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Google facing lawsuit over ‘defective microphones’ it ‘knowingly sold’ in original Pixel devices

Google’s collection of Pixel smartphones have proven to be fantastic overall, but it’s clear in more ways than one that Google is still getting the hang of this whole hardware thing. Display issues plague the Pixel 2 XL, but another issue affected original Pixel devices and now, Google is being sued over that…

If you’ll recall, Google’s 2016 Pixel devices, the Pixel and Pixel XL, faced microphones issues not too long after launch. As Google explained in early 2017, this issue was attributed to “a hairline crack in the solder connection on the audio codec,” with a warranty replacement being the only reliable fix. Later on in the manufacturing process, Google refined this part of the device to reduce the chances of this problem occurring.

Obviously, that was a frustrating issue for Pixel users, as it essentially disabled all three microphones on the device. What made the problem worse, though, was that holding the device in a different way or even a change in temperature could make the problem come back after it had seemingly gone away.

Now, a group of frustrated Pixel owners is preparing a class action lawsuit against Google due to this issue. As Fast Company reports, the plaintiffs allege that Google knowingly sold these devices fully aware that the microphones were defective. Google has yet to respond to these allegations.

Interestingly, two of the plaintiffs in this suit never had their phones repaired during Google’s warranty, and the suit claims that warranty replacements had the same issues.

It’s worth noting that, while these issues were fairly widespread, Google never made any countermeasures in response to it. Aside from tweaking the manufacturing process and providing standard warranty replacements, there was nothing done.

In contrast, display issues on the Pixel 2 XL triggered the company to offer a 2-year warranty to all users, and that doesn’t extend to the original Pixel devices.


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