Pixel 6Pro stopped working and overheats - any way or point in reviving it?

Lurking · April 28

I had the P6Pro for nearly 3 years and it was perfect. But the other day it just stopped working and was stuck on the "Google" screen.

Nothing worked, not even turning it off. Going into the factory reset (power and volume button) also didn't work for a while.

After a long time I was able to get into the factory reset and applied the factory reset. Then I started setting it up up to the point where I entered my WiFi login data and expected it will work from then on. But it was stuck at that point. I had the phone plugged in so it has power. It basically re-started and was stuck at the same "google" screen. But it also got extremely hot. Like hotter than that old Tensor chip usually gets even when at that point I had taken it out of the case. I then unplugged it and put it outside my house on concrete (with screen still on "Google") just to make sure that in case it starts a fire, it isn't burning anything else. This morning it was off (I assume battery drained) and there was no fire.

I already ordered a new phone. But I wonder if there is way to re-activate this to have as a spare phone, or if that is just a fire hazard? Is there something more than a factory reset? Does this all sound like there is an actual hardware problem (like capacitor degraded) and this is just toast and a fire hazard even if i get it to work? It isn't worth to me to keep this in the house and then wonder if my house burns down. I would just drill a few holes in (to counter any data theft) and put it into electronics recycling. Maybe I put it in a bucket of water after drilling. But before I start drilling, I wonder if there is any safe way to rescue it?

OhioYJ · April 28

1 hour ago, Lurking said:

But I wonder if there is way to re-activate this to have as a spare phone

Was your bootloader unlocked?

Google can reflash all the partitions right from Chrome (to reload all the software) in case something got corrupted.

I will say though odds are higher there is a hardware issue. That's normally what happens when phones stop working out of the blue for no reason.

Lurking · April 28

3 hours ago, OhioYJ said:

Was your bootloader unlocked?

Google can reflash all the partitions right from Chrome (to reload all the software) in case something got corrupted.

I will say though odds are higher there is a hardware issue. That's normally what happens when phones stop working out of the blue for no reason.

I have no idea. How would I be bale to know? Where it is stuck (and heating up) is the white screen that says "Google" in colorful letters. Basically the normal startup screen that shows up for a second when starting up (except, it isn't just a second but until the battery runs out)

it sounds like the method you mention requires loading into Android. If loading into Android means, normally having started up the phone, then no, i don't even get there:

"Option 1 (recommended): After a successful boot into Android 13 for the first time, sideload the full OTA image corresponding to that build and reboot the device to ensure that both slots have a bootable image.

Option 2 (using factory images): If you flashed your device with the factory image after unlocking the bootloader, after a successful boot into Android 13 for the first time"

What is really suspicious is, that factory reset didn't help (and in itself was hard to accomplish) and the overheating.

OhioYJ · April 29

14 hours ago, Lurking said:

I have no idea. How would I be bale to know?

You would have had to already done it (so you would know). Most people unlock it to flash custom ROMs. However it's also very handy for recovery efforts.

Normally no, this method does not require access to Android, just access to Fastboot. However if your bootloader is still locked, you do need access to Android to enable unlocking the bootloader.

Lurking · April 30

10 hours ago, OhioYJ said:

You would have had to already done it (so you would know). Most people unlock it to flash custom ROMs. However it's also very handy for recovery efforts.

Normally no, this method does not require access to Android, just access to Fastboot. However if your bootloader is still locked, you do need access to Android to enable unlocking the bootloader.

Thanks for clarifying. No, this phone basically had the stock Android 15 that came with the phone, and has been up to date. And I also kept it very clean (very minimum number of apps). And it worked flawlessly till the day it stopped working.