Survey uncovers the Pixel series' biggest connectivity weakness, and it's not slow mobile data

Google Pixels are generally regarded as pretty reliable Android phones. I’d certainly recommend them to friends and family craving a solid Android experience. However, they do have a few chinks in their armor, and one that seems to cause repeated problems is a lackluster connectivity experience.

Older Pixels have had notable modem-related flaws, from the Pixel 6’s reception problems through to the Pixel 10’s more recent Wi-Fi and Bluetooth woes. Thankfully, that’s something Google has seemingly acknowledged and is now addressing by switching to MediaTek modems. However, we were certainly intrigued to learn exactly which connectivity issues Pixel users have suffered from in the past.

We posed this question in a recent reader poll, and the results are below.

What’s immediately apparent from our poll data is the large share of readers who have not encountered any connectivity-related issues on their Pixel phones, which includes 21.5% of the 3,118 respondents. However, that does mean the remaining four in every five respondents have faced issues. So, what are the most pressing problems? We gave readers three choices: Weak reception, battery drain, and slow mobile data, and remarkably, the winner of the three isn’t necessarily a connectivity issue at all.

Just under 38% of respondents earmarked “battery drain” as their biggest historical connectivity bugbear. An additional 31.1% experienced “weak reception” problems in the past, while an additional 9.5% of voters have had trouble with “slow mobile data.”

It’s worth noting that we did not ask users to specify which Pixel device they own in this poll, nor did we give readers an option to highlight any issues beyond the options provided. This means that no single Pixel phone can be called out based on this data, nor can one suggest that connectivity is the primary problem with Pixels. However, it’s worth noting that fans want “better hardware” from the likes of the Pixel 12, a desire that would more than likely include a more robust battery.

Based on our tests, the Pixel 11 series’ new MediaTek modem has improved connectivity performance in several areas, including stronger indoor reception, faster download speeds on 5G networks, and marginally lower battery consumption. However, upload speeds and outdoor reception remain weaker versus the Samsung modem in the Pixel 10 line. This experience will likely differ based on environmental factors, but it’s safe to say that Google is moving in the right direction in this regard.

Have you noticed any connectivity issues with your Pixel 11 series device? What about older Pixels? Let us know in the comments below.