Pour one out, my 3 XL died :(

[B. Diddy]

Sadly, my Pixel 3 XL decided to take a permanent vacation.:'( I was on a short trip to Monterey, and the phone was working fine the first day -- but the following morning, it was dead as a doornail. Tried all the usual things -- different charging cable and plug, wireless charging, pressing all combinations of Power, Vol Up, and/or Vol Down for upwards of a minute each time. Nada. I know there have been issues reported with the camera malfunctioning, but I don't recall any news stories about sudden hardware failures being common with the phone. I had Google Preferred Care, but of course that expired in March (so the phone was 2 years 4 months old).

Fortunately, I have a backup Galaxy A32 5G (always have a backup phone if possible!), but it was at home, so I drove 1.5 hours back to get it. It works fine, but this was a perfect (if undesired) way to starkly compare the camera quality of both phones, since I had already taken a full day of photos with the Pixel before it died. The A32's camera is so much worse at low light, contrast, motion, and zoom. Wide angle is probably the best thing about it.

Of course, I've been waiting for the upcoming Pixel 6, so my original plan was to use this A32 5G until the 6 launches. But my experience with the camera was so frustrating that I quickly searched the web and ordered a refurb Pixel 3a XL from Daily Steals for $88. That will probably take a week or so to get to me, which is not soon enough!

 

[mustang7757]

That sucks
I agree a back up device is definitely a way to go , but the A32 would never ever stand a chance against the pixel camera its a budget phone.

 

[B. Diddy]

Oh I know -- I certainly wasn't expecting it to compete. It just made me realize quickly that I really need the Pixel Camera!

 

[stevenjb2020]

RIP Pixel 3 XL

 

[BerryBubbles]

It will be missed... at least until the Pixel 6 is released....

 

[J Dubbs]

Sadly, my Pixel 3 XL decided to take a permanent vacation.:'( I was on a short trip to Monterey, and the phone was working fine the first day -- but the following morning, it was dead as a doornail. Tried all the usual things -- different charging cable and plug, wireless charging, pressing all combinations of Power, Vol Up, and/or Vol Down for upwards of a minute each time. Nada. I know there have been issues reported with the camera malfunctioning, but I don't recall any news stories about sudden hardware failures being common with the phone. I had Google Preferred Care, but of course that expired in March (so the phone was 2 years 4 months old).

Fortunately, I have a backup Galaxy A32 5G (always have a backup phone if possible!), but it was at home, so I drove 1.5 hours back to get it. It works fine, but this was a perfect (if undesired) way to starkly compare the camera quality of both phones, since I had already taken a full day of photos with the Pixel before it died. The A32's camera is so much worse at low light, contrast, motion, and zoom. Wide angle is probably the best thing about it.

Of course, I've been waiting for the upcoming Pixel 6, so my original plan was to use this A32 5G until the 6 launches. But my experience with the camera was so frustrating that I quickly searched the web and ordered a refurb Pixel 3a XL from Daily Steals for $88. That will probably take a week or so to get to me, which is not soon enough!

I'm sorry to hear that B At least you got to enjoy that Nomad case I talked you into getting for a while The pixel 6 is going to be amazing

 

[Kizzy Catwoman]

It is bad news about the 3xl dying like that. I know you really liked that phone. It seems a shame that modern technology just seems to be so flimsy compared to products of old. That we can spend so much money and be lucky to get just over 2 years from it is quite shocking. It happens with phones and kitchen gadgets like washing machines and even televisions.

Not long till the Pixel 6 is released and the speed that time seems to fly by these days it will soon be October.

 

[IMANUT46]

Sad day in Pixel 3 land. My Pixel 3 will be 3 years old in December.
I guess if there is a silver lining to all of this, it died suddenly and completely so you were spared the anguish of spending lots of time looking for the problem
I'll personally miss your Pixel 3 expertise..

 

[Morty2264]

I'm so sorry that happened to you! The Pixel 3 line was so phenomenal - glad you'll be getting a 3a XL to tide you over! Hopefully it comes sooner rather than later!

 

[patruns]

My wife's Pixel 3 XL had the expanding battery problem. Fortunately, Amazon still has the pink and white ones for $229 new. Glad you sorted it out.

 

[B. Diddy]

My wife's Pixel 3 XL had the expanding battery problem. Fortunately, Amazon still has the pink and white ones for $229 new. Glad you sorted it out.

Yeah, I'm seeing a whole bunch of Pixel 3 XLs on various sites like Woot and Daily Steals for around $180-200 new (not refurb), but ultimately I didn't think it'd be worth spending that amount for a phone I expect to use for only another 4-5 months. Although maybe I could get a little more trade-in value for it, but knowing Google, it still wouldn't be much ...

 

[EnthalpiousKitten]

I know I am a bit late to the thread since I took a break from the forums, but @B. Diddy you should take the phone to a place that does board repair. This type of sudden death sounds like a classic PMIC (power management chip) or filter capacitor failure. If it's a capacitor, it's probably shorting a main power rail to ground and triggering the battery's short circuit protection. This is a cheap fix, at least cheaper than even a used phone. If it's the PMIC, you'll probably have to wait for the shop to get the chip from China.

 

[B. Diddy]

I know I am a bit late to the thread since I took a break from the forums, but @B. Diddy you should take the phone to a place that does board repair. This type of sudden death sounds like a classic PMIC (power management chip) or filter capacitor failure. If it's a capacitor, it's probably shorting a main power rail to ground and triggering the battery's short circuit protection. This is a cheap fix, at least cheaper than even a used phone. If it's the PMIC, you'll probably have to wait for the shop to get the chip from China.

Thanks, but at this point, I think even a relatively low cost of repair wouldn't be worth it. I've already transitioned to my temporary $88 Pixel 3a XL (which is doing quite well!), and will definitely be getting the Pixel 6 (likely Pro) when it becomes available.

 

[IMANUT46]

Thanks, but at this point, I think even a relatively low cost of repair wouldn't be worth it. I've already transitioned to my temporary $88 Pixel 3a XL (which is doing quite well!), and will definitely be getting the Pixel 6 (likely Pro) when it becomes available.

My pixel 3 is the same age as your dead pixel 3A. What data , if anything, did you lose in the transition, and if you had a crystal ball, what would you have done in preparation?

 

[B. Diddy]

I can't really think of anything important that I lost, since I keep everything synced or backed up. The only things I know I lost were photos in MMS messages, since only SMS messages are backed up to Google -- but that's ok, because if someone sent me a photo that was important, I would've downloaded it and saved it to my Google Photos. I use Google Chat/Hangouts with my family, and those chats were completely preserved.

 

[IMANUT46]

Thanks

 

[gendo667]

To the fallen. Saluti!

 

[IMANUT46]

This thread has made me somewhat paranoid about my aging pixel 3 (3 years). I want to plan for the worst case scenario, total sudden failure (won't boot). My life is stored in my pixel 3. What I need to know is what data is stored on the cloud. It would be great if someone who has experienced this disaster., would share the recovery steps taken. I'm open to any suggestions. Thanks.

 

[B. Diddy]

That depends largely on what apps you use. Google apps are great because you know they sync to your Google account in the cloud (but for some of the apps, you need to make sure the backup feature is on, like Google Photos). Most apps from good developers will also have a good sync/backup function, but there will always be some that don't. Can you list your important apps, or are there too many to consider?

 

[IMANUT46]

That depends largely on what apps you use. Google apps are great because you know they sync to your Google account in the cloud (but for some of the apps, you need to make sure the backup feature is on, like Google Photos). Most apps from good developers will also have a good sync/backup function, but there will always be some that don't. Can you list your important apps, or are there too many to consider?

Thanks. Yes, I have many apps. I use most of the maln stream Google apps. Docs, Sheets, Keep, Maps, Photos, etc. I know most are on the Cloud. Not sure about Keep, Textra, which I use heavily. My problem in understanding Backups is that if I lose all use of my Pixel, where are the backups? I think I'm over complicating the issue. I guess I'm asking if I log into my Google account with my replacement phone, will my data be there and all I need to do is log in to each account and my data will be there. Thanks for your patience.