Chinese Android Phones 2 - Read First Post!

johnytwentyten

corkie wrote: »

Since nobody else replied. Look for a Device with a Global Rom (not vendor/Chinese), then you shouldn't have to mess with flashing etc.

Also compare your devices here, the RN3 doesn't have NFC for example so Android pay, if it comes available here, won't work.


To avoid VAT through aliexpress check that the seller has DHL EU express shipping or sellers method to avoid VAT, it will depend on the seller check the description.

Hi,
Thanks for reply, how do I check if it has a global rom or otherwise?
Sorry if I'm being a pain in the arsenal but I know the basics about phones and no more

SmallBalls

Digital Solitude wrote: »

Sorry the command should be "adb reboot bootloader"

That brings me to the penguin screen and the phone sits there, which is good.

"fastboot flash recovery recovery.img" worked fine for me

"fastboot reboot" reboots the phone

And then after the phone boots up again

"adb reboot recovery"

will bring you back to your shiny new recovery mode

For anyone wondering how to flash a new recovery, these steps are universal you just need the correct recovery.img for your phone

Tried "adb reboot bootloader" as well...brings up the penguin for 10 seconds then disappears and boots to the stock rom.....anyway I updated to a newer stock rom which has removed the malware and some other suspect items so I'm happier using the phone now....in the meantime I'll continue my quest for root

Lukker-

johnytwentyten wrote: »

Hi,
Thanks for reply, how do I check if it has a global rom or otherwise?
Sorry if I'm being a pain in the arsenal but I know the basics about phones and no more

It should say it early on in most.

This shop on Aliexpress has a page for phones with the global rom, no customs duty either if you select sellers shipping method.

http://goldway.aliexpress.com/store/group/Official-Global-Firmware/311331_509139600.html

Pique

Ulefone Future arrived today from TomTop.

Looks lovely I must say. The wife is getting it to replace her awful HTC M8S.

Will report back with performance after it's been used for a while.

Snow Crash

Pique wrote: »

Ulefone Future arrived today from TomTop.

Looks lovely I must say. The wife is getting it to replace her awful HTC M8S.

Will report back with performance after it's been used for a while.

Whats the camera like on the Future?

Lukker-

Snow Crash wrote: »

Whats the camera like on the Future?

From the reviews I've seen it encounters the same problems as most Chinese smart phones. Washed out photos, trouble with contrast and auto focus but seems to perform well in good to medium lightning situations.

It's nearly always a software problem with these phones, but the camera app on it at the minute looks to be in better shape than the Umi super which is quite bad.

Meizu are the only Chinese company I've come across that seem to get the camera set up almost perfectly, but with them you get locked into Flyme OS which is a nightmare for pretty much everything else.

Pique

It's still as it came out of the box but the standard camera app is godawful slow although the quality seems OK so far. What's the best free camera app?

The phone is noticeably heavier than my Z3 (155g vs 210g).
It seems well built though and comes with a gel type case. Fingerprint scanner doesn't work with that on as far as I've bothered. Might be better with it off.

Screen is lovely and although the speakers are bottom firing, they're perfectly good quality for YouTube watching.

2 pin plug unfortunately but it also comes with a tiny adapter for the tip of a micro usb2 to convert your old charger cable to micro usb3.

Will report more as it gets customised.

corkie

Pique wrote: »

It's still as it came out of the box but the standard camera app is godawful slow although the quality seems OK so far. What's the best free camera app?

Don't know if it is the Best, but recently got AZ Camera for my "RN3 Pro",

Mainly to test if I had enabled "Camera2 API" on the device, I haven't used the camera at all yet.

Andy From Sligo

Pique wrote: »

It's still as it came out of the box but the standard camera app is godawful slow although the quality seems OK so far. What's the best free camera app?

The phone is noticeably heavier than my Z3 (155g vs 210g).
It seems well built though and comes with a gel type case. Fingerprint scanner doesn't work with that on as far as I've bothered. Might be better with it off.

Screen is lovely and although the speakers are bottom firing, they're perfectly good quality for YouTube watching.

2 pin plug unfortunately but it also comes with a tiny adapter for the tip of a micro usb2 to convert your old charger cable to micro usb3.

Will report more as it gets customised.

I got a UMI Rome x from GB and as soon as I heard the 13MP camera was Interpolated (proper 8MP) I thought :eek: - I am trying out 3 camera apps at moment Camera MX (which is pretty good) , Camera FV5 again good, and today i downloaded one called 'sensor cam' looks good and has like a spirit level line to make sure you take the picture straight. - Thing is with the UMI is that in the camera apps its stuck at 13mp in the setting, you cannot (if you wish say) select like 10mp (16:9 widescreen) or true un-interpolated 8mp if you wanted to. The UMI Rome has a Sony IMX back camera, I personally made sure I didnt go for a chinese phone unless it came with a branded rear camera module. But the funniest thing is the white balance on mine on the rear camera. If I am in our living room which has 3 CFL flourescent lights on auto white balance there is a green tinge, so I go into manual white balance, tried flourescent , daylight, tungsten - tried them all - still a green tinge (LED Flash Off) - absolutely perfect colours in Daylight though. - and then the other strange thing , green tinge on rear camera but switch to front camera and colours absolutely spot on. Anyway I can live with it.

I Used to like a Camera app called SnapDragon camera - but because my UMI phone is an MTK chip now Snapdragon camera app doesnt work on it, its just crashes as it opens up.

Here's a pic I took with UMI Rome x phone the other day using 'camera MX' app, outstanding camera quality for a 58euro phone - seen comparable on much dearer mobile phones - as you can see the sky in the photo I took is not washed out:

Andy From Sligo

corkie wrote: »

Don't know if it is the Best, but recently got AZ Camera for my "RN3 Pro",

Mainly to test if I had enabled "Camera2 API" on the device, I haven't used the camera at all yet.

cool, i had a go with it on my UMI rome x - it crashed, saying no support, manufacture did not implement camera 2 api

Andy From Sligo

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

cool, i had a go with it on my UMI rome x - it crashed, saying no support, manufacture did not implement camera 2 api

I tried modifying my build.prop with persist.camera.HAL3.enabled=1 and rebooted, but AZ camera still crashes with same message

Andy From Sligo

Pique wrote: »

....the speakers are bottom firing, they're perfectly good quality for YouTube watching....

I like down firing speakers, when I have had previous phones with a speaker on the back if I layed it down on bedding or worktop it muffled the speaker, less chance of it with speakers placed at bottom of phone. But I'd like to go one better, I like these phones with front facing Stereo speakers with the speakers placed at each end of the screen so that if your watching youtube in landscape and you got the stereo speakers each end of screen it just seems more logical . My UMI Rome x has 2 speaker grilles at bottom of phone but only 1 has physical speaker behind it - silly, but I suppose it cuts down in manufacturing costs

satguy

dercunx wrote: »

Does anyone have any thoughts on the new Bluboo Maya, cheap phone for $69??

I ordered one, it is in transit and should be here in a few days..

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=100388945&postcount=4140

Can't Wait !!

It looks like it will be a very nice phone for €66 or so ...

fixXxer

So, the Mi Max arrived yesterday morning and I've been using it none stop since.
I have to say I love the huge screen. Websites, games all look brilliant on a device this size. I went for the 3GB/32GB 650 version and its been super responsive with everything I've thrown at it. Camera works grand, and benefits from lowering the sharpness in the setting a touch. The battery is pretty monster too. There is no getting away from how big the device is, you'll either love it or hate it but personally I love it.

It's running MIUI 8 out of the box and well, MIUI is MIUI. I personally like how it works and have been using it often enough to be aware of its eccentricities but your mileage may vary. I wouldn't buy it assuming you can just stick an ASOP ROM on it as its a niche device with a locked bootloader.

Jelle1880

fixxxer wrote: »

So, the Mi Max arrived yesterday morning and I've been using it none stop since.
I have to say I love the huge screen. Websites, games all look brilliant on a device this size. I went for the 3GB/32GB 650 version and its been super responsive with everything I've thrown at it. Camera works grand, and benefits from lowering the sharpness in the setting a touch. The battery is pretty monster too. There is no getting away from how big the device is, you'll either love it or hate it but personally I love it.

It's running MIUI 8 out of the box and well, MIUI is MIUI. I personally like how it works and have been using it often enough to be aware of its eccentricities but your mileage may vary. I wouldn't buy it assuming you can just stick an ASOP ROM on it as its a niche device with a locked bootloader.

Where did you get it ? Looks really nice.
I did see the Android Authority review and the build quality seemed pretty bad, bending the phone a bit showed the insides etc.

fixXxer

Jelle1880 wrote: »

Where did you get it ? Looks really nice.
I did see the Android Authority review and the build quality seemed pretty bad, bending the phone a bit showed the insides etc.

www.geekbuying.com this time.

I saw the android authority review, so I went and looked for a lot of other reviews. It was the only one I could find that mentioned build issues so I took the chance that they had a dodgy unit. There's no creaking or moving that suggests the phone has any build issues.

mightyreds

Does anyone know if the redmi note 3 when in dual sim are the slots different for data

fixXxer

mightyreds wrote:

Does anyone know if the redmi note 3 when in dual sim are the slots different for data

Only one slot can have an active data connection at a time if that's what you mean.

Stevek101

mightyreds wrote: »

Does anyone know if the redmi note 3 when in dual sim are the slots different for data

You can one either slot for data.

mightyreds

Stevek101 wrote: »

You can one either slot for data.

No difference in them? I read that one slot was only 2g, but they might of been talking about another model it wasn't clear in the article

ifeelstupid

So my Amazon Prime deal Elephone P9000 is going to be returned. Really like the phone but can't cope with it losing contact with the SIM several times and having to mess around for ages trying to reconnect.
Back to square 1 and looking for recommendations with similar screen, memory etc. for similar money (around €200 give or take)
I'm a total technophobe so looking for something I can use out of the box please��

smilerf

ifeelstupid wrote: »

So my Amazon Prime deal Elephone P9000 is going to be returned. Really like the phone but can't cope with it losing contact with the SIM several times and having to mess around for ages trying to reconnect.
Back to square 1 and looking for recommendations with similar screen, memory etc. for similar money (around €200 give or take)
I'm a total technophobe so looking for something I can use out of the box please��

Ulefone Power

Glen_Quagmire

smilerf wrote:

Ulefone Power

Where is the best place to buy one?

smilerf

Glen_Quagmire wrote: »

Where is the best place to buy one?

I bought mine off Amazon. 2 weeks wait. But a few here said Amazon have them in stock now

ifeelstupid

smilerf wrote: »

I bought mine off Amazon. 2 weeks wait. But a few here said Amazon have them in stock now

Does it support wireless charging? I bought charger with my p9000 and not sure if I should send this back too

smilerf

ifeelstupid wrote: »

Does it support wireless charging? I bought charger with my p9000 and not sure if I should send this back too

No but it quick charges the 6000 mah battery in 2 hours

homingbird

Hi i am looking for a app that will work to root my K6000 Pro phone

Glen_Quagmire

smilerf wrote:

I bought mine off Amazon. 2 weeks wait. But a few here said Amazon have them in stock now

Are people starting to use amazon now for Chinese phones rather than the many Chinese online shops mentioned in post no. 1?

smilerf

Glen_Quagmire wrote: »

Are people starting to use amazon now for Chinese phones rather than the many Chinese online shops mentioned in post no. 1?

I guess the more cautious people like myself are still pussy to go the Chinese route plus it's Amazon if anything happens

Glen_Quagmire

smilerf wrote:

I guess the more cautious people like myself are still pussy to go the Chinese route plus it's Amazon if anything happens

Are amazon as good with the pricing or are the Chinese shops still better?