Google Pixel 3 (XL) bricking out of nothing | Hacker News Reader

Google Pixel 3 (XL) bricking out of nothing

issuetracker.google.com

155 pointsc0d3z3r0132 comments

Especially with the Pixel lineup, there is a historical quality control issue with Google's phones that I'm worried hasn't been solved yet. I owned:

- Pixel 3: Past few months, volume buttons and power buttons gradually stopped working. USB port works for charging, but when connected to a computer, port connects and disconnects in an infinite loop. Bluetooth connection with car always skips/stutters during Maps usage even though iPhones and other Android devices work fine.

- Pixel: Camera stopped working

- Nexus 5X: Infinite boot loop issue, contacted Google and replaced it using warranty

- Nexus 4: No hardware issues

- Nexus One: No hardware issues

The Nexus phones were less problematic. I suspect it's because they were co-designed/manufactured by LG.

As time goes on, I use my phone less, not more, and I haven't dropped Pixel phones, unlike the Nexus ones.

I'm wary of purchasing the Pixel 3a, 4, or 5 since I don't want to be burned a 3rd time by specifically Google-designed phones. I think it would be best to avoid Android OS updates as much as possible as well.

I'm looking for the next smartphone to be modular. Heavily considering a Linux phone easier to DIY repair.

This is what got me to switch to iPhone. Ewaste is a big problem with Google phones. My wife has always bought iPhones and has gone through half as many phones as me.

I fixed the USB port connecting and disconnecting by replacing the USB port.

I fixed the power+volume buttons not working by replacing the entire connector.

The Bluetooth issue remains as I haven't looked into exactly which parts are responsible for it or how to fix it.

I can try to keep at it forever but it's an uphill battle. I can keep replacing parts on the Pixel 3, but one day the motherboard might die. Unfortunately, I don't want to purchase a hot air rework station and handle reflowing those chips as the pitch of the joints is too fine.

How do you deal with lack of uBlock Origin? It's Android's killer feature: you can have real browsers with extensions.

iOS allows content blockers now, at least for Safari. While it’s not quite as good, it makes the Internet usable again. Firefox focus’s content blocker has been sufficient for me, as a specific recommendation.

iOS 15 (releasing within the next week or so) adds extension support for mobile safari. I’ve been using Wipr with it on the beta and it’s great

ios 15 has browser extensions, though that won't bring ublock origin to ios, or safari.

I deal with it using a dns profile, and content blocking extensions.

I find Brave's built in ad blocker pretty good. It's the only way I consume YouTube on iOS as it generally is effective as blocking ads and actively works around Google's preventing background playback.

They have supported ad blocking extensions for literally years. Though, these days, I'm 100% Wireguarded to my house when away and everything goes through Pihole anyways.

On e-waste: I'm not sure if the Pixel 5 has done better in this aspect, but the Pixel 3/3XL's screen is almost impossible to remove without destroying it. There's low-quality hard-to-remove adhesive all over the screen, and you have to handle both the front-facing portion of the phone and the rear-facing portion in order to handle a screen replacement.

IMO iPhones fare a lot better in terms of screen replacement (and therefore preventing e-waste) because lifting the adhesive is more like a fine string around the screen rather than a thick pool of glue. Once the string is pulled, it's easier to mobilize the screen and gain access to the connectors, etc. There's a higher chance of being able to disconnect the screen and still have it be usable, unlike when replacing a screen on the Pixel lineup.

I just attempted a Pixel 3 screen replacement on a dummy phone. Difficult to do it cleanly without breaking things.

I was preparing to replace my Pixel 3a screen and even got the kit from iFixit when I realized that this would never work.

I took it to the local repair affiliate (ubreakifix) and let them break the screen instead. They were apologetic but I wasn't surprised and I got a new screen and glass for next to nothing.

Oh, I have replaced screen for pixel 3a about 3 times with different vendors. Screens were not original as it was difficult to get them in my country. All 3 had the same issue: bright flash when activated (only sometimes), multitouch almost dis not work, and sometimes had ghost touches. I just bought an iphone SE after that, and I’m perfectly happy with it.

I really tried to switch off apple, but no, I cannot handle it.

Agreed. I was going to post the same thing but I would have expanded beyond phones to all Google and Google related hardware. The amount of ewaste I've generated over the years of buying Google hardware or hardware running Google OSes is appalling. Phones, tablets, media devices, etc... all in the landfill (actually to ewaste facilities).

A few years ago, I finally had enough and switched over to the iphone and haven't looked back. I've had the same phone for the last 3 years and it's still running strong getting the latest updates, performing as well as the day I bought it.

And even if I got rid of it to buy the latest and greatest new version, I would rest easy knowing that it would end up in the hands of someone that would continue to get a lot of use out of it. And even after that, it'll probably end up being used for its parts.

The churn of Google hardware weighs heavier on my conscious than on my wallet, and it hasn't been an inexpensive experience.

Pixel 4A: Known for failures of its OLED screen manifesting as quickly-spreading purple smears.

Interesting, I just RMA'd mine because of this and they asked about liquid damage, etc.. I had no idea this was common. It almost looked as though some purple ink got under the screen.

That's oxidation in the OLED cell. Normally there's supposed to be a hermetic seal around the display to prevent this, but manufacturers have to balance quality and durability against cost and bulk. Samsung just didn't quite hit the mark in that generation.

Samsung have made AMOLED for smartphones for about 10 years and such issue isn't very common on most phones. I doubt Samsung doesn't failed but phone manufacturer failed.

Have a 4a. Have never heard of this.

Pixel XL: usb c to c charging doesn't work, slow charge only

I had two Nexus 4 die the same way: touch stopped working on the bottom half of the screen only. Pretty wacky failure mode.

Yeah, same for me!

Still have a working Nexus 6P which was a Huawei device. But, it runs really slowly around app startup, as if the built in flash device has somehow slowed down. Wish I had a good way of diagnosing by watching kernel events while phone is in use to give me a clue.

On the nexus 5x - it was designed by LG and several non-Nexus LG phones of the same era had the same issues

IIRC the issue was related to how the flash storage device was mounted.

Two of my relatives had Nexus 5 and the power buttons on both devices stopped functioning shortly after the warranty expired

Don't forget the Nexus 6P. I got more settlement cash out of this one phone than every other class action item, combined, in my life.

The Pixel "a" series is solid. The features that Google reserves for their flagship level is laughable (hey Soli) when all most people want is just a reliable phone with a decent update story and maybe a few "premium" features like water resistance and a headphone jack.

I had a terrible experience with the Pixel 3a XL: Within a couple of months the daughter board with the main microphone on it died, so I could only make calls in speaker phone mode or on Bluetooth. Then the USB-C socket degraded to the point where it wouldn't charge or the plug would just fall out. Sometimes it would half connect to the charger and vibrate every five seconds or so until it eventually died. It seemed like the software was pretty reliable, though.

I believe you - I have an original Pixel 1 non-XL that I handed down to my kid with a USB-C port that barely works with any cables and even then if you blink at it wrong it disconnects.

FWIW, my 3a XL is working great. I'm might upgrade to a 5a eventually, but only for the water resistance.

My old Pixel runs ok except the camera has completely crapped out randomly while it was in storage. Every time I open the Camera app it immediately crashes and I can’t even turn on the flashlight flash.

Did you get either problem fixed? Surely the first one at least should have been covered under the warranty.

On the USB-C, not saying this was your issue but really every USB-C phone I've had I've eventually needed to use a needle or pin and clear junk out of the bottom of the port to keep a good, solid connection. I don't know if that says more about the amount of lint in my pockets or the design of the USB-C port.

I've found a can of clean compressed air to work pretty well for this, with less risk of damaging the contacts than with a sharp object

A toothpick also works fine.

> On the USB-C, not saying this was your issue but really every USB-C phone I've had I've eventually needed to use a needle or pin and clear junk out of the bottom of the port to keep a good, solid connection. I don't know if that says more about the amount of lint in my pockets or the design of the USB-C port.

Me too, but as my only phone with USB-C is my Pixel 3, I assumed it was the fault of the model.

I had an issue with my pixel 2 where something must have shifted in the camera and every photo would blurry on the top half.

Would have been fine to replace it myself but found out that you can not get new replacement parts for the pixel phones and that they are glued up tighter than an iphone with many users reporting that the screen shattered when opening the phone.

Never touching another google product again. While I have had the occasional issue with an Apple product, I have just walked in to the store, they run a few tests and then hand me a replacement on the spot.

I’m sorry but the Nexus 4 had what I called a “study assist” feature. If you tried to use Snapchat, the phone would randomly turn off or reboot. You don’t know when it will happen but it will happen meaning you will not respond to Snapchat messages, meaning you don’t get distracted by friends, meaning you can do your homework.

The only Pixel's I had are two that you didn't - the Pixel 2 XL and the Pixel 4 XL.

I've had no hardware issues with either. Interestingly the Pixel 2 XL is another LG one, so that might be another data point there.

This matches my experience. I've got a Pixel 3A here which I've owned since July of 2020. I take good care of it, my previous phones have all lasted on the order of 6 years.

This phone has its charging port failing where it will not charge 80% of attempts until I manipulate the cord enough to make it happy. I've tried multiple cables as well as cleaning out the charging port, hasn't helped. I went with the phone to save some money, but in retrospect if it fails after a year I'll come out behind.

> - Nexus 4: No hardware issues

More like "Nexus 4: glass back shatters on contact with barely cold countertops".

I have two or three of those in that state in a box somewhere... plus the glass back was so slippery that it would slide across most surfaces that were not perfectly flat! The same could happen with the front, too: https://youtu.be/-OQVn8xwjkI

It's true that this tends to happen on any new phone without a case that hasn't been smudged much yet, but the N4 was in a class of its own.

> plus the glass back was so slippery that it would slide across most surfaces that were not perfectly flat!

Yes! This happened to me. Ugh, what an obviously terrible hardware design. I recall that they eventually made a rev2 that had tiny rubber feet on the back. ( https://www.starkinsider.com/2013/03/nexus-4-now-less-like-a... )

Others have noticed the same thing.

>Every time a new Pixel phone comes out, we make a whole article summarizing all the problems people have with them. We don’t do this for any other manufacturer. Google has proven over the years that its phones simply have way more issues than others.

https://www.androidauthority.com/google-pixel-biggest-proble...

But Google isn't even the manufacturer. The Nexus 5 had serious issues... and it was made by LG.

Theoretically, Google is supposed to do quality control for what they pay for.

I had 3 different Nexus 5Xs. Bought the first one, it ended up crashing multiple times a day. Got the second one advance-replaced under Google Fi's "device protection plan" (for something like $70 + $100 deposit), it did the same thing even before I had done more than set up my Google accounts on it.

And then I had to fight and cold-email a VP off of LinkedIn in order to get them to replace that one without another fee+deposit since it would reboot itself several times a day (and the power button didn't "feel" right, although it was functional the whole time).

In the end I cancelled my Fi service, went and bought a phone from AT&T, and gave the final replacement to a friend when it came in.

And yeah, I dropped my Nexus 5X tons and all it had were scratches on the bezel. My Pixel (4A? I think?) fell out of my pocket about 2 feet onto the floor and shattered. Now I have a OnePlus.

Yep. For all the problems I've had with apple products, knowing I can call or visit apple to get the problems fixed is fantastic.

Since owning my 2016 macbook, the screen died due to the flex cable issue (while travelling - which was super annoying). And one key on the keyboard got sticky. They offered a free battery replacement while they fixed the keyboard (since battery life was dropping faster than it should). The tech broke another key on the keyboard while they were fixing the first one, so they ended up replacing the whole keyboard & trackpad. And when I got the machine back from being serviced, it started crashing due to a RAM issue. So it went back in for a motherboard replacement.

This machine is the worst apple product I've ever owned. But, despite all these problems showing up outside the warranty period, the repair work was all done for free. They have basically replaced the entire computer at this point. (I think the only original part is the backplate).

I think it makes sense for this work to be free, because these were all design problems. But good luck getting this sort of service out of Google or Dell or HP or something. Dell used to have an excellent service program, but those days have long passed. Just reaching a human at google who can help is like getting blood from a stone.

I am going to get a Linux phone next as well, they look solidly built and I can handle the occasional hassle, I have a s21 ultra and it's ultra disappointing, I got it because they stopped making notes, had note 10 super duper or whatever but it died. Samsung and all the big phone makers have been getting less and less desirable, I am rooting my s21 ultra to see if they did anything interesting in hardware nobody is using, but I doubt it besides the massive camera. They even removed expandable storage, after making it possible to take a 104mp picture... so dumb.

Linux phone ftw

I used to have a 2XL and now a 5. To be honest I've never had a single issue. I did sign up for the android 12 beta and while there are some minor hiccups(completely normal phenomenon for any beta), things work pretty smoothly.

Yep, I've actually had every single pixel (XL, 2XL, 3, 4XL and 5). The only one that had issues was the 4XL, with the back peeling. Got a free swap that came in 2 days, and it was fine afterwards. I give my phones down my family afterwards and each one has lived 3-4 years easily.

Nexus 4: partially unresponsive sensor, my very own Nexus collects dust, since it works actually, but it's unusable because of the sensor. I used it to watch some video before, since you don’t need sensor for that, but now it’s just collecting dust.

I really really wanted the Google phones to succeed, but after following a similar path with 5 completely broken phones (across 3 models) I've lost all hope. At one point with the 5X Google replaced my phone with another 5X that bootlooped within a week of receiving it.

So I begrudgingly switched to Apple. I haven't had a single hardware problem with my family's phones since. I will never pay for another Google phone. In hindsight I can't believe I tried again after the second time.

It's embarrassing that Google is continually having these significant hardware issues. Ultimately Apple didn't sell me on their ecosystem... Google did.

Nexus S: No issues.

Nexus 4: Battery swelling.

Nexus 5: Catastrophic failure.

Pixel: Could not connect to my computer over USB.

Pixel 3a: No issues so far.

After my nexus 7 became unusable shortly after a year from flash degradation, I have decided not to spend a single ₹ on any Google product or service. They simply do not care about the customer. Buy pixel hardware at your own peril.

> with the Pixel lineup, there is a historical quality control issue

I guess it's hit or miss. I've had a Pixel 3 and now have a Pixel 5. The build quality of both has been far better than any of the other two dozen phones I've owned. No problems whatsoever with the 5. With the 3, I had a problem with the charger occasionally not working, but that was because the port was filled with pocket lint. And there was also what seemed like an occasional speaker problem on video calls, but it turned out to be a software problem with feedback loops and not a hardware problem.

- nexus s: no issues, after 2 years battery was meh - nexus 4: the only issue was usb port after 2 years of use - nexus 5x: no issues - nexus 6p (owned by my girlfriend): strange issue with battery, the phone just shut off after 20% of use and showed 0%; after warranty repair the phone is still working and had no issues - pixel 2xl (owned by my girlfriend): no issues per see, but was droped in the bus and the screen got cracks - pixel 4: no issues so far - pixel 5 (owned by my girlfriend): no issues so far

all of these phones I still own and store them in the boxes, they still are working.

Phones are stuck in EDL mode with no way to recover, due to Google not releasing the signed firehorse files.

https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/192008282

https://www.google.de/search?q=pixel+3+brick&tbm=nws

I am not affected (yet). If anyone from Germany is interested in figuring out what the issue is and can risk losing their data, feel free to ping me on libera IRC. I have the ability to desolder and dump the UFS memory to start some investigation.

Have you tried asking on Reddit or the XDA forums? r/Andriod and r/googlepixel might have a bigger audience than HN.

The OG thread is here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/android_beta/comments/o7h1li/pixel_...

I’ve got a Pixel 3 (non-XL) with a cracked screen that’s been sitting on my desktop for two years now I’m willing to part with.

I liked this exchange

    Case ID [9-2313000031523]
    Me: I am also recording this conversation
    Support: We do not allow you to record
    Me: So you can record, but I can't?
    Support: That is correct.

I'm pretty sure that, in the US, even in "2 party consent" states, once both parties are aware the call is / may be recorded, you're on solid ground. As such, if the Google end says "this call may be recorded", you can record. (IANAL, etc... just my understanding)

That mode indicates that the boot ROM failed to verify the signature on the bootloader. Generally this means that for some reason your bootloader got corrupted. The way to restore this is a special qualcomm tool, but you also need a properly formatted and signed package to flash using the tool, and i doubt that google would give it to you.

How did it get corrupted? FTL issue in an aging eMMC? Bug in linux kernel block device driver? Malicious code? Sheer dumb misfortune? Who knows...

The way to restore this is a qualcomm tool, but you also need a properly formatted and signed package to flash using the tool, and i doubt that google would give it to you.

I don't know how it is now, but my almost-decade-old generic Mediatek Android smartphone (still working, although seldom used) lets you access the whole eMMC in a special recovery mode using SPFlashTool, and there's no signing required. Looks like they have locked down things since then, ostensibly for security but more likely for corporate control and planned obolescence...

The official answer is that with no bootloader locking, there is no way to prevent an evil maid attack (replace OS with a replica that logs your passwords, exfiltrate them later). The real reasons are anyone's best guess...

Which doesn't explain why you can't even wipe+unlock.

Read again. It does. The boot ROM fails to verify the bootloaders (XBL) signature for some reason.

Read what again?

If the flash bootloader is failing to verify, I should be able to send a new one over the USB port, even if that requires wiping the device for security purposes. Defending against an evil maid attack doesn't explain why I can't do that.

Read the post from dmitrygr again or mine. The bootloader does not get loaded, because the verification fails. That means there is no way to wope or reset the device. Without a signed firehorse binary you can't do anything, because EDL just won't talk to you.

More details: https://blog.quarkslab.com/analysis-of-qualcomm-secure-boot-...

> The bootloader does not get loaded

I get that, but there should be something in the ROM that can reflash the device.

It already has signature verification code, which is the hard part to fit into a tiny ROM.

> Without a signed firehorse binary you can't do anything, because EDL just won't talk to you.

So... either they should release a firehorse binary that can wipe devices, or they should add a small bit of code that can wipe and flash without needing a firehorse binary.

As I read it, dmitrygr was saying that the ostensible reason you can't do anything is fear of evil maid attacks, but that ostensible reason doesn't explain why there isn't a wipe+access mode. And "the bootloader is corrupt" isn't the reason, because this is about the pre-bootloader code.

> So... either they should release a firehorse binary that can wipe devices, or they should add a small bit of code that can wipe and flash without needing a firehorse binary.

And how should they add code to a ROM of yet bricked devices?

> As I read it, dmitrygr was saying that the ostensible reason you can't do anything is fear of evil maid attacks, but that ostensible reason doesn't explain why there isn't a wipe+access mode. And "the bootloader is corrupt" isn't the reason, because this is about the pre-bootloader code.

Well, ask Google? :-)

> And how should they add code to a ROM of yet bricked devices?

I'm criticising the original design. Read that "should" as talking about the past.

> Well, ask Google? :-)

Why? I don't care what they have to say (unless they have something surprisingly interesting to contribute), I'm just accusing them of doing this wrong.

Don't compare Qualcomm to Mediatek... it's different

How is under investigation, but the when is much easier, the reports surge in the morning after an OTA update occurs while the owner is asleep.

Mostly correct. Just a slight correction: You not only need the right image to flash, which you do get from google (factory images) but you need a signed firehorse/edl binary the boot ROM will accept.

Huh my Pixel 3 XL also just died in a very similar way the battery was starting to lose charge faster than expected and a few nights ago it died again and then wouldn't power on. It was taking charge, I plugged it into a powerbank with a wattage meter, and it was pulling just 5W over USBC. (The powerbank supports full PD) It's probably the wrong spot to report this sadly so it's probably been muted it seems like a hardware issue not an issue with Android itself.

I really loved my nexus 5 phone from Google until it got stuck in a bootloop and wouldn't charge. It was a a couple weeks out of warranty but they were nice enough to send me another one (with a charge hold) that almost immediately became a brick as well with the same issue and that one they would not replace.

It kind of sucks to see that this is still an ongoing issue on their newer and (much) more expensive phones. I've already sworn off getting another device from Google and this just reinforces this point. Samsung's hardware (with uh, one Note-able exception) has been solid and while it didn't get the same updates and of course had all the nonsense that Samsung added on top of the base android experience, was much better than any other Android device I've owned.

That said, the iPhone 4s I owned and the iPhone Xs Max I currently own are the two best phones I've owned and it's really not close. Of course it's frustrating dealing with the limitations of the OS and man would I love to sideload some of the great applications they have on Android, but the reliability and support are just unparalleled, not to mention iOS just kind of gets a lot of basic things right which makes it a much more enjoyable experience without tinkering.

I've had similar issues with all Pixel phones I've got too :(

I do like the fact that nothing fancy gets installed on the phone (unlike Samsung, the rest), but my Samsung N9 Note has been working for 2-3 years no issues! (yes, I don't like the crap that they add, but got used to it... by ignoring it)

Samsung has hardware issues over time the same as the rest, heck it was only 5 years ago their premium model had quality issues so bad they had 2 rounds of recalls and cancelled the model completely.

I still went with OnePlus again with the 9 Pro even though the initial (or maybe all, I stopped checking after I heard the initial reports) 8's were troublesome. OnePlus isn't half as good as what they use to be but at least you can get a decent phone without overdone software. That they actually let you just unlock the bootloader on new devices says a lot to me even though I don't think I'd deal with custom ROMs anymore.

The main thing I've found when getting an Android phone is more than which brand is reliable wait a couple of months for the first batch of common users (not reviewers) to see how it actually is before going for it. Yeah you're eating into the short update lifecycle Android phones have but you know it's not bad out of the gate and there is no crystal ball telling you which phone models this generation are going to have unforeseen issues in 2 years (though I guarantee it will be some).

If only the iPhone let me install apps from 3rd party sources... I'd jump on that hardware in a heartbeat.

Huhn. My wife's Pixel 3 broke just days before the 5a was released (this happened just a few weeks ago). Her LTE radio seemed to be having problems. It wouldn't connect to the cell tower, even after a factory reset. Sometimes, removing the SIM card and reinserting it would cause the phone to magically start working, but it quickly would lose it's connection again. We tried different SIMs, and finally it was totally dead and she used my old iPhone 6 for a few days while we waited for the 5a to arrive.

The Advanced Hardware Support Team are currently requesting only for phones that are in EDL mode. While the issue tracker has become a graveyard for phones, the particular focus of the engineers are Pixel 3/3 XL phones entering EDL after an OTA update.

If you have had this problem, please star the issue ticket and add a comment about your circumstances.

Some technical explanation about EDL mode is couple pages into the xda-dev forum thread: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/fix-pixel-3-qusb_bulk_cid...

A reddit post that lists just about all the reddit posts at the time on this topic: https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/ongj1j/a_remin...

Some additional news stories on this:

https://9to5google.com/2021/09/01/some-pixel-3-devices-are-g...

https://www.androidpolice.com/phones-devices/google-phones-d...

https://www.phonearena.com/news/pixel-3-and-pixel-3-xl-model...

https://www.extremetech.com/mobile/326636-something-is-brick...

https://slashdot.org/story/21/09/03/019201/pixel-3-and-3-xl-...

Unfortunately there is a sign-in wall to this content.

I don't think so, just a ToS agreement.

Accessing the linked issue tracker (https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/192008282) in an incognito window prompts me to login with a Google account

Same. Unfortunate. I mean, I have a G account - but I like seeing info w/o sign-in

Edit: from an auth'd account, there is a TOS checkbox/modal.

Here's a mirror https://archive.is/wmfel

Try this: https://archive.is/G8MXx

Googling EDL mode, apparently one way to enable it is to "short the test points on your device’s mainboard." Maybe Pixel 3s are getting these test points bridged by something inside the case, possibly due to e.g. thermal battery expansion pushing something against the mainboard?

Definitely not possible, since the board is not located under the battery but more like "around" it. (I know, because I had opened multiple Pixel 3 in the past) Also, the probability of just shorting exactly the right two pins is reeeeeeeaaaaaaally low

> Also, the probability of just shorting exactly the right two pins is reeeeeeeaaaaaaally low

Ah, I was assuming that the "test points" were pads, not test pins. (You've opened these: are they pins?) JTAG is usually pads on most motherboards; it allows factory QA automation to prod the pads with pogo pins, while introducing a bit of setup friction in the way of doing an Evil Maid attack in the field, since there are no self-aligning pins or ports to quickly plug a cable onto.

Pads are pretty easy to bridge if whatever surface the board is facing is has electrically-conductive elements; especially if the pads don't have much separation. (Often in ruggedized embedded devices you'll see the JTAG pads specifically have been kapton'ed over by the integrator, presumably because of an anxiety about something exactly like this happening due to e.g. metal shavings getting in.)

Sorry, actually I meant pads. However, there's nothing there that could bridge them.

Btw. there were several reports of signature validation errors right before the phone finally "died".

I will buy a Google made phone for Development purposes since they get updates fast but as far as everyday use? Never again. My Nexus 6P bricked just because I forgot to charge it and it went down to 0. And when I did my research online about the problem it was a known issue. That made me furious. It made me move over to a Samsung Galaxy which I love. I can't believe this is still an issue with them.

I have no idea what EDL mode is but some googling led me to an open source utility [1] called "Sahara." I wonder if you could use it for recovery?

[1] https://github.com/openpst/sahara

As noted by the project:

> It should be noted that devices that are hard bricked and in Sahara mode (Qualcomm USB PID 9008) and have secure boot enabled (pretty much EVERY production device) will only accept signed programmers. This means that it is not only device specific (i.e. MSM8x26,MSM8974,etc) but vendor specific as well (i.e. LG, HTC, etc) since OEMs generate their own private keys to sign all firmware images, including EDL images.

Google have _not_ released the signed firehose files required to be able to fix this.

Short answer "not really".

While it could be used to recover the phone, it requires a "programmer" program, which is signed by the vendor (Google, here) that hasn't been leaked.

Or, really, I should say that these programs should be made available as "software rights to repair".

---

Some reading:

https://alephsecurity.com/2018/01/22/qualcomm-edl-1/

A more up-to-date open source tool:

https://github.com/bkerler/edl/

EDIT: