TL; PhD
- More and more users around the world find that their Google Pixel 3 phones are bricked.
- Most situations involve the phone entering EDL mode and then getting stuck there.
- This may be a hardware failure, but the real cause is still a mystery.
Google is no stranger to the hardware problems of its mobile phones. The Nexus 6P jointly built by Google and Huawei is one of the most notorious after-sales problem phones, which basically bricks the device. Google eventually paid the class action costs.
Essentially, the user finds that the phone is stuck in “emergency download mode”, also known as EDL mode. EDL mode is a recovery method related to Qualcomm, suggesting that the problem may be related to the Qualcomm hardware inside the phone. This may include the processor (Qualcomm Snapdragon 845), modem, or any other Qualcomm bits in Pixel 3.
You can also take a look: All Google Pixel phones released so far
Unfortunately, it seems that there is no way to make Google Pixel 3 brick people out of EDL mode. Restarting the phone will not change anything. More technical methods generally reserved for flash ROM will not work. The phone just boots into EDL mode, stays there, and that’s it.
It is commendable that Google support staff have appeared in some support threads. However, they basically ask for logs and other diagnostic information, which of course cannot be retrieved if the phone is in EDL mode.
If you find that your Google Pixel 3 is bricked, please let us know in the comments.