Pixel 7 users are furious at Google for not taking responsibility over shattered glass

It was the day after Christmas and...no poem here. It was December 26th when we first alerted you to alarming reports from Pixel 7 series owners complaining that the glass on their phone's rear camera bar was spontaneously shattering. The complaints started to grow in number in the early days of the new year to the point where Google can no longer hide its head in the sand and needs to address this problem.

It's obvious by now that all of these Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro users haven't merely dropped their devices or sat on a brick. Since the Pixel 6 line has yet to see a similar issue, the problem could be related to the aluminum used on the Pixel 7 series camera bar. And while many of the Redditors on the social media site are somewhat angry at Google over the design miscues that have led to the problem, they are furious at the company for how it has responded to their complaints.

A Reddit subscriber with the handle rsaxena6991 wrote about the glass covering the rear camera bar on his Pixel 7 Pro spontaneously shattering. He has been battling with Google ever since and he says, "However, have been struggling to get them to cover this spontaneous shattering under warranty despite sharing countless Reddit articles, google support case IDs, etc. proving that they have covered it under warranty for some customers who have faced the exact same issue. They keep saying they don't cover "physical damage."

He continues by noting that he is "Absolutely gutted with this and am being asked to pay $400 to repair this via their repair centre. For reference, there was no physical impact, not did I drop my phone, exert stress, or was it subject to extreme temperature fluctuations (these are the conditions where they void warranty and not "physical damage"). So would recommend anyone planning on buying this phone to keep that in mind. This is a real problem and google is taking no ownership of this or treating consumers equitably."

This is far from the only comment that blasts Google's behavior and while the shattering of the glass itself made some Redditors hold off on purchasing a Pixel 7 model, Google's subsequent failure to act sealed the deal. Read this post by a Redditor using the name Popeye-sailor-man. "I was within hours of finally pulling the trigger on the purchase of a Pixel 7 Pro because of the current $150 discount sale; and the phone & power adapter have been languishing in my Google Store shopping cart for a week... waiting for me simply to execute the purchase."

After consuming a can of spinach, Popeye goes on to say, "But after reading all these horror stories about a) the glass breaking, and b) Google not "owning" either the issue, or responsibility for the phone's necessary, subsequent repair in forthright, fair and honest fashion, there is just no way I am going to purchase this phone. Perhaps if Google, one day (if ever) speaks to the issue, acknowledges it and, most importantly, indicates that the problem has been FULLY resolved, I might reconsider, but until then, I will stick with my relatively ancient Galaxy."

And as we said, this isn't the only post from a consumer scared off from buying a Pixel 7 series device because of Google's failure to take responsibility. Frankly, we get it. Google was pounded mercilessly for the bugfest that was the Pixel 6 line (although I must admit that I still love my Pixel 6 Pro) and rebounded to deliver one of the top phones of 2022. Google doesn't want anything to make the Pixel 7 line look bad. But unlike software bugs, no update is going to fix shattered glass.

While it is true that some of the posts on Reddit are from Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro users whose phones remain intact, there is this from Reddit subscriber Sikkersky who writes, "A single thread on this subreddit alone had over 20 confirmed reports of the issue, and around 50 replies in total, indicating a significant number of affected individuals. It is unacceptable for a company as reputable as Google to produce a faulty product and for customers to have to fight for warranty coverage. It is important that the issue is addressed and that Google is held accountable for their manufacturing errors."

It seems that the ball is squarely in Google's court now.  There are a decent number of Pixel 7 series owners who are waiting to see whether they will have their phone repaired or replaced by Google for a problem, that from all appearances, the company itself has caused.