Pixel 7a battery swollen

[annllwynteg]

Hi

My Google pixel 7a battery has swollen and the phone keeps turning off when it gets hot. I've been advised to not use it as it could catch fire. I went to my nearest ee shop and they refused to repair it as they couldn't override the repair charge of £196. I've contacted Google and getting nowhere, I've made a complaint to ee and still waiting for a reply. I've contacted citizens advice, the ombudsman, and I'm in the middle of contacting my local councillor.

Can anybody advice on what I can do next to resolve this problem please?

Under the consumer act 2015 a mobile phone should at least last 6 years, so in theory ee have sold me a faulty phone with a manufacturing fault which is unacceptable. 

Thank you in advance 

[annllwynteg]

Yes got it from EE, I quickly googled how much they were worth at work and that's what came up. 

At the time I bought it I thought they were good phones 🤷‍♀️ 

[Chris_B]

@annllwynteg  As the battery is a consumable item and only has a 2 year warranty from Google and you’ve had it 30 months before this started to happen plus now an extra 2 months the battery doesn’t have any warranty what’s so ever.    No matter who you contact and plead your case with the battery is out of warranty and needs a replacement that you pay for.       A phone can last six years it doesn’t mean the battery will as it’s a consumable item.   Batteries chemically age and deteriorate the more they are used/charged.   

[annllwynteg]

My huawei is 10 yrs old, no issues with battery, I've still got the first iPhone, still charges no issue with battery, have a Vodafone 25 yrs old, still charges no issue with battery. Have the first ipad, still charges, no issues with battery....... 

[annllwynteg]

None of my old phones have had batteries swelling up and coming apart.... 

 

 

[annllwynteg]

1 st iPhone, no swollen battery or fell apart 

Old HTC, no swollen battery or fell apart 

Old Samsung, no swollen battery or fell apart. 

Old sony Xperia, no swollen battery or fell apart...... 

I've always looked after my phones, and used them for 4-5 yrs before changing them to keep up with the times. I've had this Google one for 32 months. Useless and a fire hazard. 

 

 

 

 

[Chris_B]

@annllwynteg   The battery has a 2 year warranty, it’s past that.    Congratulations on all the other phones that are of no importance to this issue in this phone that’s has no warranty to cover a new battery.  

  You can complain, report to who ever you like the battery and all batteries in phones have a limited time warranty because they degrade, you’ll not win or get any resolution in your favour because it’s out of warranty. 

[annllwynteg]

Most of you on here keep going on about out of warranty and the batteries degrade, this battery isn't degrading it's expanding and the phone is coming apart. 

Toyota told me that my warranty didn't cover a degraded battery, but Google said it did, so I told them that, and they replaced it for free, so we will see. 

All of you who have a gone on about out of warranty and the battery degrading must work for EE customer support.....

[Schockwave]

@annllwynteg , we are all customers like you, we do not work for EE, we just try to help, but good luck with trying to getting it replaced for free.

[Chris_B]

@annllwynteg  It’s swelling up because it’s had it.  The chemicals in the battery give off a gas when it’s had it.    No matter how you try and spin it you don’t have warranty or cover to have this battery replaced free of charge.    You can as I said take this to whom you like but once they see it’s out of warranty and it’s 32 months old they’ll just say its out of warranty you have no recourse to get this fixed free of charge.     You have two options, but the first thing is stop using this device it’s a safety risk.     Batteries in this state can cause fires. 
Your two options are pay for a replacement battery yourself or get a new device and dispose of this device safely.   

[EssexBoyEE]

I don't work for EE or Customer Services but I can tell you now you will not get a free Phone Battery repair that gone faulty after 30 months from purchase. So best bet is to cough up for a repair or change or upgrade your phone.

Not all Batteries are the same, they are manufactured with forecasted tolerance and life expectancy, Ive had phones that start to degrade extremely quickly compared to others, it really is the luck of the draw.

The biggest killer for any battery is overheating and overcharging, so try and keep the phone out direct sunlight, confined spaces or poor air circulation especially when charging, try and keep the Battery charge to no more than 80% charged and save the 100% fully charged for rainy days when you really need it, try not too let the battery drop to 0% too often, and where possible slow charge rather than quick charge if possible especially for overnight charging.