Pixel Buds 2: First Thoughts

After I switched to the Pixel 6 Pro a while back, I was surprised to find that my Pixel Buds 2 battery life had gotten absurdly short.

The symptom: the left bud drains insanely fast. On my hour-and-a-half commute, by the time I got to work the left bud was down to 30% while the right was still at 97%. That’s not normal by any stretch. Then I had a brain fart and thought, well, I’ve been using these for over a year, and the similar cases I found online were all resolved by contacting Google for a replacement, so it’s gotta be the battery, right?

I wasn’t counting on Google support — and even if I could reach them, this thing is out of warranty. So I went with the usual route: Taobao repair.

There are actually quite a few sellers on Taobao who’ll replace the battery in Pixel Buds 2. I asked several, and they basically all told me it’s “impossible to do without damage” — i.e., a destructive replacement. But finally one shop claiming to be “very professional” said they could do it non-destructively, so I mailed it over for the battery swap.

The replacement went smoothly enough. Got the battery replaced and they even sent me the old one back.

I listened to them after they came back and they sounded fine. But I noticed the single-bud fast-drain issue was still there. I’d just replaced the battery — how could that be?

Then I paired the buds with my Pixel 4 XL, and surprise: the “one bud drains fast” thing only happens when paired with the Pixel 6 Pro…

So is it the phone’s fault or the buds'?

Most importantly: I went through all that hassle and replaced the battery for nothing.

Fine, whatever, it’s done. But soon I noticed the left bud’s mic was broken after the battery replacement. Specifically, voice calls don’t work on the left side, and there’s a constant crackling noise. That’s obviously from the battery swap. So I went straight to the Taobao seller to hash it out. At first they wouldn’t admit it, claiming it was already broken. After repeated demands, they agreed to have me send it back to take a look.

A few days later, the seller said they probably did break it themselves, but they didn’t have spare parts, so the most they could do was refund the 50 yuan repair fee. After more back-and-forth, they said that was their maximum concession — and they also pointed out I had no proof the buds were working fine to begin with. Absolute bullshit. I took the money and ate the loss for now, and I’ve lost interest in using them anyway. They’re currently listed on Xianyu for 299 yuan; anyone who just wants them for listening to music can go take a look.

So a few takeaways:

• The Pixel Buds 2 fast-drain issue is the phone’s fault.

• Taobao sellers vary wildly in skill. Test everything and record video evidence before any repair.

• Though honestly, even with evidence, the seller probably won’t give you a clean refund — at best they’ll refund the repair fee.