Question Pixel 7 Pro US vs Japan variant

[vanthatou]

Hi all,
I am planning to get my P7P, but a little confused which variant to get. There are 2 variants available in my country: US (Model GE2AE) and Japan (Model GFE4J). The Japanese variant is around 100 USD cheaper than the US one. Anyone has experience handling both variants? What are the main differences? How about network signal reception on both variants? I heard a lot of complaints about network issues, etc.

 

[Beefheart]

Google Pixel 7 just tipped to have four models — here's the proof

Possible FCC listings for the Google Pixel 7 may have revealed how many models there are

www.tomsguide.com

Details in there. Hardware wise they seem the same.

According to these listings, there are four total models. Two (GP4BC and GVU6C/G03Z5) offer sub-6GHz 5G connectivity only, and the other two (GE2AE/GFE4J and GQML3) also have mmWave 5G too.

 

[roirraW "edor" ehT]

I haven't had any problems, cell signal or otherwise, with my GE2AE in the United States.

 

[gpvecchi]

The only issue is the warranty

 

[Beefheart]

I'd go so far as to say you might be able change either of them to think it's the other with a bit of creative flashing.

 

[roirraW "edor" ehT]

I'd go so far as to say you might be able change either of them to think it's the other with a bit of creative flashing.

Yep, another user reported success changing from one hardware version to another (it won't give mmWave to a non-mmWave capable model but in this case, it's the same hardware capability) - I have a link to his post about it here:

https://xdaforums.com/t/unlock-boot...ain-all-relevant-links.4502805/#post-87540347

 

[Beefheart]

Yep, another user reported success changing from one hardware version to another (it won't give mmWave to a non-mmWave capable model but in this case, it's the same hardware capability) - I have a link to his post about it here:

https://xdaforums.com/t/unlock-boot...ain-all-relevant-links.4502805/#post-87540347

Yup, that makes sense.

In the case of the two models the OP mentions, it looks like the hardware is identical so he could buy the cheaper Japanese model, flash it to a GE2AE and save 100 notes. Warranty wise he might have an issue if something goes wrong, mind.

 

[roirraW "edor" ehT]

Yup, that makes sense.

In the case of the two models the OP mentions, it looks like the hardware is identical so he could buy the cheaper Japanese model, flash it to a GE2AE and save 100 notes. Warranty wise he might have an issue if something goes wrong, mind.

I think if indeed the GE2AE has a longer warranty, I would be tempted to spend the extra $100, but there's also a decent chance nothing will go wrong with the "cheaper" model. If anything went wrong within 30 days, I'd return it and get the GE2AE, though.

 

[LLStarks]

Last I checked, the Japanese model has extra NFC modes and forces camera sounds.

 

[vanthatou]

Last I checked, the Japanese model has extra NFC modes and forces camera sounds.

Is there any other difference aside from extra NFC mode and forced camera sounds, especially on software side and cellular signal reception, VoLTE or VoWifi, etc?

 

[vanthatou]

Thank you all friends for giving your valuable advice so far. I have not decided yet which variant to get. I am not a technical guy on flashing and other technical things, and I am still worried about software differences and compatibility with mobile operators in my country such as VoLTE and VoWifi.

 

[diesteldorf]

I don't mean to thread hijack, but I saw this thread and hoping previous posters can offer relevant advice/feedback.

I have the US rooted/bootloader/sim unlocked Pixel 6 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro. To the best of my knowledge, Japan has 4 major carriers: Softbank, Docomo, Rakuten, and AU. Does the Pixel 6/7 Pro have the hardware to roam on any of those networks?

I am planning on bringing both phones to have a backup device, in case one gets lost or damaged--I nearly lost my Pixel 2, when I left it in a French Uber on the same day I was flying home, so it can happen...LOL.

Would I gain anything by flashing either device with the Japanese-specific firmware before I leave?

I know I could also rent a pocket wifi router, but I am traveling solo, so I am leaning toward getting a prepaid sim that can use NTT the Docomo and Softbank network.

 

[roirraW "edor" ehT]

Would I gain anything by flashing either device with the Japanese-specific firmware before I leave?

I can only address this part of your question. If you go to Factory Image and Control-F JP there have been only 17 total monthly firmware releases specifically geared towards users in Japan on the Pixel 4, 4 XL, 4a, 4a (5G), 5, 5a, 6a, and 7 / 7 Pro. Note that there weren't any for the 6 and 6 Pro - even the December 2021 Factory Image that was later pulled didn't have any specifically for Japan. All the months there weren't Japan-specific images - which is almost all the time, users in Japan would use the Global firmware.

There have been tons of users over the years who experiment and flash firmware that technically isn't optimized for where they use their phone, just to see if they get a better signal. Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don't. Sometimes you can just flash the radio.img from one firmware over top of the radio partition in whatever firmware you're currently using to see if there's a difference.

 

[TrustAugustus]

Japanese phone models must contain NFC-F not NFC-B. As previously mentioned camera apps must make a shutter sound. Gcam mods can prevent this.

I have the Japanese model but I'm in Japan. Nfc-f is backwards compatible but a NFC-B phone cannot pay or use train touch gates etc

 

[diesteldorf]

Japanese phone models must contain NFC-F not NFC-B. As previously mentioned camera apps must make a shutter sound. Gcam mods can prevent this.

I have the Japanese model but I'm in Japan. Nfc-f is backwards compatible but a NFC-B phone cannot pay or use train touch gates etc

Thanks for pointing that out. It sounds like my US Pixel Pro may have issues at the train gates, tap to pay, etc.

 

[kingryu600]

Japanese phone models must contain NFC-F not NFC-B. As previously mentioned camera apps must make a shutter sound. Gcam mods can prevent this.

I have the Japanese model but I'm in Japan. Nfc-f is backwards compatible but a NFC-B phone cannot pay or use train touch gates etc

I think that if the hardware is the same and the differences are only in NFC-F (supports the opening of smart gates on the train) versus NFC-B, which does not support it, for me it is very minor.
Let's not talk about the notification ring when taking a photo with the camera, I don't have it on my Galaxy S20 Ultra, on the other hand My wife's OP9PRO does have the alert sound when shooting which is also minor.

 

[TonyLizj]

I wrote a quick module to enable the shutter sound toggle on the Japanese SKU for the Pixel 7 Pro (but should work on other Pixels as well) which should be easier than converting to the global version altogether if removing the sound is someone's goal.

Release v1 · tonylizj/enable_shutter_sound_option

Enable Shutter Sound Option on Japanese SKU Pixel 7 Pro (GFE4J) - Release v1 · tonylizj/enable_shutter_sound_option

github.com

 

[ho0o0o11111]

Thanks for the module to disable the shtter sound of camera in Japan variant.
This works.

Personally, this was the only problem I found in Japan variant.
The monthly update of Japan variant is just the same with US variant, and as a bonus in Japan variant, I have a Felica NFC so I can use Osaifu keitai in Japan (e.g. Suica, to pay for the train etc).
While this variant also includes another NFC so I am also able to pay by google pay in other countries too (e.g. HK) without any problem.

If Japan variant is cheaper in your country, I think it would be a good choice.