Hi all, finally made the decision to jump into the Pixel world. Made an order for P7 (JP unit) last night, according to the seller I’ll prolly get it after a week. Has anyone here tried converting it to the global version in order to get the option to turn off the shutter sound?

I've finally got my Pixel 7 (JP) and also managed to convert it to the global version by following the steps given by a guy in XDA. I've also flashed the global ROM into it and relocked it, so now my camera shutter can be turned off in the option.

I think there are no major differences. The reason why I flashed the global ROM is to fully convert the phone into a global phone instead of the JP model. At least the global version is meant for our neighbouring regions, which I believe should work better with our carriers. In addition to that, the global version has already been upgraded to the November patch whereas the JP version is still on October.

I’m using the following guide:

https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/converti...ersion.4365275/

I’m not sure if it’s against the forum rules to share the link to XDA above, if yes then admin please delete my post ya.

Bear in mind that you need to root your phone first. So you’ve to be very careful and there is a step that requires changing the phone’s SKU using a hex editor. If you’re unfamiliar with all these, you better don’t do it to avoid bricking your phone. Perform the conversion only if you’re technically comfortable to do it.

These are the SKUs for Pixel 7:
GVU6C - Global
G03Z5 - Japan

Disclaimer:
Research before acting.
The instructions require basic Linux/Android knowledge. You could brick your phone if you’re unsure what you're doing.
I can only confirm that this works on my phone. But I'm not responsible for anything that happens to yours. Use at your own risk.

Yes there is a magisk module in the same thread as well if you scroll further down but the owner of the module hasn't included the Pixel 7 into it yet. Only the pro model has been included.

Called Maxis last night and got them to activate volte for me and seems like it’s working now. Initially they kept saying just turn it on in the phone settings but after a few rounds of explaining to them that they have to activate it on their end, finally only they understood.

I think it's quite subjective because it depends a lot on the availability of the antennas/towers in that particular location. I'm in Melaka, so it may not be relevant to you if you're elsewhere. The best way for you to determine if the locations that you'll frequent most have the best signal strength is to ask your friends or colleagues who are also within the same location. For my case, I don't have much issues with signal strength in buildings/malls unless that area is relatively new, prolly without the antenna installed yet.

I doubt vowifi is available for me though because the option is not there for me to toggle it.

You're right, it all depends on individual usage patterns. For me, it's not the fastest in charging but acceptable. I came from OnePlus 7T which has 30W charging and I usually charge from about 15% till 100% in about an hour and a couple more minutes. So now with the Pixel 7 with the same charging patterns, I prolly need an hour and 20mins to charge till 100%.

In terms of battery endurance, I usually need to charge my OnePlus by the time I got home from work around 7pm. With this Pixel, I still have about 50% battery left at that time. So for me, it's a give and take scenario.

The Google One VPN for Pixel 7 and 7 Pro owners is rolling out in 17 countries, but not in India nor Singapore and of course not in Malaysia too.

A tunnel within a tunnel. 🤣

eSim confirmed working with maxis.

In case y'all wanna have a layer of security which requires unlocking the phone to use Google Pay, then you can enable the option "Require device unlock for NFC" under the NFC settings.

I'm using Pixel 7 but on Maxis. I had no issues roaming in Bangkok last 2 weeks ago, pretty seamless. Only problem is that I couldn't get 5G roaming there because our devices do not support 5G for all these countries unless rooted.

Yup because Thailand is also not in Google's supported country for 5G yet.

Happy New Year 2023 to the Pixel 7 family here. January security patch is already out.

No issues here with VoLTE on eSIM. Maxis user here, only problem I had was VoLTE wasn't provisioned by default and I had to call Maxis to activate it for me.

We can only hope for the best. In fact it doesn't make sense for Google to block 5G for unsupported countries because that will cause an inconvenience to those from supported countries to roam. At the moment even those from supported countries who travel to unsupported countries, they're unable to do 5G roaming.

Let's just say most banking apps are taking steps to improve root detection for security purposes. Magisk will release a new version but then banking apps will improve along. For me personally, 5G is still not widely available in Malaysia anyway, heck even 4G is still unstable at times albeit better coverage now compared to last time. That's the reason why I'm completely fine living with my Pixel 7 unrooted (well I rooted immediately when I got it just to convert it to global unit but I've unrooted it back) and it's the user experience that I'm digging it. I like the quality of the photos being taken with this phone, I'm a photographer by hobby. Other than that, everything seems to be working seamlessly, even GPay is so convenient and I love the way it identifies songs for me just sitting on the desk.

Anyway, these are all just personal preferences. If you're into a lot of data uploading/downloading stuffs, then prolly 5G is important to you, otherwise the speed difference is negligible for day to day usage. Moreover, if you're at home or office, you'll be connected to WIFI most of the time anyway.

Yup you definitely don't need 5G for navigation. In fact, like I said most part of Malaysia doesn't even have proper 5G coverage, navigation is still on 4G + GPS.