Loyal Pixel users are sharing their worst customer support nightmares

C. Scott Brown / Android Authority

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For as much as we like Google’s Pixel phones here at Android Authority, there’s one area where Pixels have long struggled: post-purchase customer support. Google is notorious for its disappointing customer service/warranty support, as no shortage of Reddit and Pixel Phone Help threads will gladly tell you.

While this isn’t a new issue for Google, it all came under the spotlight recently, thanks to a post on the r/GooglePixel subreddit.

The author of the post says they bought a new Pixel 9 Pro in the spring, and after just a few months, the screen failed. “The screen was still responding to the touch and having haptic feedback, yet it only displayed an utterly white screen.”

After taking the Pixel back to the store where it was purchased, Google’s warranty team quoted €500 for the repair — despite the Pixel 9 Pro still being under warranty. Supposedly, Google deemed the warranty invalid due to “a little mark on the screen, barely visible to the naked eye.”

The author of the Reddit post sums up their thoughts on the whole situation, writing, “Google’s written response left me speechless: They recognized a factory defect, unrelated to the mark, that led to the problem on the screen. However, in the process of repairing it, they would also have to fix that little mark on the screen, and so they wanted me to pay for that.”

There are a couple of ways to look at this. On the one hand, without knowing what the “little mark” looks like, it’s difficult to say whether or not Google was justified in its response. Then again, if the mark really was as insignificant as it’s claimed, this seems like a pretty poor reaction from Google.

Reading through comments on the Reddit post, there’s no shortage of people sharing similarly bad experiences with this side of Pixel ownership. As one comment says, “Just experienced this with my pixel 8. Sent it in to fix the green screen manufacturing defect they officially recognized, only to be quoted 160€ for a completely unrelated tiny cosmetic damage on the case.”

Someone else says, “Happened to me too this summer. Now I understand why repair service was so lame,” while another commenter writes, “Google support is shockingly awful. I was stunned at how blatantly I was brushed off when I had a real problem with my Pixel 9 pro xl, literally just 2 months after I bought it.”

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