Pixel 3 XL thinks it's charging, but it's not

[Mighty]

My Pixel 3 XL has been plugged in for the last few hours, and it has gone from 75% to 57%. The icon shows the charging symbol. But, the history graph shows that it has been dropping this entire time.

This issue is intermittent. I'm not keeping close track, but at its worst, I would say this happens one in four times. Sometimes, the problem will go away for a couple of weeks, then come back.

It happens on multiple chargers and multiple cables, including when plugged into a couple of different PCs. I think all of my chargers are various Anker models that I've bought within the last few years.

Rebooting usually clears it up for a few pluggings, but not always. Occasionally, it'll still not charge immediately after a reboot.

When it gets into this situation, I can unplug the cable and the charge symbol will remain on the icon. I've let it sit for several minutes, and the lightning bolt never goes away.

The phone is not hot, barely warm, in fact, so I don't think it's malware running the CPU and GPU at full tilt.

I've been living with it for several months. I'm finally at a point where I'm hoping someone can help me figure out what's going on.

TIA,
Drake Christensen

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It looks like the only way I can respond to these answers is to edit my post?

I'm hoping to avoid setting up a new phone. Some stuff comes through fine. But, a lot requires individual setup, so that makes it fairly painful. So, I'm hoping to not have to get a replacement phone, nor factory reset.

Nobody has any ideas on troubleshooting this beyond uninstalling apps?

 

[mustang7757]

My Pixel 3 XL has been plugged in for the last few hours, and it has gone from 75% to 57%. The icon shows the charging symbol. But, the history graph shows that it has been dropping this entire time.

This issue is intermittent. I'm not keeping close track, but at its worst, I would say this happens one in four times. Sometimes, the problem will go away for a couple of weeks, then come back.

It happens on multiple chargers and multiple cables, including when plugged into a couple of different PCs. I think all of my chargers are various Anker models that I've bought within the last few years.

Rebooting usually clears it up for a few pluggings, but not always. Occasionally, it'll still not charge immediately after a reboot.

When it gets into this situation, I can unplug the cable and the charge symbol will remain on the icon. I've let it sit for several minutes, and the lightning bolt never goes away.

The phone is not hot, barely warm, in fact, so I don't think it's malware running the CPU and GPU at full tilt.

I've been living with it for several months. I'm finally at a point where I'm hoping someone can help me figure out what's going on.

TIA,
Drake Christensen

I would call Google for a replacement.

 

[GSDer]

This issue is intermittent. I'm not keeping close track, but at its worst, I would say this happens one in four times. Sometimes, the problem will go away for a couple of weeks, then come back....Rebooting usually clears it up for a few pluggings, but not always. Occasionally, it'll still not charge immediately after a reboot.

I'd suggest rebooting into Safe mode whenever this occurs. If the problem goes away then you might try running in Safe mode for a couple of days - if the problem never occurs then you have some weird 3rd party application causing the problem.
Or just do a Factory Reset and setup as New and don't load any 3rd party applications and if it still occurs then it's time for a warranty replacement.

 

[B. Diddy]

Another thing to do is to make sure the port isn't clogged with any debris. Use a can of compressed air to blow it out, and a fine toothpick to root around for any remaining debris.

 

[Mighty]

Ah, now I have a reply box.

I saw some sites that suggested making sure the port is clear, and I did just now spray it with a can of air. The slot is narrow enough that I can't tell if there's anything on the pins. If there is, it must be pretty thin/flat. Also, I'm not sure debris fits the thinks-it's-charging-even-after-it's-unplugged symptom.

This phone is pure stock ROM. Not rooted. So, I'd be surprised if an app could interfere with the charging. And, I wouldn't expect an app to be so intermittent.

Very frustrating.

 

[B. Diddy]

Also, I'm not sure debris fits the thinks-it's-charging-even-after-it's-unplugged symptom.

Yeah, I was thinking that as well. Perhaps if the debris were metallic, it might be triggering some contact in the port, but that's pure speculation.

 

[Ravenwjf]

So, I am having an issue now with my phone thinks it's charging, but it's a little different. I got an update the other day, assuming it's the April update and ever since my phone will not charge on the Pixel stand. It says at the bottom charging rapidly, but it's actually still depleting the battery. I woke up the day after the update with my Pixel 3 still on the stand, and when I looked at it, it was down to 4%. I charged it on the way to work fine with a car charger, and last night I tried it again on the stand...but I watched it carefully. It said it was charging rapidly, but actually wasn't and was still depleting. I pulled the cord out of the stand and plugged it into the phone and it charges fine that way. So, somehow my Pixel stand will not charge after the phone update....I have forced the phone to forget the stand and started over with the setup, rebooted my phone numerous times, but no matter what, the stand will not charge the phone on this new update even though everything looks like it's working. The stand screen pops up, the photo show comes up, just no charging.

 

[bigokro]

Ah, now I have a reply box.

I saw some sites that suggested making sure the port is clear, and I did just now spray it with a can of air. The slot is narrow enough that I can't tell if there's anything on the pins. If there is, it must be pretty thin/flat. Also, I'm not sure debris fits the thinks-it's-charging-even-after-it's-unplugged symptom.

This phone is pure stock ROM. Not rooted. So, I'd be surprised if an app could interfere with the charging. And, I wouldn't expect an app to be so intermittent.

Very frustrating.

Hello from 3 years in the future! Did you ever get this worked out?
I have a Pixel 3 XL, had it for years, and never had this problem. Then I replaced the battery with a non-OEM replacement. Now I have the exact same problem: it will be charging normally, then at some point stops, but says it's still charging. If I unplug the cable, it still says it's charging. If I plug it back it, it says it's charging, but doesn't.

This isn't a connection problem. If it were, rebooting wouldn't work, but bizarrely it does. It's hard to imagine that software could affect the charging of a battery, but there's no denying it.

Anyone figure this out?

 

[Mighty]

Hello from 3 years in the future! Did you ever get this worked out?

I normally have a good memory for this sort of thing, but I actually can't remember for sure. My vague recollection is that it ended up clearing itself up. I ended up keeping that phone until upgrading to a Pixel 6 Pro last year. Since I can't remember, there's no way I was living with it that entire time. I know I didn't do anything specific to fix it. So, it must have just been an update that cleared it up. Since that phone probably isn't getting updates, anymore, it's probably not going to change it's behavior.

So, in your case, your best bet is to do a factory reset and maybe leave off a few of the apps you don't really need, or appear maybe slightly sketchier than normal.

Or, bite the bullet and upgrade, since you're not receiving security updates, anymore.

 

[Hendrik Eka]

Hello from 3 years in the future! Did you ever get this worked out?
I have a Pixel 3 XL, had it for years, and never had this problem. Then I replaced the battery with a non-OEM replacement. Now I have the exact same problem: it will be charging normally, then at some point stops, but says it's still charging. If I unplug the cable, it still says it's charging. If I plug it back it, it says it's charging, but doesn't.

This isn't a connection problem. If it were, rebooting wouldn't work, but bizarrely it does. It's hard to imagine that software could affect the charging of a battery, but there's no denying it.

Anyone figure this out?

I think maybe it's because the battery. I tried charging my pixel with wireless charging but still not charged.