If you own a Pixel 11 and notice that the battery isn’t lasting as long as expected, you’re not alone. Reports indicate that some Pixel 11 owners have noticed batteries draining quickly in their new Pixel phones. And while some might blame the problem on AI features that continue to bury the other features your Pixel offers, or even Google’s Tensor as the cause of the problem, a new test by a member of the Pixel community could point to an issue that has everything to do with how your Pixel 11 communicates with your home Wi-Fi router.
According to a Reddit thread shared on the official Google Pixel subreddit, the strange battery drain seen on some Pixel devices could be related to a setting on your Wi-Fi router. The user behind the thread notes that his new Pixel 11 Pro XL was losing around 2.5-3% battery per hour when idle and connected to home Wi-Fi.
After digging deeper with an app called BetteryBatteryStats, the original poster discovered that their phone’s battery was draining due to an overabundance of Wi-Fi wake-ups because the router and phone were in near-constant communication. The poster tried changing the settings on his Tenda Wi-Fi 6 mesh router from Wi-Fi 6 to Wi-Fi 5. The wake-ups were reduced significantly, from around 135 per minute to around 2.4. While this might make it seem like Wi-Fi 6 was the main culprit, further research proved that it was probably more firmware related.
Some Wi-Fi router firmware appears to affect Pixel 11 battery life
Pixel-Shot/Shutterstock
Although switching the Tenda system to Wi-Fi 5 fixed the problem, the user was not satisfied. The poster also did more testing using other routers, including connecting their phone to a HUAWEI Wi-Fi 6 router. They found that the device and router did not produce the same number of wake-ups, even in Wi-Fi 6 mode.
Other comments on the post also showed that users of other brands of Wi-Fi 6 and even Wi-Fi 7 routers experienced normal behavior. As such, the firmware of the router itself could be causing the problem. However, with the number of reports at present and without further testing or an official response from Google, it is impossible to say with certainty that this is the sole cause. So even if you’re using one of the best Wi-Fi routers, finding the best solution can be difficult.
If you notice your Pixel 11 experiencing similar issues, it may be worth considering your router as the potential culprit. Some also suggest turning off Wi-Fi searching to reduce battery drain.
