I'm semi homeless and Google's forced update on the Pixel 4a ruined it

I can't get a replacement because I was late and they told me that the battery will deplete only a little but I can barely use it and the charging is super slow. But I am not near any battery replacement stores so it wouldn't work. I called one that is still far away who told me that all their stores are out of stock and will be for awhile. And that they've had problems with some replacements, and that Google isn't paying them for screen replacement, as that will likely occur during replacement as the screen will break, so that will cost another $50 or so.

I have a battery pack and it doesn't work well, the battery is considered dead all around as the apps show on the phone.

Congrats Google, your procedures have made you an overweight gorilla that isn't agile enough...

(1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiB8GVMNJkE

But it's not his fault. I can easily empathize with how he's feeling.

Power bank probably doesn't work well because the update limits charging speed.

What if he doesn't have money for buying a new phone? Also, transferring files via cloud storage can be a non-trivial process, especially for a non-technical person.

I am not looking to be a charity case. I'm just flustered at what Google did. Something that never happened in history, without warning, ending my phone.

Google has always sucked at customer service.

I definitely have tried to problem solve and things would escalate because the other person wanted me to listen.

But yeah, this is HN :)

I thank you again but this is all on Google. Pixel 4a was such a good phone for me and it's meant for the poor like. I don't know why they did this. I just want my phone back. So many people who lost their jobs can't afford to buy a new phone.

I wish Google would have told the truth so I had time to prepare. Luckily the news sites now are talking about how the update made the phone bust and Google has no batteries right now.

If someone can post this on the pixel4a and GooglePixel subreddit on Reddit I would be grateful as reddit is thinking I am a bot. I would hope Google fixes this issue for everyone, as I know there are many people like me in the same predicament.