I have been plagued by the battery issue for some time now. My precious Google Nexus 6P is going to get an RMA. While the poor (if not bad) battery performance is known for some time, I was postponing returning the device for a few reasons. I crashed my bicycle a few days ago (I’m OK, I will be walking like a pirate for few more days, and dealing with ‘walking dead’ references from my dearest friends), and I had to get new wheels. Fortunately, I got a lead on a decently priced used set, and I called the seller immediately. I could collect the wheels an hour later. My phone was at 50% charge when I set off and died on me 10 min later when I was trying to send ‘I’m here‘ message.
This is not the only example of how Google Nexus 6P has failed me recently, but I promised myself this will be the last time. I had an eye on the Google Pixel for some time, but after a brief visit in a mobile shop to discuss my new contract, I left the place thinking what just happened to the market in the last 2 years? The same contract would cost me twice as much right now, with a £150 upfront cost to get the phone. I know I’m on YouTube, but trust me guys, I’m not milking it just yet!
There is that, and also there are Tasker tutorials. Being without the phone means I have nothing to work on. You all know my random, and not very timely schedule. Having a forced break was the last thing I wanted to go through.
The Winter is Coming!
The battery on Nexus 6P seems to be strongly affected by weather conditions. I keep my phone on the bicycle mount, so the first time I got the dead battery in minutes was before this thing went viral. The problem is, I don’t even live in a cold climate! Winters in the UK are very mild, with temperatures set between 3°C-7°C on a cold winter morning. While the phone is used at home, I don’t have the issue, and I can run the battery down to the last 1% (I don’t do this often as I know this is not very healthy for your battery). The battery issue is fairly consistent each time I’m outside, the battery is below 50%, and the temperature is below 10°C. This is probably 90% of the time during the winter. You can see how this could be a big problem, at least until June (yes, summers are equally bad here).
To make things worse, due to alu body of the Nexus, it doesn’t take long to cool it down. Few moments in your hand will bring the phone’s case to the outdoor temperature. So keeping the phone inside the pocket does not solve anything.
The Google Nexus 6P – RMA through Huawei
I’m out of the shop warranty (1 year), just so, as I bought my Nexus 6P on 6/01/2016. I went to Huawei and used their ‘contact us‘ form to drop them a message with a brief description of the issue. The Huawei warranty covers the device for the period of 24 months from the purchase date.
The response came through quick (just over 24h) and you can look at it here:
Dear Mr. Mat Thank you for contacting the Huawei Customer Care. We are very sorry for the inconvenience that you are currently experiencing, and we advise you to submit your unit for an inspection to our Authorized Service Centre. To book your device for a repair, please provide your details and we will complete the repair request: Forname
Name
Street Number
Address
Postcode
Town
Country
Phone number
Product model
Serial number
IMEI
Do you have the proof of purchase?
Locked status of the device
Problem description In approximately 2 working days, a jiffy bag will be sent to your address. This jiffy will be used by yourself to send the device to the repair center. The jiffy bag will contain a letter with instructions on how to pack your device correctly, what to include and not include as well as a repair reference number, so please be sure to read it once you receive it. Also, please perform a backup and a factory reset for the device before sending it off to the service center. First you will need to backup any important data from your handset, to a computer. For that you can use HiSuite after downloading it from our website: https://consumer.huawei.com/minisite/HiSuite_en/index.html and install it on the PC (it is compatible with Windows), afterwards on the phone you have to activate the visibility of Developer options (Settings > About phone > tap on Build number until the No need, you are already a developer message appears), afterwards activate Developer options (Settings > Developer options), then activate USB debugging (Settings > Developer options > USB debugging), activate HDB mode (Settings > Security > Allow HiSuite to use HDB). After all this, connect the smartphone to the PC via USB cable and select Photos or Files (if you do not select a mode the phone will automatically select Only charge mode). Your files will be saved on the PC in Documents > HiSuite. Before performing the factory reset, please make sure you delete your Google Account from the device to avoid locking it due to the Google AntiTheft Lock: Settings > Accounts > Google > Remove account. Also, before sending the device to the repair center please make sure you remove the Google Account from the device. After this is done or if your data has otherwise been backed up in order to reset your phone you will need to go to Settings > Backup & reset > Factory data reset > Erase internal storage > Reset phone.
I trust that the above information will be of assistance to you. Of course, if you have any other queries, don't hesitate to contact us. We are looking forward for your reply. Have a great day! Best regards,
The advisor also told me that I should expect about 8-10 days of RMA time (plus relevant shipping delay). With my Nexus 6p being my main device, and foolishly getting rid of my secondary phone, it looks like I will be without one for another few days.
I guess I will keep you updated… Part 2
