There's a lot of love on here for the Xiaomi Pro Note version of this phone, but for me 5.5" is just too big.
This is the non-note AND the non-pro model. I.e. The cheapest one.
The difference being...
Redmi 3 Note Pro - Full HD, Snapdragon 650 processor, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage.
Redmi 3 Pro - Not full HD, Snapdragon 616, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage.
Redmi 3 (this phone) - Not full HD, Snapdragon 616, only 2Gb RAM and 16GB storage, no fingerprint reader.
So I don't expect this to get super hot as the pro and note versions do have more exciting specs, however, at I think £83 is a great price for a nice, well made phone, with a massive battery, that'll certainly do the job for most casual users.
I'd be interested in your opinions.
Metal Body
CPU -- Snapdragon 616 Octa Core
Screen -- 5.0-inch 1280x720p
RAM+ROM -- 2GB + 16GB (Support TF Card, FAT32 Format Only)
Camera -- 13MP Rear Camera, 5MP Front Camera
Battery -- 4100mAh (Typ)
Network -- Full Netcom, Dual SIM Dual Standby (Micro SIM Card x 1 + Na-no SIM Card x 1 or Micro SIM Card x 1 + TF Card x 1)
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz; CDMA 1X BC0
3G: WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100MHz; CDMA2000 BC0
4G: FDD LTE B3:1800/B1:2100/B7:2600 MHz TD LTE B38:2600/B39:1900/B40:2300/B41:2555-2655MHz
Top comments
anonimousse
9 Jun 1610#4
^....and breathe...woosah
BUCKUM2
9 Jun 166#3
the pro version from this seller is £106.38 the difference is 1gb more ram and 16gb more storage and fingerprint scanner the only way to get ota updates with this is to have factory seeled with the original xiaomi chinese rom miui has not released a global rom for this model yet so it will come with third party custom rom that dont support ota updates theres nowt wrong with the official chinese rom gives you option to choose english or chinese language when you first put phone on there is no google play store on it you have to put it on yourself here's link how to http://en.miui.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=198204&highlight=google%2Bplay%2Bstore
Latest comments (62)
SClub
1 Jul 16#62
My white and silver Redmi 3 Pro turned up yesterday and I'm blown away! Build quality is superb. Bought mine from seller Dreami on AliExpress, sealed with original Chinese ROM installed. Whacked Google Play Store and Nova Launcher on top and it's performing brilliantly :smiley:
Phone came with a screen protector and case thrown in, along with a dual nano sim adapter. Seriously impressed.
SClub
19 Jun 16#61
Just ordered the Redmi 3 Pro with 3GB / 32GB storage for £106 odd. The Note 3 is the better device, but my fingers aren't big enough for phones over 5".
Hoping for 7.5% Quidco cashback as well :smiley: Will sell on the Doogee Valencia 2 Pro which is great, except I have pressure marks on the screen now, and the processor isn't great.
giftedhuman
18 Jun 16#60
Impressive
itr786
16 Jun 16#59
Which wall charger are you guys using, obviously the 2 pin supplied is useless here in the UK...
Volts/amp?
I've got a charger that's 5v/1500amp, and it seems to take an age to charge...
sidestepfandango
15 Jun 16#58
Mine arrived today despite tracking stating it had just left China hours ago. Dont trust the tracking info on Aliexpress....
Happy with my purchase, everything seems to be fine with it.
Stevie Badman
14 Jun 16#57
Anybody got any experience of these chink phones, one guy above mentions one almost setting on fire. anyone else?
semo
14 Jun 16#56
If only they kept the batter user replaceable. A big battery is still a consumable like any other battery
ricardasgudkovas
11 Jun 16#55
sold my both xiaomi note 3 and bought 2 of note 4... just from day to day i start missing higher quality in my hand
doncoop
11 Jun 16#54
I played around with it for a bit while on the Chinese rom but adding Google play services and you're right the global rom is what you have to put on it, so much better.
But I'm just not convinced letting other people do this is a concern, justified or not.!
At the end of the day, it's the product that's most important. In that respect, I honestly think its a great phone for £100 or so. I've owned the 3 Pro and the Note 3 Pro and compared to my Samsungs (S2, S4, S5 and S7), I'd say the only real noticeable day to day difference is the superior sound/video/camera/UI quality of the Samsungs.
phil001
10 Jun 16#51
True.
The video kind of makes me think less of them as a company though
Picard123
10 Jun 161#50
They shouldn't have driven over it in the first place. I mean how likely is it that someone is going to drive over their phone with a car? :laughing:
Not saying you are wrong, I agree that a car rolling over it might not necessarily break it. But that noise alone pretty much proves damage was caused. They should've put music over that bit lol
Picard123
10 Jun 16#48
I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it didn't crack because if the tarmac is flat, and the tyre is obviously rubber, there's no high velocity impact on the glass. I've had this phone in my pocket and bag with keys accidentally on the glass side and it's come out without any scratches. In my experience screens need some impact velocity to shatter. I had my S4 on my the front seat of my car and it flew forward at speed and hit the glovebox when I had to do an emergency stop. Smashed screen. Almost all glass screens will crack if you drop it at an angle on hard concrete. All depends how it lands.
anonimousse
10 Jun 161#47
Hugo Barra is not exactly the person you would choose to conduct an unbiased test like this. #justsayin'
phil001
10 Jun 16#46
The terrible cracking sound when the car rolls over it, no way that didn't crack there.
Pretty sure there are marks from the scratch test too before they cut away/back and show the screen properly.
Not saying it hasn't got a good tough screen, just I have no credible evidence suggesting either way
Just read the YouTube comments for other opinions on the video
Picard123
10 Jun 16#45
Your evidence for saying that being what exactly?
Picard123
10 Jun 16#44
The HK Goldway installation (if indeed, they did install it), is as clean as a whistle when thoroughly scanned by Malwarebytes, Kaspersky etc. The box is also sealed, albeit with cellophane type plastic. Don't know if the phones direct from Xiaomi have a different type of seal, but there were zero issues with the phone supplied by HK Goldway.
Having seen someone with a Chinese ROM version of this phone that has tons of adware and Chinese region specific apps, which are completely absent on the global / international version.
phil001
10 Jun 16#43
Buy very scripted and quite likely fake!
Picard123
10 Jun 16#42
That's really impressive!
doncoop
10 Jun 16#41
You say that but that means someone has installed a whole os on your phone. I'm not saying they would but so much opportunity for something dodgy to be done.
I'd recommend doing this yourself from a sealed box every time!
Picard123
10 Jun 161#40
It's not an improvement over the One Plus One unless you're simply looking for a smaller phone.
Picard123
10 Jun 16#39
Great phone for the money, but I'd seriously recommending playing £5-10 extra for the international global ROM. It gets rid of all the regional Chinese language apps, and has all the Google/Play apps installed by default which makes syncing, notifications and integration ALOT simpler.
Hong Kong Goldway are a good reliable seller. I bought my Pro from them and it took about 10 days with standard free delivery.
braddock71
10 Jun 16#38
excellent phone - my battery lasts about 5 days, don't need to worry about charging at all (just plug in while in the car)
camera is decent, good size and don't miss NFC whatsoever (although be useful for tube).
alarm turns the phone on too (although you don't have to worry about turning it off overnight for battery saving!)
lanc_red
10 Jun 16#37
Stick with One Plus One or get this?
deano777
10 Jun 16#36
I've never used the postage insurance, import duty insurance or exteneed cover. I've never been charged import duty when using DHL only be charged when I've used Aliexpress.
Depends what price you want to put on customer service I guess. I must say Xiaomi kit is very well built. I have a mi3 still which is full yup to date and running MIUI 7.2 on 6.0.1 no creeks or looseness to it, also have a MiPAD which I had on pre-order no issues with that either.
phil001
10 Jun 16#35
Only if you buy the EU warehouse option though i guess
Edit: eu warehouse, eu direct = £205 :confused:
wenttoabetterplace
10 Jun 161#34
You do not need import duty insurance. It comes from inside the EU.
Buy with Paypal and you don't need postal insurance.
In short, you don't need to pay anything extra :wink:
phil001
10 Jun 16#33
bit confused by all of their add ons, theres options/costs for
EU warehouse - Then additional cost for 'EU direct' at checkout, not sure how these differ
1 Year Warranty
Import Duty Insurance
Insurance in case the parcel is lost in post (surely that's not buyers responsibility?!)
If you add everything on then it gets quite expensive, what options have you both used in the past?
Thanks
edit : RN3 Pro prime from china via DHL, postage insurance, Imort Duty insurance, 1 year (extra?) warranty = £183 approx
so £50 more than a standard aliexpress price. Guess that's not too excessive but it is about 30% more
Very good deal but I've started to use android Pay so would need nfc. And the whole custom rom sounds too complicated. But do want to go to a bigger phone. Might go for the ultra or something when I see a offer.
doncoop
10 Jun 16#30
Had this version for the gf for some time.
Great phone. Yes if you come from a 1080p screen it will be noticeably less, but it's still a good screen.
Battery life is great.
I got an official unlock code from xiaomi and then installed the xiaomi global rom. It removes all Chinese bloat. Not sure on whether they release otas but perhaps in 6 months I'll upgrade for the gf if needed. They have got lots of updates on there so it will be upgraded.
ninp
10 Jun 16#29
For those asking about NFC the Mi 5 is the only Xiaomi phone with NFC. Its a lot more pricey at £220 but has amazing specs (similar to the galaxy s7) for the price. There is also an official global ROM for the mi5, so you can get Google installed and still receive regular updates.
What made me go for the note 3 over this was the screen resolution. Going from a samsung s4, I did not want to downgrade in terms of the screen :stuck_out_tongue:
deano777
10 Jun 161#27
https://www.ibuygou.com/ are excellent never had an issues with them and unlike aliexpress you actually get customer service an genuine firmware. I always used DHL with them and received my phone in a couple of days from China. :smile:
hcc27
10 Jun 16#26
............l..I....IIII.....IIIIIIIIII.................,,,,,,,,,,
(in case your keyboard wasn't allowing you punctuation symbols and upper case letters, please use these on me.)
K0YS
10 Jun 16#25
im not faulting the company or thier build. never had one so cant comment. but thecertaintity of knowing i have warranty is something id like when i buy new. that being said, still no front speakers. ive been spoilt by my HTC m7, which im having to give away so need a new phone.
dcx_badass
10 Jun 161#24
Xiaomi sold over 70 million phones last year, anyway I'm ordering from https://www.ibuygou.com/ costs more but you can get a two year EU warranty.
jomay
10 Jun 16#23
I tried a fardt at the tube gate, but they wouldn't let me through! Lots of space around me, but the gate wouldn't budge... :wink:
TBH, I find it annoying that so many cards have contactless nowadays. They always conflict: oyster/freedom pass, bank card, employee card. I'm happy that one credit card does not (yet?) support contactless!
K0YS
10 Jun 16#22
I think I'll pass. I just remembered why I've never tried these import phones; warranty and also no front speakers. Off to get a moto g3 for me!
deano777
10 Jun 16#21
Smile and Nationwide banking apps worked for me when I used Xiaomi phones. Potentially could not work if you have the DEV rom on the phone. I have used both the Chinese and Global stable ROM's no issues.
jimborae
9 Jun 16#20
And just to advise I have Android Pay & HSBC Pay contactless payment set up on my Samsung S6 & both have never worked where they should have done. Much easier to use a bank card which has never failed.
silverfish73
9 Jun 16#19
lol, yep. fards are rubbish!
silverfish73
9 Jun 161#17
NFC? I'm sorry but I've had a phone with NFC capability for nearly 2 years, have I used it? no! I have contactless fards, 2 bank and 1 credit. Used 3 times in the last year!? Don't get hung up on the NFC capability.
rev6 to silverfish73
9 Jun 161#18
Cards are better.
hitmant
9 Jun 16#16
Hmm not sure whether I should return my moto g 2nd gen for this, bought moto for 58. I defo need to have a phone with me before I go on holiday on the 25th.
haritori
9 Jun 16#15
They just signed up for Apple Pay somethign they said they wouldnt support wont be long before they add GPay.
kazkah96
9 Jun 16#14
Heat for detailed description and comparison.
jacenj
9 Jun 16#6
No nfc on this or the 32gb version tho.
evildrneil to jacenj
9 Jun 16#13
NFC seems to be a massive rarity on any Chinese phones and it seems that even those that do have it (I was looking at the Elephone P9000 which does) you can't actually use for Android pay :/
BUCKUM2
9 Jun 162#12
lol sorry was rushing been following thread in-between watching my horses go down on attheraces
K0YS
9 Jun 16#11
oyster, possibly. payments im happy with touching my card. plus Barclays (who im with) aren't signed up for it.
wenttoabetterplace
9 Jun 161#10
You are a guy in a hurry! Expedited shipping on everything...and too little time to even bother with punctuation :smile:
BUCKUM2
9 Jun 16#9
if you use the aliexpress standard delivery 12-29 days they reckon no custom charges i cant vouch for this as i always use dhl expidited which will incur charges as for banking apps working i dont use them but if you read through this thread link http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/xiaomi-redmi-note-3-pro-international-rom-3gb-32gb-version-snapdrogon-650-4k-mah-2459056?p=28152833 im sure that was asked and replied to a few times if you do get it with the custom rom i would strongly suggest you install malwarebytes and run it to check for spyware and viruses
wenttoabetterplace
9 Jun 16#8
You probably would use it with Android Pay being rolled out as we speak. Contactless payments - with your phone....and Oyster payments. V.useful
K0YS
9 Jun 16#7
never used nfc and im sure there's other users who haven't either. altho it cant cost much to include it.
BUCKUM2
9 Jun 16#2
i have just bought the fashion gold model of this from u.k seller on ebay for £127.99 for my daughter she could'nt wait a couple of weeks from china 3 days on ebay and was happy to pay the extra also had it factory seeled because wanted original xiaomi rom not custom english rom so she gets ota updates i put google services on it myself got rid of most of the chinese apps she is over the moon with it i myself have the redmi note 3 pro/prime and have had it for 14 weeks now i bought mine from china also factory seeled and put google on myself i used dhl expidited delivery so had to pay customs and handling charge (£25) only took 6 days if you can wait the 2 to 3 weeks this is a fantastic price these are superb phones
K0YS to BUCKUM2
9 Jun 16#5
Is there a way to avoid customs?
Also, will banking apps (barclays) work on the factory Rom and even English Roms?
anonimousse
9 Jun 1610#4
^....and breathe...woosah
BUCKUM2
9 Jun 166#3
the pro version from this seller is £106.38 the difference is 1gb more ram and 16gb more storage and fingerprint scanner the only way to get ota updates with this is to have factory seeled with the original xiaomi chinese rom miui has not released a global rom for this model yet so it will come with third party custom rom that dont support ota updates theres nowt wrong with the official chinese rom gives you option to choose english or chinese language when you first put phone on there is no google play store on it you have to put it on yourself here's link how to http://en.miui.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=198204&highlight=google%2Bplay%2Bstore
K0YS
9 Jun 16#1
How much is the pro version? I too prefer screens of 5inch hence why I'm still using my HTC M7 lol. Been looking for another phone and so far it's between a used m9 for around 190£, a moto g3 at 140£ and possibly a xiaomi.
Do these phones get regular Android updates or is it all flashing etc?
![Fresh Breakfast Meat Box (Using code) @ Campbells Meat [Haggis / Lorne Sausage / Bacon / Black Pudding & More]](/images/topics/208684_1.jpg)
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Opening post
This is the non-note AND the non-pro model. I.e. The cheapest one.
The difference being...
Redmi 3 Note Pro - Full HD, Snapdragon 650 processor, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage.
Redmi 3 Pro - Not full HD, Snapdragon 616, 3GB RAM, 32GB storage.
Redmi 3 (this phone) - Not full HD, Snapdragon 616, only 2Gb RAM and 16GB storage, no fingerprint reader.
So I don't expect this to get super hot as the pro and note versions do have more exciting specs, however, at I think £83 is a great price for a nice, well made phone, with a massive battery, that'll certainly do the job for most casual users.
I'd be interested in your opinions.
Metal Body
CPU -- Snapdragon 616 Octa Core
Screen -- 5.0-inch 1280x720p
RAM+ROM -- 2GB + 16GB (Support TF Card, FAT32 Format Only)
Camera -- 13MP Rear Camera, 5MP Front Camera
Battery -- 4100mAh (Typ)
Network -- Full Netcom, Dual SIM Dual Standby (Micro SIM Card x 1 + Na-no SIM Card x 1 or Micro SIM Card x 1 + TF Card x 1)
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz; CDMA 1X BC0
3G: WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100MHz; CDMA2000 BC0
4G: FDD LTE B3:1800/B1:2100/B7:2600 MHz TD LTE B38:2600/B39:1900/B40:2300/B41:2555-2655MHz
Top comments
Latest comments (62)
Phone came with a screen protector and case thrown in, along with a dual nano sim adapter. Seriously impressed.
Hoping for 7.5% Quidco cashback as well :smiley: Will sell on the Doogee Valencia 2 Pro which is great, except I have pressure marks on the screen now, and the processor isn't great.
Volts/amp?
I've got a charger that's 5v/1500amp, and it seems to take an age to charge...
Happy with my purchase, everything seems to be fine with it.
But I'm just not convinced letting other people do this is a concern, justified or not.!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3CcL0RVrzM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qO7HvJC4myo
The video kind of makes me think less of them as a company though
A tempered glass screen protector should take care of the rest. Cheap as chips from Ali:
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Ultra-thin-9H-2-5D-High-Clear-Premium-Tempered-Glass-Screen-Protector-For-xiaomi-redmi-3/32660928517.html
Pretty sure there are marks from the scratch test too before they cut away/back and show the screen properly.
Not saying it hasn't got a good tough screen, just I have no credible evidence suggesting either way
Just read the YouTube comments for other opinions on the video
Having seen someone with a Chinese ROM version of this phone that has tons of adware and Chinese region specific apps, which are completely absent on the global / international version.
I'd recommend doing this yourself from a sealed box every time!
Hong Kong Goldway are a good reliable seller. I bought my Pro from them and it took about 10 days with standard free delivery.
camera is decent, good size and don't miss NFC whatsoever (although be useful for tube).
alarm turns the phone on too (although you don't have to worry about turning it off overnight for battery saving!)
Depends what price you want to put on customer service I guess. I must say Xiaomi kit is very well built. I have a mi3 still which is full yup to date and running MIUI 7.2 on 6.0.1 no creeks or looseness to it, also have a MiPAD which I had on pre-order no issues with that either.
Edit: eu warehouse, eu direct = £205 :confused:
Buy with Paypal and you don't need postal insurance.
In short, you don't need to pay anything extra :wink:
bit confused by all of their add ons, theres options/costs for
EU warehouse - Then additional cost for 'EU direct' at checkout, not sure how these differ
1 Year Warranty
Import Duty Insurance
Insurance in case the parcel is lost in post (surely that's not buyers responsibility?!)
If you add everything on then it gets quite expensive, what options have you both used in the past?
Thanks
edit : RN3 Pro prime from china via DHL, postage insurance, Imort Duty insurance, 1 year (extra?) warranty = £183 approx
so £50 more than a standard aliexpress price. Guess that's not too excessive but it is about 30% more
Great phone. Yes if you come from a 1080p screen it will be noticeably less, but it's still a good screen.
Battery life is great.
I got an official unlock code from xiaomi and then installed the xiaomi global rom. It removes all Chinese bloat. Not sure on whether they release otas but perhaps in 6 months I'll upgrade for the gf if needed. They have got lots of updates on there so it will be upgraded.
http://m.aliexpress.com/item/32611785137.html
(in case your keyboard wasn't allowing you punctuation symbols and upper case letters, please use these on me.)
TBH, I find it annoying that so many cards have contactless nowadays. They always conflict: oyster/freedom pass, bank card, employee card. I'm happy that one credit card does not (yet?) support contactless!
Also, will banking apps (barclays) work on the factory Rom and even English Roms?
Do these phones get regular Android updates or is it all flashing etc?