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  • USB Charging issue for two devices after update

dmadhatr Both of the phones mentioned above will go to the shop, I'll have both USB-C connections replaced on those ports and the batteries.

Hopefully the shop fixes the problem, but since the phones are older models and people are working on them, it becomes harder to say with certainty that the issue is with the OS.

dmadhatr If the issue still occurs, I'll post a $1,000 bug bounty to fix this issue, OK? Alot of people are running into this problem, so it would be worth it to get it resolved.

I can't speak for the project, but in the past they have said on multiple occasions that they won't do work for bounties. This comment explains why: https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/13298-bug-bounty-program/5

Also, I still have yet to hear of other people who are experiencing this problem. So far, it's just two people with three devices. One of those people hasn't elaborated, so it's entirely possible their phone was operating as it should, and was protecting itself from wet or dirty ports/cables.

      The work phone is a 5a, not a 5 ( 5a still gets full updates), will retire the 4a if you guys are telling me it's insecure - will move the work SIM to the 6 - do you have a roadmap for when you will no longer fully suport that 5a?

      (Edit, apologize - I understand the confusion now ; the base models 5 and 4 aren't supported looking at your list, but the a models are - should have included that exact model number in the first posts). Still let me know when legacy support gets dropped for the 4a and when it may be best to change out the 5a.

      • de0u replied to this.

        dmadhatr Still let me know when legacy support gets dropped for the 4a and when it may be best to change out the 5a.

        The last full-support release for the 4a was 2023-09-06. As of 2023-09-18 the official statement was "Pixel 4, Pixel 4 XL and Pixel 4a are end-of-life and shouldn't be used anymore due to lack of security patches for firmware and drivers. We provide extended support for harm reduction" (emphasis added). The fact that the 4a has received some updates to the upper layers of the software stack does not mean that firmware bugs (likely including remote-code-execution bugs) have been fixed, or even tracked.

        Firmware support for the 5a may end as soon as August 1. Even assuming GrapheneOS issues some legacy-support updates after August 1, the end of firmware support is arguably a good inflection point for "may be best to replace", as opposed to the point where the device is no longer getting any updates of any kind.

        Replacing devices that still run fine is frustrating. But as long as there are bad firmware bugs, and as long as device manufacturers stop fixing bad firmware bugs while devices still run fine, users who want reasonable security may be forced to replace devices while they are still running fine.

          @de0u Apologize for the rough landing, really appreciate the update on the device security map and deeply appreciate the explaination on both devices. I'll plan on getting a Pixel 7 in August to replace the 5a.

          Unfortunately, this became a moot issue today when speaking to the cell repair company (only one shop here works on Pixels) - port / battery replacement was north of the cost of each individual Pixel 5a and 4a with 2.5 hours to solder for each - so they are just going to be replaced, he was not able to provide more input. Just eaier to buy another phone. Went ahead and ordered another updated Pixel, the Pixel 6 that got here today has Qi, so, USB charging doesn't matter as much - that works fine.

          I will not be providing more input on this issue.

          Appreicated.

          a month later

          I'm just here to report that my Pixel 4 XL has also lost the ability to retrieve charge data from the battery after the most recent update, so I don't think OP's issues are necessarily isolated incidents (aside from the moisture component). I understand that the device is end-of-life and I don't expect support for it, but I wanted to make mention of this issue because it might urge someone to take a closer peek to see if there's something that can easily be tweaked and rolled out in the next update.

          My device caught the update when it was at 16% battery capacity, and after reboot, it couldn't be charged above 16%...at least according to the indicator and several other battery-monitoring apps. However, I've tested running a heavy load (recording 1080p video), and the level never dropped below 16%.

          I believe my device is charging fully, but has lost it's ability to retrieve the charge state, and stuck at the level it was when the update occurred. Can't afford a new device right now, just gotta stick this one out until I can, but figure at least it's better than reverting to stock.

          Don't mean to hijack the thread, but if rolling back to a previous build is the most logical step, I'd be grateful if someone could advise on that. Otherwise, I'll start my own thread, but I don't necessarily expect support and won't raise a stink if no one comes to my rescue.

          • de0u replied to this.

            1984called I'm just here to report that my Pixel 4 XL has also lost the ability to retrieve charge data from the battery [...]

            The original poster reported the devices, a 4a and a 5, would not charge, and also were reporting moisture and debris alerts. So your situation, with a 4 XL that is stuck at reporting 16%, seems like something independent, and I would recommend a new thread.

                de0u

                You're right, they are different issues. However, I'll just note that after my issue had persisted for weeks, today I left my phone unplugged for a short time and discovered it had shut itself off, and would not turn back on with the power button. I plugged it into a wall outlet, the battery charge indicator showed it taking a charge, so I left it charging for a bit and after less than an hour it showed it had reached 94%, so I attempted to turn the phone back on and it worked! The battery indicator at the top of the screen now shows a full charge!

                I stumbled on this thread by searching for "GrapheneOS not charging after update", and this thread was the first result. I won't be making a new thread because the Pixel 4 XL is no longer supported and my issue seems to be resolved, but I'll leave this info here in case someone has the same issues I did, and found this thread by the same method.