If your Pixel's battery drains too fast and overheats, you might want to delete this one app
Some Pixel models have suffered from rapid battery draining and overheating.
The latest Pixel security update for May is being blamed for an issue with the battery on some Pixel handsets. Multiple Pixel users who installed the May update found that the battery on their Pixels has started draining faster than normal. The May 2025 Pixel update contains security patches developed to fix software flaws; still, it does not include any major new features making it surprising that it might have caused the problems Pixel users are having with the battery on their phones.
Not only are affected Pixel users noticing that the battery life they are getting on their phones has been shortened since installing the May Pixel security update, these handsets are also overheating. Not everyone believes that the culprit affecting Pixel batteries and causing users to play hot potato.
Several Pixel users pointed out on Reddit that after an update to Instagram, their phones got very hot after just a few minutes of use. Additionally, Pixel users running the Instagram app have spotted the rapid battery drain not only while using the app, but also when the app is in the background. Don't blame this on older Pixel models munching their way through aging batteries and generating additional heat. After all, one of the Pixel models experiencing the battery drain and the overheating is the Pixel 9 Pro, which was released just last September 4th.
If you are having this problem with your Pixel, you might want to try the easiest solution and see if it works. That would be to open your Pixel and delete the Instagram app. See if this takes the temperature of the phone down a few degrees and increases the battery life of your Pixel device. You can always reinstall the app once an update is released by Meta.
The models that are impacted by this bug include:
- Pixel 6
- Pixel 6 Pro
- Pixel 6a
- Pixel 7
- Pixel 7 Pro
- Pixel 7a
- Pixel 8
- Pixel 8 Pro
- Pixel Fold
- Pixel Tablet
- Pixel 9
- Pixel 9 Pro
- Pixel 9 Pro XL
- Pixel 9a
- Pixel 9 Pro Fold
The May update for compatible Pixel models was released earlier this month. I haven't noticed the battery draining any faster than usual on my Pixel 6 Pro (note the italics), and there haven't been any times when the phone was too hot to the touch, even when using Instagram.
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