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Google says Pixel battery drain will be fixed – here’s what we know
Google says it has finally addressed the battery drain issues that have frustrated many Pixel owners over the past few months. However, early user feedback suggests the problem may not be over just yet.
In an update posted to its public Issue Tracker, Google confirmed that it has fixed a bug responsible for severe idle battery drain on several recent Pixel phones. The company says the fix has already been included in the July 2026 software update for the Pixel 9 and Pixel 10 families. However, owners of the Pixel 8a and Pixel 9a will need to wait until the September Quarterly Platform Release (QPR).
According to Google, the issue is related to what it describes as “Severe Idle Drain: kepler_spi_irq_handler & gnss_ipc Suspend Aborts.” The July update (build CP2A.260705.006) includes the fix for the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, Pixel 10 Pro XL and Pixel 10a.
The announcement follows months of complaints from Pixel owners. After reports first emerged in April, recent software updates were dramatically reducing battery life. Some users claimed their phones were losing power so quickly that overall battery endurance was effectively cut in half, even when the devices were idle.
However, Google’s decision to mark the issue as fixed hasn’t gone down well with everyone.
The Issue Tracker thread quickly filled with replies from users arguing that the July update hasn’t resolved the problem on their devices. At the time of writing, dozens of comments continue to report excessive battery drain, while others criticised Google for closing the issue before fully addressing it.
There’s also another unanswered question. While Google’s update confirms fixes for the Pixel 9, Pixel 10 and the upcoming September update for the Pixel 8a and Pixel 9a, it doesn’t mention other affected handsets. Reports of unusual battery drain have also come from owners of Pixel 7 and Pixel 8 series devices. Consequently, it is unclear whether those models will receive a similar software fix.
For now, Google maintains that the July update resolves the issue for supported devices. The coming weeks should reveal whether the latest patch fixes the issue for most users or whether Google may need to release further updates.
