I am planning to buy a used Pixel phone and use it as an agent to upload all my picture and video collection to Google drive. Does it work? Is it as simple as transfer pictures to Pixel phone and upload?
How does the unlimited Google storage work on Pixel phones? Does it apply to only registered owner, or any pictures/video can be uploaded to Google drive unlimitedly?
I found this https://support.google.com/photos/answer/6220791?co=GENIE.Pl… on Google site. It says Pixel to Pixel 5 all have unlimited Storage Saver quality storage. Original quality does count against the 15GB quota except original Pixel. Is this information still current?
It does seem like for older Pixels, the unlimited storage is still avaliable with variations on the photo quality right now. Maybe refer to this link for the model you're getting: https://www.tomsguide.com/news/google-photos-unlimited-stora…
I still get unlimited full quality storage for life with the original pixel xl that I have, however my understanding is that it is only photos that taken / backed up from that device. reading this it seems that depending on which device you have will depend on what you get, but I dont think its going to achieve what you think it will.
https://9to5google.com/2021/05/25/google-pixel-photos-perks/
*Edit after reading the comments from various users on the above article, it does appear that you could copy photos to the original pixel device and then back them up at original quality. So will have to try this out with my new pixel 6 pro to see if it does indeed save them at original quality and not count towards the limit
Yep this is right. Only original Pixel unlimited full quality storage for life. I wonder though if your battery might die before then?
You can set up a sync using something like Solid Explorer into a folder on your original Pixel for this to happen automatically.
Yes you can purchase older pixel phones to upload photos without it getting counted towards your 15GB quota.
If you get a first gen pixel, you get unlimited storage for full responsibility photos. You can log in using your google account and upload as many photos you like from there.
Isn’t only the pixel 1 that has the unlimited storage?
Yep pixel 1 has unlimited original quality storage for life which doesnt count against your quota. Pixels 2-5 have unlimited 'storage saver' (formerly known as high quality) which also won't count against 15gb quota.
An alternate solution for the technologically inclined is to install a custom rom that uses the fingerprint of an older Pixel device. Rn I'm getting unlimited storage saver quality on my Poco F3, since Google thinks its a pixel 5 xd. Also possible with a magisk module I think.
Got a link on how?
An alternate solution for the technologically inclined is to install a custom rom that uses the fingerprint of an older Pixel device. Rn I'm getting unlimited storage saver quality on my Poco F3, since Google thinks its a pixel 5 xd. Also possible with a magisk module I think.
o_O
Does the custom rom impact the usage of other apps/your device?
Nope, everything works flawlessly and much better than miui: google pay, banking apps, widevine l1.
Only pain point is that you have to wait for 7 days to unlock the bootloader, and this also factory resets your device.
Google just needed to teach its algorithms how to recognize stuff, thats why they were offering free storage to people ( its more of like a FREE DATA collection in their opinion ). So they were benefiting a lot by this by teaching their AI to learn stuff. Now that their AI has learnt so much from Data from all over the world from millions of peoples, they no longer need to spend $$ to teach AI, (as its already smart enough now). Hence they will stop unlimited storage soon in future.
Hence they will stop unlimited storage soon in future.
This has happened already.
Yes, the original first generation Pixel has unlimited original quality storage for life. That's why I have one of them spare, normally just sitting idle at home. But occasionally I back up any new photos that I have on my computer by first synchronising them to the mobile with Syncthing and from there automatically to Google Photos. Yes, it's probably not the best idea for my privacy, but I just love how they are so nicely searchable, shareable and accessible anywhere.
first synchronising them to the mobile with Syncthing and from there automatically to Google Photos
Could you please elaborate? Simply copy pictures and videos to Pixel "camera" folder won't work?
Yes, it would work fine that way too. Just plug your mobile to your computer with a USB cord, copy photos to the camera folder (or any folder on the mobile really, as you can set Google Photos to sync other folders too). The reason I use Syncthing is so that I don't have to use a cable to get the photos on the mobile. Of course any other software that can wirelessly copy files over to the phone would do the same too. How you get the photos to the mobile does not make a difference for Google Photos.
I would like to know too
Is it still worth buying a cheap pixel phone just for the unlimited storage saver? Is security an issue since there are no more updates?
Unlimited storage is not available anymore since about June/July this year. Now it's only 15GB free.
I just bought the pixel 6 pro and it gave me a 3 months free trial for 100GB. $1.25/month for 6 months after the trial.