How to fix a Google Pixel 2 XL that won’t turn on, keeps getting stuck on Google logo screen

Hello Google Pixel users! Today’s troubleshooting article addresses two common issues for the #GooglePixel2 and #GooglePixel2XL. We hope you’ll find this post helpful.

Problem #1: How to fix a Google Pixel 2 XL that won’t turn on

Hi, i’ve had my google pixel 2 XL for a few months now and i have had no real problems with the device. About a month ago a slightly cracked the phones screen at the top of the device, however i have not been to get this fixed as it wasnt causing any bother and the device has been working perfectly until now.  I woke up this morning and the phone started crashing when on apps, putting in padlocks and other general use. The battery was easily over 50% charged but the phone broke down and turned off. i have been trying different methods to get the phone back on but so far nothing has worked. the phone isnt even showing any signs of it working as it doesn’t say its charging or give me any flicker of being alive.

Solution: These are the possible reasons for your issue:

  • charging cable and/or accessories are damaged
  • charging port is broken
  • screen is damaged
  • battery malfunction
  • general hardware failure

Check the charging accessories

This should be the first troubleshooting step that you need to check. Your Pixel 2 may not be turning on because the battery is not charged due to faulty charging cable or adapter. If you have another set of charging accessories, try charging your Pixel 2 using that and see what happens. Or, if you have another Pixel device, try charging it using the current cable and adapter. Either way should help you determine if the problem lies on those accessories.

Charge for at least an hour

Once you’ve determined that there’s no issue with the charging accessories at all, make sure to leave the phone charging for at least an hour. This should help ensure that there’s enough charge on the battery before you attempt to turn the phone back on.

Check the charging port

The charging port is one of the most commonly damaged part of any smartphone. This can happen if a user is not particularly careful everytime he or she inserts or unplug the charging cable. Inserting the wrong cable may physically damage the tiny connectors inside, bending or totally ruining them. To see for obvious physical damage, try to use a magnifying tool so you can see inside. If you can’t do that, just leave it. There’s nothing much that you can do to fix a broken charging port anyway. The purpose of this suggestion is to help you identify where the issue is possibly coming from, which may be helpful if you decide to let a professional repair the phone.

What to do if phone is on but screen is black

If your Pixel 2 still makes a sound, vibrates, or shows some other signs that it’s powering on, then the issue must lie on the screen only. Unfortunately, in this case, you’ll most probably still end up with screen replacement. Make sure to let Google do the repair for you to ensure that everything is handled properly.

In case there’s an issue with one of the third party apps, preventing the screen from working properly, you can try to boot the phone to safe mode. Here’s how to do that:

  1. With the device powered on, press and hold the Power button (located on the right-edge) until the Power off prompt appears then release.
  2. Touch and hold Power off until the “Reboot to safe mode” prompt appears then release.
  3. Tap OK to confirm.
  4. Note The restart process may take up to 45 seconds to complete.
  5. Note Upon restart, “Safe mode” appears in the lower-left of the unlock/home screen.

If your Pixel 2 will start to Safe Mode but not on normal mode that means you have an app issue. To identify which of your apps is causing the trouble, you should boot the phone back to safe mode and follow these steps:

  1. Boot to safe mode.
  2. Check for the problem.
  3. Once you’ve confirmed that a third party app is to blame, you can start uninstalling apps individually. We suggest that you begin with the most recent ones you added.
  4. After you uninstall an app, restart the phone to normal mode and check for the problem.
  5. If your Pixel 2 XL is still problematic, repeat steps 1-4 until you’ve figured out the app.

Boot to recovery mode

Alternatively, you can also try to see if your phone can boot to Recovery Mode at this time. Unlike in safe mode, doing this troubleshooting step is meant to check if there’s any issue with Android operating system. Recovery Mode is a different software environment that’s not dependent on Android. If your phone can boot to Recovery but not on normal mode, you can bet you have a software issue.

  1. Turn off the device. This is important. If you can’t turn it off, you’ll never be able to boot to RecoveryMode. If you are not able to shut the device off regularly via the Power button, wait until the phone’s battery is drained. Then, charge the phone for 30 minutes before booting to Recovery Mode. If the phone won’t charge and the phone has been unresponsive for some time, skip this suggestion. There’s no point doing the rest of the steps below if the phone is totally dead (no power and won’t charge).
  2. Press & hold Power + Volume down buttons and wait for few seconds. If nothing works at this point (won’t boot to bootloader mode), then the phone is dead. Repeat steps 1 and 2 one more time. If still nothing, don’t waste your time and effort with the rest of the steps below.
  3. If your phone responds and boots to bootloader mode, then that’s a good sign.
  4. Here, use Volume down button to go down the list and highlight Recovery mode
  5. Use Power button that will take you to boot into recovery mode
  6. You will see Android broken logo here and in order to pass it follow the rest of guidelines
  7. Press & hold Power button then press the Volume UP button once to boot into stock recovery
  8. That’s hardware buttons of booting into recovery mode (in Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL)

In bootloader mode, you can install  custom ROMs or stock firmware or factory reset your device. Make sure to hit “wipe data/factory reset” to factory reset your device.

Repair

If nothing works at this point, you can assume that you have a hardware issue. It can be a bad battery, screen assembly, or the motherboard. Contact your local phone repair shop for their opinion.

Problem #2: Google Pixel 2 has multiple glitches and keeps getting stuck on Google logo screen

For the past month and a half i have been experiencing the following problems:

-Volume lowers automatically until its muted – happens with all apps: spotify, youtube, etc… -Phone gets really hot when charging -Phone does not receive phone calls -Mic and camera work intermittently – i would have to reboot my phone 2-3 times just to make a phone call! -Phone would get very glitchy intermittently – after 2-3 minutes of the glitch appearing, it would reboot itself and get stuck at the loading screen with the google logo displaying. I would have to hold the power button for several seconds for it to do a cold reboot and then it will be fine for an hour. The above problems are basically making this phone useless.. I purchased this phone in April of 2017, its been barely a year…. what is going on??? It is my first time purchasing a google product and i have to say i am extremely disappointed.

Solution: Granted your Pixel 2 is not rooted, flashed with unofficial firmware, or physically damaged, factory reset should fix the issues. The glitches you mention may be caused by a bad app or an operating system bug.

To factory reset your Pixel 2, follow these steps:

  1. Create a backup of your files.
  2. If your device is on, turn it off. This is important. If you can’t turn it off, you’ll never be able to boot to Recovery Mode. If you are not able to shut the device off regularly via the Power button, wait until the phone’s battery is drained.
  3. Press and hold the Volume down button. While holding Volume down, press and hold the
  4. Power button until the phone turns on. You’ll see the word “Start” with an arrow around it.
  5. Press the Volume down button until you highlight “Recovery mode.”
  6. Press the Power button to start recovery mode. You’ll see an image of an Android robot with an exclamation mark (you may also see “No command”).
  7. Press and hold the Power button. While holding Power, press the Volume up button once. Then release the Power button.
  8. If “Wipe data/factory reset” isn’t highlighted, press the Volume down button until it is. Then press the Power button to select it.
  9. Press the Volume down button until you highlight “Yes” (or “Yes – delete all user data”). Then press the Power button to select it.
  10. After the reset is complete, press the Power button to select “Reboot system now.”

Now that your Pixel 2 has been reset, let it run for a few hours after setting it up again. Be sure not to install any app during this time so you’ll know if there’s a difference when no user data are added to the system.

If all goes well, that’s the time that you want to install your apps. Since there’s still a possibility that one of your apps is to blame, make sure to add apps individually. This is a good way for you to know if one of your apps is incompatible or causing interference with Android.

Get professional help

If the same problems occur after a factory reset (and when there are no apps installed yet), you’ll need to send the phone in so its hardware can be examined and fix.


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