How to troubleshoot a Google Pixel 2 XL that won’t turn on, other issues

Hello and welcome to today’s #GooglePixel2 and #GooglePixel2XL troubleshooting article. It has recently come to our attention that a number of Pixel 2 users are reporting charging and power-related issues on their devices. As a response, we’ve decided to come up with this troubleshooting article. Do let us know if the solutions we provide below will help.

If you are looking for solutions to your own #Android issue, you can contact us by using the link provided at the bottom of this page.

When describing your issue, please be as detailed as possible so we can easily pinpoint a relevant solution. If you can, kindly include the exact error messages you are getting to give us an idea where to start. If you have already tried some troubleshooting steps before emailing us, make sure to mention them so we can skip them in our answers.

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

Hi. I have a Pixel 2 XL unbranded that i bought directly from Google. Tuesday Jan 2, my phone power cycled itself. after rebooting, i lost bluetooth connection, then the phone shut down and wouldn’t reboot. it’s not rooted and no physical or water damage, not even a scratch. contacted Google. I was sent to ubreakifix. They said that its a software issue. I tried Google again and they absolutely no help. Any ideas are greatly appreciated. — Norman

Solution: Hi Norman. There’s a set of troubleshooting steps that you need to follow in order to narrow down possible causes of your problem. Without the full history of your device, we are just as clueless as you when it comes to identifying the reason for your problem.

Verify that charging cable and adapter are working

This is the very first thing that you should do in this situation. It’s possible that the reason for your phone’s failure to boot is a bad cable or adapter. To check if the USB cable and charger is defective, you can either try to use another set of cable and adapter, or use the current set to charge a different Android device.

Check the charging port

The charging port can sometimes accumulate dust, lint, or foreign objects. Make sure that you check it by using a magnifier or other magnifying tool to look inside. Avoid sticking anything in the port to prevent bending the pins. If you think the charging port is dirty or has something foreign in it, try to use a can of compressed to clean it up.

Check the power outlet

If you tend to charge in the same part of the house, it’s also good if you can use a different power outlet. The current outlet your using may be defective. If you want, you can also plug another device in that same outlet to see if it will charge the other phone.

Remove extra accessories if you have them

If you’re using a case, make sure to remove it to see if it’s the one causing the power button to malfunction. If you’re not using any, just ignore this step.

Check if your Google Pixel 2 is charging

One of the reasons why your Pixel device may appear not to turn on is a depleted battery. Make sure that you troubleshoot the battery charge by plugging in the phone for at least 10 minutes. If the screen displays a battery icon, then the phone is simply turned off and is currently charging. In this case, you can simply restart your phone.

However, if there’s a red light when your phone is charging, the battery must had been depleted and was fully discharged. If there’s a flashing red light while you’re charging it, there’s not enough power to power your phone back on. Continue charging your device for at least an hour before attempting to turn it back on.

Check if it’s a bad screen issue

If your Pixel does not show any battery icon or red light when charging, it’s possible that your phone has a broken screen problem. To turn the phone back on, press the Power button for at least 30 seconds, then wait for about 2 minutes. Then, try to call your own number using another phone. If your Pixel rings, then you have a bad screen issue.

Troubleshoot using your phone’s buttons

Another way to troubleshoot the issue is to try using your phone’s hardware buttons. With your phone plugged in, press and hold both the volume-down button and the power button at the same time for at least 20 seconds.

If a red light shows up, your battery is fully discharged. To fix the problem, charge your phone for at least 30 minutes. After that, press and hold the power button for a few seconds, then proceed to restart the device.

If you see an Android robot and the word “Start” with an arrow around it, you can fix the issue by pressing the volume-down button until you see the option to Power off. Then, press the power button to select Power off. Charge your phone for at least 30 minutes. Afterwards, press and hold the power button for a few seconds and restart the phone.

Tip: If you don’t see Restart, press and hold the power button for about 30 seconds, until your phone restarts.

Contact Google support to have the phone repaired or replaced

If all the steps above won’t fix the problem at all, send the phone in. There must be a hardware malfunction causing the issue.

Problem 2: Can’t buy Pixel 2 charger from Google directly

I have been using Pixel 2 for a month. It has been days since my original charger stopped working.Now I’m using a different charger which doesn’t perform up to the mark.I have tried contacting Google to replace my charger but there has been no response from their side. I don’t have the provision to buy the original charger from the Google online store as it is not available in India.If you could help me out to buy the original charger, would appreciate it! Thanks! — Praveen

Solution: Hi Praveen. If you can’t source a Pixel 2 charger from Google directly, then we suggest that you try third party chargers instead. There are a number of good third party alternatives out there so you can definitely try them out. Amazon usually ships to almost every country around the world so you can try any of these products:

  • Anker 39w Dual Fast Charger
  • Aukey 27w Power Delivery Charger
  • Tronsmart Dual Port Fast Charger

Problem 3: Google Pixel 2 XL No charging issue fixed by turning off battery saver mode off

Hi. how are you? So I have a Google Pixel 2 XL and was suffering from from phone that wasn’t charging which pushed me to search for solutions after which I found this checklist. I did everything that you said to do except for a master reboot as I knew I wouldn’t have enough battery for that and it’s a very long and tedious process.

Anyway none of those things worked for me and I can’t say the master reboot would not have worked. however when I was thinking back to what I did with the phone before this happened I remembered that I had switched on battery saver mode earlier this morning. Thinking a bug could have caused that to stop my phone charging and knowing it was a long shot, I swiped down from the top, clicked on battery saver to turn it on again, then clicked on it again to switch it off and behold my battery started charging instantly because I saw the lighting sign come up on top of the battery. Just thought I’d share this with you because I think it’s a problem many people might be experiencing and it might be a software bug with the computing of the battery saver application. This worked for me perfectly and I thought you might want to add it to your solutions list as it takes 2 seconds to try this out. Thankyou. — Joehanna2496

Solution: Hi Joehanna2496. As the name suggests, battery saver mode lets your device extend its power source by turning off some features and apps. To save power, your Pixel 2 has to do these things:

  • disable Google Maps Navigation
  • minimize vibration, location services, and most background data
  • won’t update email, messaging, or other apps that sync, until you open them
  • turns off Always on display

We haven’t heard of other users reporting any battery saver mode bug before so your case must be an isolated one. Nevertheless, we appreciate your effort in letting us know that you were able to fix your charging issue by simply turning battery saver off. We’ll continue to listen to other Pixel users to see if the same solution can be repeated if their device happens to stop charging for no reason.


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