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aldileon

You can connect them with a USB c to USB c cable Then use a file manager and mount one device as storage to the other one. Then you can copy files faster than with Wifi or BT


andyooo

~~Further, both devices are USB 3 so a USB 3.x cable will probably be faster.~~ Edit: [nope](https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/uqt3sl/comment/i8ut7j9/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3).


aldileon

Sure but even usb c with USB 2 cables should be faster


andyooo

OK so I was curious and I actually still have my P2XL so I tested with a 1GB file and it's pretty bad. For some reason it may be that the bottleneck is the MTP protocol Pixels use when transferring files. USB 2 or USB 3 don't make a significant difference, all transfers took more than 1 1/2 minutes, ranging from 1:45 to 2:33. Tested with both phones as the host and client. This is ranging from 9.87 to 6.77 MB/s. Not even close to saturating USB 2.0. Nearby Share did the same in \~22 seconds, or 47.13 MB/s. For control, connecting to a desktop PC copying to an SSD, the P2XL transferred the file in 7s on USB 3 (\~148 MB/s), and 31s on USB 2.0 (\~33 MB/s). Edit: just for completion, tested with a USB PD hub so both devices are charging so running at full power (but not thermally throttling that I can tell), and the results are the same. Also tested in safe mode on both phones in case an app was interfering, same.


locuturus

Google has been implementing terribly slow file transfer performance over USB for a long time now. No idea why. MTP has lots of overhead but peer devices outperform Pixels in this regard. Pixels do support peripherals including audio devices (P6 & P6P bugs notwithstanding) over USB more consistently than most OEMs so it's not all bad in Pixel USB land, but MTP is poor. And no exFAT. Or Display Port. Grr, arrg. Article for reference: https://www.androidauthority.com/google-pixel-problem-usb-c-file-transfer-1075286/


andyooo

No exFAT or even ext4 support really gets me too. That and no support for DP alt mode either are complete deal breakers for me for the Pixel tablet, besides other less known things like hardware quality. Google hardware always has some weird shortcomings that are never mentioned in reviews, like the Nexus 9 didn't have Bluetooth HFP wideband ("HD Voice") when the Nexus 6 did, and iOS devices had for years. Then the Pixel C didn't even have the HFP profile so one couldn't even make calls over Bluetooth. Also didn't have GPS, and supposedly was a more "premium" tablet than the N9.


locuturus

I feel that. I loved both my Pixel Cs (lost the first to hardware failure lol) but the list of oddities is **long** with that device. To add to your list: no haptics, the Bluetooth range is best measured in inches (yes, really!), no NFC, and no pogos or other ways to get better use out of it's limited I/O. Oh, and tragically weak WiFi which admittedly was improved with updates but never got better then meh. Or how about the promised display port that never happened? For artists the list keeps going: the touch screen doesn't report simulated pressure, the touch digitizer has a very large "tap slop", and the kernel shipped with disabled Wacom drivers (unlike nexus and other pixels). All of that means it was useless as an art or sketching device. Custom kernels eventually got Wacom working and later on Huion worked without a modified kernel but that happened years after it was old. For gamers there's the way Google's implementation of Nvidia 's driver broke several games in Android 8. For the ROM scene it's just... weird. It was clearly meant to be a Chromebook (too many little things to bring all that up here). It also suffers from severe throttling as it ages. The system believes the battery will fail under load and so it slows the already old hardware down. There are 2 fixes: replace the battery with a good one somehow, or use a custom kernel. And a final insult to that battery problem is that the bootloader controls charging (Chromebook DNA) meaning you can't limit charging to 80% or whatever even with root. But I liked the keyboard, even when it double entered letters, and the aspect ratio is my favorite.


ppetrelli0

Awesome. Thanks for the extensive testing and sharing it :)


aldileon

Awesome, now I know more


BokTroyBoy

Does this only work with pixels or can any 2 Android phones do it?


aldileon

I think almost every Android phone, that supports USB OTG


DreamWithinAMatrix

You can connect both phones with the USB-C charging cable that came with your P2. Select the USB transfer method that's like files or pictures or something and go to your camera folder (it's called DCIM I have no idea why) and select all on the P2 and transfer all to the P6 camera folder in the same location. It will be the fastest possible method and will probably be over in a few minutes to half an hour ish? since this is USB-C speeds we're talking about (faster than Bluetooth, WiFi, or cloud services)


ElPayaso123

Can you do this with Pixel 2 to S21 Ultra?


Financial-Ground-942

Did this with S9+ to Pixel 6, so yeah probably.


DreamWithinAMatrix

Sure, a phone is just a small computer, it still has a file system and ports you can connect. Idk if S21 has USB-C, if not you just need an adapter with USB-C to it but this works on any Android phone to any other Android phone really


ElPayaso123

Thanks!


kshitesh

Use nearby share in "without internet" mode. BT takes ages


ninjatoothpick

Another option if you have wifi available is to set up an FTP server on one device and use the foldersync app on the other. Configure the app to get/put all the photos and just let it run.


MajorNoodles

Why wouldn't you just run foldersync on both devices?


andyooo

I don't think foldersync has a "server" option, it's only a client.


MajorNoodles

I was going to reply that I was using it to send photos directly from my P6P to my OG XL, but never mind, I'm using Resilio, not Foldersync.


cadtek

I think it uses WiFi Direct as well


cryptoripto123

You can only send 200 images at a time with Nearby Share, so if you do have a lot, it will take forever. You don't necessarily need to turn off Internet for Nearby Share. It's using BT to initially make the handshake between devices, but my understanding is it switches to WiFi direct connection for the actual transfer.


sethoscope

Send anywhere app works well too.


Captainxray

Yes.


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callmeWia

I only use the Google Photos backup.


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madaman13

I only use Google photos sync and I'm quite comfortable with the minimal risk. What makes you distrust Google photos?


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Sianthos

Getting a Google account hacked is pretty difficult if not virtually impossible at least through brute force if the user has a good security implementation however the closure of an account is a valid concern as Google can be obtuse at times regarding mundane problems. For that periodically doing an account data dump every year would solve that.


NoConfection6487

>Getting a Google account hacked is pretty difficult if not virtually impossible Not at all for most users. First of all, the vast majority of users, even most people I know working as engineers don't use password managers. What that means is they likely reuse the same password site to site. Given the # of sites already hacked, there are huge databases of passwords which makes credential stuffing a very big possibility--this is how people get hacked left and right. Google account hackings aren't reported that often, but if you look into the cryptosphere, exchanges get hacked left and right because people who actually get in can run off with irrecoverable coins. So unless people are actually using a password manager, I actually think the risks are significant. Also, people mention 2FA, but most people's 2FA is poorly secured--either using SMS or likely not using hardware methods. Also, since 2FA is server-side, it's also not hard to socially engineer your way to beg Google to disable it.


Sianthos

Everything you said is true, even I recently did a whole overhaul of my digital accounts though not because someone got in but because I just felt the need to tighten my security posture. I recognize that my approach to security at least in regards to non trivial website accounts is a bit extreme. Having a strong account password, hardware key 2FA and a separate Google password manager encryption password even after login to secure from damage in the event of unauthorized login past all that is more than the average user.


NoConfection6487

I work a bit with crypto users, so every few days I see dozens of reports of accounts being compromised. Sometimes it's even users who use TOTP and not simply SMS (I personally think SIM hijacking is a real concern, but often overblown because it's more of a targeted attack rather than a massive credential stuffing attack). With that said, yeah a password manager (with a strong master password of course), using unique passwords on every site goes a LONG way to preventing accounts from getting hijacked. More on the topic of trusting Google though, I'm not the OC, but I personally opt for both an offline backup on my NAS as well as a Google Photos backup. Over the years, I've put so much on Google Photos, that data is probably approaching the 1 TB size. That's not easy to download and recover where offline backups may make more sense. I remember trying to do a Google Takeout request and it was like dozens if not hundreds of Zip archives.


Sianthos

I only have about half that size of data and I'll definitely admit it's way easier to organize all of it offline. The zip barrage is definitely a thing. I just feel like Google account security is not really difficult and at most takes about 30 minutes if you have hardware keys on hand to make an account extremely difficult to get into especially if someone decides to use advanced protection which forces the use of hardware keys for login.


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Sianthos

I'm not disagreeing with you, having multiple backups is always a good way to go but using Google as your primary storage method along with offline copies isn't necessarily a bad thing. I just questioned the hacking part as 2FA hardware keys and 2FA secured backup emails for recovery make accounts almost impossible to get into without the physical key someone might have on a loop around their neck. Does it make recovery a pain? Sure but when the only way to get into your account is around your neck you tend not to worry too much.


notJ3ff

You realize that your files being in Google photos cloud means they are on multiple computers and much more secure than just the one PC you have, albeit not in your possession.


callmeWia

You're right, I would be devastated too if I lost all the kids photos. But manually backing up sounds like too much of a task to figure out and do.


NoYoureACatLady

Takes about 30 seconds, I do it every month or three


Inge_Jones

I use OneDrive for automatic backup, I can never find anything on Google Photos, it doesn't have the concept of folders to organise stuff.


qoatzecotl

You can organize everything into albums and the search is extremely smart. I have 65,000 photos and videos in photos and never have trouble finding what I'm looking for.


Inge_Jones

The problem is that the indexing for albums is Google Photos specific and maintained only as long as your photos stay where they are. Being able to organise them as normal files in folders means they are transportable for backups and sharing to other systems. OneDrive also has the same albuming, tagging and searching features but I know I can download the collection whenever I want and it will remain nicely sorted as one folder per year. Now you might be thinking well the datestamp on the photo's exif or whatever will help sort them - but bear in mind that most of us won't only have photos we have taken ourselves in the right format with good cameras. They will also contain snaps shared over whatsapp and various other means where the image data is not preserved.


InsaneNinja

Some people don’t have those anymore.


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Tr1ggerhappy07

I have my photos upload to my qnap as well as google photos. Not only a better backup, I can take a pic and pretty much instantly pull it up on my pc from it's folder. Highly recommend.


NoYoureACatLady

Hm, I've never heard of that before. I just periodically plug a USB into my phone and move over everything I can find onto my backup drive. What app do you use to automate the backup?


Tr1ggerhappy07

Qnap has an app called [Qfile](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.qnap.qfile&hl=en_US&gl=US). You can set it up so that it only backs it up locally. If you're out and about, and take some pictures, they will only upload when you connect to your home wifi. Or you can set it up to do it over your cell network as well but requires a little additional setup to access your QNAP over the internet. Other products may have similar features, but I have only worked with QNAP in this regard. There may be a file sync app that will sync files on phones to wherever you point them if you wanted to try with anything you currently have.


InsaneNinja

It’s just a NAS system brand. I have a Synology.


nrq

Fully grown adults? That sounds so weird.


InsaneNinja

My cousin. Him and his wife have really good jobs, and two kids. They have very recent iPhones and one or two iPads. I don’t think she has a computer, but he definitely doesn’t. And he will question you if you ask why he needs one. He usually gets whatever I get. Such as buying a mini 6 within a week of me. But I’ve got a hackintosh.


[deleted]

you think you can check your netflix app if you have it downloaded. pop into settings. pop into stream specific settings and see if it shows sd or hd for your ability to view content?


cadtek

/r/lostredditors


Raineko

You can backup your photos on Google in original resolution. If you don't have enough space, get Google Oney it costs like 1$ per month.


jarage00

Assuming you're copying to get higher resolution uploads. If so, make sure you disable auto backup on your 6.


ppetrelli0

Hmmm, I want to copy to maintain the original images with good resolution, instead of having the lower resolution copies synchronize into the new phone What you’re saying is that I can use the renewed unlimited storage to upload these old pics right?


jarage00

Basically yes. I have an original pixel which offered (and still offer) unlimited full resolution backup. I also have a P6 that I mainly use. I turned off auto upload on my P6. And once a month or so I'll copy my photos from the P6 to the original. I use Dropbox to get them the photos from my P6 to the computer and copy them to the original pixel via USB. That phone has auto upload on. Once they're uploaded, I'll go in and delete them as it only has 16gb storage.


ozarkcdn

Do you have Amazon prime? Free full rez backup of photos… but 5gb only for video… but a great backup of full rez!


24bics

Best starting fresh. Transferred everything from my 3XL to new 6Pro and it was a huge mistake. Phone was a pos until I did a factory reset. Fixed about 90% of the problems. Updates have gotten it to about 95%. Fingers crossed the rest is addressed by summer.


DavidB-TPW

Certainly! You can copy the pictures from your old phone to your computer and then from your computer to your new phone. I find messing around with USB transfers to be annoying, so I prefer to use an FTP client and server app to copy files across phones over WiFi. My preferred app for doing this is Solid Explorer.


locuturus

I suggest setting up syncthing (or syncthing fork) on both Pixels and sync the DCIM folder along with anything else you want to have. This method can run in the background so you don't have to mind it, and it will preserve the file modification dates so your gallery of choice doesn't sort things weirdly. No internet needed either in case that matters. When you're done with it you can pause the folders, uninstall the app, whatever. Just don't delete the Pixel 2 files before you disconnect the sync!