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angieutc

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 10, 2009
28
1
Just as title asked. I found a deal on a brand new Pixel 2XL 128GB and before I purchase, wanted to know how people feel about the phone. My biggest inquiries are:

1. Notification light - How many colors
2. Dual speakers - Do they sound good and rich?
3. GPS - Is it accurate?
4. Did you root? What did you install?
5. Any RMA problems?
6. Would you buy phone again?
 

slitherjef

macrumors 65816
Feb 8, 2012
1,398
1,189
Earth
1) No notification light by default
2) I think the speakers are ok, but I'm not an audiophile
3) gps seems to work good for me but I don't really navigate by Google, just use maps and radar data (for weather purposes)
4) yes, rooted installed magisk and adaway
5) yes, my first one had battery issues and burn in. I think the 2 has to be at a certain temperature band to charge, too cold and it is very slow. No problem with getting a warranty replacement, however I opted for the expedited and had a hold placed on my card until they got the return back. No biggy for me
6) bought 3, one for me, one for my mom and sis. Woulda got another when I bricked mine trying to flash things with a Linux box. I got it fixed after I bought the 3 to replace it.

The XL 3 can be had for a good price new if you look and might be worth grabbing over the 2 however.

Note, if you don't buy from Google and have an issue with the phone Google will tell you to take it back to who you bought it from!

Had issues with my Nexus 6p and Google wouldn't touch it even though I bought from Amazon, shipped and sold from, not 3rd party. So caveat emptor!
 
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angieutc

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 10, 2009
28
1
1) No notification light by default
2) I think the speakers are ok, but I'm not an audiophile
3) gps seems to work good for me but I don't really navigate by Google, just use maps and radar data (for weather purposes)
4) yes, rooted installed magisk and adaway
5) yes, my first one had battery issues and burn in. I think the 2 has to be at a certain temperature band to charge, too cold and it is very slow. No problem with getting a warranty replacement, however I opted for the expedited and had a hold placed on my card until they got the return back. No biggy for me
6) bought 3, one for me, one for my mom and sis. Woulda got another when I bricked mine trying to flash things with a Linux box. I got it fixed after I bought the 3 to replace it.

The XL 3 can be had for a good price new if you look and might be worth grabbing over the 2 however.

Note, if you don't buy from Google and have an issue with the phone Google will tell you to take it back to who you bought it from!

Had issues with my Nexus 6p and Google wouldn't touch it even though I bought from Amazon, shipped and sold from, not 3rd party. So caveat emptor!

I already called Google and they said if the phone is brand new, find out how much warranty is still on it and they will cover. The key is, there may not be any warranty left, however I am buying on credit card with protection.
 

AustinIllini

macrumors G5
Oct 20, 2011
12,686
10,518
Austin, TX
Would you mind being a tad bit more specific? :):)
Sure. The colors out of the box need to be boosted a bit (changed in settings). That helps a lot, otherwise the screen color skew is kind of weird and brown. That and the image retention issues are bad but you can deal with it. To me, the most difficult part was the blue shift. All OLED displays have this issue to some extent, but the blue shift is far worse on the Pixel 3XL

Other than that the phone is great.
 
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hallux

macrumors 68040
Apr 25, 2012
3,437
1,005
however I am buying on credit card with protection.

You need to be careful there. Those protections are likely only on brand-new products bought from official retailers. Read the terms of that "perk" carefully!
 
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