Google And Huawei Under Class Action Investigation For Nexus 6P Premature Shutdown Bug

Before the Pixel and Pixel XL took their place as Google's flagship handsets, there was the Nexus 6P, a universally praised smartphone built by Chinese smartphone maker Huawei. When the Nexus 6P debuted, it was lauded for its big size display and collection of hardware and features at a serviceable price point. It even earned our Editor's Choice award during our own evaluation. Fast forward to today and unfortunately the same handset is now drawing criticism by some users who are experiencing shutdown problems.

There are enough users having trouble with the Nexus 6P that Chimicles & Tikellis LLP is investigating a potential class-action lawsuit against Google. According to user complaints cited by the law firm, consumers are reporting a battery issue that causes the phone to power down when the battery gauge still shows anywhere from 10-60 percent of battery life remaining. Some reports suggest it's a bug in Android 7.0 Nougat, but even after flashing back to Android 6.0 Marshmallow, affected users say the problem persists.


"Although Google has assigned the issue in its tracker, the problem has been given low priority and there is no indication of an incoming fix. Reports indicate that consumers who have attempted to receive warranty service from Huawei—the phone manufacturer—have been turned away, with Huawei telling them the problem is not the phone or the battery, but instead it is a problem with Google’s software," the law firm states.

Yet other Nexus 6P owners are complaining that their handsets are getting stuck in a boot loop, where the phone continually restarts without ever fully booting into Android. This happens until the battery runs dry. Even wiping the phone's memory and reflashing Android doesn't seem to fix the issue. The law firm says that points to a hardware issue, not a software one.

If all of this sounds familiar, it is because LG is also facing class-action lawsuit for similar issues related to its G4 and V10 handsets. LG actually admitted to a problem with its G4 handsets a little over a year ago, blaming the problem on a "loose contact between components," but never issued a recall or a satisfactory remedy to affected owners.