Google’s Android software experience is often a smooth one, but it’s not completely devoid of bugs and visual glitches. Although these are often squashed soon after appearing, there’s one new visual bug that’s been bothering some Pixel users for at least the past fortnight at this point.
Over the past 15 days, several Pixel foldable owners have reported seeing a weird question mark icon next to their device’s battery icon, and apart from pure speculation, no one has any clue about what exactly is causing the appearance. Some suggest that it is a precursor to more serious hardware issues, while others suggest that the question mark is simply a UI bug that goes away after you reboot your device (h/t PiunikaWeb).
“This morning my Pixel 10 Pro Fold was showing a question mark next to the battery. Never seen that before. Had to reboot to get the % back. Anyone else seen this?” wrote one user, while a different user added that “Lot of this happening since the last play security update. I suspect it will come out as just a bug, but you’re smart to reach out to Google to see what they recommend.”
Other users, however, were a lot more cautious, suggesting that the question mark appearing was a warning sign that the phone would soon have severe hardware-related problems, including a swollen battery, battery failure, issues with the device’s display, modem issues, and more.
Although the issue was primarily reported by Pixel 10 Pro Fold users, it has been affecting some Pixel 9 Pro Fold users as well, with one user reporting the issue as far back as four months ago.
So, while simply rebooting fixes the issue for many, for some, the appearance of the ‘?’ icon spells bigger issues for others. The speculation is that the icon is triggered by the use of non-certified wireless chargers, which causes a lapse in communication between the device’s battery and the system.
Interestingly, the icon only seems to appear on Google’s foldables. Regular slab phones seem to be unaffected. Additionally, Google is yet to publicly acknowledge the issue. The company did, however, issue device replacements for users who complained about the issue, so at least the Mountain View, California-based company knows of the issue.
