These phones are awesome. Such nice ui it's like android and apple *ucked in China for a one night stand and never talk about it. But now it's growing up and is getting sexy!

1920 x 1080

hot but if only this had a fingerprint sensor

hot but if only this had a fingerprint sensor

1920 x 1080

Been thinking about getting a dual sim phone for a while, instead of carrying 2 phones. Tempted...

sure these were £106 on ebay

be mindful that this handset is only available in their Chinese warehouse and not the EU one. So all the usual warnings about possible customs charges etc.

I'm looking at this phone myself especially for the dual-sim.

I wish LTE band 20 was supported, otherwise great phone

yeah, the one I've found on there is £108 but is the 16GB memory and it isn't clear whether it's the 2.0 or 2.2 GHz chip (one assumes 2.0)

I have one of these and think its fantastic, for the money. You will probably have to flash a new ROM onto it, which is surprisingly easy.

Which ROM are you running? Did you go for root+developer or stick with stable?

The Helio X10 is a seriously meaty chipset.

These phones are awesome. Such nice ui it's like android and apple *ucked in China for a one night stand and never talk about it. But now it's growing up and is getting sexy!

Is gear best good company

GPS works well too, we used it to get to Smyths toys on Sunday ;-) Apparently that has been an issue on older MTK chipsets. Battery lasts a day easy and can stretch to 2 with lite use.
Any other questions let me know... There was another post on these previously, if anyone wants more info.

I ordered one of these from gearbest then cancelled the next day as I saw the predicted specs of the xiaomi mi5, wow, I know it's gonna be twice the price, xiaomi are doing a press release on Monday if it's fir the mi5 and it doesn't live up to the hype I will be ordering this phone , spec and reliability is amazing for the money

Will o2 4g work on this?

If you have £120 to spend on a smartphone, this is as good as it gets for now, the Doogee F5 is apparently excellent too.

What would you like to know? We used Google maps as a sat nav and it worked really well... So a real world test, so to say!

Will three work on this

"There was another Post on these previously" ...

How much import tax from China

Previous deal:
http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/here-chinese-giant-xiaomi-redmi-note-2-4g-phone-w-5-5-screen-13-5-0mp-2gb-ram-16gb-2286138#comments

Xiaomi are really good in my experience . Like the more "premium" end of cheap Chinese goods. Wouldn't hesitate getting one of their goods if I wanted one

Is gear best ok will I have to pay import charges

Sweeeeeeeeet!, thanx for that. :-)

Three has the 1800 MHz band as well as the 800 MHz band. The latter is what they use for indoors coverage, the former for city centres. The phone doesn't do 800 MHz but that hurts only if your daily route is covered mostly/only with that band. I use mine on EE, which has the same issue but to a lesser degree since both EE and the phone support 1800 and 2600 MHz also, so there's a better chance of there being an available 4g frequency.

The phone has a built in updater, you just transfer the file onto it and use the app. There is loads of info on the XDA etc. I installed version: xiaomi.eu_multi_hermes_5.9.2_v7-5.0. This happens to be the weekly ROM and updated to 5.9.18 (beta) via OTA. I see there is already a 5.9.24 available, but my phone is not showing it in updates.
You can decide which way to go, weekly (beta) or stable...
Keep in mind it should come with Play store etc installed.

Not only that, the screen is VERY nice looking. Even backlight, plenty of contrast. I've got an 6 plus next to it and the only difference I can see are some extra contrast drop when looking at the screen from the corners and the 6 plus is just a bit brighter on the highest setting.

It really is a brilliant screen for the money, phones twice the cost don't have anything comparable in certain cases.

What ROM are you using?
I tested a 3 sim and got 4G no problem.

5.9.24 beta weekly from xiaomi.eu. Miui v7

Can always be Flashed back via Master Reset right?, so minor ... hehehe.

Just scared might have to pay duty on phone

http://forum.xda-developers.com/redmi-note-2/general
http://xiaomi.eu/community/forums/xiaomi-redmi-note-2.136/
Best is to google though and also read what "esmein" said about the warranty...

That's besides the point! 4G exists on different frequencies depending on the network and not all phones support all frequencies!

Thanks, thinking of manually updating to that... I am a bit hesitant, as it is working really well on 18. Did you notice any difference going from 18 to 24 or did you go straight to 24?

The thing that stand out the most for me is their os update. The hardware and quality of Chinese phones are pretty solid these days (and they should be as 95% of all phone are made by them) but none will have the frequency of software updates or bug fixes like xiaomi do. With most other Chinese phones you'll be stuck with the same os the day you bought it. The phone even includes an app to submit bugs. I was skeptical at first but I often receive an update a month or 2 later that fixes the submitted bug.

The os is a bit of a marmite, it's an android os with iOS skins but nothing that launcher couldn't fix. More annoying though is that the pre loaded bloat wares are aimed at the Asian markets and we missed out some out the features as a result, such as the 500GB kuaipan cloud service for example. Then again root and an app on Google play can clear them out.

Their customer support is also improving, they have an online chat support but the English support again is poor and seems to me done by a translator.

For the price I don't think you will feel disappointed. But always remember warranty is a pain when buying from overseas. I'd pay a little more for retailers that are locally based.

I went straight to 5.9.24 from whatever v6 build was on the phone when it arrived. I flashed in part to get rid of suspicious apps but mostly because I surmised that the sorry state of notifications must be because of a bug that is no doubt fixed in the latest version. ( it isn't and it isn't ). Not sure what the differences might be as I haven't tried 18. Fairly happy with 24. Sometimes it takes 2-3 tries to unlock the phone because the lock screen just bounces. Also had the built in camera app crash on me twice in 2 weeks. Small things.

I've been looking at lots of phones recently and went with this one for just shy of £120 from Everbuying.

Android 5.1 5.0 inch 4G Smartphone Corning Gorilla Glass Screen MTK6753 64bit Octa Core 3GB RAM 32GB ROM 13MP + 16MP Cameras OTA HotKnot


LEAGOO Elite 1

Looks like the seller checks out ok too...

http://www.scamadviser.com

Mi5 :laughing: Great name
Mi5 not 9 -5 ! :laughing:

Note 2 user. Should I sell and upgrade with this?

I'm still waiting for mine to arrive, (ordered around 3wks ago on the previous post someone put on here) it's been stopped by customs. didn't say I had to pay duty though.

Is there an aosp rom for this phone?

oooooh removable battery...damn almost regretting getting my smart ultra 6, but not quite cus its great

these moving images now seem to be common place - but most are ridiculous! remove them.

I went from note 2 to note 4. Best decision ever. Glad I skipped the note 3. Doubt I'll be getting note 5 as they made it like s6 edge now so no micro sd card slot.

Is it worth it just to use a UK based ebay seller?

No tax worries and will be received far sooner.

Anyone frequently buy off "GearBest"? I want to know what their service is like? Does free delivery actually mean free?

thats a high end smart phone much better than than my s6 will never go back to samsung

I ordered the advanced version of the redmi note 2 from Gearbest on the 30th September. I'm still waiting for shipment, their first response was to tell me my item was out of stock and to choose another. When I picked the white one two days later they told me black was in stock would I like my first choice. Just seems like delay after delay, if it's not shipped by the end of the week I'll cancel and try elsewhere :disappointed:

Gearbest been fine for me. Bought a few things from them

Apparently the battery life is woeful

I think you'll find Huawei is the world's third largest, after Apple and Samsung.

What's the camera like - mainly, is there much of a delay between tapping the button and it taking the photo?

Yeah, people need to realise all the fingerprint sensor phones are sending the prints to the NSA so they can build a database to complement all you stuff you have already told them on Facebook.

And to think people were outraged when they need to give prints for the baggage system at Heathow T5 only a couple of years ago, boy people are so easily led into accepting things because Apple made it OK.

Not if you consider Lenovo/Motorola as one!

I purchased a Redmi Note 2 a few weeks ago (from Aliexpress) & actually really like it. It came with some very dodgy firmware with loads of bloatware & pop up adverts, but luckily this is fairly easy to resolve - download the latest firmware, copy it to the device as update.zip and use the built in Updater app to flash the new firmware.

I wouldn't recommend it for those with little technical skill, as if you can't get rid of the dodginess it would be a nightmare to use, but if you are OK to perform a simple firmware update yourself then it is a great phone.

​rofl!

It is in the phone specs, (4G: FDD-LTE 1800/2100/2600MHz ) and very well discussed on previous threads about this phone.Band 20 (800 Mhz) LTE is not supported. It means in the UK you get 4G only with Three or EE, forget about other providers. Also in some areas (like where I live), 4G only works using band 20 no matter the provider, therefore you will only get H+ connection even though you are with EE or Three. A phone supporting Band 20 will be able to get 4G even in those areas (mind I am not talking about remote areas, I live in London and in my room I get 4G only via the band 20 only)

I hope the above is clear

Personally I'd get the Mi 4i because it's smaller, great price on the 5.5" tho

Anyone got a recommendation for a phone with similar/as good a spec as this but that works on 800mhz 4g??

time for you to put that tin foil hat back on

A little warning about Gearbest...

Delivery is usually 4+ weeks, the last item I ordered never arrived but they did refund it.
They only show 4*,5* customer reviews, others are deleted. if you look at products nearly everything has a very high rating.....

I gave a minus as it is grey import made for China , does not have UK 800 band and no finger touch sensor like 2015 phones . Plus no guarantee it does not have back doors for Chinese government as they like to spy on their citizens who have no human rights like in Europe.

have a case for this if anyone wants it brand new silver aluminium

I use the Xiaomi Mi 4i and absolutely love it. 5" phone with a 1080p screen - very slick. Battery stats are showing as 2 days total for 4 hours of screen on time. I'm a fairly light user and find it brilliant.

Would certainly recommend Xiaomi too (I have their weighing scales and the Mi Fit band)

Errrrr, you really need to update yourself on that one and Google "Edward Snowden Smurf"... The Conservatives and Chinese have been slapping each other on the ar5e recently complimenting each other on their love of money over people's happiness and freedoms. Cameron wants to somehow completely get rid of encryption and things like Whatsapp so he can have access to all communications.

Probably people would have got better service from Gearbest. I haven't received a good service, waiting for phone from June. They keep sending fake tracking ID. Best thing is I paid through Paypal. I know I would get the money back. I would always stay away from them.

Email from them

Thank you for placing your order with gearbest.

At gearbest we are always here to help all our customers.

Please check the delivery information below:

The delivery information
customers: XXXX, shipping address: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, zip_code: XXXX, country: GB, phone: XXXXXXX
Tracking number: JD0002251443951464,shipping method: GBEXP,tracking site: http://www.17track.net/index.shtml,shipping date: 2015-09-04 01:16:37,estimated time: 7-15 business days,
sku*quantity:133706501 * 1,PB0110201 * 1,


We are extremely sorry that you have not received your order until now.


Your order has been shipped out. It normally takes 10-25 business days to arrive you after dispatch.

But sometimes it may take more than a month. The actual delivery time may be affected by peak shipping periods, public holidays, bad weather and other reasons.

We kindly ask you to wait for it patiently.

If your order is confirmed lost, we will offer a compensation 45 working days after the shipment date.


Could you please reply us and close this PayPal dispute?

Usually there is always a way for us to resolve the issue to your satisfaction.


We look forward to hearing from you very soon.

Thank you for your cooperation.


Best Regards

gearbest Customer Service

http://www.gearbest.com/

I have an awful experience with Gearbest! They sent faulty phone.I sent it back and still waiting (they got it back end of August). Still waiting for replacement. Stay away from them! As a China phone I can recommend Meizu M2 note, which can be found for $130 on Jd using Jd999. It's not International version so you need tweaking (firmware was unusable), but it's an amazing phone after update. Took just over a month to arrive.

shame they didn't have that deal week ago ordered 16gb version for 113£, just wonder what's with these fake reviews

Hi here http://en.jd.com/m/ware/detail/718403. Use code jd999. Just have a look on jd as there are also others. The one I got is chinese version as per link, which has bliatware . once I updated and added google services working like a charm :smiley:

if this is same model, then it is available from their 'EU' warehouse. so should be no import duty?
http://www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_229219.html?wid=3
£121.21p
I found 'FDDUK' code for 7% off. added code and price went up to £151 :confused:

Hi sconto, I was just wondering what the delivery time took from that site? Thanks - Alex

if any of you want a brand new silver aluminium case pm me

I'm not sure I'd trust that retailer to be honest, the website looks terrible. It's bad enough ordering from the likes of gearbest etc.

To those that already have it - what's the camera like?

You can't use a coupon code on a 'special offer' price, it reverts to previous price

Got my redmi note 2 Prime from ibuygou and mightily impressed with the phone. Am running weekly euro rom from Xiaomi with Google Now launcher on top. A bit fiddly to get it working and I would prefer native plain Android but this is best compromise for me whilst the early ROMmers on XDA get to grips with this model. Everything in the phone seems a step up from my old Moto G - speaker, camera, screen, speed. All good.

Quick word for ibuygou - very good experience. Got them to beat gearbest price and got it in about a week. £135 delivered with DHL. They preloaded the eurorom too so just had to click update when it arrived. Maybe a Mi4C for the missus next.

Forgot to mention. Battery life has not been great for me so far, but have been tinkering a lot. Get the impression will have to top up during daytime. Perhaps others have seen better?

Thanks. Is there much of a delay between tapping the button and it taking the photo?

with the stock camera on MIUI 7 i didn't notice too much of a delay

http://www.xiaomidevice.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=MI5

Found these, looks like its not getting the 820 or helio x20 as some people thought, and instead the mi6 is in the 2nd quarter of 2016 :/, still a good phone though.

Which network are you on? Do you think all UK networks will work fine on this phone? 3G & 4G?

Thanks.

just letting you know banggood is now also doing it for this price as well... plus if u have coupons from signing up to their newsletter you can use the discount code with it.. I got it for 111 also use topcash back are offering 6% back also... also as im sure most have done the studying of this phone the antutu score is really good . looks like it keeps up with iPhone 6and Samsung note 4 . hope im right in saying this

10 percent I think it was
well from 118 to 111

This may help - see my comment #150

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/here-chinese-giant-xiaomi-redmi-note-2-4g-phone-w-5-5-screen-13-5-0mp-2gb-ram-16gb-2286138?page=8#comments

In summary, if Voda or o2 user, probably best to avoid this phone. Three & EE are fine for most people though missing 800mhz 4G capabilities for better indoor and rural experience. Not many Chinese imports will offer that currently (none I know of).

Interesting piece on Panorama tonight about this brand

ive just got my redmi note 2 but its set to chinese

could someone post up how you get it to english and also how you update it to miui 7?

http://m.gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/features/how-to-download-and-install-miui-7-on-your-xiaomi-smartphone-731970

I hope this helps or is correct I don't have the phone yet but a quick look brings this up....

Has anyone used different roms with this phone

Many chinese imports use a MediaTek SoC of some description, there are ones designed for the european market (well, and the US market also).

MT6753 stands out as it is a common one, it's rather prevalent in Chinese phones, see Leagoo Elite 1, half the Doogee lineup, Meizu m2, Elephone, Oukitel etc.

MT6735 also comes with a "worldmode" LTE mode but it's more of a low-mid market SoC. Quad core and sub 1.5 Ghz clock speeds.

Anything with a Snapdragon 615 also has a decent chance at supporting 800mhz (which is to mean there are different variants that do not) . See ZTE, Oppo, Huawei not built on their own HiSilicon Kirin platform.

I ordered mine from Oppomart, no import tax and it came in a week and a half...

I have the Redmi Note 2 and the screen is really bright and beautiful and the performance is outstanding!
Although the battery life is a bit disappointing and i hate the fact that Xiaomi packed this phone with a bunch of bloatware is it only me getting this battery problem?

interesting deal

hot

Just bought one and metal frame+tempered glass film. Via paypal Xiaomi redmi note 2 price was £120 today ($179.99)

brilliant phone received yesterday via Gearbeat

Mine arrived on Saturday (that was the basic postage via the Netherlands) from Gearbest. Lovely phone.

I've put the 5.10.22 weekly ROM onto it and so far I'm really pleased with the handset. Very easy to update the ROM without having to root it.

Instructions are here http://en.miui.com/a-232.html

You'll need to plug your phone into your computer via USB to transfer the file to the phone. You'll need to create a folder called downloaded_rom and rename the ROM as upgrade.zip and put it into the downloaded_rom folder.

Now I was originally told to get one of the files from http://en.miui.com/download-274.html

I actually went to http://xiaomi.eu/community where the support forum is and downloaded xiaomi.eu_multi_hermes_5.10.22_v7-5.0.zip from the link to the stable ROMs.

It's pretty straightforward but the usual health warnings apply about messing with the firmware on your phone (e.g. you might brick it or cause the freezer to malfunction etc).

Thanks for that. I tried updating mine with roms from the same places when mine arrived a few days ago but they kept failing. It looks like it's been updated now and has installed fine now so maybe there was a problem with the older version. FYI I just downloaded it on the phone and pointed the updater to the file in the downloads folder rather than doing the PC and renaming thing.

Very impressed with the phone so far - around 45000 score on Antutu, nice screen, good camera, good sound, GPS works, dual sim, lots of storage... can't fault it at all for the money. Just install the Google Now Launcher or one of the others if you're not keen on the MIUI iPhone app layout style.

Which ROM did you go for in the end?

I must say I'm getting quite fond of MIUI in it's own 'blatantly copying iOS' way. I have a case and screen protector on order now as I'm a little concerned about wrecking the lovely screen.

Only weird sound thing I've found is on Monopoly where the music is very badly distorted. No idea why as music on youtube/Google is absolutely fine.

I was running honorbuy_redmi_note_2_multi_hermes_5.9.10_v7-5.0.zip from here but it would only update to 5.10.8 (I think it was) and notifications weren't always coming through, so I wanted to update to 5.10.22 to see if it fixed it. I updated with the rom from http://en.miui.com/download-274.html last night but unfortunately it added some non removable Chinese apps, the language / keyboard changed to Chinese and it suddenly didn't seem to like the sim cards I had been using.

I kept getting a verification failed error with the rom from xiaomi.eu_multi_hermes_5.10.22_v7-5.0.zip so I ended up flashing TWRP (instructions here for anyone who wants it), wiping the phone and the rom then installed fine.

Unfortunately the glass screen protector I ordered with the phone arrived smashed (Gearbest refunded) and I didn't like the case I chose so I've also had to reorder, but from eBay as I didn't want to wait 2-3 weeks.

I've tried a few games and they've all been fine, but I picked Monopoly up when it was on sale the other week so just tried it and the sound is screwed up on mine too.

I had a look at that page but got confused as to where to get the right TWRP from (on their homepage I couldn't find a build for the note 2) - have you got a link to the files you used you could share?

Interesting about the monopoly. I tended to play it without music anyway. But my Moto G screen was too small for me to comfortably play the game :confused:

It is a bit confusing - you have to register a Mi account and reply on the thread and the links then appear. Might not be worth installing TWRP if you managed to install the rom, but I had to to get it installed.

Cheers, that now explains the long thread of 'thanks' comments! Got the files from you :sunglasses:

Does it use a stylus?

Damn it looks a bargain, still debating whether I can do without it found that's what I wanted from my last phone. Battery life is meant to be terrible on this? Did they ever sort it?

The built in updater, my phone isn't rooted.

This is the ROM
https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=24052804347844142

found via http://xiaomi.eu/community/threads/5-11-1.28929/ and the stable updates

I'm probably not a 'usual user' in that I don't spend every hour of the day updating FB/Twitter and playing games until my eyes fall out etc. But on the ROM posted above I'm getting 2 days out of it which is on a par with the Moto G it replaced.

I am using 5.10.8 (beta)... working well for me, it updated OTA to this level and no further. Perhaps I should do another manual update. I am a fan of "if it aint broke, dont fix it!" though...
I am also using the Google Now launcher, which is fantastic.

I reckon the software updates sorted that, I also get about 2 days. This can depend on how much screen on time you have of course... Even with pretty heavy usage, I still end a full day with 25- 45% odd.

I have had the 32gb prime for about 4 weeks and I can confirm battery is very very good. I had been using the miui eu weekly rom but updated to the eu stable now as its not rooted and barclays app works on it. I had to install twrp recovery to flash the stable rom though as for some reason it will not flash on stock recovery. I forget the reason why now.

I am however selling it now as going back to a note 4 as I miss the hardware home button too much.

is the camera good on this? think i'll bite the bullet if so

Thank you, just done it

I just made that exact shift. Very very happy.

Mine is showing 5.10.22 | Beta

Is that the latest stable ROM does anyone know - the Beta part suggests not, to me...

Mine has just notified me of the latest update... at least Xiaomi do updates, I believe many of the other Chinese manufacturers don't and you get stuck with the ROM it came with.

Anyone else considering this phone should also look at Oppomart, that's were I got mine from and it arrived in a week and a half. Don't know about price now though...

Thank you. Did you get that as OTA or did you d/l it and install it? I'm always caught between the curiosity of are there any improvements / new things and finding out it was worse than the prior version..

Depends on you really, I have done both...

I downloaded it. Tbh I wouldn't bother if it's working ok for you, there doesn't seem to be anything improved that I can see

I agree, it seems that the OTA comes through after a while anyway...

Ordered. Heat added.

knowyourmobile.com rating 4.5/5
Pros:
Amazing screen, powerful hardware, MicroSD card slot, fantastic custom UI

Cons:
No NFC, creaky case design, no fast charging

Oh dear...
http://www.engadget.com/2015/11/24/xiaomi-redmi-note-3-mi-pad/