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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closed Comments

    • krisspy on 28/03/2022 - 11:18
      +1

      There's a hard limit of 10gb per video file uploaded. I don't think this would work for bootlegs

    • MrFunSocks on 29/03/2022 - 15:11
      +1

      Please don't use this to upload pirated movies etc. The more people that do that the more likely it is that Google will look at getting rid of this perk, the same way MS did with Office365 unlimited OneDrive storage thanks to idiots using it as their own personal "linux distro" backup solution.

  • revmacca on 28/03/2022 - 10:35
    +1

    My use case is google storage jumps from 200gb to 2TB $4.39 to $12.49, this phone saved me paying anything as downloaded everything and reloaded it, also paid $120 for the non XL 128gb, can load it up and let it load 100gb at a time.
    Payed for itself in 12 months

  • witsa on 28/03/2022 - 10:38
    -1

    Isn't the free upload only for photos taken on this phone though? So you'll need to use this as your phone and it's already like ancient or you'll need some sort of way to transfer the photos over to this phone so it can upload to the cloud.

    Sounds like too much of a hassle

  • Ozabc on 28/03/2022 - 10:54
    +1

    I am paying for 100GB on google one at the moment.
    What is the best way to download all google photos and remove them to free up storage on google one then I can upload them again using P1?
    And will all the photos be organised correctly as they were before?

    • TThomas on 28/03/2022 - 11:16
      +1

      Use google takeout, will allow you to download all your photos currently in google photos

      https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3024190?hl=en

      I think they photos are downloaded in date folders, when you upload them they should keep the original photo taken date but I don't think you'll keep your albums.

  • Zylam Marex on 28/03/2022 - 10:56
    +3

    Custom roms have the Google photos spoofing (They are seen as pixels and you get unlimited storage). Buying this just for that is a waste. Buy a Xiaomi phone with a snapdragon chip and flash a custom rom. Far better than wasting 188 on this old thing. The Xiaomi Note 10 has gone out of stock, was 200 ish. The Note 11 is 250 ish but it's very new, so you'll have to wait a few weeks for the custom rom scene to develop. The up coming Redmi 10C has a SD chip and is going to be AUD 177 on Ali Express, today at 5 ish PM.

    • lordra on 28/03/2022 - 10:58
      +1

      Doesn't that put your google account at risk though?
      Noob alert - Does the Redmi 10C have a custom rom as well? Are you able to please link a guide to this spoofing mechanism for full photos?

      • Zylam Marex on 28/03/2022 - 11:04
        +2

        It does not. People have been doing it for years and if you watch some custom rom reviews, mentioning if the rom has Google photos spoofing is a standard thing. In regards to the Redmi 10C, the thing it takes a few weeks, sometimes months to get the custom rom scene going, I generally try to buy a year old model because of this, however lately it's been very difficult, Ali Express and Banggood and such always replace them with the newest ones. If you have some patience grab yourself a 10C or Note 11 and wait a few weeks. If you don't mind spending some more, the Poco F3 has a banging Custom Rom scene, I know it's 370 on its best day but it's ready to go right away.

        You can even do the fuel prices thing if you get into custom roms.

        • lordra on 30/03/2022 - 12:38

          Thank you for sharing your information! 😎

      • Zylam Marex on 28/03/2022 - 11:10
        +1

        Sorry didn't read the guide part of your comment. The Google photos spoofing is just part of the custom rom feature set. There are YouTube guides on how to flash custom roms, it's a little complicated these days, however if I have learned to do it, I'm sure anyone can. This guy, muchy on YouTube has some good guides for the Poco F3. Start to finish.

      • Zylam Marex on 28/03/2022 - 11:19
        +1

        Another option is to grab a Redmi Note 5, this was a very popular model and for some reason it's still available to buy. I'm not sure at how legit this listing is, but it's 138 for 4 64 and 127 for 3 32. The custom rom scene on this is very popular, I've got one of them and they are great phones. Also it's relatively easier to learn how to custom rom on one of these.

        [Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 link](AU $126.04 10%OFF | Xiaomi Smartphone Redmi Note 5 Cellphone Snapdragon 636 2160*1080 5.99 HD screen Dual Camera 13MP+5MP(Random color)
        https://a.aliexpress.com/_mrrOqZC)

      • MrFunSocks on 28/03/2022 - 20:18

        Doesn't that put your google account at risk though?

        People will say no but yes, it absolutely does.

        The chances of you being caught and them banning you are likely slim to none, but it absolutely is a possibility.

        • Zylam Marex on 29/03/2022 - 00:21

          Nope, they are not. Google has zero interest in stopping anything to do with custom roms. If they wanted to stop people from spoofing, I'm sure they could but they wouldn't ban any account, rather just revert you back to google drive storage. And as of yet, no one has had any issues. Why don't you provide us with any sort of proof of google cracking down on custom rom features? They don't care at all. I've been putting custom roms on all my devices/family devices for years, signing in multiple times a day/week and even using family shared plans like YouTube premium. Never had an issue. As long as you aren't messing with their apps directly, IE reverse engineering the Photos app or such and then connecting to their network, causing a set of unmodified google apps to believe they are running on a Pixel is of no risk.

          • MrFunSocks on 29/03/2022 - 10:37

            @Zylam Marex:

            As long as you aren't messing with their apps directly,

            Essentially defrauding them to get free unlimited google photos uploading is "messing with their apps", and is absolutely 100% cause for full account bans according to their terms of service.

            Like I said, it's unlikely to happen, but it is 100% a valid full account ban reason. Saying it isn't is dangerous.

            It's not about custom roms, they don't care about that. What they do care about is fraud and illegally using their services.

    • Praer on 28/03/2022 - 16:26
      +1

      bugger. could have saved myself 188 had i read this.

      • kazer on 28/03/2022 - 16:31
        +2

        until google cracks down on this a few years down the line and adds some sort of extra layer of fingerprinting or something. you'd be kicking yourself you didnt get one then

        • Zylam Marex on 28/03/2022 - 17:13

          They could have done this already, however the amount of people who do custom roms is a fraction of Android users, I doubt they care enough to patch it. Will probably cost them more than to just let it be. Unless it becomes easy to do on chrome on the desktop, it's no threat to them. Also the pixels unlimited photos is probably on the chopping block anyway, that will take care of everything. And you're making it sound like buying a pixel is a limited time event. There will always be second hand pixels available to buy.

      • Zylam Marex on 28/03/2022 - 17:14

        Yeah, see if you can cancel. At least you won't need to learn how to custom rom and such, so it's not a total loss if you really want unlimited photo uploading.

    • karma25 on 28/03/2022 - 16:58
      +2

      Great, your message saved me $173. I canceled my order and set up an old S9 to spoof as Google Pixel XL.

      • Zylam Marex on 28/03/2022 - 17:09
        +1

        One is glad to be of service.

  • assarabbiya on 28/03/2022 - 11:12

    Thanks for the post and all the wise comments - my only fear is if/when will Google end the free upload for the older Pixel phones..

    • bchliu on 28/03/2022 - 11:53

      They can't directly without neglecting on their advertised agreements. The only way for them to do this is if they "retire" Google Photos as a product and put something else in its place. But that's a huge cost to them to transit to another product per se along with taking hundreds of millions of users along the way.

      • Zylam Marex on 28/03/2022 - 12:11
        +1

        They can and they will. They already did that to Google photos twice, once when they got rid of the pixel full res unlimited and then when they got rid of unlimited high quality for everyone else bar pixels.

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

          They already did that to Google photos twice, once when they got rid of the pixel full res unlimited

          They haven't done that though, hence this deal being posted.

          then when they got rid of unlimited high quality for everyone else bar pixels.

          That's different because it was never a selling point/marketed with a phone. It was a legit marketed selling point of the Pixel 1, so to remove it they would be breaching some laws.

          • Zylam Marex on 29/03/2022 - 00:15
            -1

            @MrFunSocks: They changed it for the Pixels past the first one. Don't understand your point, it's literally already happened. Which is why I've said it can easily happen for the first pixel without any legal ramifications for them. Besides, almost no one is using a Pixel 1 anymore.

            From the verge:

            • Pixel 3: You still get unlimited free “Original quality” photos and videos if you upload them before January 1st, 2022, after which you get unlimited “Storage saver” going forward

            • Pixel 2: You got (past tense) unlimited free “Original quality” photos and videos if you uploaded them before January 16th, 2021, and you get unlimited “Storage saver” going forward

            That entire article is an explanation of the mess that Google created with what they changed for what phone.

            • Leonidas on 29/03/2022 - 00:25
              +2

              @Zylam Marex: I think the difference is with Pixel 1 they actually advertised as unlimited "for life"

              • Zylam Marex on 29/03/2022 - 00:32

                @Leonidas: Perhaps, however I doubt it will be a huge issue if they stopped. I don't think a class action lawsuit will develop where Pixel 1 owners sue Google for marketing fraud. And they would probably give a year of Google One or such to Pixel 1 users instead of just outright stopping it.

            • MrFunSocks on 29/03/2022 - 10:41
              +2

              @Zylam Marex: No they didn't.

              The Pixel 1 was advertised as having lifetime free and unlimited original quality uploads. It still has this.

              The Pixel 2 and 3 were advertised as having lifetime free and unlimited "high quality" uploads (now known as storage saver), which they still have, and came with 2 years of free and unlimited "Original Quality" uploads. This was clearly stated as a timed thing.

              The Pixel 4 and 5 only ever had lifetime free and unlimited "high quality" uploads. They still have this.

              Google didn't remove or walk back any promised free uploads. You misunderstanding what they're promising is on you. The only change they have made is that the "high quality" uploads are now no longer free and unlimited on all other phones.

  • Fotato on 28/03/2022 - 11:17

    Can Syncthing only upload new photos? I'm currently using an existing Samsung S21. I've been uploading pics onto google pics for a while now using the space saver option. I want any new pics I've taken on my S21 to be synced to the Pixel and uploaded at original quality, and for syncthing to leave my old pics alone (as they've already been uploaded, all 18,000 pics, and the Pixel only has 32 gigs storage so itll be a hassle to upload parts of it at once). Is that possible or will I need to make a new folder just for this?

    • bchliu on 28/03/2022 - 11:55
      +1

      You can try Foldersync app from the play store as well if you are going to share it on a NAS or computer share. Set it to only sync the last "x" amount of weeks and leave everything else there.

    • julz15 on 30/03/2022 - 19:09

      Did u work out a solution to this? I am in a similar boat. Dont want to rebackup photos ive already uploaded.

      • Fotato on 30/03/2022 - 20:16

        From bchliu and Stumo's comments (see comment chain further above), both Foldersync and Syncthing can restrict the syncing to uploading from a certain date I wards (eg the date u receive the Pixel). I think both will work. I haven't tried it yet. My phone's arrived, but I'm trying to figure out how to root it first to install AccA so that the battery life doesn't let it down after a short while. I plan on having the Pixel on at all times just connected to the power plug.

        • julz15 on 30/03/2022 - 20:29
          +1

          Thx. I couldnt find a date filter in syncthing. Google wasnt that helpful either.

          I found this regarding AccA. You might find it helpful

          https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/3xv6nlrp

          • Fotato on 30/03/2022 - 20:33

            @julz15: Oh, Stumo also said that Google photos won't upload the photos that have already been uploaded (even if it was uploaded from another phone and at the space saver quality). Google then will automatically remove that off your phone. Seems like even if Syncthing transfers everything, Google pics will just automatically delete the pic and upload another.

  • firestint on 28/03/2022 - 11:28

    Why is the Mobilecity website so hard to use? Non responsive buttons, texts overlapping over different sections, can't even place order after submitting all my payment and shipping details

    • Logical on 28/03/2022 - 11:50
      +2

      Why…. because it is exactly the same as their customer service!

      • firestint on 28/03/2022 - 12:19
        +2

        Decided to use eBay instead, $10 cheaper and much easier to use… even though it's the same seller

  • GreenRomeo on 28/03/2022 - 11:52

    Has anyone tried to setup SyncThing on iPhone? There does not seem to be an official solution for that, like with Android.

    • knobbs on 28/03/2022 - 21:49

      Yeah I can't see syncthing as an app for iPhone

  • bboT on 28/03/2022 - 12:33

    Obviously the files will need to be deleted from the Pixel at some stage. What is the steps involved in this?
    Do you have to manually specify that Google Photos aren't deleted if the device photos are deleted?
    Is there a way to set it up so that the photos on the Pixel are automatically deleted once transferred online?

    I should mention that I already purchased myself a Google Enterprise domain that theoretically gives me (?almost) unlimited backup to a google drive account, but because I haven't found a way to sync this with Google Photos easily I haven't really utilised it (apart from raw backup).

    • ShouldIBuyIt on 28/03/2022 - 13:30
      +1

      here

    • MrFunSocks on 28/03/2022 - 20:21

      Obviously the files will need to be deleted from the Pixel at some stage. What is the steps involved in this?

      Go into google photos and press the cleanup button. It deletes all the ones that it has uploaded.

  • ScoobyDo on 28/03/2022 - 12:33

    Are these phones supported? I have a Google Pixel XL in a boot cycle (hardware issue) that needs to be fixed and I can't really find anyone that can fix the issue. Cheers.

    • ShouldIBuyIt on 28/03/2022 - 21:54

      Define "supported" in your case. What's your expectation?

  • NitroJolt on 28/03/2022 - 12:54

    All gone. I probably got the last one - hope they still have actual stock to fulfil it.

  • Nirmitha on 28/03/2022 - 12:57
    +1

    Google states on its support pages that the Pixel and Pixel XL are guaranteed to receive new Android version updates until October 2018, and guaranteed to receive security patches until October 2019. So it doesn't get any of that anymore.

    Does anyone know if this could be a problem for basic usability? Purely looking into this for the unlimited backups. In other words could the phone's older software leave it unusable anytime soon? Thanks.

    • ShouldIBuyIt on 28/03/2022 - 13:27
      +1

      Nah it's working fine.

  • devs on 28/03/2022 - 13:21

    Can't this be achieved through rooting any phone and spoofing the build of the phone so Google Photos thinks it is a Pixel?

    • Switchblade88 on 28/03/2022 - 13:30
      +1

      If that was the case there'd be plenty of tutorials to do this already. I'd guess there's some phone fingerprinting going on to make bypasses more obfuscated.

    • Leho on 28/03/2022 - 15:59

      Yep, most custom ROMs have it :)

  • Slurped on 28/03/2022 - 14:33

    What's the best app for moving iPhone photos over to the Pixel ? I can't see "syncthing" anywhere in the IOS store

  • Archaleas on 28/03/2022 - 17:26

    question if i could please, I have sync'd folders with my pixel 1, however by storage currently sits at 86% full with photos with my note 20 ulta. Will google recognize these as being on my P1 eventually? How do i get rid of the legacy photo / video storage now?

    • MrFunSocks on 28/03/2022 - 20:37

      To do that you need to download all the photos from google photos to your pc or some other device, delete them completely from google photos, then re-upload them from your Pixel 1. It's a pain in the arse, but I did it for any of the big videos.

      • Archaleas on 28/03/2022 - 20:51

        was hoping that wasn't the solution but thanks for letting me know, any tips for downoading all the photos (thousands) sant seem to hold shift and select them all as advised

        • MrFunSocks on 28/03/2022 - 21:36

          You can use Google Takeout: https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-google-takeout-4173795

          • Archaleas on 28/03/2022 - 21:44

            @MrFunSocks: perfect, started that process,

            When you re uploaded did they sort themselves back into the same date format?

            • karma25 on 29/03/2022 - 10:35

              @Archaleas: Google takeout data is converted into various folders and json files. How do you upload it back to google photos?

            • MrFunSocks on 29/03/2022 - 10:43
              +1

              @Archaleas: Yep, they keep all the metadata. Went straight back into the same spot on the timeline.

              • karma25 on 29/03/2022 - 12:26

                @MrFunSocks: So all I need to do is to copy the extracted takeout folder to Phone and let Google Photos upload it back?

                • MrFunSocks on 29/03/2022 - 15:34
                  +1

                  @karma25: Yeh pretty much.

                  Just be very, very careful that the takeout files are all there and working before you delete from Google. Don't want to lose them.

                  • cloudie9 on 29/03/2022 - 16:09

                    @MrFunSocks: How do you do bulk deletion of the Google photo and start from scratch uploading the takeout? I tried last time I had to painfully select all of them and delete, rinse and repeat on my desktop!

                    • MrFunSocks on 29/03/2022 - 16:29

                      @cloudie9: Not sure on the bulk delete sorry, other than clicking on one photo then holding shift and scrolling and clicking on another photo way down the list haha.

                    • lordra on 30/03/2022 - 00:07

                      @cloudie9: Try files, or from the Google drive app? Or even the photos app?

  • pricematch on 28/03/2022 - 18:47

    Anyone else get a order cancellation call?
    "Oversold"

    • kazer on 28/03/2022 - 18:48

      damn. bad luck. i ordered at 9.30 am and got shipment notification with expected delivery for tomorrow.

  • HNSCKS on 29/03/2022 - 17:05

    Hi OP, just got my pixel phone today and wanna do the syncthing trick, but it seems the syncthing app is not available in ios app store, could you share how you install the app on iphone? Thank you

    • cloudie9 on 29/03/2022 - 17:37
      +1

      You use Mobius app, but it will cost you some quids.

      https://www.mobiussync.com/

      • HNSCKS on 29/03/2022 - 18:24

        I just google and it seems an app called Resilio Sync can do the same trick for free

    • ShouldIBuyIt on 29/03/2022 - 17:56

      It's available on macOS.
      Back up phone to laptop then pixel

  • snvl on 29/03/2022 - 18:55

    got the phone today. sealed box all good. Thanks OP!

  • sl2010 on 29/03/2022 - 22:09

    I received the phone today. Sealed and new as described.
    Currently updating system software, first update goes to Android 8.1.0, after a restart it shows Android 10 as available for download.

    Thanks OP.

  • cloudie9 on 29/03/2022 - 22:58
    +1

    I don't get it though, how would mobileciti got the pixel 1 still brand new sealed, after all these years…

    • Thedesishopper on 30/03/2022 - 09:48

      I wish they have iPhone X brand new sealed as well….

  • y2k on 30/03/2022 - 20:50

    I've got a Google 1 package but was thinkong of getting this anyway so I don't have to upgrade the plan. Is there some nifty software that lets me free up storage space by deleting photos en masse, and then re-upload them with this? Or a suggested workflow for delete and replace ?

    • MrFunSocks on 30/03/2022 - 21:00

      Download all your photos via Google Takeout.

      Delete all your photos via Google Photos (unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a quick way to do this).

      Copy photos/videos from Google Takeout zipped folders to Pixels DCMI folder via USB.

      Done.

  • drose1 on 31/03/2022 - 00:11

    I got my phone today. Box was all sealed and everything looked fine, but then there was already a sim card in the sim tray? That's not normal right?

    • ballistykx on 31/03/2022 - 06:35

      Definitely not! That's a worry.

    • 911r on 31/03/2022 - 15:11

      Wow what?! That's very odd!

    • MrFunSocks on 31/03/2022 - 15:44

      I honestly don't think there's any way these phones really were "new in box". It's a 5 year old phone that sold poorly, the chances of there being any unopened ones, let alone unopened ones selling for $100 is slim to none.

      • 911r on 31/03/2022 - 16:09

        Googles refurbs don't come in a retail box with accessories. So not sure how they could have re-sealed them and in their original boxes. To those who have purchased, where they all wrapped in their original stickers and accessories all there? My guess was they just lost a pallet of these and found them somewhere but the random sim is a mystery. Was it a branded sim? @drose1

      • lordra on 31/03/2022 - 16:10
        +1

        My box was a bit squished at the edges. But the sticker was intact. The inner box was flawless. The phone still in its factory wrap. Doesn't look like anyone got to it before me, tbf. I have a picture of how the cords were placed inside the box when opened, if anyone wants to have a look.

        • Thedesishopper on 31/03/2022 - 17:58

          same for me as well

        • 911r on 31/03/2022 - 18:07

          Sure, please share.

  • georgev on 02/04/2022 - 10:51
    -1

    Retuned the phone today, too much hassle sync iPhone to pixel.my opinion better pay for storage

    • HNSCKS on 02/04/2022 - 21:23

      Have you opened the phone yet? I tried but it seems unlikely to link the iphone liabrary to pixel, I want to return the phone too lol

      • georgev on 03/04/2022 - 07:26

        No I didn’t open

      • MrFunSocks on 03/04/2022 - 12:08
        +1

        It's really not hard.

        Transfer photos from iPhone to PC using any number of methods. Plug Pixel into PC. Copy/Paste photos from PC to Pixel. Let it upload. Press free up space button. Turn pixel off for another week/month/quarter or however often you want to do the backups.

  • kazzman on 03/04/2022 - 12:47

    Any iOS users found a way to retain Live Photos when doing this? Photos uploaded directly from my iPhone gets uploaded as a Live Photo.
    Uploading via the pixel ends up with two separate files, a video and a photo.

  • jes on 26/04/2022 - 08:34

    Quick question

    If rooted does it void the unlimited photos? Or still ok? Or we shouldn't change it to lineage? Why do people root for?

    People using the ftp or whatever method, is it faster or slower than copying photos from phone to pc, then pc to pixel and back up?
    Also using ftp or using syncthing is it greater risk that photo is intercepted by the third party?

  • mmd on 27/04/2022 - 18:03

    Does anyone know of a free way to transfer photos from a MacBook Pro to pixel. Can't find syncthing of iTunes store

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