Chinese Android Phones 2 - Read First Post!

eamonnq

gooner99 wrote: »

This was the DHL option right, no customs?

Yep, only got one tracking number (nearly as soon as the payment went through), that just showed as 'shipping information received' GATWICK UK, and was like that until yesterday and then it was 'PROCESSED' and was on its way.

X6.430macman

Anyone on here have a xiaomi mi mix, if so what do ye think of the camera because I'm told a lot of xiaomi camera are not great

gooner99

eamonnq wrote: »

Yep, only got one tracking number (nearly as soon as the payment went through), that just showed as 'shipping information received' GATWICK UK, and was like that until yesterday and then it was 'PROCESSED' and was on its way.

Thanks, sounds good. Will await your review before deciding between the A1 or note 4. Hopefully battery life is good.

Pyrrhic

fixxxer wrote: »

Pyrrhic wrote: »

Can somebody please help a mate of mine out.
He bought a ASUS Zenphone and it arrived this morning.

His Google Play Store is goosed (error 501)
Tried a factory reset no joy, it's the only issue with the phone he would really like to avoid sending it back.

The Play Store could be in the middle of a self update as you attempt to use it. If the other options fail then try this >> Connect it to wifi, plug it in to a charger and give it 20 minutes to itself, then restart.

No joy. Bought on Aliexpress.
What do you guys reckon with threatening to send back for a full refund unless they repair/replace it with express shipping back?

MickH503

eamonnq wrote: »

Yep, from HK GOLDWAY, ordered Wednesday, delivered this afternoon.

I ordered Thursday night and it should be delivered tomorrow by DHL.

Digital Solitude

Pyrrhic wrote: »

No joy. Bought on Aliexpress.
What do you guys reckon with threatening to send back for a full refund unless they repair/replace it with express shipping back?

Try opening Settings -> Apps and then Google Play Services, uninstall all updates, clear data and then force stop. Then do the same with Google Play Store.

If neither works, I'd try a reflash of GApps

ImARebel

So my phone turned up with no warning yesterday, lol

So far so good, I'm loving it. I haven't got to try out the camera yet, I'd say taking pics of kids that won't stand still will be the tester for it. But so far I'm very happy with it...

If anyone has any specific questions on it, I'll try to answer them best I can. I'm coming from a Samsung Note 4, so even by not having all the Samsung related crap on it, I'm already on a winner. Also I don't have much experience with stock Android so I can't tell you if it's better than it. But I prefer the interface to Touchwiz.

sydthebeat

so after a day of using this phone (well, my 10 year old using it as it was for him):
https://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/0.html?spm=a2g0s.9042647.6.2.820qIf&orderId=86741729009101&productId=32749712860

http://ulefone.com/products/tiger/features.html

my impressions:

The good:
excellent battery (4200 mah) very high usage yesterday for most of the day (initial setup, videos watching etc) and still have over 60% by the end of the day
full android 6.0, play store, no problems
excellent screen size 5.5"
crisp resolution
fast reaction speeds

the bad:
fingerprint sensor high up on the rear under the camera, making finding it slightly awkward as it reads the angle of the finger as well, meaning lots of unaccepted sensing. it makes so much more sense to have it on the front bottom.
camera indoors with flash is grainy (not so much of a problem for a kid though)
quite light feeling even if brushed metal finish.

all in all though, for €77.50 delivered its an absolute bargain, great phone with great specs for that price.

eamonnq

gooner99 wrote: »

Thanks, sounds good. Will await your review before deciding between the A1 or note 4. Hopefully battery life is good.

It has now become a present for someone, so my review will have to wait!! :eek:

On the plus side, I just got a message from HK Goldway advising that the phone I received yesterday is in the UK, and will be with me in 3/4 days!! New tracking number as well, so maybe they are sending me another one!!

Clondalphian

I have my Mi5 for about a year. Great phone. Unfortunately I may have dropped it one too many times and it has issues- screen doesn't wake up most of the time when I press the button. Have tried repairing it but no joy. I've bit the bullet and ordered a Mi6 from Honorbuy. €386 with express EU shipping(3-5 days). Hoping it arrives before I go to the States on Friday week.

Pyrrhic

Pyrrhic wrote: »

Can somebody please help a mate of mine out.
He bought a ASUS Zenphone and it arrived this morning.

His Google Play Store is goosed (error 501)
Tried a factory reset no joy, it's the only issue with the phone he would really like to avoid sending it back.

I am going to attempt to flash the phone with a new ROM before he sends it back.

Can anybody help me locate a ROM for this phone?
I can only seem to find Android 6.0 ROM for a ASUS Zenphone 4 but his phone is a ASUS Zenphone 4 Max Plus (Android 7.0)
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/ASUS-Zenfone-4-max-plus-X015D-5000-mAh-Big-battery-Dual-Back-Cameras-Octa-Core-MT6750/2477032_32823178086.html

Much appreciated lads!

fixXxer

Pyrrhic wrote: »

I am going to attempt to flash the phone with a new ROM before he sends it back.

Can anybody help me locate a ROM for this phone?
I can only seem to find Android 6.0 ROM for a ASUS Zenphone 4 but his phone is a ASUS Zenphone 4 Max Plus (Android 7.0)
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/ASUS-Zenfone-4-max-plus-X015D-5000-mAh-Big-battery-Dual-Back-Cameras-Octa-Core-MT6750/2477032_32823178086.html

Much appreciated lads!

Have a look here.

Flashing is easy enough but read the guides carefully first and go step by step, assuming you've not already done it before.

Pyrrhic

fixxxer wrote: »

Pyrrhic wrote: »

I am going to attempt to flash the phone with a new ROM before he sends it back.

Can anybody help me locate a ROM for this phone?
I can only seem to find Android 6.0 ROM for a ASUS Zenphone 4 but his phone is a ASUS Zenphone 4 Max Plus (Android 7.0)
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/ASUS-Zenfone-4-max-plus-X015D-5000-mAh-Big-battery-Dual-Back-Cameras-Octa-Core-MT6750/2477032_32823178086.html

Much appreciated lads!

Have a look here.

Flashing is easy enough but read the guides carefully first and go step by step, assuming you've not already done it before.

I have flashed a phone about a year ago so no expert at all.. It was exact same model and Android version.

I have looked on XDA and I am worried because I can only find one for Zenphone 4 (no max or plus) and also no Android 7.0. Will that have a detrimental impact I would imagine?

Digital Solitude

Pyrrhic wrote: »

I have flashed a phone about a year ago so no expert at all.. It was exact same model and Android version.

I have looked on XDA and I am worried because I can only find one for Zenphone 4 (no max or plus) and also no Android 7.0. Will that have a detrimental impact I would imagine?

It either (more likely) won't flash, or it'll flash and brick the phone. Don't flash unless you're 100% sure its a hardware match.

https://forum.xda-developers.com/zenfone-4-max/how-to/guide-how-to-unlock-bootloader-zc554kl-t3677270/amp/

https://romprovider.com/2017/09/firmware-asus-zenfone-4-max-pro-zc554kl/

I used Model No. ZC554KL when searching these, ASUS reuse the code for the 2/16 and 3/32 versions of the phone though.

Second link is an ASUS ROM, don't think there's any customs out for it.

As I said, flashing GApps is probably the easiest thing to do. www.opengapps.org

horse7

Geekbuying sent me a phone a while ago,using 17 track and NL post track ,it says it's in Ireland, but an post say it's not with them. If it's in customs would an post know by now.

Iseedeadpixels

Pyrrhic wrote: »

Can somebody please help a mate of mine out.
He bought a ASUS Zenphone and it arrived this morning.

His Google Play Store is goosed (error 501)
Tried a factory reset no joy, it's the only issue with the phone he would really like to avoid sending it back.

Tell him to get aptoide if he wants apps.

horse7

horse7 wrote: »

Geekbuying sent me a phone a while ago,using 17 track and NL post track ,it says it's in Ireland, but an post say it's not with them. If it's in customs would an post know by now.

Have also sent an post email a few days ago,no reply yet.

Lucas Hood

I'd recommend this over aptoide.

https://github.com/yeriomin/YalpStore

Iseedeadpixels

Lucas Hood wrote: »

I'd recommend this over aptoide.

https://github.com/yeriomin/YalpStore

In work with crappy coverage so cant check it out, whats the low down on that app?

wiz569

Iseedeadpixels wrote: »

In work with crappy coverage so cant check it out, whats the low down on that app?

You dont need a google account to use it unless you want to access your paid apps,doesn't use as much resources as google either

nuff

Are geekbuying good at responding to emails?

Ordered a phone on presale before I realised from here it's not a good idea. Anyway it should be shipping today and just want to know if there will be a delay.

If it's not going to ship soon I might cancel and buy it elsewhere. It's xiaomi mi A1

eamonnq

nuff wrote: »

Are geekbuying good at responding to emails?

Ordered a phone on presale before I realised from here it's not a good idea. Anyway it should be shipping today and just want to know if there will be a delay.

If it's not going to ship soon I might cancel and buy it elsewhere. It's xiaomi mi A1

How much did you order it for, they seem to still have them as pre-sale, so would think that they still don't have stock, say it will ship in 10 days.

Unless you got a real bargain on one, I would be inclined to cancel and look elsewhere, maybe by saying you want to cancel they might move you up the queue if they do actually have some stock.

Carnmore

I'm considering this change as my iPhone 5 is virtually obsolete now - it's the only smartphone I've owned.

I'm concerned about data transfer to an Android phone.

The phone I'm considering - Xiaomi Redmi 4X 4GB RAM 64GB - from AliExpress.
Apparently the seller uses DHL Express via Hong Kong to avoid customs duty.

Can all data be easily transferred from iOS to Android?
Has anyone bought a phone from AliExpress and avoided duty?
Is there a better model than this and a better site to buy from?

Thanks in advance.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Ori...lgo_pvid=23910470-e8c4-4339-8cc5-5059c1bd1ca9

Bahanaman

I'm looking at the note 4 on Honorbuy. Is it worth it to get the higher spec 4gb ram 64gb memory for €203 over the 3gb ram 32gb memory version for €177? Or would I be better going for the mi 5x/A1 or the Meizu m6 note? Jaysus I haven't a clue?!

ImARebel

Bahanaman wrote: »

I'm looking at the note 4 on Honorbuy. Is it worth it to get the higher spec 4gb ram 64gb memory for €203 over the 3gb ram 32gb memory version for €177? Or would I be better going for the mi 5x/A1 or the Meizu m6 note? Jaysus I haven't a clue?!

If I was buying the note 4 I'd get the 4/64 version. The prices seem high, I only paid 157 all in for the 3/32 version...

know nothing about the others sorry

LeChienMefiant

Clondalphian wrote: »

I have my Mi5 for about a year. Great phone. Unfortunately I may have dropped it one too many times and it has issues- screen doesn't wake up most of the time when I press the button. Have tried repairing it but no joy. I've bit the bullet and ordered a Mi6 from Honorbuy. €386 with express EU shipping(3-5 days). Hoping it arrives before I go to the States on Friday week.

Smashed the screen on mine a few weeks back, I'm back to my one plus one since. I miss the dual sim ( I have a work burner SIM and a UK data SIM). The camera on the Mi5 is way superior. I miss the fingerprint unlock. However, the one plus one does seem faster.

Waiting on a new screen for my Mi5 from AliExpress.

Bahanaman

ImARebel wrote:

If I was buying the note 4 I'd get the 4/64 version. The prices seem high, I only paid 157 all in for the 3/32 version...

Thx for that. Where did you get yours? They're getting scarce.

ImARebel

Bahanaman wrote: »

Thx for that. Where did you get yours? They're getting scarce.

God you're right - they really are, the difference a month makes!

Got this one from geekbuying - but if buying myself I'd get the 4/64

https://www.geekbuying.com/item/International-Version-Xiaomi-Redmi-Note-4-3GB-32GB-Smartphon----Gray-381848.html

fixXxer

This looks like it could be fun.

Probably be out of my price range but its good to see companies trying new things.

fixXxer

ImARebel wrote: »

God you're right - they really are, the difference a month makes!

Got this one from geekbuying - but if buying myself I'd get the 4/64

https://www.geekbuying.com/item/International-Version-Xiaomi-Redmi-Note-4-3GB-32GB-Smartphon----Gray-381848.html

Most places think a Note 5 announcement is soon so they may be running down stock levels.