[Review] Olight M2R Pro Warrior - First Olight that I can operate without tailcap!

rookiedaddy

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Olight recently release M2R Pro Warrior, an updated version of the M2R Warrior that was released back in 2017 with a more aggressive tactical bezel ring, higher lumens and faster charging (somewhat). But let's substantiate the claim of my thread title first...
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we can operate the M2R Pro Warrior with the side switch even without the tailcap put on. The magic of dual-polarity battery.

Have a look at Olight M2R Pro specification table below:
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since I did not review the original M2R Warrior, I will not attempt to provide a comparison between the two in this review.

What's included in Olight M2R Pro Warrior package is just the essentials:
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M2R Pro Warrior with dual-polarity battery installed, USB Magnetic Charging Cable (MCC3), Holster, Lanyard and User Manual

Due to the aggressiveness of the M2R Pro Warrior crenalated bezel, I would recommend holster carry.
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Maybe Olight will consider offering a low profile/smooth bezel as an extra accessory for those of use who likes a more pocket-friendly carry.

I don't usually do this, but for Olight M2R Pro Warrior, I do recommend that you give the included user manual a read...
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Especially the section where it talks about how to switch between 2 modes of operation with the Tail Switch:
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and the section where it highlighted that the new MCC3 will turned Green when battery reaches >95% full.
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what this means is when MCC3 turns Green from Red, the battery is not fully charged yet, it's only ~96% full. The MCC3 charger will continue to charge your light after it turns Green if you leave it connected until it "somewhat" fully charges the battery and stops. I'll detail more about the charging process and the fast charge later.

When you get your new M2R Pro Warrior (there is Camo-patterned version available besides black, also rumour has it that other colours coming soon...), remember to remove the battery insulation film, but remove it slowly together with the battery, because the film insulate both ends of the battery terminals...
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and there is a change in the way the battery is being inserted into M2R Pro Warrior, it's different from Olight's recently released Magnetic Charging flashlight models in which M2R Pro Warrior requires the positive terminal (the button side, the dual polarity side) to face towards the head when install. The electronics in M2R Pro Warrior does not support the use of standard battery, meaning, you need to use dual-polarity battery where the positive and negative terminals are exposed at the button side for contacts.
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There were also rumours that M2R Pro Warrior could charge standard battery eventhough it can't use one (pointless feature if true), which is not true. M2R Pro Warrior cannot use nor charge standard battery... well... perhaps in future revision if there are enough demands (complaints) from users.

a couple of random pictures of Olight M2R Pro Warrior...
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and the bi-direction pocket clip, which can be installed at 2 different places...
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this is the default setup from manufacturer...

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and this setup enables deep pocket carry

a couple of close-up shots...
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very aggressive strike bezel.

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contact points at the head

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contact points at the tailcap

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the TIR lens

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Tail switch with 3-point leg... I'm not entirely sure why the 3 pointy leg, if it's for tail standing, it's ain't stable, Olight should either widen the leg or make it into 5 points...They stated the raised tail switch is an upgrade, but take a looks at the following...
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with the switch travel to level with the flat surface, it still doesn't turn ON. In my opinion, this switch travel is a little too far for tactical usage especially with the 3-point leg blocking when use with gloves. I would suggest to shorten the travel like the Tail Switch at Olight M2T Warrior.

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thread the included lanyard through this milled lanyard hole.

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comparing the Tail Switch between Olight M2R Pro Warrior and Olight Warrior X

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comparing the newly designed body texture of M2R Pro Warrior to Olight M2T Warrior, it does provide a better grip.

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and comparing to Olight Warrior X

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comparing the beam profile and tint (perhaps), left is M2R Pro Warrior, right is M2T Warrior

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comparing the beam profile, left is M2R Pro Warrior, right is Warrior X

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and height comparisons with other similar-sized lights within my reach

My measured output...
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The usual disclaimer: I do not claim the above measured lumens as authoritative nor an indication of over/under-stating the number given by manufacturer. It's calibrated against some known light output (e.g. SureFire, Elzetta, etc.) so take it with a grain of salt and just as a relative reading.

Runtime chart for Turbo mode...
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I'm not a fan of over-quoting the Turbo runtime, where Olight claims to have 4.5 minutes of Turbo runtime:
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but Olight did explain this in the user manual:
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and while we are at Turbo mode, do heed the warning in the user manual:
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because it does get real hot when we repeatedly activates Turbo mode. The heat travels through the whole flashlight body thus making it uncomfortable to hold.

while using, the LED indicator at the side switch will tell the state of the remaining battery charge...
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Green indicate >75%

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Orange/Yellow indicate 30-75%

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Red indicate <30%

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and blinking Red indicate <10% charge left in the battery

Over the last couple of years, Olight has continue to experiment with different revision of the their Magnetic Charging Cable:
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with their latest attempts to give us a faster charging rate of 2A (first appear with the release of Javelot Pro but bigger and only for Javelot Pro) and adaptable to charge smaller lights like S1R Baton II.

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Left is the new MCC3 cable, and on the right is the MCC cable that comes with S1R Baton II.

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Olight uses a Red base colour to differentiate the new MCC3 cable from the older generations.

The new MCC3 charger does charges faster at 2A, in my testing, it takes between 2 - 2.5 hours to charge Olight M2R Pro Warrior to ~96% before the charging indicator turns Green, and if we leave the charging cable attached, MCC3 will continue to charge M2R Pro Warrior at a low rate of ~0.4A for another 3 - 3.5 hours to get a "somewhat" fully charged battery. I said somewhat because it charges to 4.11 - 4.15V (depending on Multimeter Calibration) before terminating the charge, like those MCC that comes with Baton Pro and Seeker 2.
The new MCC3 is indeed adaptable, I have successfully use it to charge previously release MCC-compatible lights like the Seeker 2 Pro, Seeker 2, S1R Baton II, Baton Pro. In terms of fast charge, it charges the Baton Pro at ~1.6 times the rate of using the older MCC cable. The fast charge however does not work on Seeker 2 Pro nor Seeker 2 where the 5000mAh battery installed in these lights are most needed.
To address the non-fully charged battery issue, I finish the charge (after MCC3 indicator turns Green) by switching to the MCC that comes with S1R Baton II, where this MCC charges the light to 4.19 - 4.20V.

Some observations when using MCC3:
1. There is a "handshaking" time at very low charge rate of ~0.07A before the main charging begins.
2. The "handshaking" time depends on the SoC (State of Charge) of the battery.
3. When the battery is <4.05V (+/-0.03V), the handshaking take ~6 seconds before main charge begins. This is when MCC3 charge indicator is Red.
4. When the battery is >4.08V (+/-0.03V), the handshaking will take between 20 seconds to longest I ever timed at ~2 minutes 8 seconds before the main charging event begins. This is when MCC3 charge indicator is Green.
5. When the battery is >4.16V (+/-0.02V), no handshaking takes place.
These are observations when charging and testing the M2R Pro Warrior, YMMV.

In conclusion, I think M2R Pro Warrior still has room to improve with the Tactical Tail Switch, Fast Charging and support for standard battery. I would also like to see Olight offer a low profile/smooth bezel ring as an accessory for M2R Pro Warrior. Overall, I'm happy to see Olight continues to improve and experiment with different and/or new options for their flashlight models.
 
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SKV89

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Measurements taken with the Texas Ace Lumen Tube calibrated with Maukka lights and Sekonic C-800-U. Output measured at 2s from turn on.


Olight M2R Pro Warrior CamouflagueTurbo1,948 lumens4908K0.0099 DUV66.6 CRI-46.0 R936.9 R1266 Rf94 Rgincluded battery
Olight M2R Pro Warrior Camouflague2nd highest735 lumens4796K0.0127 DUV66.4 CRI-49.4 R935.3 R12included battery
Olight M2R Pro Warrior Camouflague3rd highest237 lumens4713K0.0140 DUV66.6 CRIincluded battery
Olight M2R Pro Warrior Desert TanTurbo1,957 lumens5040K0.0096 DUV67.6 CRI-44.4 R942.2 R1267 Rf94 Rgincluded battery
Olight M2R Pro Warrior Desert Tan2nd highest748 lumens4853K0.0113 DUV68.0 CRI-44.1 R939.7 R12included battery
Olight M2R Pro Warrior Desert Tan3rd highest241 lumens4786K0.0126 DUV68.1 CRI-44.8 R938.8 R12included battery
 

cordero2806

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Thanks for the review!

I'm very close to order one, but haven't pull the trigger due some beam shots the light looks too yellow, but on other it does not. I normally prefer cool white color.

The other contenders are currently:
- Klarus XT21X (I don't have experience with the brand, also the light seems huge).
- Fenix PD36R (I love the brand, but keeps lacking some functions like Direct Access to turbo/moonlight or the ability to tail stand).
- Jetbeam Jet III MR (I have had some experience with the brand... not the best, not bad either. I don't like it doesn't have direct access to turbo/moonlight only to strobe.)
- Fenix TK22 (same issues as te Fenix PD36R)

I summary, if the tint of the Olight is not as yellow as it appears in some pictures, then I truly believe it would be as close to perfect as they get. I guess the proprietary batteries and chargers are not the biggest deal breaker for me. Now if this is yellowish... then maybe Klarus deserves a chance?...
 

defloyd77

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I just got my OD green M2R Pro today, the tint on it is actually pretty nice, a little yellow, but not nauseating green like some of the beamshots I have seen. Very happy with it.

It's anyone else's bezel glued on? I got the free replacement bezel, but I can't seem to get the stock one off.

EDIT: I have been charging this thing for well over 5 hours and the light had yet to turn green on the charger. Any suggestions?
 
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rookiedaddy

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It's anyone else's bezel glued on? I got the free replacement bezel, but I can't seem to get the stock one off.
EDIT: I have been charging this thing for well over 5 hours and the light had yet to turn green on the charger. Any suggestions?
You can place the bezel on the back of a mouse pad and unscrew while apply slight force to push down, the bezel should come off.
It's not unusual for it to take 5-7 hours to get the green LED lit up, it depends on the USB source that you are using. Although Olight says 2A USB source, but I would recommend 2.4A - 3A USB source. If you have one of the following:
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USB meter, then you can tell if the charging is in progress or otherwise.
You can also measure the battery Voltage using a multimeter, if the Voltage of the battery reads anything more than 4.1V and lower than 4.2V, then you are all set.
If your M2R Pro still having charging issue, then other possibilities are bad battery, or bad tailcap, or loosen tailcap contact, or dirty contacts, or bad MCC3 charging cable.
You can also try using the 1A MCC charging cable from other models (e.g. S1R Baton II).
 

defloyd77

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Boy, I haven't seen or owned a mouse pad in ages, last time I looked for them in stores, they no longer had them. I'll see if I can find something similar. Tusks for the idea!

As far as the charging, the side switch light was green and I must've had it charging for 10 hours with my 2.4 amp rated Anker USB charger. I disconnected and reconnected and it was still red on the cable.

Well, for the heel of it, I ran the light down a bunch, to the point it could no longer do turbo, charged it and the darn thing turned green within 4 hours or so. I need to get some measuring devices in the future.......
 

defloyd77

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Finally found a mouse pad and gave that a try, no luck, cut right through it. Oh well, haven't had any problems yet with it tearing up my pocket, so I'm not going to bother trying to get it off.
 

Stephanie Miller

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Sorry if I'm high jacking this thread. If so I'll start a new thread.

How will the mcc 3 cable work on the S2R? It came with a 1 amp cable. will this new cable charge at that rate, or will the light now charge at a 2 amp rate?

If so, will the 2 amp rate be safe for the battery. I was fine with the 1 amp's charge time.

About the "green at 96%" thing, will the charger still know to eventually terminate the charge when it's actually full?
 

rookiedaddy

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How will the mcc 3 cable work on the S2R? It came with a 1 amp cable. will this new cable charge at that rate, or will the light now charge at a 2 amp rate?
it charges but not at 2 amp. It will charge at the normal <1A rate.

If so, will the 2 amp rate be safe for the battery. I was fine with the 1 amp's charge time.
if you have an external cradle charger that can charge the battery at 2 amp, it is safe.

About the "green at 96%" thing, will the charger still know to eventually terminate the charge when it's actually full?
yes, at gradually lower charging rate of <400ma, it take ~2 - 2.5 hours for the battery to reach the full charge state. If you have a USB meter, it will be easier to tell when it reaches the fully charged state.
 

Stephanie Miller

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Thanks for replying, I appreciate it. I was about to go to eBay and look for another 1 amp mcc. But as long as this one does the job like the old one, then fine. I'm not a big fan of how they're doing "full" at 96% but I leave it charging overnight so it'll be fine. I had a ZTE phone that would turn green at 90%, so I'm somewhat familiar with this.
 

Optiblue

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Boy, I haven't seen or owned a mouse pad in ages, last time I looked for them in stores, they no longer had them. I'll see if I can find something similar. Tusks for the idea!

As far as the charging, the side switch light was green and I must've had it charging for 10 hours with my 2.4 amp rated Anker USB charger. I disconnected and reconnected and it was still red on the cable.

Well, for the heel of it, I ran the light down a bunch, to the point it could no longer do turbo, charged it and the darn thing turned green within 4 hours or so. I need to get some measuring devices in the future.......

I just got this flashlight in gunmetal grey and it does feel to be a premium device. It doesn't push boundaries like other companies, but what it does it does well. I seem to be having some "handshaking issues" as well. The MCC3 cable that came with the light seems to not like to trickle charge when the light is 85% (eyeball) charge or higher. It'll just stay green. It does the same thing with the seeker pro 2 as well. If I reconnect it many times 1/5 times it might turn red when connected. When I run turbo on the lights it "tricks" it into charging where the cable light turns red and then I can turn off the lights and it'll top it up.

If I run the lights down to 50%, every connect turns immediate red no issues and it charges it super fast. The weird thing is that I bought another MCC3 cable and it turns red on contact no delay at any %. The original cable when connecting would stay green where the new one turns red at higher charge levels. The new MCC3 cable feels like the way it should, BUT just "topping" it up it feels like it's taking forever. 75-100% is taking longer than my first cable that charged it super fast with the battery run down. Even feeling it, with the new cable the flashlight feels cold when topping up where the old one it felt slightly warm. Do your cables always turn red upon contact and always feel warm during charging? Not sure which cable is doing the job correctly.
 
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Grunthos

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Excellent review, thanks for posting. Especially liked the charger advice.
 

draver

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Great review, it helped push me over the top for buying this light.

Well, I'm returning back to this forum after a few years away. I have ordered but not yet received this Olight M2R Pro Warrior in orange, and also a Fenix E28R. In reading the review, I wonder if the Olight M2R bezel could be removed by putting a 3/8"-3/4" wooden dowel on a flat surface and then positioning the bezel face down on it with pressure, while rotating the whole light? I'll need to try this when mine arrives since I travel by air occasionally, and TSA has questioned the bezels on other EDC lights at the security checkpoint. I sent a question to Olight about a plain replacement for this very reason, but have not heard back yet. I suppose if I can remove the bezel I could carry it through security in my backpack, key ring or shoe? My wife would gladly put it in her purse, but I'd never see it again. Anyhoo, glad to be back and finally have a way now to spend all my spare hobby funds.
 

defloyd77

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Great review, it helped push me over the top for buying this light.

Well, I'm returning back to this forum after a few years away. I have ordered but not yet received this Olight M2R Pro Warrior in orange, and also a Fenix E28R. In reading the review, I wonder if the Olight M2R bezel could be removed by putting a 3/8"-3/4" wooden dowel on a flat surface and then positioning the bezel face down on it with pressure, while rotating the whole light? I'll need to try this when mine arrives since I travel by air occasionally, and TSA has questioned the bezels on other EDC lights at the security checkpoint. I sent a question to Olight about a plain replacement for this very reason, but have not heard back yet. I suppose if I can remove the bezel I could carry it through security in my backpack, key ring or shoe? My wife would gladly put it in her purse, but I'd never see it again. Anyhoo, glad to be back and finally have a way now to spend all my spare hobby funds.

You need the bezel to hold the optic in. Olight did offer a smooth bezel, but I found it impossible to get the crenelated one off.
 

draver

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Did you get a smooth replacement from Olight when you decided you needed to replace the original? If so, how long ago and what did you do to get it? That item isn't currently offered as an accessory that I can find on the site. I'm hoping my dowel procedure will be a non destructive removal method. If I can remove the naughty one, I may resort to a piece of tape or just put it in the belt pouch to retain the optic while the bezel slips through security elsewhere. It probably will not come to too much grief for 5 minutes going through the airport security theater. Or just pack the bezel in checked luggage and reassemble at my destination.

I am now wondering if the Nitecore NL2150i battery would work in the M2R Pro. It is a 21700 variant with the dual contact tip/ring configuration of the Olight Seeker 2 Pro battery. Perhaps this is a developing style and if so, maybe, just maybe if it catches on we will see some price competition in the future.
 

defloyd77

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Did you get a smooth replacement from Olight when you decided you needed to replace the original? If so, how long ago and what did you do to get it? That item isn't currently offered as an accessory that I can find on the site. I'm hoping my dowel procedure will be a non destructive removal method. If I can remove the naughty one, I may resort to a piece of tape or just put it in the belt pouch to retain the optic while the bezel slips through security elsewhere. It probably will not come to too much grief for 5 minutes going through the airport security theater. Or just pack the bezel in checked luggage and reassemble at my destination.

I am now wondering if the Nitecore NL2150i battery would work in the M2R Pro. It is a 21700 variant with the dual contact tip/ring configuration of the Olight Seeker 2 Pro battery. Perhaps this is a developing style and if so, maybe, just maybe if it catches on we will see some price competition in the future.

I got it back when I ordered the light in March of 2020. It was an optional accessory only shown on the M2R's accessories section. I cannot find it anywhere on Olight's site. I'd message Olight just to see if they have any more.
 

draver

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I got it back when I ordered the light in March of 2020. It was an optional accessory only shown on the M2R's accessories section. I cannot find it anywhere on Olight's site. I'd message Olight just to see if they have any more.


Yesterday I used their "Replacement Parts" option to request a plain bezel if available. I got a reply sent at 1:00 AM(!) requesting my serial number and shipping address, so they must still be available. My tracking number shows the item is at my local Post Office, but is still scheduled for Friday delivery. I hopefully expect to receive it before then. I now need to go find the M2R only accessories section you mentioned. Thanks for the info, I will update on the bezel removal when it's in my hot little hands.
 

draver

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Finally found a mouse pad and gave that a try, no luck, cut right through it. Oh well, haven't had any problems yet with it tearing up my pocket, so I'm not going to bother trying to get it off.


My M2R arrived today and I could not budge the bezel by hand. I can also see that TSA would probably not allow this through their station if they saw it on a 5" hefty piece of metal. I found a rubber coated metal bar with about a 3/8" diameter in my tool drawer and put the bezel teeth straddling the bar and with very little force was able to break loose the bezel from the lamp body threading. It was easier than opening some twist off beverage caps, so I suggest trying this method. Especially if you already have the smooth bezel and went to the trouble to obtain it.
 
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this_is_nascar

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For you guys trying to get this off, can I suggest running the light on turbo for a few minutes to heat up the bezel, then use gloves and try to break the glue seal.


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