yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Honor Magic V2] JanAltman:
Few more questions before I decide to buy:

The Ultimate version differs only in the larger 1TB storage and the inability to have a colored glass back?

Or is there any other difference?

Is there any hope that a global ROM can be installed later on a phone purchased in China?

I assume the global ROM won't just be like Chinese+GMS...

Since I can't see and feel the HMV2 in person in the shop, I have to ask those who already have one:

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the different designs of the back of the phone?

That is, colored glass (is it real glass, not plastic?) versus black faux leather.

What are the differences in terms of practicality? And durability?

And what are the differences in terms of appearance, premium feel?

I am hesitating whether to buy the "Silk Purple" or "Black" (faux leather).

Any other advice on how to choose? Thanks!

What type of charger is supplied? For what type of socket/outlet?
[Honor Magic V2] jakym78:
I need to know if android auto works with GMS installed, thanks
[Honor Magic V2] conceptgate:
1: You also get the pen/stylus in the box. And the camera bump has a gold accent/trim around it, which I think is unique to the Ultimate?

2: Apparently the bootloader is locked, so unless Honor provide an official ROM "upgrade" then probably unlikely. Main thing that doesn't seem to work properly anyhow is Android Auto, so have to decide if you need that.

3: Other than which colour you like, the main difference is that the leather back version is a few grams lighter. More grippy too, though actually I think most are probably using it with the carbon fibre back cover that comes with the phone no matter which back you have.

4: 65W I think? Though Chinese plug.
[Honor Magic V2] wolfgart:
1. Ultimate 1TB variant is useless if you only look at HW and Specs is the same as 256GB variant (Great Honor !!!!)

2. when Honor will officially release GMS on public for the chinese variant will be unuseful look at Global Rom. Here on the Beta you just have all you need, Plus chinese variants are 16GB ram builted-On and it seemd Global variant will be 12GB Ram ...

3. V2 is the best foldable ever had. Design, Innovation. (i come from Huawei X5, X3, Xs2). I have choosed Black leather variant because it feels so Premium this device, is great to watch, and last but not the less important it give you a fantastic grip in hand and when you put device on the table.

4. 66W - USB and Type-C slots (double) .
[Honor Magic V2] jakym78:
Have you tried to download and install android auto from play Store?
[Honor Magic V2] jbaggs:
Just incase anyone is wondering here's the reply I received from live chat when asking about the GMS beta;

"[List Announcement] The event selected list will be announced in batches after comprehensive screening based on registration order, Honor Club activity and other information, and selected users will be notified through official text messages.

The batch plan is as follows:

First batch: early September 2023

Second batch: mid-September 2023

Third batch: end of September 2023

You can wait for the sub-period when the third batch of lists is announced and I hope you can be selected."

I've already applied so hopefully be selected for the last batch.
[Honor Magic V2] JanAltman:
Hello my Huawei Mate 20 X cousin :)

Do you have an original pen for Mate20X?

Is there a chance that it will work with HMV2 (given the affinity of Honor and Huawei companies)?

PS: The fact that there are no standard phones today with a large display like the Mate20X had is the reason I'm considering the HMV2.
[Honor Magic V2] JanAltman:
Android Auto for me thankfully is just a NiceToHave feature.
[Honor Magic V2] JanAltman:
So it's a bit risky for me to order the phone now and then maybe not get into the last batch and wait a month (or maybe three) for the official GMS version :-(
[Honor Magic V2] wolfgart:
you are obsessed from GMS.

i was using so well Magic V2 until received Beta Update too.

1. used Huawei Cloud to sync contacts and all other things (yeah i'm a Huawei Fan user too)

2. used Aurora Store to download and use all other PlayStore apps

3. only thing missed begore GMS Beta ROM was missing of Curve and Wallet functionality

bah
[Honor Magic V2] Fish_from_96:
If no GMS is an absolute dealbreaker then I'd advise you to wait until the official update happens.

However, in my experience this phone is perfectly usable without GMS with 95% of apps working either natively or through GSpace/GBox.

Like @wolfgart says, you can download any play store app through the Aurora Store. Then just try them out and if one doesn't work just clone them in GSpace.
[Honor Magic V2] ChodTheWacko:
As the others said, if no full gms is a deal breaker, then you should just wait. There's no rush. I really want android auto but am rolling the dice.

I do not have the pen but my gut says it won't work. I assume the new thin tech breaks backwards compatibility.

I was not aware of Aurora store before (thanks fish_from_96!) and have redownloaded almost all my apps through it.

Although almost all say "requires gms" in Aurora store, very very few don't run. They probably all have options that don't work (like sync). So I'm fairly content for now.

I have purple because it's nice to temporarily have a phone that's not black or white. I have a case ordered from eBay. Glass back in theory has more fingerprints but oh well.

Coming from the 20x, it's still the better phone for "phone games" as the game plays non cropped on a bigger screen.

Crunching numbers using both the aspect ratio and diagonal, the 20x full screen is 130.7 sq cm. Folded the v2 is 99.8 - 23.6 percent smaller unfolded it is 201.6 - 54.2 percent bigger

The reality is the 20x is a unicorn and there isn't going to be a phone with that sort of screen size possibly ever. If screen size is your thing, like me, then a foldable is the only real choice.

One other interesting notes: landscape required apps , like Roblox, can't be run split screen at all. (Makes sense)

Playing video horizontally in split screen mode is annoying but you get used to it. I predict horizontal split screen will never happen for a long long time.
[Honor Magic V2] JanAltman:
I'm using local/desktop (not cloud) MS Outlook and "GO Contact Sync" tool for Outlook-GMS synchronization of contacts and calendar.

I need google maps, GMail, Google PAY, banking apps, app for secure communication with the government...

Android is a Google's project so most non Chinese people are used to his services.
[Honor Magic V2] dosto88:
Doesn't work for me.

Yes, tried it with and without the app, without success. Android Auto is supposed to be built in with Android 13, but I suspect the Honor variant doesn't have it. My car still tells me that my phone doesn't have AA, even with app installed.
[Honor Magic V2] recluta:
May I ask you if it is possible to completely remove the Chinese language? Will the GMS version also remove those parts where the Chinese language is present, or will it only deal with Google services? many thaanks
[Honor Magic V2] ChodTheWacko:
Have you contacted Honor support and asked if this is expected or if it's a bug?
[Honor Magic V2] ChodTheWacko:
Probably not, but does it matter? As long as all the menus and error boxes are in English or whatever. Which seems to be the case
[Honor Magic V2] jakym78:
So it works for you?
[Honor Magic V2] BeeFGee:
Hi all gurus,

Quick question on the need for HonorID

I understand that I need to login to the phone with an honorid from the CN hihonor site. I tried creating one when the V2 booted up, but when I used my local (non CN) number, it kept telling me that "it's a security risk, try again later."

Anyone managed to create a CN Hihonor account and linked it successfully to the phone?

If not, by NOT linking an honor account, what functionality do I lose?
[Honor Magic V2] conceptgate:
You can remove the chinese language and keyboard and then it is 95% like a global rom in that respect, in that nearly all places you won't see Chinese. But from experience with previous Chinese rom phones, every now and then you'll hit an edge case where something in Chinese will pop up, or a certain app will have something in Chinese because they haven't internationalised every corner of the interface. It's usually a minor annoyance, and to be fair I've not seen that happen with the V2 yet when I have removed the Chinese language an keyboard, but kinda keep expecting it to happen.

Of course, the Chinese apps will still be in Chinese, such as the Honor Members App.
[Honor Magic V2] conceptgate:
No sure about that error, but you can create the ID from a computer, and then just login to it from the phone which is what I did. A VPN will probably help with any issues.
[Honor Magic V2] wolfgart:
Device is multilanguage, so if you set your language you don't have any chinese word all around
[Honor Magic V2] recluta:
I set my language but some words remained in Chinese or English
[Honor Magic V2] recluta:
To get the beta GMS I entered my Italian Honor ID. Will I have problems getting the beta? Thank you
[Honor Magic V2] OrionBG:
Regarding Android Auto, it needs to be a System app with some specific special permissions set in order to work. If the rom is not rooted and you do not have write access to the System partition, forget about AA. Not going to happen...
[Honor Magic V2] OrionBG:
On the bright side, the Global Magic Vs has AA, so I'm guessing the Global Magic V2 will also have it. Some day it might be possible to flash the global rom on the Chinese models...
[Honor Magic V2] dosto88:
No, Chinese not completely removed. The Chinese apps will still have Chinese. Much of the Honor app stays in Chinese. All the apps from Google Play store and UI are of course in English (assuming you have changed language to English in settings).
[Honor Magic V2] lawtq:
Glad for you. Mine makes a creaking noise. Annoying.
[Honor Magic V2] carlitobahsoun:
guys are u running the global one or the china one ?

and call record is availlable ?

and any site to download rom like xiaomi ? link me plz , just waiting mix fold 3 and if not launch global than maybe will go for honor , but i like to study everything about rom , flash , bootloader unlock ...etc
[Honor Magic V2] lawtq:
China rom here cause call recording is too valuable for me
[Honor Magic V2] Sanparuzu:
Why not use true phone? It has built in call recording that works amazing
[Honor Magic V2] lawtq:
Hot dang! This app is great! Pissed I didnt know about it till now
[Honor Magic V2] Niccolo:
Hi all, do you think there is any possibility to install a Global Rom Versione on Cina Honor Magic V2 to have full access to Google Service?

Thanks
[Honor Magic V2] knives of ice:
the global version of V2 is to launch Sept 1st it looks like - I would imagine that global roms will hopefully be available when it launches

my question - I currently have a Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 and have used it for around a year now. Can you root most Honor phones? The mix fold 2 is missing some bands that are needed for 5g in the US so I am hopeful that the V2 global version will have all the correct bands
[Honor Magic V2] Gl88:
Saw this post on reddit. Exciting for all of us that imported, if true!
[Honor Magic V2] Niccolo:
wow!!! is a firmware update or we have to install/flash apps or firmare?

Thansk
[Honor Magic V2] OrionBG:
Hey guys,

Don't want to crash anybody's hopes but HONOR devices much like Huawei ones can't be Bootloader unlocked (at least modern ones) Unless the bootloader is unlocked, there will be no cross-flashing of ROMs from another model. The global models, although identical in hardware have different model numbers and will not allow this. It is the same with the Magic Vs.

There is still no option to flash the global ROM to a Chinese model.

I'm hoping this will change in the future as I would love to see a Pixel Fold ROM port for this phone but ...
[Honor Magic V2] OrionBG:
Oh, one more thing.

Even if the Chinese ROM adds this option to enable Google Play, there might be issues with some apps.

I had the Xiaomi MIX Fold 2 (a Chinese-only device) that has support for Google Play. It had many issues with apps either changing their behavior because the ROM Reports China region (can't be changed) or not working at all because of this.
[Honor Magic V2] Gl88:
Looks like Honor China is now looking for internal testers for the Gms service on Magic 5 and v2 users. I managed to submit an application (using Google translate) but not sure if I'll get selected since I'm from the UK.

I would imagine a wider roll out of Gms to be available towards end of the year which is good news
[Honor Magic V2] Niccolo:
where i can add my sub to try gms? have you a link?

Thanks
[Honor Magic V2] Gl88:
You need to go into the My Honor App, search GMS and you should see some posts appear. In one of the (top posts), in the replies there is a link to apply. The link seems to only work in the app only.

To apply you will need Chinese Honor account, phone serial number. The questionnaire also asks for your phone number but I left that out.

Assuming you can't read Chinese - then you will also need Google translate.
[Honor Magic V2] gpx:
It looks like honor will first test GMS in Chinese models V2 and magic 5 for two months staring beginning of September.. Hopefully official Chinese rom with GMS will be released officially after that time.
[Honor Magic V2] aljthab:
i tried to find the post but no luck :(
[Honor Magic V2] i_am_nameless:
When you scan the qr code you will be redirected to the form (or you try this link: https://retail.hihonor.com/dist/questionnaire/?questionnaireId=64d349176ab551620513efb5#/app-index ) - its in chinese but you can easily translate it with google translate. Luckily i have a chinese phone number and honor club id - will let you know here how it continues.
[Honor Magic V2] Tps07:
Anyone know how to shortcut taking a picture. I tried some button combos for other Chinese phones but no luck. Couldn't find anything in the settings.
[Honor Magic V2] aljthab:
i have problem with location it's not work so I can't use any navigation app... any advice
[Honor Magic V2] Tps07:
Use Waze. Working for me.
[Honor Magic V2] ChodTheWacko:
Why do you think AA can't be pushed by an os/firmware update, which is how gms is being pushed to people?
[Honor Magic V2] dosto88:
I tried to submit it as feedback for GMS beta but got a reply that I need to submit it properly. Haven't fully translated the reply images yet.
[Honor Magic V2] OrionBG:
It is very unlikely that Honor would put AA on a made for China device. Not to mention that AA does not like the Chinese localisation. It might happen but I highly doubt it...
[Honor Magic V2] Katto89:
Hallo dears 😊

I just want to tell you, that this way works.

My Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 works really fine with the Magic V2.

All notifications arrives at the watch.

I don't have the GMS update now.

And - for those who asked about it - I have the purple V2 and the back is very very slippery!! 😰
[Honor Magic V2] wolfgart:
Mine not. Italian here
[Honor Magic V2] Gl88:
I managed to get a Chinese Honor ID buy using a Vpn and using email to sign up. Had to go through a whole bunch of countries that didn't work. In the end, I used the "choose for me" location which somehow allowed me to sign up.
[Honor Magic V2] dstarr:
It seems like anyone can sign up via email, but it seems like you still need a Chinese phone number to sign in to the honor app. Did you try signing in to the honor app on the phone? When I try signing in to the app, it says that I'm not registered in the right region. Anyone see this message and find a workaround?
[Honor Magic V2] Gl88:
Yes I'm signed in on the Honor app and I don't have a Chinese phone number. Are you sure you signed up for the Chinese Honor ID?
[Honor Magic V2] wolfgart:
Try to sign on the Honor account on Phone Settings
[Honor Magic V2] dying4004:
with GMS update being pushed as on OTA it is very possible to add AA as s system app in the rom itself but question is if Honor is gonna do that way or not.

Now, I think its a possibility as they are going that far to introduce GMS but only Honor support could answer.

Can someone please ask Honor support that question from their Honor app?

Thanks
[Honor Magic V2] tboy2000:
How did you manage to use Huawei Cloud to sync on your V2? Don't you have to login with your Honor id on the phone and not your Huawei id?
[Honor Magic V2] hammody:
Received GMS. I used a friend's Chinese number for vacation. Now the phone is perfect.
[Honor Magic V2] recluta:
Hi, when did you make the request? did you use a chinese honor id? Thank you
[Honor Magic V2] jakym78:
Could you try if android auto works for you? Thanks
[Honor Magic V2] wolfgart:
No.

Simply from Contacts select Account and you have Huawei Cloud option too
[Honor Magic V2] ebrahim.popat:
Got my device. Can someone tell me the format to enter a Chinese number. Everything I tried says incorrect. This is to register for the beta.

Also where can I co tact customer care from?
[Honor Magic V2] recluta:
format numerber: without prefix

I'm also looking for a way to contact support but for non-Chinese customers I think it's a challenge
[Honor Magic V2] Sanparuzu:
Are you able to switch the default launcher?

And horizontal split?
[Honor Magic V2] Katto89:
You can get a random Chinese phone number from here:

https://www.bestrandoms.com/random-cn-phone-number

For me the number I got worked for the registration.

But I have to wait for the third update period. Hopefully I will get the GMS update then too...
[Honor Magic V2] nerds1980:
You will only get the beta update with legit china number. AFAIK, they will send a sms to your registered china number, and request you to confirm before pushing the OTA to you.
[Honor Magic V2] dosto88:
I never got a confirmatory sms thru my chinese number but just got the OTA update.. My chinese number is registered with My Honor.
[Honor Magic V2] Katto89:
But all the other members in this forum told, that they haven't got a SMS before they got the update.
[Honor Magic V2] simpleprojet:
Hi everyone.

Read each post to understand all you had discuss.

Bought my magic v2, arrived friday.

Already registed my honor id.

As I understood, the 2 wave of gms beta aplication ended, right?

Will start a 3 one?

When is expected?
[Honor Magic V2] Katto89:
The second wave endet and the third will start at the end of September (maybe the 30th!?)
[Honor Magic V2] simpleprojet:
Thanks katto89

Where can I see when it opens? Any link from honor?
[Honor Magic V2] XtianRO:
Glory Experience Pioneer Group|The first phase of activity recruitment-Glory Club (hihonor.com)

here you'll find the lists also for the second and (why not) the 3th batch (when available, at the end of the month)
[Honor Magic V2] simpleprojet:
Thanks

Based on the Experience of the last 2 batches, should I fill, and aplied now (if the form let me) or wait until information of the 3 batch open?

Thanks in advance
[Honor Magic V2] XtianRO:
ye, i think you could fill in the form now... i think this form was used not only for the first batch but also to select the beta testers of second batch too.
[Honor Magic V2] conceptgate:
I think your luck will vary, so they might try to contact you on the number you provide, and they might not.

I was in the second batch, and my wife has a Chinese number which we used, but she was never contacted on it, either via phone or sms, or WeChat. The update didn't come through, so she chatted with them from the Honor Members app, and just had to provide the serial, and other details we entered on the beta form, I guess to prove we were in the second batch. They did ask if they could call her on her number, but being abroad she didn't want to pay the roaming charges and told them so, and they accepted that. They then asked for her email address.

We had to chase again a few days later, which they escalated to the engineering team, but within another 12 hours, they sent an email and the update came through.

So I don't think the phone number matters that much, and if they ask, say you're not in China and you don't want to pay the costs of the call or sms messages aren't getting through. The whole point of the beta anyhow is to test it with Chinese who are travelling/working/studying abroad.
[Honor Magic V2] ChodTheWacko:
OnePlus open release in late October.

Since AA on the china v2 is a bit in doubt, I am going to return my v2. it's not impossible I end up rebuying it if it does end up with android auto. But there are too many other options right now to risk it.

Final thoughts:

Not having gms is really annoying. Google nav doesn't work. I can't save attachments from gbox Gmail and see them on my phone. (I know,use the browser)

The vibration is actually ok after using it for a bit.

I've had some choppiness although might be app related.

Overall I still like the phone. If there was official confirmation that gms on v2 china would support AA I'd probably still keep it

But as it stands now it seems premature to lock myself into this purchase.
[Honor Magic V2] Sanparuzu:
Are you able to switch the default launcher?

And horizontal split?

With the gsm update that is
[Honor Magic V2] conceptgate:
No, I don't think it is possible to switch default launcher yet. Tried with the Microsoft Launcher and it comes up on top of the existing launcher, but it is treated like another app, so when you swipe up it goes away. If try to set it as the "Home" app, from the settings in the Microsoft Launcher or by long pressing the icon, it takes you to a Home app settings menu where only the Honor launcher and something called EDU Centre are listed. If somehow the launcher can add itself to that menu, then it should be possible to replace the stock/Honor launcher, and the MIcrosoft Launcher seemed to work perfectly fine both folded and unfolded - it just wont stick. I only tried this launcher, so there might be others that can add themselves to that menu. That said, I generally find it is not worth replacing the launcher on a phone, as the stock one usually works the best for that phone, and others tend to have the odd quirk - and the Honor launcher is nothing special but it works perfectly well.

Regarding Horizontal split, yes sort of. The apps on both sides of the split must be supported for it to work, and most of the apps I tried to pair didn't. However I did get it to work with YouTube and WeChat. But most apps wouldn't work, so when you tap on the middle 3 dots on the split it comes up with a little "Horizontal Split" label, but if it is greyed out and you try hitting it, it tells you which app in the split pair doesn't support it. This hopefully will get better over time, as there doesn't seem much rhyme or reason as to why a given app works or not, and it doesn't look like something a developer needs to explicitly support. I assume it is just a whitelist Honor has of apps that are allowed to Horizontal Split, and any not on that list are not allowed - which is probably experience related - they don't want to allow apps to horizontally split that they haven't tested yet work well, and they haven't tested many yet.
[Honor Magic V2] hammody:
Correct
[Honor Magic V2] teckhwee:
Hi,

Can you tell me which icon or item to click to chat with support in the Honor Members App?

I'm in the 2nd batch with a working chinese number but did not get any updates or messages. I tried emailing to the address shared before in the thread to get support yesterday,

From the excel list theres a chance I entered the UID wrongly. I entered my chosen Login ID instead of the Honor ID....
[Honor Magic V2] conceptgate:
This is the icon in the My Honour app.
[Honor Magic V2] dosto88:
After finally translating the images on the GMS Pioneer Experience webpage, I submitted feedback to the GMS beta regarding no Android Auto and no autorotation in some apps like FB when phone unfolded. Waiting to hear back.
[Honor Magic V2] ChodTheWacko:
Was it hard to translate?

Can you give a guide on how to fill out the page for other people.?