Report: The Google Pixel 4 might have USB-C data transfer rate issues

Damien Wilde | Mar 9 2020 - 5:05 am PT

While the Pixel 4 is a fantastic device, it does have some issues that will put certain people off. According to a new report, USB-C data transfer rates might be another Google Pixel 4 specific issue that you’ll have to mitigate.

For most people, this simply won’t be an issue, as plugging into a PC, Mac, Chromebook or Linux machine is often simply to charge. However, the testing team over at Android Authority found that the Google Pixel 4 appears to have slower than advertised data transfer rates over USB-C.

After some head-to-head testing, AA found that the Pixel 4 has USB-C data transfer rates that are, in some cases, twice as slow as some competitor devices.

To test out the Pixel’s USB transfer speeds, I transferred a sizeable 10.8GB .mp4 file from my computer’s Desktop to the phones’ onboard storage. The data is sent over my PC’s USB-C port at 3.1 10Gbps speeds. We reversed the process for a read time too, and ran identical tests on a suite of other Android devices.

Each device was set to “transfer files over USB” and had all their apps closed. The only open application in the foreground on my computer was Windows Explorer. We ran each test three times to ensure no outliers were worming their way in. We recorded the fastest times of each run here.

This problem might only affect a small subset of Pixel 4 owners, but it’s disappointing all the same. AA notes that the data transfer rates are likely slow due to Google’s implementation of MTP, which means sub-par transfer speeds. The biggest issue for some of you reading is that there doesn’t appear to be any way to increase these speeds.

You may remember that the Pixel also appears to have some issues with cheaper USB-C cables and connectivity, so this is another issue with cables that might push you to go wireless for your backups.

However, while this data doesn’t make for particularly great reading, the growth of wireless backup systems such as Google Drive and Google One means that it’s far less of an issue than it may have been when online storage and wireless data speeds were slow.

If you have noticed some issues, let us know down in the comments section below.