Pixel 10 Pro Thermal Polling Fix (Android 16)

Important

RETIRED — DO NOT INSTALL. This module is redundant on any firmware released after the initial Android 16 QPR builds: stock corrected the 5-minute thermal polling delay in a straight firmware release, so this overlay no longer applies to current builds and may conflict with the fixed stock configs. No further updates are planned. Left up for historical reference only.

📢 DISCLAIMER

I am very much a hobby dev, and new to rooting android devices. I made this repository to document my findings as I am learning. Please only implement the module if you know what you are doing, and always keep backups in case of something not working as intended.

Asurgical Magisk/KernelSU module to correct a 5-minute thermal polling delay found in the initial Android 16 QPR builds for the Pixel 10 Pro.

🚨 The Issue

In the stock Android 16 firmware for the Pixel 10 Pro, the PollingDelay for critical thermal sensors is incorrectly set to 300,000ms (5 minutes).

This creates a massive "blind spot" in the system's thermal management. During heavy workloads, the CPU can hit 90°C+ before the Thermal HAL even attempts to sample the temperature, leading to heat soak and potential long-term battery degradation.

✅ The Fix

This module overlays the stock thermal configs with focused edits:

1. Reduces Polling Delay: Sets PollingDelay to 5,000ms for the VIRTUAL-SKIN* sensors across thermal_info_config.json, thermal_info_config_throttling.json, and thermal_info_config_charge.json.
2. Keeps OEM thresholds: Restores the original HotThreshold, CdevCeilingFrequency, and Profile data so only the sampling cadence changes.
3. Retains Hysteresis & Passive Delay: Keeps the default PassiveDelay (7,000ms) and HotHysteresis values to avoid oscillating CPU-frequency decisions even as the sensor updates faster.

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📋 Technical Evidence & Root Cause

Affected Component: /vendor/etc/thermal_info_config.json
Target Config: VIRTUAL-SKIN-CPU-LIGHT-ODPM

The stock configuration effectively disables real-time thermal management for burst workloads. By the time the 300s timer expires, the device has already reached thermal saturation. This module restores the expected behavior for a flagship Tensor G5 device.

✅ Additional Overlays

• /vendor/etc/thermal_info_config_throttling.json and thermal_info_config_charge.json inherit the same 5s polling cadence so the HAL cannot revert to the 300s delay through the included files.

Verification

Run the following command in Termux (with root) to verify the fix is active:

cat /vendor/etc/thermal_info_config.json | grep -A 15 "VIRTUAL-SKIN-CPU-LIGHT-ODPM"
# Ensure "PollingDelay" is now 5000.

Verify the included files as well:

cat /vendor/etc/thermal_info_config_throttling.json | rg -n "VIRTUAL-SKIN-CPU-LIGHT-ODPM" -C2
cat /vendor/etc/thermal_info_config_charge.json | rg -n "PollingDelay" -C1

🛠 Installation

• Download the thermal_fix.zip from the Releases tab.
• Install via Magisk Manager or KernelSU.
• Reboot your device.

⚠️ Disclaimer This module modifies system thermal parameters. Use at your own risk. While it is designed to increase safety by enforcing earlier throttling, the author is not responsible for any damage to your device.