Pixel 9a: Often trouble getting the device to boot after installing an update

Phocra

Hi,

I've already opened a topic about my problems getting my Pixel 9a to boot after installing an update but today it was almost impossible getting the device to boot.

I woke up, saw a notification about a new update and rebooted the phone.
5 Minutes later I check the phone and notice that it is showing a black screen and not responding anymore. This happens sometimes. So I press and hold all buttons for 15 seconds to get the device back.
First boot: The device turns on, displays the PIN screen for the SIM for half a second and then shows a black screen again - unresponsive. I press and hold all 3 buttons for 15 seconds to try again. This happens 3 times.
Fourth boot: The device shows a red error message saying there is no valid operating system. I reboot it again
Fifth to Seventh boot: Just like the first 3 boot attempts it shuts off/shows a black screen shortly after displaying the PIN screen
Eighth boot: I can finally enter my SIM PIN but then the "Unlocking SIM" message doesn't go away and the device doesn't respond anymore.
Ninth boot: I let the device reboot, wait 2 minutes and finally enter my SIM PIN and this time the device boots successfully.
After the first successful boot I reboot my device manually 5 times in a row without any issues.

This only happens after installing an update. Outside of this I can reboot my device however many times I want and it always boots successfully. What's going on there? Is this a hardware issue? Why does this only happen after installing an update?

In the 3-4 months of owning this Pixel 9a I've had the following symptoms booting the system after installing an update:

The device can show a black screen half a second after displaying the PIN screen
It can get stuck on "Unlocking SIM" after entering a PIN
The device can suddenly decide to show "Restarting" in the middle of entering my SIM PIN or device unlock PIN and restart for an unknown reason. I've had this happen 3 times in a row.
The device can reboot multiple times while showing the GrapheneOS logo.
Now I've had the red "no valid operating system" error once.
I can get up to 5 or so errors about a rild_exynos crash
However the majority of the time (I would say 70-80%), the device boots fine after installing an update

Also the Pixel 9a runs perfectly fine otherwise. Between updates I can have it on for 2+ weeks without a single issue. WIFI, USB, Bluetooth, GPS, mobile data everything works fine and all apps run fine without any random crashes.

MineralWater

Have you had the stock os running on this phone to rule out hardware failures? If you have the same problems after stock os updates, it could point at hardware problems.

Phocra

I haven't tried the stock OS yet. It's my only device and so I rely on it daily.

Anilal

had also issues forced rebooting after an empty battery, turning immediately off after, even after fully recharging.

Waiting 5 minutes on the home screen before entering the pin solved it. It was finishing an update/ System update showed a notification in the background.

Phocra

I've verified the installation on my Pixel 9a with Auditor using my Pixel Tablet and everything seems to be fine but still I'm wondering if the issues I encounter could result in part of the phone not receiving updates - for example the baseband firmware. Is the baseband firmware considered when verifying the installation with Auditor?

I have the feeling, the issues could be related to the baseband because of the many crashes/reboots when entering my SIM pin after an update.

Could someone with a Pixel 9a and the latest GraphoneOS tell me what Baseband version they can see in the "Android version" menu?

On GrapheneOS 2025102801 I'm currently running Baseband version g5300t-250605-250630-B-13713258,g5300t-250605-250630-B-13713258