What to do if Google Pixel 3 XL cable and wireless charging stops working

Most charging issues for Google Pixel 3 XL devices affects cable charging only but as one user details below, both wired (cable charging) and wireless charging can also occur. Learn what to do when faced with a problem like this.

Problem: Google Pixel 3 XL cable and wireless charging stops working

I just got my Google Pixel 3 XL. yesterday morning it worked fine. the chargers that came with it (a wall and a wireless) worked fine. I woke up and realized I didn’t charge it so it was at 7%.

So I put it on the wireless charger and seen it would take 9 hours to get a full charge. so I left it to charge. later I checked and seen it was at 57% so I checked back a little later to find it was not charging anymore and would no longer turn on.

At this point neither the wall or wireless charger will work for it but they are working for other devices. This phone is brand new and has not been dropped or damaged in any way. Also it never reached 0% battery as I put it on the charger at 7%.

Solution: There’s a number of troubleshooting steps that you need to do to identify the cause of the problem, or to fix the issue itself. Follow our suggestions below to know what you can do.

Forced reboot

The first troubleshooting step that you want to do is to ensure that you refresh the system. Some bugs may develop temporarily if a device is left to run for some time. However, most of them are also fixed by simply restarting the system. In your case, you can try to simulate the effects of a “battery pull.” Doing so will turn clear the RAM and keeps the system up and running fresh again. To force reboot your device, you can press and hold the Power button for about 10 seconds. After restarting it, check for the problem again.

Charge thru PC

Some users were able to jump start the charging function again after plugging in their device to a computer. There’s no logical explanation from Google yet as to why this trick did work on some cases. We think it may due to the fact that PC charging provides lower amperage compared to a standard Google Pixel 3 charger. If you haven’t charged your Pixel this way yet, be sure to give it a try.

Charge on Safe Mode

We can’t entirely rule out the possibility of an app blocking the system from charging so what you want to do next is to restart your Pixel 3 XL to Safe Mode. Safe Mode is a separate software environment on your Android device that blocks all third party apps. It is usually used by technicians to check for bad downloaded apps but can also be used by end users when troubleshooting. If you are yet to try this, follow the steps below on how to restart your phone to safe mode:

Press and hold the Power button.
On your screen, touch and hold Power off.
Tap OK.
After you see “Safe mode” at the bottom of your screen, wait to see if the problem goes away.

Remember, safe mode blocks third party or downloaded apps. If the problem goes away in safe mode, you can bet one of the apps is to blame. To identify which of your downloaded apps is causing the problem:

To exit safe mode, restart your device.
One by one, uninstall recently downloaded apps. After each removal, restart your device. See whether removing that app solved the problem.
After you remove the app that’s causing the problem, you can reinstall the other apps that you removed.

Install Android OS updates (system updates)

Android evolves so new bugs and problems may happen from time to time. To minimize the chance of bugs from developing, you want to make sure that the software runs the latest Android version. Make sure to set your Pixel 3 XL to automatically install updates so you’ll not miss anything.

Reset app preferences

Some apps and services require other default or system apps in order to do their tasks. The same is true for charging. There may be some system changes that disabled needed defaults apps for your phone’s charging function. To ensure that all default apps are on, follow the steps below.

Go to Settings.
Apps & notifications
Tap See all apps. If See all apps is not available, tap App info.
Tap on Three vertical dots from top of the right side corner.
Tap on Reset app preferences.
Confirm by tapping on RESET APPS.

Factory reset

This is a drastic troubleshooting step but it can also be an effective way to help in fixing the problem. If the cause is software-related, wiping your phone thru factory reset may work.

To factory reset your Google Pixel 3 XL:

Create a backup of your personal data.
Turn off your Google Pixel 3 XL.
Press and hold the Power+Volume Down buttons until bootloader mode (image of an Android with Start above it) appears, then release.
Select Recovery mode. You can use the Volume buttons to cycle through the available options and the Power button to select. The device will flash the Google start screen momentarily and then restarts in Recovery mode.
If presented with an image of a broken Android with “No Command” printed on the screen, press and hold the Power button. Press the Volume Up button once. Then release the Power button.
From the Android Recovery screen, select Wipe data/factory reset.
Select Yes. Wait for several minutes for the factory data reset process to complete.
Select Reboot system now. Allow several minutes for the factory data reset and reboot processes to complete.
Set the phone up again.

Get professional help

Should the issue remain after wiping the phone, it is most probably beyond your ability to fix. The most likely cause is hardware failure. Charging function needs both software and hardware in order to work. As an end user, there’s only so much that you can do so be sure to contact Google or the store where you got the phone from so you can have it repaired or replaced. Check the warranty details to know the extent of your coverage.