Complaint - Faulty Device Sold as New ORDER REFERENCE: EE-********

[Tejfol]

Dear EE Customer Support,

I purchased a Google Pixel 9a from you one month ago as a brand new device. Unfortunately, the battery life is severely defective; it drains rapidly even with minimal use and optimized settings.

In the phone settings, I discovered that my specific unit was manufactured a year ago (late 2024). I strongly believe the battery chemically degraded while sitting in storage for 12 months, likely due to deep discharge before I even received it.

To support this, my partner has the exact same phone model (Pixel 9a), but their unit was manufactured only one month prior to purchase. Their battery life is excellent and functions perfectly. This direct comparison proves that the issue is not with the model itself or my usage habits, but specifically with the degraded condition of the individual handset I was sold due to excessive storage time.

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, this product is not of satisfactory quality and was faulty at the time of sale. I request an exchange for a replacement unit that has not been compromised by long-term storage.

[Mod edit: Order number removed.]

[XRaySpeX]

We aren't CS! You need to formally address EE with any legal clam under the Consumer Rights Act.

You can make a formal complaint to EE & if you don't get satisfaction after 8 weeks or come to a deadlock you can take it to EE's ADR provider. See Complaints code of practice and here is the Complaints Form .

[Chris_B]

@Tejfol   Have you reached out to google about this because I doubt EE had it on the shelf for that amount of time before you got it.  If I remember correctly and I could be wrong there were customers who had to wait for this device as EE didn’t have enough for launch day.    

[Ali_A · Accepted solution]

Hi @Tejfol 

Sorry to hear the phone battery isn't lasting as long as expected. There are a range of reasons which may be affecting the battery life of your phone compared to your partners device, such as the type of apps on the phone, background processes running, or 4G/5G access, and so on.

However, if it's particularly low there are some steps you should initially take. 

First check your firmware is up to date. go to Settings > System > Software updates, tap System update
As well as all your installed apps are up to date too. 

Also have a look at the the Google Pixel 9 battery usage chart is found in Settings > Battery > Battery usage. This will show where the battery is being used. 

Once you have done that, try resetting Network Settings by following the steps on our Resetting network settings Google Pixel 9a device guide.

If you see no change, the next step is to backup your device and perform a full factory reset. 
Test how long the battery lasts as a fresh phone before reinstalling your backup. 
 

If your phone lasts as long as expected without anything installed on the phone, it means it may have been an app glitch causing the issue. 
You can restore only your data (photos, videos etc) from backup to your Pixel and install all the apps manually. This will ensure you have fresh versions of your apps on the device. 
This tends to resolve most battery related device issues. 

However, should the battery continue to drain fast after all of that, please contact Customer Service who will go through the steps required. 

Ali