Phone bricked after android update.

[Shreyas C]

Hi everyone, I am pretty new to the community and not sure if this is the right place to put this.

My Pixel 6a started to randomly reboot and get stuck in a boot loop right after the android 14 update. After a couple of tries it would turn on, this repeated thrice and now it does not turn back on. To be clear I did not have a single issue with the phone before the android 14 update.

After a lot of hassle their support team picked up the phone for diagnosis. They diagnosed that there is a issue with the motherboard. 
But I came across the november android security patch which specifically mentions this issue and aims at fixing it, have attached a link and screenshot to it below.

https://support.google.com/pixelphone/thread/242705137/google-pixel-update-november-2023?kgs=f2ffcd4f59636a1e&shem=igass&source=sh/x/gs/m3/5
 

When I checked with the support team regarding this, they outright denied this and told that a software update cannot brick a phone.

Even considering it was a hardware issue I was sold a lemon in the first place.

They have given a repair estimate to replace the phone at full cost(360 usd approx.) and I am liable to pay the full price because my phone is a month passed its 1 year limited warranty.

I am pretty clueless in what to do now, any help will be appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

[Eigenvektor]

24 minutes ago, Shreyas C said:

When I checked with the support team regarding this, they outright denied this and told that a software update cannot brick a phone.

I'd try contacting them again: https://support.google.com/pixelphone/gethelp?visit_id=636952363358278426-2204091848&ec=hardware_tech_support&rd=2&sjid=3894643486495802565-EU. Make sure to link the page you linked here as proof.

 

The page you linked clearly states they fixed a reboot loop, so they are admitting the issue exists (or existed). A co-worker of mine had a reboot loop issue several years ago with some Nexus device and Google did end up replacing it (more than once), because it was an officially acknowledged problem with the device.

[Shreyas C]

24 minutes ago, Eigenvektor said:

I'd try contacting them again: https://support.google.com/pixelphone/gethelp?visit_id=636952363358278426-2204091848&ec=hardware_tech_support&rd=2&sjid=3894643486495802565-EU. Make sure to link the page you linked here as proof.

 

The page you linked clearly states they fixed a reboot loop, so they are admitting the issue exists (or existed). A co-worker of mine had a reboot loop issue several years ago with some Nexus device and Google did end up replacing it (more than once), because it was an officially acknowledged problem with the device.

@EigenvektorThanks for the reply,

I will try to contact them again insisting that the issue has been acknowledged officially.

I had already attached a link with the screenshot to the team and this the reply I had received from them.

But I will try again. Thanks again