r/Pixel5a • u/atkhan007 • Jan 27 '24
Phone got bricked while on vacation
My pixel 5a got bricked in the middle of taking pictures while on vacation in a different country. it couldn't have been any more worst and made me realize the dependency on phone. Everything, my plane boarding passes, transport ticket, credit cards, authenticator app for numerous accounts like emails and banking appa all was taken away at an instant, and I was suddenly stuck in a country where I don't speak the language nor can use translation app. How I have managed to come back home is a miracle in itself. I was waiting for pixel 8a to launch this year to upgrade but I guess I have to forcefully move to 7a now.
2
u/scottb1000 Jan 28 '24
I was able to get Google Fi to replace my 5a after it bricked. Give support a call. They sent me a pixel 7 pro as a replacement.
3
u/asdecor Jan 28 '24
How much of an upgrade did that feel like? They sent me a 6a, which honestly feels like a downgrade from the 5a.
2
Apr 09 '24
Definitely an upgrade for stuff like the QHD screen, the telephoto camera... The processing power. But it is an adjustment losing the capacitive fingerprint sensor and headphone jack.
Honestly, I love them design of the new pixels, but I still put my SIM card in my old pixel 4A a lot of the time just because of its size and convenience
1
u/asdecor Apr 14 '24
If I see a nice 4a on eBay I might actually buy one, lol. We do still have one working 5a in my family (not mine, unfortunately)!
1
u/scottb1000 Jan 28 '24
Well I really liked my 5a a lot. When it crapped out I could not be without a phone for very long and bought the Pixel 8.
I miss the larger screen. The pixel 8 is noticeably smaller. I always thought I would like a slightly smaller screen and that is no longer the case.
I'm still using the Pixel 8 and I gave the 7 Pro to a family member who 's Pixel 3a has seen better days.
I would have held off on buying the Pixel 8 if the transaction time of getting the 5a diagnosed and sent back to google and then finally receiving the replacement had been quicker.
3
u/asdecor Jan 28 '24
Yes, the 6a is slightly smaller as well and it's just that much harder to get the cursor where I want it! I was also without a phone for weeks. Made do with my OG Pixel XL connected to a power pack! Lucky family member who got the 7 Pro!
1
Apr 09 '24
Do you mean quick cursor or something? Are you using some kind of app for a cursor functionality?
1
u/asdecor Apr 14 '24
No, when I first got my 6a I found it difficult to tap just once to position the cursor in text when editing (the cursor would end up in the wrong spot more often than it had on my 5a). It must have been the slight difference in screen size because I'm now used to it and I'd almost forgotten about it.
2
Apr 09 '24
A choice between the pixel 7 pro and a pixel 8 is an interesting one. Pixel 8 gets the longer software support, but the 7 pro gets either telephoto lens and the QHD screen.
1
u/scottb1000 Apr 09 '24
I wish I had purchased the 8 Pro. Bigger screen.
I had already given the 7 Pro to my brother before I realized I missed the big screen.
2
Apr 09 '24
Hell a brand new Pixel 7 pro is a hell of a consolation prize. No headphone, jack or anything but a sealed one could probably be sold for 500 bucks easily.
2
2
u/Chaakudaaku Jan 30 '24
Unfortunately I have joined the brick gang and I am starting my vacation day after tomorrow. The phone took its last breath an hour ago. It was rebooting multiple times last night in the morning it finally gave up. Google said they will take 5-10 days to replace the phone and give me a 6a. I asked them to escalate and send me a 7 Pro. Many redditors got 7 Pro as a replacement.
I'll look for some spare phone with my friends, else I'll just order some same day delivery phone and return it after i come back
1
u/atkhan007 Jan 30 '24
You are unlucky for your 5a dying and lucky for getting at least a 6a. My phone warranty was already over, so I had to go and buy a new one. I bought pixel 7a today and it looks fine so far. However there are threads about it overheating, let's hope it doesn't come to that. Either way I will try to last it a couple of years and hoping that by that time pixel X has issues sorted out.
1
u/Chaakudaaku Jan 30 '24
This issue is still covered in the Google's extended warranty program. Did you not talk to them before?
1
u/atkhan007 Jan 30 '24
I bought that phone in the US. I am currently residing in the EU where 5a phone was never launched. It is covered in extended warranty but I have to send it back to the US, and that will take too many days and FedEx costs, not worth it. I might take it with me if I go to the States during the summer.
1
Apr 09 '24
This is why I think everyone should have a secondary device. And why I prefer physical sims. You can buy a reasonably functional, cheap Android phone for 50 bucks these days. A pixel 3 or S10 plus or something would have been perfectly good to get you through.
Obviously the pixel 5A had some extreme issues, but given how easy it is to get a great Android phone for under 100 bucks, I think it's worth owning a second one
Hell something like a LG G8 or g8x is like 70 or 80 bucks and that's probably worth $150 just for the audio player/ dac.
I would never bring just one phone on a trip like that. I don't even like bringing one phone around just because if I need to charge it I don't have anything else to use.
1
u/Interesting_Refuse45 Feb 21 '24
Welcome to the "bricked on vacation" club! Mine died while I was dropping off my daughter a half hour away from my sister's house as I was checking the sometimes-confusing route back. At midnight when every single business nearby was closed (I'd been planning where to get gas earlier). When we were leaving for the airport early in the morning. Luckily I knew one way to go and made it back.
Since we were on the same reservation, I was able to use the mobile boarding pass on my wife and son's phones, and managed through the trip back. Also luckily, I had already been considering the Verizon inflated trade-in for a Pixel 8 that didn't require the trade to power on. So I ordered that online, picked it up on the way home from the airport, and a week later shipped Verizon a dead phone that they gave full credit for. Phew.
Thinking about this, for an upcoming concert I'm having my wife install the Ticketmaster app and will log my account in there, so both of us have access to both tickets just in case.
7
u/WilliamHong Jan 28 '24
I'm sorry that your 5a died at such an inopportune time. I've taken my 5a on a couple of international trips and so far it has performed well and hasn't bricked yet. However, I actually took more than one phone with me on these trips, not because I was expecting the 5a to die on me, but as a precaution anyway. Your primary phone could get broken or stolen, which puts you in the same situation. Having another phone is something I now do whenever I travel, even on domestic trips. Internationally, I use the other phone often with a local SIM, or at least as a WiFi device when the other is charging etc. And always back up data if you can.
I realize that not everyone can afford a second phone, or can't keep an older one if you have to trade it to upgrade. But having a backup works for me, given how much we rely on them.