Quoting Kenneth1311 comment from deal below:

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/xiaomi-redmi-note-2-32gb-4g-phablet-111-76-gearbest-2365379


"​it depends on what you need, the note 3 has no SD card slot and no removable battery or backplate where as the note 2 has a smaller battery and no fingerprint reader. I like the note 3 but don't really need a fingerprint scanner. I am however someone who likes SD card storage for easy transfer of files from one device to another or simply to store ROMs, pics, music or video on.

I also like the ability to swap the backplate out if you scratch up the old one or want a new look. personally I love the note 2 but if SD card storage ain't your bag and you are cool with maybe getting a case on your phone, go note 3 :sunglasses:"

Will not work on o2, may not work on Vodafone

looks good for money..too big for my liking though.

The newer note 3 is 20 pounds more at the same place

Will not work on o2, may not work on Vodafone

Good phone and good price: HOT!

Well indeed. Who wants a 4G phone they can only use 3G on?

I have this phone on Three, so I can only get 4G on 1.8GHz. It's been no issue for me. I presume you'll still get 4G coverage on Vodafone using the 2.6GHz band where available. The 800Mhz band is barely faster than HSDPA+ and is mainly used to plug gaps in 4G for indoors and rural areas. There's a great account of this over on the OnePlus One forums:

https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/clarification-of-oneplus-one-lte-bands.1065/

I couldn't be happier with this phone, it's comparable to £200+ handsets available in the UK. I'd recommend flashing CM12.1 personally but if you prefer you can flash MIUI builds from xiaomi.eu.

I got mine from Gearbest's EU Warehouse, came in 4 working days, no problems. Others haven't been so lucky so it's certainly a gamble, especially since if a fault develops, you have to send it back to China.

If you can handle the risks, it's a great buy.

Not quite what you said though is it

Have you tried to use two THREE sim cards? I am just curious if they are both 4G standby, not like many other phones, 4G/GSM. Thanks in advance.

If one is 4g the other has to be 2g so, I've tried a Vodafone sim and an id mobile one. If the Vodafone one is set to 4g (yes I know it won't work on 4g) you'll get 3g and as the other slot goes to 2g only, the id sim stops working.

Hmmm Gearbest ! I hear as many bad reviews as good one's with this company. Many of my friends have had issues when buying RC equipment from them.

Xiaomi's Mi.com web site for the Redmi Note 2 says that both are 4G:

4G Dual SIM
and the latest 802.11ac Wi-Fi

We can't survive without friends or the Internet.
Redmi Note 2 helps you stay connected round the clock with two SIM slots, both with 4G support. It also boasts the latest dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard for ultra-fast connections when you stream, download and game.

It may a feature of the id sim being 3 based and Vodafone not getting 4g.
Just swapped and I can get 3/4g on the data one (you decide which is preferred for data) the other then has no network type option and just gives 2g for voice. One correction from my earlier post, the id is now "roaming" on orange if it's not the preferred data sim.
Could be the Rom I guess, I use xiaomi eu weekly rom

Got this phone from GB back in October. Very pleased with it. I've added a metallic case and glass screen protector since.

I don't believe the Note 3 is what you might call a generational upgrade, I think it's more cosmetic with the metallic casing as part of the phone. The Note2 definitely has an SD memory slot, I'm led to believe the Note3 doesn't. As to whether you 'need' a fingerprint scanner (as per the Note3), that's a personal choice.

FWIW I got the 32GB model and it cost about £120 all told.

Heat from me.

^don't forget the 2 has removable battery, if that's your thing.

I haven't, but I believe they are both 4G (although only in MIUI, it's not fixed in CM12.1 yet). I only use SIM 1.

Good find.

Both are 4g but may not support UK 4g frequencies... I have had a Xiaomi Mi4i for few months and love it. The Note 3 looks like a great phone.. Love MIUI too, very fluid OS

don't forget the IR blaster!!! in the note 2 :smile:

Just to point out the newer model does has 3gb..

I went with the note 2 for myself an miui 7. runs great tried cm 12.1 but didnt think it was as good as miui which is customizable beyond belief and easy to use. To be fair I didnt really give cm a fair go I was instantly happy with miui well once I got that abomination of miui 6 in chinese crudware off it amd a clean install of a global build seemes ok.

I know very loyyle of this stuff btw just watched a youtube vid hehe

i bought a similar one from from aliexspress, total crap, i had the bin it, very poor quality

Xiamoi is a pretty awesome company tbh! Cheap as hell

I've got a Note 3 and can confirm it does have an SD card slot, removable backplate and removable battery

A Redmi note 3 or a samsung galaxy note 3?

The redmi note 3 definitely does not have any of those things you mentioned, if they do, you don't have a redmi note 3

£86.50 ON DEAL MACHINE BUT i DO NOT KNOW WHAT THIS COMPANY ARE LIKE

ALSO http://www.kimovil.com/en/where-to-buy-xiaomi-redmi-note-2-2gb-16gb are cheaper

How would this compare to a galaxy s4, worth the upgrade?

Just wish all phone manufactures would stick with stock android, its clean perfectly functional and Multilanguage, could some one explain what the obsession with silly skins is?

Reviews are excellent Bought at £90 using Clarity card never get charged extra that way.

Thanks it ticked all the boxes - 5ghz wifi at home 4g on 3 network, removable battery, photos show a micro sd card slot, is that definate, comments and pictures mention it, which is fantastic if it does

Just get smart ultra six

I bought one from GearBest in December for appx £115, arrived within about 3 weeks. No issues whatsoever. Brilliant phone and at this price is even better. Also as mentioned above the Note3 upgrade is defo not a generation ahead of this model in fact some may say it has a few backward points.

HOT.

And he wins the jackpot. I must say that it was a very good answer and you played very well. Congratulations!

gearbest safe to use with a credit card??

To be honest I had ignored the original comment there, it was so pointless it was idiotic. The comment was like saying "I bought a fake GoPro from China, total crap" when talking about a real GoPro. It is obviously not the same thing, similar in design, but totally not the same quality.

http://www.halifax.co.uk/creditcards/clarity-card/

It is a Halifax credit card, there are no charges to purchase in other currencies and the exchange rates are more favourable than PayPal.

very helpful thanks

Paid £120 for 32GB, excellent phone. (very good screen and sound).

After a lot of research I'm still unclear if this will run properly on a three sim. it sounds to me like it works with one of the two 4g bands they use - does that mean coverage will be reduced compared to my existing phone?

thanks, much appreciated!

I am on o2 and have this phone. I can get 4g signal from my phone as I am based in London.
O2 have started rolling 1800 mhz for 4g from 2015 in London. Not sure about other cities at present.
here interesting article about it http://www.4g.co.uk/4g-news/phones/o2-to-utilise-1800mhz-spectrum-for-improved-4g_300114007.html

Mine came with software version 66.77.33.00 a vendor tweaked so called "multi-languages" miui 6. could be infested with ads and spyware. highly recommended to flash the offical rom. mine now showing MIUI Global 7.1 Stable :smile:
Would not update via built-in updater..so used Mi flash tool.

same here did the same, rooted it and running clean install of global 7.1

Me too, but I went with another ROM, the MIUI has a lot apps preinstalled that I don't use, and is twice as big as the CM 12.1.

How is this a deal, a Chinese phone with a bad screen, no guarantee, pay import tax, and when you get it it will be inferior to any thing you've ever seen. Oh well, you pay what you get? If your dint want to pay then I can only assume you want this lucky packet phone?

They are obviously someone who buys into premium branding without question. I originally ignored the comment as they can't even check their spelling and grammar and even the wording before posting. Clearly whatever device they use doesn't even have a spellcheck on it that they have figured out how to use, I certainly think my Chinese devices can manage that simple task and are therefore superior to anything they are using.

My K3 Note which is similar to this is absolutely incredible. The only failing on it really is the camera, my other niggles are small things more specific to me than the phone, such as lack of NFC. The funny thing is that handsets like this and the K3 Note out perform a lot of flagships in terms of performance, yes you could argue that the latest Samsung or whatever flagship is better than this, no argument really, if only for a top quality camera and minor improvements elsewhere, but even if it is as much as a 50% improvement (I highly doubt that), you are paying four or more times as much for that small improvement, it really is stupidity.

Chinese phone, who cares? Quality is more important than where it is manufactured. China can put out some crap and some good stuff, same as any other country, this is definitely one of the better ones. The problem is that China put out so many handsets that people get a bad impression of them from the worse ones, the same can be said on Android in general though, if your first Android handset is an entry level one, you might think all Android handsets are poor.

Bad screen? They clearly have no idea about this handset, the screen is quality, not 'retina' resolution but who really needs that in a handset? And if you did need it, you are certainly not looking in this price bracket. It has a damn fine 1080p display.

No guarantee? Perhaps minimal guarantee, yes there is a risk here. Import taxes? Again a risk, if not shipping from the EU there is a chance. I took the plunge a couple of times with Gearbest and so far what I have had works fine months on. Though my K3 Note was from their EU warehouse, I did get a tablet from their China warehouse without paying import taxes.

As for it being inferior to anything I've ever seen, these better quality China handsets outperform most things on the market in terms of raw performance, just look at benchmarks and Youtube reviews showing their capability, lacking only in camera quality and niche features. And in some cases they get far more regular software updates both official and unofficial proving the ongoing support of the handset, rather than waiting for an announcement that something might be coming at some unspecified point down the line. I would hardly call it inferior.

picked one of these up but battery life isn't great - any tips ?

Well done, good read. Thanks.

Do not use Gearbest. They don't have enough stock , Have had very bad experiences . They don't ship and hold the money without your authority in their GB Wallet hoping you will buy something else.

A very devious company, avoided at all costs.

Read the other thread in here for Doogee X5 Pro. Many disappointed buyers. CHeck it out.