What you need to know
- The Pixel 8 series is experiencing connectivity and overheating problems, and users of the regular model are reporting rapid battery drain when using mobile data.
- The Exynos 5300 modem on the Tensor G3 is believed to be the culprit behind the battery drain issue.
- Google may be able to resolve the connectivity and battery drain issues with a software update.
Mobile data appears to be quickly draining the Google Pixel 8, with the device running out of juice much faster than on Wi-Fi, causing many users headaches.
Pixel 8 owners have complained on various online forums about their batteries draining quickly and their phones getting warm when they use mobile data a lot. Some users are also having random connectivity issues and getting slow 5G speeds.
One user took to Google's support forum to say their week-old Pixel 8 had only 20% battery left after less than three hours of use. Android Police's Rajesh Pandey also had battery and overheating problems with his Pixel 8 Pro.
The rapid battery drain doesn't seem to happen when the phone is connected to Wi-Fi. Google has yet to shed light on the issue, but some Pixel 8 users posted on Reddit that the Exynos 5300 modem may be causing the battery drain, with most of them barely getting five hours of screen-on time on mobile data, compared to around seven hours on Wi-Fi.
It looks like Google's latest and greatest Android phones can't keep a good signal in places where other phones like the Pixel 7 usually work fine. Some Pixel 8 users reported having the same bad signal and connection problems as the Pixel 6.
It can be recalled that the Pixel 6 series was known for its bad signal and reception. Google fixed a lot of this with the Pixel 7 series, but some problems lingered.
Other users have complained on XDA forums that the Pixel 8 gets warm while charging or even browsing the web. It's not clear how many people are having this problem, but some Pixel 8 users say the phone feels cooler than older Pixel phones, which have had overheating problems in the past.
For many people, including Google fans who don't want to spend a lot of money and those who want a powerful phone, the Pixel 8 is a great option. But even though Google has made a lot of progress in making better phones, some old problems still persist.
Google will presumably release a bunch of fixes for these connectivity, overheating, and battery drain problems through a software update.
