, rants, or bug reports: Posts must benefit the community rather than the individual. Please post to !askandroid@lemdro.id.

  3. Describe images/videos, no memes: Please include a text description when sharing images or videos. Post memes to !androidmemes@lemdro.id.

  4. No self-promotion spam: Active community members can post their apps if they answer any questions in the comments. Please do not post links to your own website, YouTube, blog content, or communities.

  5. No reposts or rehosted content: Share only the original source of an article, unless it's not available in English or requires logging in (like Twitter). Avoid reposting the same topic from other sources.

  6. No editorializing titles: You can add the author or website's name if helpful, but keep article titles unchanged.

  7. No piracy or unverified APKs: Do not share links or direct people to pirated content or unverified APKs, which may contain malicious code.

  8. No unauthorized polls, bots, or giveaways: Do not create polls, use bots, or organize giveaways without first contacting mods for approval.

  9. No offensive or low-effort content: Don't post offensive or unhelpful content. Keep it civil and friendly!

  10. No affiliate links: Posting affiliate links is not allowed.

Quick Links

Our Communities

Lemmy App List

Chat and More


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] SheeEttin@lemmy.zip 82 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Pixel 6a, since it doesn't say in the title or preview.

[–] calamitycastle@lemmy.world 11 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Mine is fucked since the last update, the quick switcher flat out doesn't work anymore

If I wanted to flash a new ROM what are the options these days for backing up app data etc?

[–] SheeEttin@lemmy.zip 7 points 2 months ago

Between ROMs? Basically none, unless you're rooted. Each one has its own (stock has Google's, GrapheneOS has seedvault).

[–] coronach@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

If you have root, try neobackup (fdroid)... But don't put too much faith in it.

[–] calamitycastle@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago

Thanks yeah it's just standard sadly

[–] mesamunefire@piefed.social 39 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (3 children)

I have this phone (6a). I put in the survey to get the 100 but so far I haven't seen a single $. Meanwhile I'm sitting on a fire hazard.

If they just made replaceable batteries, this wouldn't be an issue. My next phone is going to be the fairphone.

[–] Lfrith@lemmy.ca 13 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I'm waiting to get a new phone until the EU battery requirements go into effect in a few years to see if replacing battery becomes easier to comply than it is now.

Afaik the Pixel 9 would qualify under the new rules. So that's the bar.

[–] Luffy879@lemmy.ml 5 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Well, great, but the fairphone is like 2 months behind on security patches, and they generally never do more than 1 OS update (for comparison, my pixel 7 has gotten 3 now, and with the 2 more years of support its likely to get 5 in total).

So basically instead of getting a phone that works for 8 years, you get a permanent security liability that is more likely to get water damage.

I mean sure, great idea, I would buy a phone with inferior CPU if I can support something good, but instead of something good I'm getting something inferior in every aspect just so I can change the battery in 2 years when I won't need the phone anyway because they just abandon any kind of timely updates anyway??

(BTW, I checked, the fairphone 5 is to this day still on android 14, a 2 year old OS. They could not care enough to update a 2 year old phone in 2 years except the legally necessary patches, they can't even release a monthly patch, and yet I should trust them with my most valuable data?)

[–] mesamunefire@piefed.social 4 points 2 months ago (2 children)

My pixel phone is a ticking bomb.

You can put other OSs on the fairphone instead of their defaults.

But yeah it's frustrating no matter what there is a downside of just owning a stupid phone.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] sabreW4K3@lazysoci.al 1 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Replaceable batteries from next year.

[–] Luffy879@lemmy.ml 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Nope. Waterproof phones (so everything that Costs more than 50€) are excluded.

[–] sabreW4K3@lazysoci.al 1 points 2 months ago

Oh, you're right, it's 2027

[–] RejZoR@lemmy.ml 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Replacable as in "not permanently glued into the phone". You'll still have to be an expert to take it apart without damaging it and replacing the battery with new one like you do now with every phone.

[–] sabreW4K3@lazysoci.al 1 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Nope, the law specifically states you have to be able to remove the battery without any special tools.

[–] mesamunefire@piefed.social 3 points 2 months ago

And some phones already have replaceable batteries.

It's so silly, we are going back around.

[–] the_crotch@sh.itjust.works 0 points 2 months ago (1 children)

A tiny screwdriver and a sprunger aren't special tools

[–] sabreW4K3@lazysoci.al 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

They're tools as per the EU law

[–] the_crotch@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Now I'm confused. Does the law say no special tools or no tools?

[–] sabreW4K3@lazysoci.al 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Let me not misrepresent. As per https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2020/0798/COM_COM(2020)0798_EN.pdf

Waste portable batteries incorporated in appliances that are readily removable by the end user without the use of professional tools shall be removed and discarded by end users in accordance with paragraph 1.

[–] the_crotch@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 months ago

From that wording, I'd think it would be legal to ship a phone that requires a screwdriver and a sprunger to replace the battery. I guess we'll find out the first time this is challenged in the EUs courts.

[–] ThrowawayPermanente@sh.itjust.works 21 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (3 children)

I opted for the $150 payoff and reduced battery capacity instead of a battery replacement. They made me sign up for Payoneer, who is going to take $39 plus whatever transaction fees they change. I bought this phone directly from Google, they could have just refunded my credit card.

[–] tinned_tomatoes@feddit.uk 39 points 2 months ago (2 children)

That's gotta be the most American thing I've ever heard - your refund going through a third party who takes a 30% cut. What a joke.

[–] Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe 12 points 2 months ago (1 children)

It's to deter people, that simple.

[–] tinned_tomatoes@feddit.uk 8 points 2 months ago (1 children)

A civilised country would've regulated those kinds of anti-consumer practices decades ago. The heck are you lot doing?!

[–] Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 8 points 2 months ago (1 children)

The heck are you lot doing?!

We tried to fix it by voting in a bunch of Nazis, but then that didn't work, so we voted in some more Nazis and that didn't work either, and now we're not sure what else to try.

[–] DesolateMood@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 months ago

The obvious answer is that we're just gonna keep voting in more nazis

Yep, I'm not impressed

[–] MangoPenguin@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] ThrowawayPermanente@sh.itjust.works 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

That's Payoneer's annual fee

Crazy, makes me wonder why they picked that service.

[–] bob_lemon@feddit.org 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Get ready to install a custom rom without the battery patch.

The patch they put out for the 4A basically bricked the phone. Battery life was halved, and the charge indicator was practically useless (the number could drop massively within minutes), making the remaining half battery unreliable as well.

[–] etherphon@piefed.world 13 points 2 months ago (3 children)

I guess my IMEI isn't eligible even though it's a pixel 6a, they mentioned the 4a had two different battery manufacturers and only one was a problem but they didn't say the same for the 6a. The battery doesn't seem to last as long as usual but that's probably all the AI shit that I tried to turn off. I only need a phone that does messaging, plays music, takes good pictures, has maps and a small fast web browser. Everything else is just useless fluff.

They skirted around it on the official doc. They didn't explicitly say not all 6a devices are affected. They instead say if yours is affected, based on where you got it from and what are the laws in your area, you might be eligible for compensation or free repair.

It is entierly possible that hardware lottery is in play and some batts are feom a different supplyer. From what I gathered.

[–] lazycouchpotato@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Try the SIM 2 slot (eSIM) IMEI as well. I tried the first IMEI and it said my phone wasn't eligible but the second one was.

[–] etherphon@piefed.world 1 points 2 months ago

Mine appears to have only one, thanks for that though.

[–] hankthetankie@hexbear.net 1 points 2 months ago

Just flash gos

[–] InternetCitizen2@lemmy.world 8 points 2 months ago (3 children)

This really sucks. I bought a Pixel 7 for the ROMs, GrapheneOS to be specific, so this puts me in an awkward spot. Wish I could have myself a Fair Phone and a Framework laptop.

[–] SheeEttin@lemmy.zip 7 points 2 months ago

This is about the 6a so you're not affected

[–] eleitl@lemmy.zip 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

GrapheneOS is the most secure mobile OS and your model is not affected. I've got a 7a myself.

[–] kirk781@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Well, according to Google, you could be. Link

[–] eleitl@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 months ago

Thanks, I wasn't aware. Need to check my device.

[–] eleitl@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

I've made a support request and chose the payout version rather than a free walk-in repair for my 7a. I will be contacted by an agent within three weeks. Probably have to revert to Google stock if I have to send it in.

[–] mesamunefire@piefed.social 3 points 2 months ago

That's a good combo.

[–] Zarxrax@lemmy.world 6 points 2 months ago (2 children)

It looks like I can go to a local repair shop to get the battery changed out. Anyone have experience with that option?

[–] mesamunefire@piefed.social 3 points 2 months ago

I've seen others get the battery replaced, but it heavily depends on the phone. Samsungs can be pretty cheap from what I hear.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] hankthetankie@hexbear.net 0 points 2 months ago

GOS for the win :)