5 keys of the bug that causes Google Pixel to restart due to overheating

Imagine picking up your Google Pixel and it restarts without warning while you’re browsing or gaming. This happened to a user, who discovered it wasn’t a real temperature issue but a surprising technical bug that tricks the phone into thinking it’s overheating.

The Google Pixel, known for its quality and constant updates, isn’t free from unexpected faults. This particular case affects the detection of Tensor chip overheating, causing random restarts that greatly annoy users.

The TMU bug that restarts the Google Pixel 6 Pro without real overheating

How the issue affects the Thermal Management Unit (TMU)

The problem lies with the TMU, the unit responsible for monitoring the device’s temperature. In the case of the Pixel 6 Pro, this system signals an overheating that doesn’t actually exist, triggering a safety restart that interrupts any activity.

The curious thing is that the chip’s real temperature never reaches critical levels (115 °C), staying below 60 °C, nearly half of what would cause a legitimate restart. This causes the device to reboot randomly, with no clear pattern.

User case and error detection

A Reddit user, "Oshadhaviduranga", documented this phenomenon after updating to Android 16. The restarts occurred during heavy tasks as well as normal use, with no apparent cause.

Analyzing the logs, they found specific overheating reboot codes, but the recorded temperature did not justify the error. This revealed a pinpoint bug in the Pixel 6 Pro’s thermal management.

Why only the Google Pixel 6 Pro and the connection with Android 16?

Impact of the Android 16 update

The bug seems related to the latest Android 16 update, which so far has exclusively affected the Pixel 6 Pro. It’s possible the new OS version introduced a conflict with the Tensor chip’s TMU.

This highlights that despite the promise of 7 years of updates, new versions can bring unexpected issues that affect device performance and stability.

Possible impacts and scope of the problem

So far, this bug hasn’t been detected in other Pixel models, but it can’t be ruled out that it might appear in future generations. Google has acknowledged the report but hasn’t confirmed an official fix yet.

Affected users can review reboot logs to determine if their device suffers from this issue, using built-in tools or external tools like adb.

How to check and interpret overheating reboot codes

Steps to access logs and detect the bug

If you suspect your Pixel restarts for this reason, follow these steps to access the logs:

• Enable developer options by tapping 7 times on "Build number" inside Settings - About phone.
• Go to Settings - System - Developer options to access the logs.
• You can also get a report using the adb tool from your PC with the command "adb bugreport".

Codes and indicators that confirm reboot due to false thermal detection

Look for the following indicators in the logs:

• "reboot,thermal,tj": indicates reboot due to temperature problem.
• "Thermal (TMU) HW Trip": message related to the TMU.
• "Reboot reason: 0xcdca": specific code for overheating reboot.
• Temperature shown below 80 °C, indicating a sensor error.

Also, codes like S2MPG10 OFFSRC 0x20 or 0x21 confirm a shutdown due to temperature, while other codes indicate different issues like boot manager failures or kernel watchdog.

With these clues, any user can determine if they have this bug and seek help or wait for an update to fix it.

The reality is that despite the long support and quality of Google Pixel, this kind of errors are possible, especially after major updates.

For this reason, staying informed and knowing how to interpret these signs is key to not wasting time or patience with unexpected restarts.