Connect with us

Google

PSA: Don’t charge your Pixel 6 with a cheap charging cable

Google says everything is working as intended.

Pixel 6 pro preorder info

If you’ve recently bought a Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro and found it wouldn’t charge with some of your chargers, throw out that cable before you do anything else. Your new flagship device is (probably) working as intended, rejecting low-quality or out-of-spec cables so it doesn’t damage your phone.

9to5Google noticed a growing number of users on Google’s support forums saying that using their existing chargers resulted in their Pixel 6 charging slowly, or in some cases, not at all.

The thing is, when we heard earlier this year that Google wouldn’t be putting a charging brick in the boxes for the Pixel 6 range, we thought it might be okay.

I mean, everyone has at least a USB-A charging brick that should be enough to charge a smartphone. Heck, most people have USB-C chargers now, so putting the USB-C to USB-C cable that Google provides into their existing charger shouldn’t cause issues.

Google pixel and charger
Image: Unsplash

The problem is that so many generic charging bricks and USB-C cables play loose and free with charging standards, like the USB PD standard that Google uses for its Pixel range.

Google even states that “Other Android cables and power adapters might not work with Pixel phones,” as Pixels don’t use any of the other fast charging standards, like Qualcomm’s Quick Charge, OnePlus Warp Charge, or similar.

To avoid disappointment, you’ll need to replace all of your existing chargers with ones that support USB Power Delivery (PD), then banish all of your existing chargers to the netherworld (aka that drawer in your kitchen) so you don’t accidentally pick up one of the older, incompatible chargers.

Yes, that means actually increasing e-waste; not reducing it by not including a compatible charging brick in the box was supposed to do. So much for manufacturers like Google bragging about saving the environment.

Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.

Follow us on Flipboard, Google News, or Apple News

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere. His hobbies include photography, animation, and hoarding Reddit gold.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

TikTok wants to give you free money

More in Google