Android 12 Beta 5: Pixel phones will notify users that charging is limited when overheating

Ben Schoon | Sep 8 2021 - 1:51 pm PT

Google recently added a new feature to Pixel smartphones that is designed to retain battery health by limiting charging in certain circumstances. Now, in Android 12, Google is expanding this limit so your Pixel will limit charging when the phone is overheating.

As it stands today, Google Pixel phones will automatically stop charging and limit battery capacity to 80% when the phone has been on a charger, whether that be wired or wireless, for an extended period of time, around four days.

Google will also limit battery charging when your Pixel phone is overheating, presumably starting with Android 12. We found strings in the update that detail a notification that users will see saying that “Your phone is limiting charging to help preserve battery health.” Another message says that “Charging [is] temporarily limited.” A “learn more” button links out to a support page that explains other things Pixels may do when they start to overheat.

<string name=”defender_notify_des”>Your phone is limiting charging to help preserve battery health</string>

<string name=”defender_notify_help_url”>https://support.google.com/pixelphone?p=overheat_emergency</string>

<string name=”defender_notify_learn_more”>Learn more</string>

<string name=”defender_notify_resume_charge”>Resume charging</string>

<string name=”defender_notify_title”>Charging temporarily limited</string>

What these strings don’t clearly tell us, though, is how Google is limiting charging. It’s possible this could result in the same 80% cap as mentioned earlier, but it’s more likely that Google is slowing the rate of charging. In fact, “slow charging” is mentioned on the linked page, so it’s possible this behavior already existed and Google is just now adding a visible notification for what’s going on. It’s unclear if this change will come to older Android versions as well.

Dylan Roussel contributed to this article.