Chinese Android Phones 2 - Read First Post!

cinnamony

Anyone here with a Xiaomi Mi5 not get 4G coverage ANYWHERE??
I live near Dublin city centre and have had this phone for over a year now, although its supposed to have 4G coverage at certain frequencies I have never once seen it happen anywhere in the country. Always just on 3G.

Mobile broadband will become a necessity for me very soon and I just don't know if its worthwhile swapping it just for this issue? Great phone otherwise really and would love to continue using it

jozi

I get H or H+ most places I go.

fritzelly

cinnamony wrote: »

Anyone here with a Xiaomi Mi5 not get 4G coverage ANYWHERE??
I live near Dublin city centre and have had this phone for over a year now, although its supposed to have 4G coverage at certain frequencies I have never once seen it happen anywhere in the country. Always just on 3G.

Mobile broadband will become a necessity for me very soon and I just don't know if its worthwhile swapping it just for this issue? Great phone otherwise really and would love to continue using it

Who are you with?

BannerBoy1

So I was using the type c charger that I got with my xiaomi mi 5 and it was working perfectly for almost a year before I lost it. I've been using a Samsung s8 type c charger since but every day the charger itself is becoming looser and now the only way to actually get it to charge my phone is to literally press it in myself and hold it on. I was just wondering could this be a problem with my phone or the charger itself or is the design on the charger port slightly different on an s8 compared to the Xiaomi mi 5?

Edit : I've only had the new charger cable for a few weeks

fritzelly

BannerBoy1 wrote: »

So I was using the type c charger that I got with my xiaomi mi 5 and it was working perfectly for almost a year before I lost it. I've been using a Samsung s8 type c charger since but every day the charger itself is becoming looser and now the only way to actually get it to charge my phone is to literally press it in myself and hold it on. I was just wondering could this be a problem with my phone or the charger itself or is the design on the charger port slightly different on an s8 compared to the Xiaomi mi 5?

Edit : I've only had the new charger cable for a few weeks

Maybe dirt in the port...?

cinnamony

fritzelly wrote: »

Who are you with?

Vodafone but I'm moving to Three for the unlimited data as I will need it which is why this is suddenly an issue

corkie

cinnamony wrote: »

Anyone here with a Xiaomi Mi5 not get 4G coverage ANYWHERE??
I live near Dublin city centre and have had this phone for over a year now, although its supposed to have 4G coverage at certain frequencies I have never once seen it happen anywhere in the country. Always just on 3G.

Mobile broadband will become a necessity for me very soon and I just don't know if its worthwhile swapping it just for this issue? Great phone otherwise really and would love to continue using it

cinnamony wrote: »

Vodafone but I'm moving to Three for the unlimited data as I will need it which is why this is suddenly an issue

Your device has only 1 of the bands required for LTE (Band 3), missing Band 20.

My RN3 (Kenzo) with Three does get LTE, but only in Cities. Have not really tested been outside cities.

Edit: - Maybe get a Pay as you go sim for a month and test it.

ED E

The B3 B20 distribution is somewhere around the 50% mark. Once they press the button on VOLTE not having it will be a major loss IMO.

cinnamony

corkie wrote: »

Your device has only 1 of the bands required for LTE (Band 3), missing Band 20.

My RN3 (Kenzo) with Three does get LTE, but only in Cities. Have not really tested been outside cities.

Edit: - Maybe get a Pay as you go sim for a month and test it.

Good idea! Thanks!!

PJOH

BannerBoy1 wrote:

So I was using the type c charger that I got with my xiaomi mi 5 and it was working perfectly for almost a year before I lost it. I've been using a Samsung s8 type c charger since but every day the charger itself is becoming looser and now the only way to actually get it to charge my phone is to literally press it in myself and hold it on. I was just wondering could this be a problem with my phone or the charger itself or is the design on the charger port slightly different on an s8 compared to the Xiaomi mi 5?

Just an idea, I got the Oukitel K3 a couple of months ago, great phone.... anyway , the type c charger that works it is slightly longer. It's 8mm , could not get in any of the shops. Can be got on Amazon, just Google 8mm c charger and you will see it. It may work better for you. Hope this helps.

Suckit

Suckit wrote: »

You can check coverage here
https://www.cellmapper.net/map?MCC=272&MNC=1
older version here
http://www.worldtimezone.com/4g.html

Also, your provider should have a coverage map on their site that may show by band.

cinnamony wrote: »

Vodafone but I'm moving to Three for the unlimited data as I will need it which is why this is suddenly an issue

Cellmapper and similar sites may not be up to date, but that is because they rely on the provider to release the information.
Your coverage should be available on your providers website.

ED E

Suckit wrote: »

Cellmapper and similar sites may not be up to date, but that is because they rely on the provider to release the information.
Your coverage should be available on your providers website.

No, cellmapper is mapped by users, the instant tech goes live its available to be mapped.

eamonnq

Apparently Gearbest have had a data breach and some usernames and passwords have been posted online. Just for anyone that used them, maybe you should consider changing your passwords especially if you use the same email address/password combo on other sites also.

Stallingrad

Smashed my Xiaomi Redmi 3s so looking for a new sub €200 replacement. Really like Xiaomi but would like something with a better camera, any suggestions?

Was looking at a Redmi 4x but suspect camera performance will be much the same.

cinnamony

Suckit wrote: »

Cellmapper and similar sites may not be up to date, but that is because they rely on the provider to release the information.
Your coverage should be available on your providers website.

ED E wrote: »

No, cellmapper is mapped by users, the instant tech goes live its available to be mapped.

According to both providers I should have 4G both were I work as well as where I live, cellmapper tells me that Vodafone masts near my job and house are Band 20 (which doesn't cover my Xiaomi) but 3 are band 3 which should be covered

Suckit

ED E wrote: »

No, cellmapper is mapped by users, the instant tech goes live its available to be mapped.

Okay, available, maybe. Not always the way though. Often nobody maps it and they rely on the provider to update them. There is also a big spiel on that site in the links somewhere about Irish providers and not always being up to date. Something to do with power from masts and other things.

Riva10

Stallingrad wrote: »

Smashed my Xiaomi Redmi 3s so looking for a new sub €200 replacement. Really like Xiaomi but would like something with a better camera, any suggestions?

Was looking at a Redmi 4x but suspect camera performance will be much the same.

Have one of these and am very happy with it
The Vernee M5 4G Smartphone Review - All You Need to Know

StringerBell

Was looking at buying a Xiaomi Mi A1, they have one on Gearbest for under 200 euro all in.

I am sure there has been plenty of discussion of both the phone or gearbest before but I would not be familiar with either at all. Anybody got information on either that would help me make a decision?

The phone would be for the wife, basically what I want to know most I guess is what gearbest are like to buy from and customs issues that may arise?

The phone itself looks solid for her needs. Thanks for any advice offered in advance

corkie

StringerBell wrote: »

Was looking at buying a Xiaomi Mi A1, they have one on Gearbest for under 200 euro all in.

I am sure there has been plenty of discussion of both the phone or gearbest before but I would not be familiar with either at all. Anybody got information on either that would help me make a decision?

The phone would be for the wife, basically what I want to know most I guess is what gearbest are like to buy from and customs issues that may arise?

The phone itself looks solid for her needs. Thanks for any advice offered in advance

If you used them, as it is shipping from HK(Or have you a link to EU warehouse?), you will need to factor in custom fees.

2 Alternative options with prepaid customs: -
Hong Kong Goldway Aliexpress. << -- Was going to link, but they don't seem to offer vat free shipping anymore?
The Solution Shop.


Also note Gearbest account details have been leaked online.

StringerBell

Thanks, and if I could ask a follow up on that, the website you linked had it at 222, the website I saw it on cheapest, through geekbuying was 189. Would there be a 30 euro customs fee would you know or would I still come out ahead if I go with the riskier option? Apologies for the ignorance I am not sure how they calculate the charge

corkie

StringerBell wrote: »

Thanks, and if I could ask a follow up on that, the website you linked had it at 222, the website I saw it on cheapest, through geekbuying was 189. Would there be a 30 euro customs fee would you know or would I still come out ahead if I go with the riskier option? Apologies for the ignorance I am not sure how they calculate the charge

Geekbuying if you can order from and Italy or Spain warehouse, you could avoid vat. See the OP message on how vat is calculated.

There is this thread here, about the device and where people have order from.

ED E

Customs is Item + Shipping times 0.23 + €10 handling fee.

So 189 shipped free would incur a charge of just over €53.

shrapnel222

had bought the xiaomi mi A1 for my son during the 11.11 sale, and we finally got to see it, as it came out of the box for Xmas yesterday. Holy crap, what an absolutely fantastic piece of kit!

StringerBell

Pulled the trigger there this morning, thesolutionshop website was down earlier so found a Mi A1 through geekbuy in a Spanish warehouse. Hopefully will come through without a hitch!

benprater28

Hi Everyone,
We (The Solution Shop) have been getting a fair amount of traffic from this thread. Let us know if you have any questions about the service that we offer.
Thanks,
Ben - The Solution Shop

Soccarboy11

benprater28 wrote: »

Hi Everyone,
We (The Solution Shop) have been getting a fair amount of traffic from this thread. Let us know if you have any questions about the service that we offer.
Thanks,
Ben - The Solution Shop

Great to see a representative for you guys on here! Sister opened her mi A1 from you guys yesterday and it's working great! She loves it. Updated to the December security patch and it's all running well.

Thanks for your service!

Davy

benprater28 wrote: »

Hi Everyone,
We (The Solution Shop) have been getting a fair amount of traffic from this thread. Let us know if you have any questions about the service that we offer.
Thanks,
Ben - The Solution Shop

Hi Ben,

If your posting on behalf of the company, can you please contact Boards.ie to verify who you are to continue posting.

Thanks.

Del007

StringerBell wrote: »

Pulled the trigger there this morning, thesolutionshop website was down earlier so found a Mi A1 through geekbuy in a Spanish warehouse. Hopefully will come through without a hitch!

How much did you get it for?

StringerBell

Eh, 238 all in I think with the insurance.

ED E

https://www.engadget.com/2017/12/27/leeco-jia-yueting-ordered-back-to-china/?sr_source=Facebook