PSA: Pixel 80% charge limit doesn’t work while your device is powered off

Damien Wilde | Jan 2 2025 - 2:01 am PT

The ability to limit the charge that your Pixel can take is one of the biggest and best additions in Android 15 QPR1 – AKA the December Pixel Drop. However, it has an issue. The 80% limit does not stay activated while your phone is powered off.

Once you have updated to the December 2024 patch on eligible Pixel phones, you’ll gain access to a new toggle in the Battery section of the Settings application. This allows you to go beyond the default charging optimization settings and limit the total power taken on by your Pixel device to 80% of its total charge capacity.

Modern cell phone batteries have a finite lifespan that is affected by a number of things, including heat and charge cycles. The common consensus is that if your phone battery is only allowed to charge to 70 or 80% of its factory capacity, it will theoretically last longer than the average lifespan of the internal cell due to lower wear and tear.

Many other OEMs have had charge-limiting features for a number of years now, so it’s a welcome option for Pixel phone owners who want to set a charge limit and, hopefully, decrease the need for a battery replacement later on.

Recently, we’ve noticed that even if you have the 80% charge limit set on your Google Pixel, when powered off, it will not adhere to this strict setting and will charge beyond it up to 100%. For instance, if you battery dies and then you throw your phone on a charger you’ll notice it go above the preset limit. This is super frustrating and could be an indication that this is controlled when the Android system is powered on and not at a lower system level – hence why it is going beyond the 80% limit when the device is fully powered down.

Luckily, most people ordinarily leave their phones powered on at all times, making this less of an issue. That said, it is still an issue that some might have encountered already and not been made aware of. Some other Android devices and even the iPhone will often power on when plugged in or on a wireless charger after a short period. Google phones still don’t do this. Instead, they stay powered off until you choose to power back on.

With that in mind, if you are steadfast in keeping your Pixel charge level below the 80% limit or threshold, then you’ll need to make sure you power on shortly after plugging in.