This was posted 2 years 1 month 5 days ago, and might be an out-dated deal.

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Google Pixel XL 32GB (Quite Black) $188 Delivered @ Mobileciti

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Google Pixel XL 32GB (Quite Black) $188 Delivered @ Mobileciti
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ar7ist on 28/03/2022 - 00:23 mobileciti.com.au (3666 clicks)
Last edited 28/03/2022 - 12:36 by 1 other user

Was looking for a way to have unlimited original quality photos for iPhones with Google Photos.

Can install Syncthing app on Google Pixel and iPhone (or any other phone).
Link both the phones. Select folders to sync across.
Enable auto upload in Google Photos only on Google Pixel.
Make sure you have the same Google account on both phones, that way you can see the photos that are synced.
Enjoy unlimited original quality photos.

Credits to Baka Baka for sharing this trick.
This is a good way to avoid spending on subscription evey year just for photos.

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        • ShouldIBuyIt on 28/03/2022 - 07:52
          +1

          Most of the apps requires Android 5+.
          You'll be fine.

    • MrFunSocks on 28/03/2022 - 20:09

      1. It's not tied to an account, it's tied to the phone. Anything uploaded to any google account from this physical phone is free and unlimited.

      2. Software support already ended years ago. Has no impact on the google photos uploads.

      3. Uploading is as fast as your internet upload speed will allow.

      4. Nothing, you just can't upload anything else without it counting towards your storage.

      Do not buy this phone to actually use as a phone. Buy it to use it as an unlimited free full quality google photos uploader.

  • prhino on 28/03/2022 - 07:26

    There are plenty of things you can use a spare phone for.

    • as a webcam / security camera
    • a permanent connection to your Powerpal
    • wifi hotspot to replace nbn
    • dust on 28/03/2022 - 09:03

      Jack of all trades, master of none.

      • prhino on 28/03/2022 - 09:18

        Yeah, but people saying that the cost of the phone only covers 8 years of Google One membership should bear this in mind

        • bchliu on 28/03/2022 - 11:47

          Lol.. Which plan are they referring to? 100GB? how many months/years of photos does that hold? lol.

  • Flyingbeast on 28/03/2022 - 07:32
    +1

    It'd be interesting to know how many gigabytes of photos and videos people have uploaded with this phone over the years or per year.

    • lawyerz on 28/03/2022 - 12:57

      A lot lol. I have 2TB of photos and videos going back nearly 20 years.

  • Save Medicare on 28/03/2022 - 07:44
    +14

    Beware of "free forever" or "unlimited" from Google.
    Many long time users of Google Apps/G Suite/Workplace are finding this out the hard way after bringing their families and fully buying into the ecosystem

    • boretentsu on 28/03/2022 - 07:54
      +1

      Sounds like you have some specific examples in mind. Could you share?

      • Save Medicare on 28/03/2022 - 08:00
        +13

        Back when Google Apps for Domains was first offered the premise was that you could bring your small business or family into using the Google suite of services, including GMail on your own web domain, for free, forever. This was the wording at the time.

        A large number of families signed on, and over the past decade and a half have become fully entrenched within the Google ecosystem with email, calendar, photos, drive, youtube, not to mention google play purchases.

        Somewhere in the middle Google stopped offering these free Google Apps (then renamed G Suite) accounts, transitioning to a paid per user per month service for businesses, but promised that existing users would continue to have free access forever.

        They changed that at the start of this year, and now those "free forever" family users will need to pony up $100/year per person to keep gmail functioning

        Would appreciate a revoke of the neg if that was you and you're satisfied with the explanation

        https://old.reddit.com/r/gsuitelegacymigration/

        • boretentsu on 09/04/2022 - 09:52

          Thanks and no it wasn't me that negged you.

      • timmypete on 28/03/2022 - 08:30
        +3

        Save Medicare was pretty specific above, but lmgtfy.

        As they mentioned, a lot of people are finding out the hard way now.

        I used to support a couple of volunteer organisations and university clubs, and they're all facing loss of email and long-standing set ups purely because Google has walked back on prior commitments to free forever. In one case, the organisation has deliberately continued to renew the domain name of its former name for the past 14 years purely to maintain eligibility for a plan grandfathered in 2012.

        Personally, I'm less affected but it's still annoying. I registered for Google Apps for my domain in 2009 and started Play Store/Android device management/Google Pay/YouTube/Maps profiles from scratch on my domain-branded Google account on the basis it was specifically advertised as free forever.

        Because Google isn't offering to transfer out to a Gmail address it looks like their only solution is for me to repurchase ~$1.5k of apps/books/subscriptions made over more than a decade…or pay an annual fee to access content I previously purchased (and to access services they continue to offer for free to Gmail users). I've paid for Fastmail for years (so at least don't have mail/contacts/calendars to migrate) and don't regret the decision. It isn't clear if my YouTube subscriptions and save lists will work after this.

        • stumo on 28/03/2022 - 09:17
          +3

          Yep 2005 (before it was called GApps for my domain) user here. I put all the family members on it and even a couple of elderly friends on it too. Much easier for me to manage their email addrsses, than using ones tied to their ISP they were using. Also easy for me to reset when they inevitably forget their passwords.

          I only use it for emails. Fortunately for me I tied all my play purchases to my gmail account, not to my gapps account. Im not going to be paying $800pa for something we can get for free on gmail.

          Google are being pure evil here.

    • hotphil on 28/03/2022 - 09:37
      +2

      I'd amend that to just any service or device from Google. They shut them all down very quickly. About the only thing they've kept going for a while is GMail. And I think they only left that alone after they decided Inbox wasn't going to be a thing and closed that.

      • MrFunSocks on 28/03/2022 - 20:10
        +1

        Google Photos isn't going anywhere, it's what feeds their Machine Learning for image recognition.

  • Shane034 on 28/03/2022 - 07:52

    What's the deal with updates for these of I want to use it as a cheap everyday phone?

    • BartholemewH on 28/03/2022 - 08:11
      +1

      You don't, imo. I got my OG Pixel solely for photo uploads.

    • ShouldIBuyIt on 28/03/2022 - 08:27
      -1

      Won't get any updates.
      Still beat any recent phone you can get for this price brand new.

      • Shane034 on 28/03/2022 - 08:28

        Cheers. And the cameras still sound pretty good?

    • MrFunSocks on 28/03/2022 - 20:11

      Don't use it as a cheap everyday phone. The battery will be garbage and it stopped getting updates years ago. There are plenty of better options.

      The only reason anyone should be buying these today is for the free unlimited photo backup.

  • knobbs on 28/03/2022 - 07:54

    How do you upload different phones photos to separate Google accounts? IE upload your photos from your phone up your Google account but also upload the wife's photos to get Google account from the one pixel?

    • ShouldIBuyIt on 28/03/2022 - 08:37

      I assume you can link specific folders to be backed up under specific accounts. Haven't tried though

    • dust on 28/03/2022 - 09:04

      Just switch accounts before you upload them?

    • krisspy on 28/03/2022 - 09:06
      +1

      Log in 2 google photos accounts, you can switch between them in app.

      Have 2 separate folders on the phone for each person.

      Sync folders to relevant gphoto accounts

      • knobbs on 28/03/2022 - 09:08

        Yeah so I can't populate the designated camera folder that gphotos syncs but just have two other folders and point each account to sync that folder? Is that automated, backup on both accounts or will I need to manually keep switching?

        • krisspy on 28/03/2022 - 09:45
          +1

          Yeah so bobs gphoto account would have camera folder by default and bob's folder switched on.

          Jane's gphoto would be camera + Jane folder.

          When you log in the account it should try and sync automatically

          • knobbs on 28/03/2022 - 09:59

            @krisspy: Ok cool thanks. Shame I have to switch accounts manually to sync though. Was trying to automate 100% of it to be like actually g photos

  • mangoice on 28/03/2022 - 07:56

    404 forbidden

  • mangoice on 28/03/2022 - 07:59

    Correct me if wrong… it's the photos and videos taken from pixel one devices are unlimited…. if I take a photo from samsung iphone or pixel 2/3/4 and upload thru pixel one into Google photos it convert that photo into high quality not original quality

    • aveeno bb on 28/03/2022 - 08:03
      +3

      Nope, anything getting uploaded via the original pixel and xl is free original quality.

      • mangoice on 28/03/2022 - 22:01

        Have you checked recently Can you confirm non pixel photo or video backed up at original quality

    • Munki on 28/03/2022 - 09:39
      +4

      Nope. I've backed up RAW files from my DSLR going through when the Pixel 2 had it…Have heard claims works on OG Pixel as well, except it's forever*

      | *Forever in Google terms might not be the same forever in a dictionary

      • Kirkk on 28/03/2022 - 12:38
        +1

        Only Google Pixel/XL 1st gen(Released 2016) have got unlimited photos upload at original quality
        and
        from Gen 2 through Gen 5 space saver quality available forever/through the life of the phones.

        Gen 6 doesn't have this feature at all i.e. every photo upload (Doesn't matter at what quality) counts towards your 15GB space per gmail address.

        I have all 6 generations

        • Munki on 28/03/2022 - 12:49
          +1

          Yep. Pixel 2 had original quality as well, but it switched over from beginning of last year I believe.

          • Kirkk on 28/03/2022 - 12:55
            +1

            @Munki: Yes 2 and 3 had that but currently it is only space saver mode

            • Munki on 28/03/2022 - 12:58

              @Kirkk: Yes I was confirming that even files taken from DSLRs could be uploaded and "backed up" via the Pixel 2 worked when it was available, so given the OG Pixel has it for life, then it should work regardless of where the image files are coming from.

      • mangoice on 28/03/2022 - 19:37

        Can you confirm date of upload your dslr Photo and today's it's file size in Google photos

        • MrFunSocks on 28/03/2022 - 20:12

          If it was uploaded via a Pixel 1 (or 2/3 during their free original upload period which just ended in Feb 2022 I believe) it will never take up space in your google account, will always be free.

    • giventofly on 28/03/2022 - 10:36
      +1

      Yeah I would have thought they'd be looking at the photo metadata to see which device took the photo, regardless of where the OG Pixel updated it.

  • cloudie9 on 28/03/2022 - 08:05
    +15

    For those who want to save a few quids and have eBay plus, it is $174.76 with PMAR17 coupon at Sydneymobiles eBay (essentially MobileCiti..)
    https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/393815890727

    • almostfrench on 28/03/2022 - 08:51
      +1

      A true ozbargainer 😂

      Btw, i have the OG pixel but still ordered one, just in case 😉

    • alexithymia on 28/03/2022 - 09:40

      Legend 👍

    • JJlikes2eat on 28/03/2022 - 09:43

      Legend!

    • excite on 28/03/2022 - 10:03
      +1

      thanks, and looks like you can save $1 more, $173.71 with code PBUNNY12
      https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/165246744546

      • slankets on 28/03/2022 - 10:26

        PBUNNY12 for eBay Plus only. Non-Plus code is PBUNNY10

        Above PMAR17 is also eBay Plus. Non-Plus is PMAR10

        • lordra on 28/03/2022 - 10:43

          So get it from sydneymobiles or allphones_online?

    • wjb on 04/04/2022 - 13:09

      Anyone revived pixel from Sydneymobiles? Mine has not been shipped.

      • julz15 on 04/04/2022 - 23:07

        Yes. I got mine last week

  • garage sale on 28/03/2022 - 08:44

    how old is this phone ?
    didn’t know they were still making this model and had moved onto 4 and 5.

    • CrispyChrispy on 28/03/2022 - 08:59
      +1

      They're not making this phone anymore, let alone the Pixel 2 or maybe even the 3. This was released 5-6 years ago.

      • dogsryummy on 28/03/2022 - 11:07
        +1

        They've stopped making the 5 too, the only Pixels currently in production are the 6/6 Pro.

  • Shane034 on 28/03/2022 - 08:56

    Anyone know if these are compatible with the DJI drones? I think the later ones are

  • julz15 on 28/03/2022 - 09:01

    You can even upload your mirrorless camera photos via the phone for free.

    • dust on 28/03/2022 - 09:04
      +1

      Yes it doesn't matter what the photos/videos were taken on but that it's uploaded on the Pixel.

      • neo on 28/03/2022 - 09:08

        What folder do we copy the photos to when plugged into the PC?

        • ShouldIBuyIt on 28/03/2022 - 09:10
          +1

          You can create a new folder and Google photos will detect it and ask if you want to back it up.

          • neo on 28/03/2022 - 09:16

            @ShouldIBuyIt: Perfect, thanks to OP as well for this trick. I have an OG Pixel laying around which will come in handy now.

          • neo on 28/03/2022 - 09:36

            @ShouldIBuyIt: Is there an easy way to then identify those photos that got uploaded and add them to an album? I can see the get added according to the right date but will be a nightmare identifying which is which.

            EDIT: Never mind, shows up as 'Recently Added' when searching :)

        • MrFunSocks on 28/03/2022 - 20:13

          Just put them in the DCIM folder.

  • countmein on 28/03/2022 - 09:06

    Quite new to this, does the unlimited photo work only for this model? I thought any Pixel below 5 will do? Looking to buy second hand.
    And how do you transfer from your current phone to Pixel wirelessly? Assuming the Pixel needs to be cleared every now n then as 32GB not that much (e.g 4k videos)

    • ShouldIBuyIt on 28/03/2022 - 09:14
      +3

      Pixel 5 has only storage saver quality back up for free.
      Pixel 1 has original quality back up for free for the life of the device.
      Sync using the app syncthing. Enable sync both ways.
      Once backed up, use the option "free up space" which will delete the pics on both devices.

      • MrFunSocks on 28/03/2022 - 20:14

        Just to expand - Pixel 2-5 have unlimited "storage saver" backup. For photos it's ok, for videos its terrible as it completely butchers the bitrate.

  • stumo on 28/03/2022 - 09:22
    +6

    Just watch out for the battery. Lots of reports of the battery dying if left plugged in 24/7.

    I installed AccA on mine (needs root). It allows me to power the phone mostly from the charger. And it keeps the battery at 25-30% charge for maximum longevity.

    • Fotato on 28/03/2022 - 11:13
      +1

      Thanks for recommending AccA, I'll definitely look into that. I'm new to rooting. Did you use any particular guides to root the Pixel XL? All the guides I've seen so far seem way over my head….I think I need a guide for dummies!

      • lordra on 01/04/2022 - 14:19

        +1, I need one too!

        • Fotato on 08/04/2022 - 21:32
          +1

          Hey mate, I managed to root the phone and install AccA on the Pixel XL.

          I followed this YouTube guide and had to jump through a few hoops as some things are out of date.

          Here's what I had to do which deviated from the guide:
          * Update your Pixel XL to the latest Android version (Android 10) via the auto update phone feature in settings. It initally said that Android 8.1 was the furthest it could update to, but it eventually gave me the option to update to Android 10 after a restart and giving it some time to fetch data.
          * Make sure your phone has USB debugging, OEM unlock enabled (enable developer option)
          * Make sure your phone has USB file transfer enabled
          * When the YouTube guide talks about downloading the fastboot files, I downloaded them from the official Android developer website here. Just download the "SDK Platform Tools" link for your operating system (I used Windows). The folder will be called "platform-tools".
          * When the YouTube guide talks about extracting the boot.img file, Google doesn't let you obtain that easily as it's in a payload file now. Use this guide to download a program which lets you extract the boot.img file easily.
          * The command prompt would give me a "waiting for device in fastboot" message. You need to download the USB drivers onto your computer. I followed this guide to do this.
          * The command prompt would also give me a message telling me fastboot is locked. Type in "fastboot flashing unlock" first to fix this, which isn't in the YouTube guide.

          Note that installing AccA is just a simple matter of downloading the Acc apk and/or downloading AccA from F-Droid (I did both).

    • ozziekhoo on 31/03/2022 - 08:04

      Hey mate, shouldn't it be kept at 50%? Isn't that when the ions are equal on both sides so its best then?

      • MrFunSocks on 31/03/2022 - 15:43

        Ideally you would want it to keep going between 20 and 80 percent, never going below 20 or above 80.

    • RQNinja on 26/04/2022 - 23:03

      does rooting like limits the google storage service since it is no longer stock rom?

  • jassssone on 28/03/2022 - 09:29

    So if I have paid Google one (200Gb) now, and buy this, then I use the same Google account for Pixel 1, can i stop paying Google one subscription (Will I lose the contents already there?) Thanks

    • snvl on 28/03/2022 - 09:37

      no, it needs to be uploaded from Pixel OG

      • jassssone on 28/03/2022 - 09:40

        Thanks, So that's mean I will lose the contents if I stop to pay subscription?! Only way is to re-upload through Pixel?

        • revmacca on 28/03/2022 - 10:37
          +2

          You would need to download pictures via Google Takeout, once your very sure you’ve got them on your local drive delete from google and reupload via pixel

          • karma25 on 29/03/2022 - 10:33

            @revmacca: Is there an easy way to re-upload photos back to Google Photos? Seems like takeout is only backup/archive tool. There is no option to import takeout data back to google photos.

    • MrFunSocks on 28/03/2022 - 20:15

      If you stop paying then you'll have to download everything from your google account, delete it from the google account, then reupload it through the Pixel, otherwise you'll be unable to receive emails in your gmail etc until you're under the 15gb free allowance.

  • devpress on 28/03/2022 - 09:38

    With the whole Syncthings trick: once the photos are moved off the "main" phone (e.g. the one taking the photos), can you still view the photos (via Google Photos) once they've been purged off the main device?

    • slankets on 28/03/2022 - 10:19

      yes it is stored in the cloud

    • ballistykx on 28/03/2022 - 10:20

      Yes that is correct.

      • devpress on 28/03/2022 - 17:45

        Sorry what I mean is, can I still view the photos on the main device, given the main device is not linked to the Google Photos account (that is setup on the Pixel OG phone to do the uploading)?

        • MrFunSocks on 29/03/2022 - 10:31

          Why isn't it linked to the same google account?

          • devpress on 29/03/2022 - 22:23

            @MrFunSocks: Because if the phone that is taking pictures is linked to Google Photos, then won't that phone attempt to backup to Google Photos? Which is not what you want, as you'd want the Pixel OG to be doing that

            • ShouldIBuyIt on 29/03/2022 - 22:46
              +1

              @devpress: You can link your account, just disable auto back up. That way you can still see your Google photos hosted in the cloud.

  • TThomas on 28/03/2022 - 10:10

    As 32GB is pretty small, what about additional storage with this device? Do people plug a USB drive with an OTG adapter and sync the folders?

    • kazer on 28/03/2022 - 10:17
      +1

      google gives you the option to automatically delete photos from your phone once its backed up. you wont need the extra space on your phone then.

      • krisspy on 28/03/2022 - 11:17
        +1

        What about for the initial upload. If you have TB's worth of media to upload, would be a hassle having to do it in 32gb (or less) chunks.

        Would be good to dump everything from a drive

        • Fotato on 28/03/2022 - 12:19

          Keen to know too. I've tried mounting sd cards via a usb dongle but google photos won't let me upload from there. Wondering if there's a way to get around uploading in 32 gb batches (eg. Uploading a hard drive or entire phone's worth of photos)

        • Fixel99 on 28/03/2022 - 12:42

          Also keen to know

        • stumo on 28/03/2022 - 14:19
          +1

          No you need to purge the P1 manually. Its just one button press on the photos app to free up local storage. In theory its supposed to auto-delete them once it runs out of space AND 30 days have passed. Otherwise the phone basically locks up as it runs out of space.

          Its a bit of a nightmare tbh, because a lot of my older videos and photos didn't upload for some reason. The vids I had to transcode because I found out by trial and error that the codecs were unsupported by google. But the photos I have nfi why they didnt go to the cloud. Maybe because they were amongst invalid videos? Still havent sorted it out yet

          And good luck trying to find out. Google seems to be very cagey about photos upload.

          The upshot is that the P1 will eventually fill up with photos/vids that it won't ever upload and auto delete or even purge with the button. So required real manual intervetion to get things moving again.

          Also I tried adding a local hdd via OTG, but it was very unreliable and slow.

          Also if you are backing up bulk photos you will want ti run a small desk fan pointing at the P1. It gets super hot and eventually stops uploading

          • Fotato on 28/03/2022 - 14:34
            +1

            @stumo: Thanks for sharing your experience. Looks like my best bet in uploading my hard drive is to just connect the P1 to my computer and transfer photos via usb the old fashioned way, chunk by chunk, before getting it to upload to Google Photos. Then sync apps to transfer pics from my normal phone.

            Sucks that is its not possible to install external storage. I don't suppose constantly writing to the P1 flash memory will be too good for longevity.

            • stumo on 28/03/2022 - 14:39
              +1

              @Fotato: Nah just use syncthing. That side of it is all automatic so its set and forget. It will automatically kick back into life as soon as space is freed up on the P1.

              So the manual intervention is only needed on the P1 side to manually purge backed up photos. At least its needed when doing the initial bulk uploads. The P1 will do it automatically after 30 days.

              So after the first period of bulk upload, it should all just work automatically for normal family photo type usage.

              • Fotato on 28/03/2022 - 14:42

                @stumo: Thanks for the tips. Ok cool, will hook up my hard drive to my laptop and use Syncthing on that too.

                Do you know if Syncthing has a date limit excluder? I'm already using Google pics with my current phone and I don't want the P1 to upload them again, just any new pics I take.

                Thanks again, its been hard trying to find guides on how to do this.

                • stumo on 28/03/2022 - 15:14
                  +1

                  @Fotato: Syncthing no doubt has the feature.

                  Also google photos upload wont actually re-upload a photo/vid thats already up there. It will just complete that "upload" without actually doing it.

                  • julz15 on 30/03/2022 - 19:36

                    @stumo: @stumo is that correct? How will google photos know not to upload a photo on the pixel 1 that was previously uploaded by the main phone??

                    • stumo on 30/03/2022 - 20:22

                      @julz15: It uses checksums to see if the file already exists to avoid duplicates. As long as the file is not changed in any way, then it wont re-upload it.

              • MrFunSocks on 29/03/2022 - 10:34

                @stumo: Just for longevity I wouldn't do this. My Pixel 1 is turned on for maybe 10-20 mins a week to upload stuff then it's off again. It will last way longer than a pixel 1 running 24/7.

  • somariosidharta on 28/03/2022 - 10:31

    with 32 GB, maybe around 20gb a real storage (because of os) ?
    so it's hard to upload 4k videos? or is there a trick for this?

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