Pixel 3 owners say their phones are bricking without warning

More and more Pixel 3 owners are grappling with a problem that can render their phones useless. According to Ars Technica, growing numbers of Pixel 3 and 3 XL users on Google's IssueTracker, the company's support forums and Reddit say their phones are 'bricking' (that is, becoming completely unresponsive) with little to no warning. The devices enter a Qualcomm "Emergency Download mode" (EDL) that won't even let you recover by installing new firmware through regular methods you can't get to the bootloader to try.

It's not certain what causes the issue, how common it is, or whether there's practical solution short of replacing a given phone. We've asked Google for comment. Ars speculates about the possibility of a hardware issue like LG's bootlooping, although there isn't enough evidence to definitively point to a physical flaw.

Either way, the reports of bricking aren't great news for Pixel 3 owners. Many of those phones are either out of warranty or close to losing coverage. You may have to pay for repairs or a new device through no fault of your own. Google did extend some Pixel 4 warranties to cover known issues with those handsets, though, so there's a chance the company might do the same here and provide free solutions.