[tori729]

Over the past several months, my hubby's Pixel has had issues where it shuts off when using the camera. I had that issue with mine and cleared the cache and was fine. However, I tried on his and it just got worse. Shuts off when he does anything. Then in order to get it back on, it has to be plugged in. Battery level is inconsistent. Will be 70% then shut down and be at 1% when powered back up. Or back up to 70% when restarted (but still needing to be plugged in to restart). I've factory reset it/cleared caches with no improvement. He can barely use it.

Anyway, all this being said, I went ahead and bought a 3 for myself and he's getting my old Pixel 1.
Wondering if this is a battery issue. My old Pixel could possibly be going the same direction. Just want to know if we have the same issues with mine, will a battery replacement fix it?

[Rukbat]

It sounds like a dendrite in the battery, (Lithium Battery Dendrite links) The battery has to be replaced when that starts happening. (If the short remains long enough, the battery will be drained when it starts back up. If it just lasts long enough to shut the phone off, it retains most of its charge. If it doesn't restart without the charger, it's because charging destroys the dendrite.)

[Mooncatt]

A dendrite basically causes a short circuit within the battery, which would cause extreme heat and you wouldn't see an apparent recharge without plugging it in. My guess is it's still a battery issue, but due to normal aging.

Over time, the internal resistance builds up within the battery, making it work harder to provide enough power to run the phone. This in turn causes increased voltage sag where the apparent voltage drops under load (voltage sag is normal in any electronic device, but becomes more prominent with a worn out battery). If that voltage drops below the cutoff point, the phone instantly shuts down as if you removed the battery, and you see a zero charge on the indicator. Once it has a chance to rest, the voltage comes back up to the nominal level, which results in the appearance of a charge increase without it being plugged in.

It doesn't surprise me that the shutdown happened when using the camera. That puts a greater load on the battery, which can cause the voltage to sag more and shut down quicker.

[tori729]

Thanks guys, that's super helpful! I may try to sell the old one so I want to be honest about its condition. I know battery replacement is really only possible by a professional. It's a pretty phone - blue, structurally excellent. Think I can get maybe $100 out of it?