Chinese Android Phones 2 - Read First Post!

Scotty #

pcuser wrote: »

I have decided to replace my Redmi Note 4 as its running the ****e Medaitek chip. I plan on spending around €250. I was thinking of getting the LeEco Le Pro 3 X720 from HonorBuy

I paid over the top for my last phone and bought the wrong version so I have a few questions to ask the experienced users.

(1) Will this phone work right out of the box with no bloatware? I dont really want to have to reflash a different rom.
(2) Will it be able to update itself without flashing a new rom?
(3) Would people recommend I buy this instead of another brand and model?
(4) Is this the correct version of the phone I should buy?
(5) Is there any reason I should not buy this?

I do realize the it has no audio jack but comes with an adapter. Thats fine. I spent about €250 a few weeks back and Im going to be spening close to €300 this time with shipping. I have to make sure that everything is right with this phone as the wife wont let me buy any more this year

Nice phone. Has Band20, has Google Play, I'm not sure what else you need to look out for. The previous model, the Pro2, is very popular. For an extra €40 I'd go with the 6GB/64GB version but I see they're out of stock.

horse7

X6.430macman wrote: »

ok so after a very long time on the look out and many thanks to the excellent advice from this thread, I'm going for the xioami mi max from honorbuy at 184euro. linked below. if anybody can spot anything that maybe I have missed, such as band 20 or something like that feel free to tell me as I'm pretty much ready to pull the trigger on this
https://www.honorbuy.com/921-xiaomi-max-32gb-rom-international-version.html

No NFC also, but I,d recommend it, lovely phone.

smilerf

horse7 wrote: »

No NFC also, but I,d recommend it, lovely phone.

I'm after this too. Hope they restock soon

pcuser

Scotty # wrote: »

Nice phone. Has Band20, has Google Play, I'm not sure what else you need to look out for. The previous model, the Pro2, is very popular. For an extra €40 I'd go with the 6GB/64GB version but I see they're out of stock.

Thanks Scotty,

bazwaldo

Thinking of going with Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 32GB ROM 3GB RAM Snapdragon 625 Global Version and using HK Goldway on aliexpress.

HK Goldway seem a popular seller on this thread but I have a question about their option for DHL express. At the top of the page it says there's no customs duty. But down in their small print they have "If you choose DHL,not include DHL remote cost, custom duty, or any commission charged by dhl for custom clearance or warehouse storage cost."

Seems to contradict the first statement. Maybe DHL and DHL express are different. Has anyone used DHL express from HK Goldway and can confirm if customs charges and handling fee were additional?

The price of 168.29 for the black one looks good if no more charges and is maybe 45 quid less than cheapest I've found for the 4GB 64GB version. Can't see the extra is worth it.

corkie

bazwaldo wrote: »

Thinking of going with Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 32GB ROM 3GB RAM Snapdragon 625 Global Version and using HK Goldway on aliexpress.

HK Goldway seem a popular seller on this thread but I have a question about their option for DHL express. At the top of the page it says there's customs duty. But down in their small print they have "If you choose DHL,not include DHL remote cost, custom duty, or any commission charged by dhl for custom clearance or warehouse storage cost."

Seems to contradict the first statement. Maybe DHL and DHL express are different. Has anyone used DHL express from HK Goldway and can confirm if customs charges and handling fee were additional?

The price of 168.29 for the black one looks good if no more charges and is maybe 45 quid less than cheapest I've found for the 4GB 64GB version. Can't see the extra is worth it.

They no longer offer there "Sellers Shipping Method" which was the way to avoid customs. So you will probably get caught for it.

You could try alternative stores with an EU warehouse.
The Solution Shop for example, but out of stock at present!

Or honorbuy 32gb or 64gb

Scotty #

Scotty # wrote: »

So the Mrs went for a walk last night with her 1 week old Remi Note 4.

She held the phone is her hand as she walked (about an hour) listening to headphones with the phone cupped in her fingers. ie. four fingers on the back of the phone and her palm against the front. Like she'd hold a purse. When she got home, this is what the screen was like...



Phone was bought from Honorbuy.

I was hoping it was some kind of heat effect and it would have recovered itself by this morning but as you can see it the photo's it hasn't. It's no better or worse. Pressing the screen or bending the phone has no effect on it. It appears to be a back light problem.

Anyone have anything similar happen? Any suggestions? What are Honorbuy like for returns?

ED E wrote: »

Thats one of the polarizing layers delaminating from the back of the display. Have two sony units that are plagued with the problem (crap LG display). Full LCD/digitizer replacement required.

Honorbuy are telling me it's water damage and I'll have to pay to ship/repair.

Lesson learned (yet again!!) My brief encounter with Chinese phones is over.

Word of caution to others considering buying these Chinese phones, buy cheap - buy twice!

Iseedeadpixels

Scotty # wrote: »

Honorbuy are telling me it's water damage and I'll have to pay to ship/repair.

Lesson learned (yet again!!) My brief encounter with Chinese phones is over.

Word of caution to others considering buying these Chinese phones, buy cheap - buy twice!

Yet so many Samsung and iphone screens are in bits

GBX

Scotty # wrote: »

Honorbuy are telling me it's water damage and I'll have to pay to ship/repair.

Lesson learned (yet again!!) My brief encounter with Chinese phones is over.

Word of caution to others considering buying these Chinese phones, buy cheap - buy twice!

To be fair to them it does look like it could be water damage but without them having the phone to examine, its the most appropriate reply because they cannot test it. Its unfortunate that its happened but it could happen to any phone - Chinese or not.
Many people having dropped serious wads on Galaxy S6/7/8s etc have had issues. No one brand is immune to problems.

fixXxer

Iseedeadpixels wrote: »

Yet so many Samsung and iphone screens are in bits

To be fair, its gone about as badly as a first experience with a Chinese phone could go.

All electronics are vulnerable to faults be it exploding samsungs or bending iphone or others. Its a shame that he's had a problem with what is usually a very reliable brand.

Have you tried pushing the issue with Honorbuy? Raised a dispute through paypal?

Scotty #

fixxxer wrote: »

Have you tried pushing the issue with Honorbuy? Raised a dispute through paypal?

Yea and to be fair to them, they've been very polite and very prompt (<10mins each time) with their replies.

It's disappointing to say the least. The Mrs was treating the phone like a baby as her cover hadn't arrived yet from Amazon. That's probably why she was holding it in her hand while out walking rather then in her pocket. I know any brand can have a fault but having had several Samsung, iPhone, and others over the years, this is the first Chinese phone she's had and the first that's been faulty after a weeks use.

Repair costs are $55 for screen, $20 for return shipping, and whatever it cost me to get it to them. No idea how long it will take? They can't give me a shipping address until I give them the IMEI No.

The way I see it, and as I explained to Honorbuy, either the phone is too delicate and susceptible to dampness (ie. not actually fit for purpose) or it was faulty to begin with. I wouldn't mind paying to have it repaired if I thought it was misused in any way but I don't. If I do go and have it repaired, will the same thing happen again in a week or two? This is the dilemma. Cut my losses or keep going?

Edit: They've since been on to say they will take the phone back (at my expense) to test if it is infact water damage. I suppose I can't ask for more than that at this stage.

ED E

Its not dampness, its the glue in between layers of the display separating, probably due to that bit of extra heat by being held.

Buy a new display on Ebay and have your local chinese phone shop fit it. Similar cost, rapid turnaround.

Yes its not your/her fault but the lack of any recourse is part of the reason they can sell for ?200 what traditional brands sell for ?450.

X6.430macman

I thought that model phone was waterproof??

fixXxer

X6.430macman wrote: »

I thought that model phone was waterproof??

Its not mentioned in any official documentation as being water proof.

The more enclosed design of phones can sometimes make them more resistant to water than older models but unless its specifically marketed as water proof/resistant then you should assume it isn't.

pcuser

I have posted a thread Here about the slow browser on my redmi phone. I dont want to hijack this thread. The phone has being reflashed with a custom rom and no MIUI and still the same problems

wiz569

pcuser wrote: »

I have posted a thread Here about the slow browser on my redmi phone. I dont want to hijack this thread. The phone has being reflashed with a custom rom and no MIUI and still the same problems

Try scanning it for malware m8

fixXxer

Something to keep in mind if ordering a LeEco


http://www.gizchina.com/2017/06/16/leeco-shuts-one-service-centers-china-things-dont-look-good/

Red Silurian

pcuser wrote: »

I have posted a thread Here about the slow browser on my redmi phone. I dont want to hijack this thread. The phone has being reflashed with a custom rom and no MIUI and still the same problems

You got the Medtek version, looking through this thread it seems to be a much more buggy processor than the snapdragon version



From having a look through the various android devices I notice that very few of them (even the feature packed ones) have any NFC capabilities

Does anybody else on this fine thread find this a bit strange?

ED E

colmtheperson wrote: »

From having a look through the various android devices I notice that very few of them (even the feature packed ones) have any NFC capabilities

Does anybody else on this fine thread find this a bit strange?

Nah.

NFC came in, boomed for a tad but had no services using it. Fell out of favour THEN Android Pay came in. Now people want it again.

Also you have to pay royalties to NXP if you want to read cards like LEAP which budget builders just wont do.

horse7

ED E wrote: »

Nah.

NFC came in, boomed for a tad but had no services using it. Fell out of favour THEN Android Pay came in. Now people want it again.

Also you have to pay royalties to NXP if you want to read cards like LEAP which budget builders just wont do.

Is there any other way to load a leap card with the app,. ie must you have NFC?

Red Silurian

ED E wrote: »

Nah.

NFC came in, boomed for a tad but had no services using it. Fell out of favour THEN Android Pay came in. Now people want it again.

Also you have to pay royalties to NXP if you want to read cards like LEAP which budget builders just wont do.

Well my bank doesn't support Android Pay but the leap card app is very handy... Not all that important at the end of the day I guess

horse7 wrote: »

Is there any other way to load a leap card with the app,. ie must you have NFC?

Yes you must have NFC on an android phone (or tablet) to load a leap card... There was talk of micro usb attachments and SIM/SD cards for phones without nfc a few years ago but that seemed to all be just talk at the end of the day

ED E

horse7 wrote: »

Is there any other way to load a leap card with the app,. ie must you have NFC?

NFC and from the correct brand, broadcom chips wont read them (may not be true on newer cards, is on older ones).

CatInABox

So, after a couple of weeks with the Mi 5S, I thought I'd update some of my impressions:

The battery is the best I've had in years, after using it all day in various forms (calls, text, and data), it's now at 25% battery. My Nexus 5X would have long been dead at this stage.

The fingerprint scanner still isn't the best, but better than my previous estimate. It's no where near as good as the 5X, but is still usable. I had made the mistake of moving my finger around a bit during set up, which seemed to really throw everything off afterwards.

It is without doubt the slippiest phone I have ever owned. I've had it a few weeks and dropped it more than any other phone I've owned. I'm currently waiting on a cover so that it can survive falls and have a bit more grip.

Overall, I'm still very impressed by it. The software is a bit of a miss though, the notifications being the main bug bear for me now.

Berberis

Have my Redimi 4x prime just over a week now and have to say I am well impressed.

Its poles apart from my previous phone a lumia 520. So fast using my favourite apps twitter, 42.ie, flashscore and internet browser. I've never seen speeds like it in my home. (I'm on vodafone PAYG by the way) One thing I have found though it can be slower when I am connected to the wifi at home which is provided by Three. But yet wifi in work and elswhere the phone is super fast.

I love the fingerprint scanner and the camera is way better than what I am used to. Also love the app where I can use it as a TV remote controll
Brilliant app called Android Auto which works a treat in my Kia and being able to use voice control to choose music and to send and read texts is mad stuff all together.

The battery charges real fast and really I could go a couple of days at least without re charging..
Took a while for me to understand about refusing certain apps permissions to do certain things but am slowly getting to grips with the understanding of these things. Google surely is my friend.

Only problem I havent solved yet is when I downloaded viber, anytime I went to my contacts to make a phone call it kept trying to ring through viber rather than through my sim network, so I just ended up uninstalling it.
So overall a big thumbs up from me

Have'nt signed up to the Mi account as not sure about this so might leave that one.

NATLOR

corkie wrote: »

They no longer offer there "Sellers Shipping Method" which was the way to avoid customs. So you will probably get caught for it.

You could try alternative stores with an EU warehouse.
The Solution Shop for example, but out of stock at present!

Or honorbuy 32gb or 64gb

Looks like they are back offering customs free shipping using DHL Express

X6.430macman

If I ordered a phone from honorbuy tomorrow what would be the chances I would have it by Thursday? Kind of in a hurry for it and its either order it now or I will have to wait a couple weeks before I'll get a chance

X6.430macman

If I ordered a phone from honorbuy tomorrow what would be the chances I would have it by Thursday? Kind of in a hurry for it and its either order it now or I will have to wait a couple weeks before I'll get a chance

RossieMan

A tiny chance. I wouldn't risk it.

fixXxer

X6.430macman wrote: »

If I ordered a phone from honorbuy tomorrow what would be the chances I would have it by Thursday? Kind of in a hurry for it and its either order it now or I will have to wait a couple weeks before I'll get a chance

Eh..... slight chance. Friday is more likely. Shipping is usually pretty fast from their EU warehouse, but Thursday is asking a lot.

Iseedeadpixels

Heres a buying guide from Reddit to add to our own

https://www.reddit.com/r/chinaphones/comments/4f717v/introducing_the_official_rchinaphones_buying_guide/