Google Replacing Nexus 6P With Pixel XL If It Has Hardware Defects

Google has a solution for defective Nexus 6P units, but it involves letting go of the 2-year-old smartphone and saying hello to last year’s Pixel XL. It was found out recently that instead of swapping problematic Nexus 6P phones with non-problematic units, the Mountain View giant is offering users with Pixel XL replacement handsets.

Android Police was the first one to report about Google’s new warranty replacement. According to the site, there have been “sporadic reports” of Nexus 6P owners receiving Pixel XL replacement units. As it turns out, this is not something new at all for the site learned that this has been going on for months now.

However, the Pixel XL replacement isn’t readily available worldwide. Only Nexus 6P owners residing in the U.S. and Canada have a good chance of getting Pixel XL replacements should they turn in their defective devices. Users in the U.K. are still getting refurbished Nexus 6P phones.

In addition, only those who bought their Nexus 6P handsets from the Google Store can avail this warranty upgrade. Furthermore, it isn’t clear if Google is handing out replacement models at random. Some 6P owners claim that they were provided with 32GB Pixel XL phones, others got the 128GB variant. It is safe to assume though that the 64GB Nexus 6P will be exchanged with the larger capacity Pixel XL.

Google has not announced if the Nexus 6P is no longer being manufactured, but this warranty upgrade seems to suggest so. The company, after all, is well aware that the device is plagued by battery issues and other hardware problems. Therefore, it makes sense for Google to provide Pixel XL replacements for Nexus 6P phones that have problems not related to software, as per Phone Arena.

Google is also not very strict with this new warranty upgrade. Some users claimed that the tech giant did not mind replacing their phones even if they were no longer under warranty. Plus, Google has this “advance exchange” approach to replacing Nexus 6Ps with Pixel XLs. Instead of waiting for users to mail their defective phones, Google will gladly send the replacement units immediately after obtaining a report about the problematic device.

To ensure that the user reports it is getting are valid, Google will do a pre-authorization on the credit card of the Nexus 6P owner. Failure to send back the defective hardware will result to one getting charged with the replacement phone’s value.

Google released the Nexus 6P on Sept. 29, 2015. While Google was in charge of marketing the device, it was Huawei who manufactured it. In October 2016, Google launched its new Pixel-branded phones after ditching the Nexus line of Android devices. This year, the company is preparing to introduce successors to the Pixel and Pixel XL handsets.

Per latest reports, Google could be unveiling the Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2 this October. According to several leaks, the upcoming smartphones will bear a striking resemblance to their predecessors. They are rumored to still come with top and bottom bezels and two-tone back panels.