Pixel 4XL hardware issues

There are lots of reported incidents on the Pixel reddit group at the moment regarding the back of the device lifting off, mostly likely due to the battery swelling. Rather than address the actual cause, Google are simply palming customers off with a refurbished device that subsequently develops the same fault, much like the Microsoft Surface Laptop customers who have experienced spontaneous screen cracking in the replacement laptop they received in response to the screen spontaneously cracking in the laptop they originally purchased. It would appear the strategy of Google and Microsoft to faults in their highly priced flagship consumer hardware is the very budget “grudgingly agree to replace affected devices until the customer is out of the warranty period, after which the customer can get bent”.

https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/hsuo5x/the_pixel_4_xls_glass_back_is_peeling_off_for/

Also in the comments was this gem, supposedly from a UBreakiFix employee:

“Current UBIF employee here! If you’re looking at buying a Pixel 4 XL… Don’t. Just don’t. It has so many recurring issues that I can’t speak on because because of contracts, but it’s a trainwreck. I’m posting this from an alt just to be careful, but we try to keep 3-4 Pixel 4XL motherboards of each storage capacity because of the number of issues that require a motherboard replacement. They’re constantly giving us updates talking about changes they’re making to parts to try and remedy these problems, but a few of the issues are on their 3rd or 4th iteration. Don’t get the P4XL.”

If you’re still after a Pixel, the same employee recommends the 3a/3aXL:

“For some reason, it seems like most of the flagships tend to have a lot of hardware issues, while the midrange phones don’t have near as many. The Pixel 3a(XL) never really comes in for anything other than shattered screens.”

Buyer beware.