Hi everyone,
I live in Turkey and bought my Pixel 10 Pro XL in Spain. Local laws block unregistered foreign phones after 8 months per calendar year (4 months SIM + 4 months eSIM). Registration costs over $1,200, which isn't worth it.
Once my 8 months are up, I have two main routes:
Route 1: Rotating between two devices (Use Pixel for 8 months, store it in a drawer, and switch to a backup phone for 4 months until the SIM timer resets on Jan 1st):
A. Alternate with a second Pixel, a can buy a new one, still cheaper than registration fee.
B. Alternate with another Android brand same idea on A but with different brand)
Route 2: Carrying two phones
C. Keep my SIM in the Mi 11T Pro (for calls & personal hotspot) and tether the Pixel over Wi-Fi 24/7.
Questions:
How seamless is restoring data between Pixels or other Android devices on a regular basis? Does backup/restore actually pick up right where you left off?
If you daily-drive a 2-phone hotspot setup, how annoying is it in practice (battery drain, connectivity lag)?
How is the experience using Google Messages (Web/Device Pairing) over Wi-Fi to handle SMS on the Pixel while the SIM stays in the secondary phone? Is it reliable for 2FA codes and daily texts?
Which approach would you choose?
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