You don’t want to see this warning on your Google Pixel phone

By Bryan M. Wolfe June 21, 2024

Someone holding the Bay blue Google Pixel 8 Pro. — Joe Maring / Digital Trends

It’s summertime in the U.S., so it’s getting hot. When that happens, keeping yourself and your mobile devices cool is important. With that in mind, Google is developing a new message that will be displayed on Pixel phones when they overheat.

As 9to5Google discovered in fresh code, Google will no longer show a basic message warning when a phone may be overheating. Instead, it plans to post: “Phone needs to cool down: You may experience slower performance. Try avoiding direct sunlight or close any battery-intensive apps.”

During this “pre-emergency,” you will still have limited access to your phone.

Google is not just informing you about the overheating issue; it’s taking proactive steps to manage it. Your phone will limit its performance speed, turn off the 5G network, and provide you with suggestions on how to resolve the issue. This approach aims to keep your Pixel running in a safe, effective manner when it’s running warmer than ideal.

A person holding the Google Pixel 8 Pro. — Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

An overheated phone isn’t terrible news, and Pixel phones — thanks to their Tensor chips — tend to run hot anyway. The revised message is much better than the current one, which says, “Phone is getting warm” and asks you to “Tap for more info.”

Android Authority says this pre-emergency message will appear when your device reaches 120.2 degrees Fahrenheit (49 degrees Celsius). At 125.6 degrees Fahrenheit (52 degrees Celsius), the phone enters an “emergency” state. When it reaches 131 degrees Fahrenheit (55 degrees Celsius), a pre-shutdown message will appear that says: “Phone will shut down in about 30 seconds due to high temperature.”

The new message will launch with an upcoming Battery Health Services update titled “Optimizations for Adaptive Battery functionalities.” The Google Pixel 8, Google Pixel 8 Pro, and other models will undoubtedly receive the update.

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Bryan M. Wolfe has over a decade of experience as a technology writer. He writes about mobile.

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