Pixel 9 Pro XL owners are reporting issues with wireless charging and video tilt

Google Pixel 9 Pro XL review back angled
The Pixel 9 Pro XL (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

Smartphone launches don't always go smoothly, and while in our Google Pixel 9 Pro XL review we gave the handset 4.5 stars out of 5, it seems that some users are rather less impressed with their new Pixel handset.

First up, issues with wireless charging are being reported on the Pixel Phone help forums (via 9to5Google). These issues take various forms, from charging stopping after a few minutes to excessive heat being produced during charging.

There are also discussions on Reddit (via Tech Issues Today) about wireless charging bugs, with a follow-up comment suggesting that it's a "known bug" that Google is "looking into" – though we haven't seen any official word on this from Google as yet.

Wireless charging can be less reliable than wired charging for a variety of reasons, but these problems seem to go beyond that – and while they're not affecting every Pixel 9 Pro XL owner, it seems that a sizable number of devices and/or chargers aren't working as they should.

Next up... video tilt

Google Pixel 9 Pro XL

We haven't noticed these issues on our own phones (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The second problem being reported online is a little more obscure, and involves an unwanted video tilt effect, as documented on Reddit (via Android Authority): it seems that the camera image doesn't stay level when some users zoom in during video recording.

As with the wireless charging bugs, it's difficult to estimate just how widespread the problem is, but several other Pixel 9 Pro XL owners have joined the thread to say they're noticing the same issue with the camera.

It's early days for both of these problems, so we'll have to wait and see if Google is going to do anything in the way of product replacement units or software fixes – or if the Pixel 9 Pro XL isn't responsible for these issues after all.

For now we'll stand by our glowing review of the Pixel 9 Pro XL, but we'll keep you posted. In the last year we've also seen display issues on the Pixel 8, washed-out colors on the Galaxy S24, and overheating problems on the iPhone 15 Pro, so post-launch bugs certainly aren't unheard of.

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David Nield
Freelance Contributor

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.