What you need to know
- Some Pixel Slate owners are suffering from debilitating hardware failure.
- The issue affects the flash storage and renders the device unusable.
- Google is aware of the issue and is working on finding a fix.
The Pixel Slate is suffering from a hardware issue that renders it unusable for those affected, Android Police reported. It's unclear what the precise issue is, only that it has something to do with the flash storage and that it's a hardware fault.
Going off user reports, once the issue strikes, the Slate will still work with minor errors before eventually just failing to do anything that involves using the fie storage — which covers a lot of things you'd want to do on a computer. Major things like downloading files and creating folders won't work, and you won't be able to use Android apps.
As per the folks over at Android Police:
We reached out to Google to see just what was going on with the Pixel Slate's i5 variant. A representative tells us that Google has yet to reproduce or pinpoint the cause of this misbehavior. However, they assure that the Google product team is actively working on finding the root cause of these users' issues.
It;s worth noting that Google did say they were aware of the issue all the way back in 2019, but seeing as a fix has yet to materialize, it's not looking food.
Google products are often really helpful, minimally designed, pierces of tech — when they work. When devices fail like this, it's possible in many cases to still get it repaired or replaced under warranty since it's a hardware failure if you're in a country that offers a 2-year warranty with some EU countries going as far as 6 years.
Hopefully, Google can still sort out a fix soon, but it's unclear if there's anything it can do for owners of devices who have already fallen victim to this.
Pixelbook Go
Google made a much better-recieved device with the Pixelbook Go. With a form-factor built for everyone and a low-starting price, the Go outpaces the Slate in every way that matters.
