Hello all,

As the title states, I was able to receive a $100 cash payment for my Pixel 6a's defective battery without having to uninstall GrapheneOS, despite what many other users here have experienced in other posts, so I wanted to mention my experience in case it helps anyone else.

Like many of you, I started having significant battery life issues right after downloading last year's July update despite having a cycle count of only a little over 400 after about two years' worth of phone usage. I was not and still am not in a country that has a Google-sponsored battery replacement program, so I decide to ask for a $100 credit. Despite filling out the form several times, with and without a VPN set to various countries, the form would always tell me I was ineligible, or it would display an error and make me start the process over again, so I gave up.

By November, I was tired of the poor battery life and decided to risk going to a local shop for a battery replacement. I found one who claimed he had access to Pixel 6a batteries, so I dropped the phone off with him and indeed, an hour later, he had swapped out the battery with a new one, and my battery life was back to normal. Unfortunately, I forgot to ask what kind of battery he would use, and through system checks I discovered that he replaced my battery with another one in the same defective model number series (8230031401), meaning once I exceed 400 cycles, I'll be back in the same boat. However, I plan to upgrade my phone next summer, so I won't exceed that number anyway.

A few days ago, I remembered that the Google reimbursement program would end in a few months, so I decided to give the form another shot. As I stated before, I've had GrapheneOS installed on this phone since I purchased it in late 2022 and I haven't uninstalled it since. I filled out the reimbursement program form without a VPN, and for the first time I was able to submit it successfully. I received an email from a Google support specialist soon after who stated I was ineligible. I replied and mentioned how my battery life dropped by half after installing the update, plus my battery (8230031401) had the defective serial number. I said I went to a local shop to replace the battery since I wasn't in a Google-approved country, but at no point did I mention I had installed a custom OS on the phone.

In the follow-up email, the support specialist asked me to attach an invoice for my phone purchase as well as to make sure I was signed into the device. I attached a PDF invoice of my purchase from Amazon, then stated that I use the phone daily with my primary account so Google should be able to see my activity (whether or not this was true I had no idea, but I played coy and put the burden of proof on them). In the following reply, the specialist asked for a photograph of the SIM tray with a clear photo of the IMEI number, which I took and attached in my reply.

Then a day later, I received an email asking me to make a Payoneer account, which I did, and within a few hours, $100 appeared in my account. This entire process, from filling out the form to answering emails to making the Payoneer account, took maybe 20 minutes of my time, and I had GrapheneOS installed the entire time. Had I needed to go to stock OS (and then back again), I wouldn't have bothered. I am not sure if Google is getting more lenient with the approval process since the program is ending soon, or perhaps my mentioning that I replaced the battery on my own got me auto-approved? Maybe the new battery also being defective helped my case? Though I didn't mention this in my emails. I do use Google services on my phone through sandboxed Google Play but others here have said the same and that they were still unapproved. Perhaps their phones had ineligible batteries but they didn't realize it.

Anyway, I hope my story will help others whose requests failed at first or who didn't try because they assumed they would be ineligible. Note that this program ends on July 8, 2026, according to this Google support page, so make sure you submit your request before the program expires. Good luck!