For anyone looking for a bit of extra info to flash official global or developer rom, unlock bootloader to flash all unofficial roms, unbrick or just some info about the phone, have a look at these links..

Unboxing and review..

https://youtu.be/m9RFCvTA1BI

Flash global or developer rom to get rid of the vendor rom and malware..

https://youtu.be/4sqbVyCcjBw

Unlock bootloader to flash unofficial/3rd party roms..

https://youtu.be/yro0ZNXqfms

If things go south and you manage to bootloop or brick it..

https://youtu.be/NNhdQT9Ivu0

Not another thread... Why not just tag it on to this one. All the same Q & A's

that is cheap!
showing as £118.42

Shame its only bands 1,3 & 7 on 4G.

I believe O2 is supposed to use Band 20. From what I've read band 20 (800Mhz) is the better band for the signal to travel long distances and, as such, is used more widely outside of cities (where i happen to be), so even on 3, if you are outside of major conurbations you might struggle as they use both Band 20 and Band 3.

Edit: According to http://www.4g.co.uk Vodaphone uses Band 20 & Band 7, O2 is Band 20, 3 is Band 20 and Band 3 and EE is Band 3 and Band 7.

would this be a decent upgrade from a smart ultra 6? and would i have to change the software on it (rom)?

Yeah I already knew about the 4g issues, it was one of my worries, but since Im on EE its absolutely fine, besides my friend has it on 3 and gets 4G almost as much as I do, and the few people I know just use the dual SIM to buy data if they rlly need extra

Does anyone know the quickest this can be delivered? I live abroad and I leave in about a month and I can't afford to risk the 29-day delivery.

Sorry can't edit my comment above but just seen the DHL option at the bottom.

​Thanks buddy. I just downloaded the app and there are a number of sellers selling this phone, some as cheap as £104.

If you would be so kind as to link it? I would be very careful with far east sellers, alot of knockoffs flying about, AliExpress is in my opinion a very safe bet compared to some 'private' sellers out there. This is extremely cheap and I think you probably mean the slightly slower, 2GB version, which is about £100-110 usually

Yep I've just checked, it was the 2Gb version. If the one you posted is the cheapest then I'll go for it. Mrs spilt ice cream on my Note 3 :disappointed: so I'm after something similar

Thought so ^^ thats still a good phone but for the extra 20 quid you get so, so much more, if you get one I hope your missus keeps the ice creams away this time! :P I'm sure as hell getting a Xiaomi when I upgrade personally, cant wait!

f.y.I if you choose dhl you are more likely to have to pay import duties and taxes!

shame this seller is not delivering to Pakistan . :disappointed:
I want to send as gift for someone

In the headings it says hexa core but in the product details it says octa core,Which is it.

Just so people are aware, the warranty aliexpress 'offer' is not valid in UK
http://trade.aliexpress.com/issue/warranty/warrantyIntroduction.htm?spm=2114.12010108.1000016.9.1vDG3V&warrantyType=exchangeOnly

You are more than likely to get stung for duty and/or 'admin' charges, if you use options like DHL, FedEx etc. It is a good idea to have a chat with the seller and ask how the package will be marked.

The lower price is due to exchange rate. Also, if you use the app it seemingly cuts out the default charge for the warranty, which the sellers have been unable to remove/avoid from the web listings. IIRC you also get a $4 code or rebate for using the app. Alternatively, if you want to go the desktop route - go through Quidco or TCB to get some cashback.

It will be in your interest to head to this active thread where you will get some sensible advice.

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Original-Xiaomi-Redmi-Note-3-Pro-Snapdragon-650-Hexa-Core-5-5-3GB-RAM-32GB-ROM/32597684693.html?spm=2114.30010308.3.19.tKvykj&ws_ab_test=searchweb201556_7,searchweb201602_3_10037_10017_10032_10040,searchweb201603_11&btsid=5e8e6673-27c5-49cf-8cef-997e16606f4d
DHL (approx 4 days delivery)+ no customs guarantee, but obviously you will pay more

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Original-Xiaomi-Redmi-Note-3-Pro-Snapdragon-650-Hexa-Core-5-5-3GB-RAM-32GB-ROM/32597684693.html?spm=2114.30010308.3.19.tKvykj&ws_ab_test=searchweb201556_7,searchweb201602_3_10037_10017_10032_10040,searchweb201603_11&btsid=5e8e6673-27c5-49cf-8cef-997e16606f4d
DHL (approx 4 days delivery)+ no customs guarantee, but obviously you will pay more

A couple of layman questions; I've seen loads of posts regarding which bandwidth it will work with. Is this referring solely to 4G? If so, I assume this phone will work on any 3G network.

Also, does Aliexpress (and also gearbest etc) honour the warranties? Is there some changes I'll need to make (outside the norm) to work properly in the UK as it's an import?

It is a hexacore Snapdragon 650, I believe what they mean is they have dual quad core CPUs in there so they're calling it octacore, but in terms of Snapdragon, it is 6 cores, not 8. Still much better than quad core tho ^^

It works on all 3G networks, yes, 4G is the only issue regarding connectivity,and only then for some

The seller will mark it as a gift and a cheap mp3 or something, hence avoiding the tax, they have done it for years and years, you will not pay tax on this, I can pretty much guarantee it, they are so good at doing it now the tax is basically negligible on Chinese imports

The warranty isn't in the UK, I will take that off the title, only in USA, Russia and a few others, but they do offer a 60 day returns policy and if you pay using PayPal you can still make a dispute, I had no warranty with a Chinese import, and 7 months later PayPal still refunded me

I have been a long time user of Xiaomi phones and Chinese resellers,. Eternal Team will ship this with their custom rom and will not ship a factory sealed box. You will therefore have to flash a stock rom when you receive the device otherwise it will include stuff you do not want.

Alt Top-One on Ali is a little more expensive but excellent comms and set up plus will let you buy a new factory sealed and stock rom device if thats your bag. I have personally dealt with Top one and have had excellent service. Just bare in mind the 6+ hrs time difference between the uk and china when communicating but Top one also has a whats app account which is provided should you need to speak with them which i thought was a nice touch

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/342812

If you want to check UK bands with Chinese phones then this site is pretty handy.

http://willmyphonework.net/

This site shows Xiaomi is compatible for 4G with:

3
EE
Vodafone
BT Mobile
FreedomPop
Go Mobile
ID Mobile
Post Office Mobile
Virgin Mobile

No o2, that's about it for major carriers ^^ good news for most, this is only for 4G btw, mobile signal 3G works on all

That's the issue that puts me off. If I was buying a cheaper handset I would accept this but for me, £120 is a lot of money to risk without a proper 12 month warranty.

Thanks for the super-quick reply by the way

Not at all, I'm killing time when I should be studying for my pending doom (aka exam xD)

It is an issue, I would rather have one, however PayPal will no doubt protect you, imo PayPal basically gives you a free warranty on anything you buy through them, like I said, my chinese imports have been refunded before thru them

Does the seller in your deal even accept PayPal?

If you order by credit card you should be able to get a refund from your credit card provider using Section 75. I think this even applies if its your credit card that's tied to your paypal account, but don't quote me on that.

It does not apply through Paypal on a CC, if you use a credit card you are covered from £100 to (I believe) several thousand quid, so you're more than covered and you can make a claim against your credit card provider.

This particular site does not, however sites such as eglobalcentral and others do, if you want to use paypal shop around :smiley:

So, you just lied to the poster above RobertM0215 and fed him your usual deceitful nonsense.

Who needs counselling when you got HUKD?

Yeah section 75 claims will probably fail if its a CC used through paypal, although not under all circumstances but I would still avoid this method.

Section 75 is stronger than paypals own claim system as its a legal requirement.

I prescribe that you go back to studying for your exams because they will not tolerate lies and will label you as an epic FAIL.

As for counselling - I have no experience and only an observation to offer: you are clever but act like an over-eager puppy trying to please everyone and will say anything by twisting and skewing facts just so you can get some credence for your deals - but for what purpose? I don't know.

You can babble and insult all you want, I'm sticking around to ask genuine questions about a deal I posted, the same phone got 1100 degrees for £7 more so I thought people might be interested

If you wanna psycho analyse me while I answer other people, free country, whatever, but I think you can consider this conversation over :smiley: have a great day while you attempt to belittle others to make yourself feel better. I will not respond to you again.

Very true, I will actually include this in the description, thanks very much, basically safeguards you and makes this purchase alot safer!

Do you ever answer questions?

Why did you lie to the poster by saying that the seller accepts PayPal and offering YOUR fake guarantee that DHL will not impose any customs duty???

Finally, an actual question, that I can answer

I presumed they took PayPal and shoulda checked, but it is not a life changing mistake, especially as Paypal blocks Section 75 anyways. I did not once say 'they take paypal', I merely presumed. And then altered that presumption when I actually checked, advised other sites like eglobalcentral for paypal, and said 'Use a Credit Card'

If you look back a few comments someone actually states that AliExpress guarantee no customs using DHL, its just a sped up delivery service, so you shouldn't pay the extra tax. That person was not me, I merely repeated that you're probably fine using a quicker delivery service, just as you are paying standard delivery (which is free)

To be fair we should all legally be paying tax on them no matter what delivery service we use, there is risk involved with this but these companies are very good at covering phones as gifts and cheap mp3s and the like

Even with tax this has flagship quality specs at a half, or even third, of the price

I did not lie, or offer an actual guarantee, how could I, I am not the seller, I just gave my opinion on my deal.

Considering you have only ever posted 3 deals, one which went cold and 2 which didn't even hit 'Hot' (100 degrees) I don't think you're qualified to tell me what I can and can't say. Now please, either leave me alone or ask useful questions, or I will be forced to ignore you

How good is this compared to a Galaxy s4?
Like, is it a noticeable upgrade or only a small step up?

It is a good start by admitting that you lied or 'presumed'.

A crazy good upgrade

1GB more RAM, way faster CPU, much better graphics, battery almost twice as big, .5'' bigger Full HD screen, camera better by 3MP, etc etc...

Much better yes :smiley:

Seriously the best phone ive ever owned and one of the cheapest! Get bootloader unlocked then install xiaomi.eu miui 8 then you're all golden. If i lost or broke this one id buy a replacement instantly.
Battery easily lasts 1 day if not 2

So, is there definitely a need to install a mod or something on this phone? You can't simply just use it out of the box in the UK?

^possibly. Not sure what rom this comes with ie Chinese, global or maybe the vender rom i brought mine from gearbest and was all in English but the Chinese rom and worked fine out the box.

Get it from TopOne in Aliexpress, no need to do anything with it when it arrives as they already flash the global ROM for you

You can but it will have Chinese custom ROM, you have to flash it to get to global, chinese ROM often contains adware and perhaps seller built spyware, global ROM much safer. You can do it yourself or go to someone like TopOne in Ali express and pay a little more :smiley:

Would anyone know if you can record good quality phone calls on this phone?
If so, how would you go about it without having to root it?
If not, what phones would recommend for phone calls recording, please?
Thanks

Hi. Yes it has a recording call facility, but never used it , just saw it on a menu. Had this for 3 months now with global rom and its brilliant!

O2 is now rolling out another band, which I occasionally (very occasionally) pick up.

This is "charge back". I had to threaten Gearbest with this one time. Refund was done at once (Paypal was pretty useless online, though calling them they advised me to do this).

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/visa-mastercard-chargeback

Does this phone with its custom rom allow Android Pay? Anyone using it with one? Or the Barclaycard contactless app?

Hi
Thanks for replying
Would you be willing to check it for me, as it is a deal breaker for me, the most important function.
From research I've done so far, is that whether you can record phone calls or not is to do with the phone and possibly android version.
Thanks

No on both accounts. Not only does it require NFC for android pay which this phone does not have, even if it did have android pay a custom rom involves the bootloader to be unlocked, circumventing security that android pay requires and does not work on a rooted phone.

guys, it's confusing as I read many comments regarding the rom installed some said to get the sealed box do it yourself, some said to get the global one (not done by all sellers) so what's the best option

For those interested, I would say with 95% certainty that if you use DHL you WILL pay VAT and Import duty as well as their fee.

Z3 or not z3....how would that compare! Does it do everything the same or better (apart from being "waterproof !')

The Miui 7 ROM (my daughter's Mi4C) is Chinese and English only, but the English is perfect with no trace of any Chinese in there; I'm sure that Miui 8 will be the same. I have never bothered with the unofficial EU ROM as this works perfectly (If it hadn't, I'm sure that there would have been constant complaints). I accidentally bought a couple of these phones (don't ask) and one came in English and the other in Chinese, so you will need an Android phone to compare [for language changing purposes] with if it comes with Chinese on it!).

I use giffgaff (o2) so if I bought this it's no more 4g?

Chargeback is not Section 75, did you even read your own link.

When charged, probably total circa £35 import fees applicable to this item. Import fees for items with value to circa £135 via couriers comprise of VAT (currently 20%) plus the courier's admin charge. DHL admin charge I believe is £11.
https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty
http://www.dhl.co.uk/en/express/customs_support/duties_taxes/duties_taxes_receivers.html

Using DHL is a near guarantee to get stung for import duty.

Yes, but could it be time to move to a better network? :smirk: Some amazing SIM Only deals out there at the moment.

​believe Pakistan Customs prohibit phones and tablets

Ok appreciate everyone's input but a few conflicting bits of info going on here, especially regarding the duties.

Absolutely agree. My DIL's Note 3 PRO came in 10 days from Aliexpress by free post. I mean, what's the problem with waiting 10 days to more or less guarantee no extra payments?

guys I cancelled my order which I did last night please advise if this seller is good someone used already ? I was after grey color which seems expensive with other sellers but here so cheap..................thanks in advance

Can someone confirm if these have NFC support? GSM Arena isn't very helpful :smirk:

no NFC-

I have this phone and can confirm it's very good for the price, the only thing I ask OP is please don't compare the camera quality being better purely based on the number of MP's :wink:

Dark grey in 16gb/2gb here for £99.61 if interested, I bought one from same seller, came within 12 days flashed with global rom

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Redmi-Note-3-Pro-Snapdragon-650-Redmi-Note3-1080P-2G-16G-5-5-Screen-4050mAh-FDD/1986585_32641719341.html

​It doesn't.

Hi,

As someone said, there is a lot of conflicting info here. I have been using this phone for around 3 months now (though i got it from gearbest) and here are my 2 cents:

- 4g Does not work on vodafone (at least in london. Works on 3 tho
- miui is quite good in my opinion, although i had to flash global atable rom as gearbest had an installed a different rom than the latest global stable rom before sending.
- the package had been open when received presumably to install the rom
- miui gets an update almost every other week(stable rom)
- phone itself is great, no lag, fingerprint always works, battery life better than most.phones
- i believe what somebody else has said above, if u use dhl,u are almost sure to get customs duty.

Ifsomeone has any specific questions, will be happy to try and answer...

Oh, and the camera is not the greatest....good in sunlight, but struggles badly in low ligHt or even indoors...

No NFC.

Ok, so what is the camera quality like then? :wink:

Camera is not the greatest...not the worat mind you, but if the camera is one of ur primary reasons for buying a new phone, ypu will be happier staying away from this one...not trying to ruffle any feathera, but thats my opinion.

Check post 112 and 129 on this thread for picture samples

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/original-xiaomi-redmi-note-3-pro-prime-snapdragon-650-hexa-core-5-5-3gb-ram-32gb-2456807?page=3#comments

Can confirm, mine turned up this morning, marked as 20 dollar MP3 player, so no import tax.

How dare you suggest any import duty? The OP has meellion+ degree heat on all of his deals and is a very likey-liked member of this community!!! How very dare you suggest that he is anything but right? He knows everything, period.

just remember to factor in DHLs admin fee of £10 - I now prefer to wait a little longer and use normal post.

Other half has this phone too, agree with everything above although can't vouch for Voda 4g, ROM was the same from gerbest and had to flash global rom. MIUI is good for those who like to tweak, but a bit more in depth than straight android, not difficult, but just more settings to choose from.
Think you are being a bit harsh on the camera, yes low light could be better but that is not entirely unusual in a lot of phones, but in daylight think its decent, had some really good shots.

Which is better between xiaomi redmi note 3, LG g3, motororla G4(4g edition)
Camera is poor in xiamo redmi note 3 as compared to lg g3 and motorla G4 ...but rest all features are good
LG is bit expensive but very good screen resolution.
3gb ram in redmi but in moto g4 it is 2gb...
rest all of the features are same in moto g4 and redmi except camera 16 mp (note 3) vs 13 (moto g4)
which is better to buy between note 3 and moto G4 for phone camera, durabililty, less heat etc

As a long time Xiaomi Note LTE user i can say, their batteries are poor. I have 3rd battery already. Every single one after 8- 10months can't last more than one day with medium usage. So fixed batteries from Xiaomi are not for me :wink: Apart of battery Xiaomi makes great phones.

it will work fine on 3g i have one and i use tesco sim (o2 in other words) so no 4g. When i use it on internet it uses hspa+ which i believe is 3.5g and pages load in seconds much much faster than my last phone also from china but did'nt accsess h+ only h (hspa) hope this helps

? It is superior to Section 75. I was trying to be helpful to anyone that might be interested. Clearly you are not (first ever nasty reply; feels good).

For me none of them lol. I personally went for the Meizu MX4Pro due to the much better camera (Sony 20.7mp), NFC (not sure how much I will use Android Pay but better to have it than not imo), higher res screen and real HiFi DAC. HOWEVER, as it's only 16GB internal memory and NO sd card I appreciate it isn't for everyone (plus Xiaomi seem to support their phones better). But at 107 quid on ebay currently it certainlt is a lot of phone for the money.

http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=6815&idPhone2=7863

Fair point, camera phones are not usually known for their low light performance...i have yet to use one that can performs satisfactorily under low light.

Having said that tho it is still a weak point for this phone...i moved to this from a xperia z2 and the difference was noticeable...might not be a fair comparison as z2 was top end when it came out, but its still a 3 year old phone...

I have no idea what flashing a rom is, would it be better if I stayed away from this, because I need it to work in the UK out of the box?

It would work as it arrives, though it will be preferable to flash the latest stable global rom before putting anything sensitive like ur banking app etc. Its not that hard tbh and u can find good guides at xda taking u step by step...

​Na, tried the rest, all crap where I live.

i've had my phone for 16 weeks now had in seeled box with xiaomi official Chinese rom have left the Chinese rom on you can choose english or chinese as language when you first put phone on had to put google services (play store etc) on myself easy to do here's link how to http://en.miui.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=198204&highlight=google%2Bplay%2Bstore i have got rid of most of the chinese apps with no problems basicaly if you can hold and drop app into bin it has prooved no problem getting rid of them there are some you can't drag to bin they are mi apps and other than notifications of updated or update availiable they cause no probs

The official hukd phone

I liked your comment for your action on XDA - good job!

anything like the Meizu MX4Pro but that does take sd cards?

anyone confirm Natwest app will work on this device ?

Do i have to get rid of my Orange San Francisco now then?!
http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/pay-as-you-go-orange-san-francisco-763425

It's a bit of a one-off, unfortunately. Even though the design is 18 months old the screen still has the highest resolution screen of any on the market AFAIK. Even the MX5 Pro has a lower screen res. and that is considerably more expensive. The MX4Pro does have OTG support but I realise that isn't as convenient as an integral SD card.

Thanks for that, didn't know about the admin fee, doesn't exactly make it clear in the listing, looks like standard delivery is your best bet for both money and avoiding customs


You can pay a little more from a different Aliexpress seller and get a flashed internation ROM, still a fantastic phone despite the eww Chinese ROM pre installed

Only very, very slightly better screen than the LG G3, 4 or 5, barely noticeable, literally like a few ppi ^^ but yes still a fantastic screen

As as current user of an LG G3, I think it is an absolutely fantastic phone, QHD display, 2GB RAM (3GB for EU version), good battery life, fast software support from LG, for me anyways, and rlly no issues, still super fast on Marshmallow. However I love this G3 and I still want to upgrade to one of these Chinese import phones, particularly Xiaomi as they have flagship specs at a fraction of the price.

I would say price-performance these phones win hands down against pretty much any other phone, the only time I would buy UK phones now is if I got hit hard by customs, or if I found a crazy good contract deal in the UK

I think the G3 is outstanding but this is still an upgrade imo

I think in terms of the Moto G4 I prefer the LG G3 anyways, looks and feels rlly nice, much better screen, altho the Moto does have better Adreno at 405 and a nicer Snapdragon, the LG feels so smooth in usage and I prefer LG as a company over Moto, I owned a Moto previously and the specs did not translate into fast performance in the long term. Thats my opinion tho

I would rank them Xiaomi, LG G3, Moto G4, thats just me

Can anyone tell me how to pronounce Xiaomi please?

lol, I still have that phone somewhere in my house :smiley:

If you read here the BBC says that there is no actual English pronunciation decided, you can say it as SHOW-mee, or Zigh-oh-mee, or Sigh-oh-mee, etc...

Its like Nike and Nike-eee all over again ^^

Gutted...I'm on Tesco mobile. Anyone know of any other great spec phones similar to this where the 4G bandwidth covers Tesco Mobile on 800Mhz ???

I am not sure, but I have found will all these chinese phones that if you arent too technical like myself the easiest thing to do is just download a launcher. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.launcher&hl=en_GB

You could always just settle for 3G? xD I guess not haha, there are many Chinese phones out there,use the website someone mentioned earlier, http://willmyphonework.net/

You can research chinese import phones and use that to check if they connect ^^ hope that helps kickstart the search a little

Thanks for the link ..appreciated

I have this phone but it came with a modified International ROM, which apparently has spyware so I’ve been reluctant to use it as my main phone. Unlocking the boot loader and flashing a new ROM has been a nightmare. You have to register with Xiaomi and request an unlock code, which can take up to 10 days. Even with the Unlock code I'm still getting problems.

I wish I had paid a little bit extra and had an international ROM. It looks a good phone for price but be warned if it comes with a locked boot loader or a modified ROM and you're not that much of a techie then you'll find it a nightmare with all the reading forums and YouTube video's to get answers.

Had 4 of them, kept 1, still use it as a backup - first android was the t mobile pulse, which was a huawei.

This vs my Samsung Galaxy s5? Particularly the camera

Same HD screen, both take SD

This has a bigger screen, faster CPUs, much better Snapdragon, 1GB more RAM, and a much bigger battery than the S5, better Bluetooth, much better graphics, but the Xiaomi is currently locked to Android 5 I believe, which is a bummer

In terms of the camera both are 16MP but from what I hear Xiaomi aren't great in low light pictures, so Samsung probably just edges that one, but I think on the whole Xiaomi is a much better phone, with a more than ample camera at 16MP

UMI super has 800mhz apparently

i bought mine from different seller 16 weeks ago used dhl delivery phone cost £162 with delivery seller put value of $110 so i was charged £25 custom vat and dhl admin charge so £187 in total this seller says towards bottom of page they normally declare item as phone or tablet valued at $69

Paid £160 for the 16GB version. Good specs for price regardless, this price is super good! hot damn!

no nfc

If you took my post the wrong way then I apologize.

Chargeback is not superior, section 75 is a law, and any payment comes from the credit card company not the retailers bank. Chargeback is a service provided by the card companies, great though if you bought with a debit card or its a sub £100 purchase.



That was always my understanding but the other seller (Top-One) linked to in this thread seem to claim otherwise in their FAQ.

Show (as in shower) - mee

I paid £ 24 duty to DHL for this phone from gearbest, china

Has anyone ordered from the Gearbest EU warehouse before? I see it available from there for £140. Would rather order from there if delivery is quicker and no customs guaranteed.

Ahhh the memories

The king is dead long live the king

Well actually no one knows :P I tagged a BBC article a page or so up ^^


Since when has NFC been a necessity?1 xD you're right tho, no nfc *sobs at the thought of an NFC-less life*

Gearbest EU is very mixed, alot of people say there stuff never arrived, or was super late, or was fake, just look at their reviews, not great

Personally I have bought 16 things from Gearbest, 12 from EU 4 from China and they've all been perfect and on time! ^^ probs worth the extra money as no one rlly seems to know exactly the customs law surrounding DHL

Gearbest EU is very mixed, alot of people say there stuff never arrived, or was super late, or was fake, just look at their reviews, not great

Personally I have bought 16 things from Gearbest, 12 from EU 4 from China and they've all been perfect and on time! ^^ probs worth the extra money as no one rlly seems to know exactly the customs law surrounding DHL

Is this the same one from Ali express that got a lot of heat around a month ago?

Not sure whether to go for this or the Honor 7

Yes, the very same, except this time slightly cheaper so I thought I would post it ^^

Got the Redmi Note 3 Pro, slightly better processor I believe, fantastic for the money, great screen, great battery, smooth etc etc. Came with sellers ROM which had Trojan, managed to put official ROM on but took some doing, go for sealed box if it's possible. I didn't pay any duty or vat, took about three weeks or more arrive, so slow.... But worth the wait.

Xiaomi:

Bigger screen (by 0.3'')
Faster Snapdragon (by 200Mhz)
Better graphics (Adreno 510 beats Mali T628 according to here )
Metal design
Much bigger battery (4000mA)
Better fingerprint scanner (takes 0.3 secs)
Facial recognition
Better Bluetooth

Honor 7:

Bigger (8 core vs 6) processor with double the data bus
Can come in 64GB internal storage
Better camera (20MP vs 16MP) and front camera (8MP vs 5MP)
NFC
Slightly lighter

They both:

Are 1080p
Are very powerful
Have 3GB RAM
Android 5
Non removable battery
Take SD (Xiaomi takes SD in Dual SIM slot)

I think these are very similar and unless you desperately need the better camera or NFC, I would save £50-100 and get the Xiaomi, same RAM, still very powerful, better graphics, etc...

Thanks for helping me out! Only thing is I'm unsure on getting it from AliExpress, especially the customs charge if they do charge me, and if they do charge me it would be an extra £30 or so extra right?

Not at all :smiley:

Yes it looks like the customs would be an extra £20-50, depending what they labelled the item as

If you can get it for a little more from an EU warehouse that would solve the issue, thats what I would do personally, if not then most people get through customs without being stung by it, as they package it as a gift, so ^^

Not another thread... Why not just tag it on to this one. All the same Q & A's

Because it is a separate deal, the same phone, a different AliExpress seller, and a different (cheaper) price

It deserves it's own deal, there has been reference to that deal several times already, people know where to go, or can ask here :smiley:

Why don't we all just have one big thread for phones then and have a million comments xD

Many people have said that DHL almost guarantees customs, but then other sellers of the same phone have claimed that DHL is customs free, I personally don't see how it means you get customs, but I don't think anyone truly knows xD

Have a look for Gearbest EU stock and see what the price is, if its too much then I would personally go for DHL, gotta be in it to win it ^^

If you order via DHL then you WILL have to pay import tax, DHL is very strict on that and will email you to pay the import tax before they deliver it.

If I pay with a Post Office credit card will it work out cheaper than PayPal?

Right, that seems to clear it up I think, do NOT use DHL unless you're willing to pay customs on the phone

Wait for standard delivery or buy from an EU warehouse

142 from Gearbest EU with delivery insurance and shipping with 4-7 business days.

Can you link please, so I can put it in the description to give people an EU alternative?

LOL. You clearly haven't owned phone.

Coming from an LG G3 to this the battery is in a different league, way way better on the note 3 pro prime

How old are you, 6? Jeez, what is with HUKD these days, a minefield of trolls and insults

It was my honest opinion, an s4 is a 3 year old phone with outdated specs and pretty worse all round specs....well, everywhere xD

I honestly don't see how you can even comment on that considering all I did was list specifications, like...wow, some people have too much time

That's good to hear man :smiley: my LG G3 is pretty good battery wise, it'll last the day, but Im glad this bigger battery does actually translate into more on time ^^

Does the factory sealed come with Play Store?

Does the factory sealed come with Play Store?

The Redmi Note 3 is a good phone, I have it and can say that it is very quick and responsive and the battery definitely lasts all day.. unfortunately it doesn't support the main 4G LTE band 800mhz on FDD-LTE, which all UK operators use.. It supports bands 1800, 2100 and 2600.

No it does not, if you use standard delivery you probably won't pay customs, if you use DHL you almost certainly will, if you want you can pay £142 from Gearbest EU and avoid the hassle, but most people slip through the net using standard delivery :smiley:


The international ROM does I think, the custom Chinese one you have to load Play store on? Not 100% on that, just off the top of my head, if you're not a techie definitely pay a few quid more for international ROM :smiley:

Very much already said alot, altho you are right to point it out, in the description I put all the networks that get at least one band of 4G for this phone, actually the majority of major carriers are covered

Great phone. Happy to recommend.

Sent efficiently from my Xiaomi Note 3.

Unfortunately they are not as in the UK as we use FDD-LTE . I have tried it with EE, 3, o2 and Vodafone and couldn't get a 4g signal on any of them as I've said they use the 800mhz frequency. See

I also have the Honor 7 and I can recommend this phone and verify that it can pick up the UK 4g signals, although the benchmark score on the Honor 7 is 25% less and of course the battery is much better on the Redmi Note 3.

I have ordered the Apollo Lite which satisfies my thirst for battery performance, all UK LTE band support, 4GB ram, 32gb rom, fast charge support and an impressive Antutu score of 91851.. for £40 extra than this offer.

Ordered Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 Pro Prime with Official Global Firmware a week ago .. I have used standard free shipping. DHL is risky one as you can easily catch up to pay for duty...

Finger crossed !!

Use the site Willmyphonework.net

The major carriers use more than one band, for example EE also use Band 3 1800, and Band 7 2600, so you would get signal

My dad has one of these on EE and gets 4G like any other phone, non stop, I'm afraid you are mistaken :smiley: see the description, I checked out every single network and wrote down 4G ready ones there ^^

Sorry for the late reply, iPad died on me.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro @Gearbest EU

Thanks!

the item price is low but there is **** warranty charges from this seller even on mobile app, so useless I have cancelled the previous order also still not get any reply, so not so good seller unlike others

Does the gold version look tacky?

Apologies, Yes, you are correct on the EE / BT Mobile and 3 - they use the 1800mhz signal but as it is not that good a signal for internal coverage indoors; 800mhz seems to be the preferred frequency for better indoor / overall coverage.

The 1800mhz frequency may be great for the larger cities like London, where the network operators have invested in their network, but for the majority of people who live out of the cities they are going to struggle getting 4G. I live in Nottingham and I couldn't get 4G on the Redmi Note 3 but have no problems on the Honor 7 on all networks.

This is a great fone but you should also consider the Doogee F5 available on Amazon for £105.I think it's an amazing fine and you have better buyer protection from Amazon.

No way!

​nope looks great

That I cant comment on, I am a Londoner myself and have no issues :/

​factory sealed unit does not have play store but you can just install it. there is a guide here

http://en.miui.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=198204

its worth noting, the international ROM does not exist there is no official global ROM for this device yet as its under test and due about august. the miui community have made a global beta ROM but this will NOT be what vendors install. they will install some bloatware and its more difficult to get back to stock miui.

its discussed in my link. although you might have to install the play store on a sealed box unit, it will be much more secure and stable after you take five mins to install it on the Chinese ROM which also has English as an option so no loss.

​only o2 rely on band 20 in the UK for 4G, its more common in europe tbh. in the UK we operate on all three 800mhz 1800mhz and 2600mhz. EE mainly use 1800mhz though as its a happy medium of range and bandwidth ( the higher the MHz frequency the more bandwidth = faster speeds and more people on the one mast. 800mhz is mainly used for rural areas although networks have not bothered to utilise it apart from three. so if your on 3 you would maybe find in rural areas you won't hold onto a 4G signal as well as a device with band 20, in reality I can't say I have seen any difference though due to the lack if 800mhz transmitters in use. Vodafone, EE and three are all good to go with this phone, o2 do not buy it.

there is a Taiwanese variant of this phone with band 20 unlocked so the guys at XDA have hope they can port over the baseband info from that device. its only just out so might take a while and can't find any Chinese vendor who can obtain the Taiwanese version. hardware wise its the same so its just a software band unlock which could be possible fingers crossed.

if anyone else has questions just drop me a message

here is a quicker briefing on LTE bands from EE

https://community.ee.co.uk/t5/EE-Mobile-Network/LTE-frequency-bands/td-p/272040

I have been using this phone for the last 1 month and the battery backup is something I am sure you will be bragging about. Mine is the Indian version though with Snapdragon 650 processor with Adreno 510 gpu. :smiley:
Camera is just about OK for 16 MP and is not exceptional. Dont expect S7 quality for this price. Supports slow motion video capture using google camera app. charges quite fast with QC 2.0. its not QC 3.0.

Edit: get the white version if you can. mine is black/grey but still not as good as white. avoid gold as it doesn't look as good as it is in pictures.

Got mine today and just flashed global ROM on it. What locale do you guys set? Doesnt have UK or England
Thinking might just unlock bootloader and have some real fun with it :stuck_out_tongue:

Umi Super perhaps.

This IS the snapdragon 650 and adreno 510 xD yeah many say the camera is average ^^ ok man thanks for the advice! :smiley:

Sorry if this has already been answered, but what do you specifically have to do in terms of the ROM when you get it?

I assume it doesn't come with stock android? Do I have to use Cyanmoed or whatever it's called? What's the specific problem with this phone out of the box?

Really want to get this but I'm scared lol

It depends where you are getting this from, if it's from a EU vendor all should be good. But if it's a Chinese vendor, apparently they include some spyware, so you have to install the Global Rom yourself.

Mate go for it. I'm getting a new work phone and my Moto G is still JUST ABOUT working (bloody slow though). Really trying to stop myself from buying this.

Apparently doesn't matter what you set it to, once sim goes in that's sets your time etc anyway, mines on Zimbabwe :stuck_out_tongue:

My Huawei y300 finally died on me after I hit it with a screwdriver, accidentally of course :innocent:. Last week of exams too, but I don't wanna have something with so much hassle and DOA :disappointed:

No it comes with custom Chinese ROM, often full of ads and/or spyware, so most people flash/pay for flash to get international ROM, which you can then easily install Google Play on

JUST....DO IT

You too :P me too man, got 2 exams left, doesn't stop this being a deal thooooo ^^

4 left for me, History is 2morrow aswell R.I.P me :confused:

I know it's made by xiaomi, but still somehow I have been burned pretty much everytime when I have bought a chinese phone.. have been loyal to motorola for the past 5years, but still somehow I get the odd chinese phone just because of the good prices & they always just die after a couple of weeks or even as soon as arriving.

if anyone is buying from aliexpress than i would advice you to pay in us dollars as it works out cheaper than paying in pound sterlings. i use nationwide and they always take out less than what i would have paid directly in pounds.

were they xiaomi phones?

xiaomi have no official international support/warranty.. caveat emptor

when they start officially selling their products internationally only then would i consider purchase, personally

p.s. no NFC kills the deal for me regardless

England are pitiful, what was that 2nd half...



Good advice! How do you do that?
If they're not Xiaomi's or you can't name the phone(s) then you're literally taking every phone made by a country with 1.3 billion people, and calling it rubbish, thats a tad unfair man :smiley: if you specifics I would love to hear it ^^

That is true, I don't upgrade for a while yet so I can wait, but please do bear that in mind

However, if you use a Credit card the card supplier is AS responsible as the supplier (Section 75) and they must give you a full refund if you can prove it is faulty within a reasonable time period

Also aliexpress offer 60 day returns and a refund if it never arrives, plus 2x what you paid if you get a fake! So you really are pretty well covered if you pay using a credit (NOT DEBIT) card

I feel your pain. Mine's rooted, on Marshmallow with a fair few tweaks, all the bloat removed and constantly on the Performance governor (so screen-on battery life is awful). It's more that the Moto G "locks up", it doesn't like too many applications and generally chokes with music + another task, juggling two apps or heavy things like Messenger, Chrome.

I'm waiting for mine but battled it out with the "is this really a practical purchase?" two weeks ago. I don't know if it is - but it'll sure as hell be a pleasure to use.

Its a bit dependant on which card you have, Halifax Clarity is a good one. Good info here;
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/overseas-card-charges

Exactly the same boat. It'll work fine for a few days without issue. Then I'll step out the office, click on directions and it just locks up for 5 minutes on Google Maps.

Then I look in the air, close my eyes and think "Why have I still got this piece of ****"

no.. they were some dooggy / some other brands , friend has a xiaomi phone and says its good. but still somehow I'm not comfortable even if it's an ok brand for chinese phone.

It's the best Chinese branded phone you can buy (arguably, some rate Huawei higher, I personally don't)

And aliexpress is like the Amazon of Far East electrical ecommerce, very reliable

You're the one at school still doing his exams :laughing:

From your comments, it's clear that you've never owned either phone, so quit trying to give advice to people because it's so wide of the mark.

Would this be any good as a gaming device for emulation?

Ive not rooted a phone before, whats it like out of the box?

If you buy Chinese ROM it apparently has alot of bloatware and ads, if you pay a little more/flash it yourself then you can get a standard international ROM and add Google play ^^

You can get that done for you, for a price, from like TopOne on aliexpress

my suggestion would be to buy this, once received, flash the Chinese dev ROM, take 5 mins to turn off the Chinese option in the ROM through settings and arrange your home screens. once done you will get weekly updates and the phone remains in English with the latest miui 8.

there is only two official channels of ROM for miui which is Chinese and Global both of which have Stable or Developer builds. stable will be the last stable version released and updated once every few months, developer will get weekly updates.

My bad there is a global ROM its miui 7 and not 8 as this is only on Chinese dev ROM. Anyway here is the link to see the sw versions. Chose either global or Chinese snapdragon at the top and then either stable or dev down the left side. Easy peasy.

http://en.miui.com/download-301.html#438

Bought one of these for my dad. He loves it. It has a shockingly bad camera, can't take a photo that isnt bad. He's got bad eyesight though. Has a huge battery so he doesnt notice the difference from his nokia so much. All round a success... But its not a phone I would recommend to a friend. If you write please and tankyou after your google searches go for it. It has a nice big screen

Does the one your dad have the mediatek or snapdragon processor ? The snapdragon has a 16mp camera and a soc that is much faster. The camera still isn't great but its not terrible, mediocre would best describe it

I got him the 16mp camera with 3gb of ram. Beyond that I'd have to look up the specs. It was the top of the line one. Made sure of that. Price difference is like £10-£20 for the top to the bottom so figured he'd want the best. It's a decent phone but the camera is seriously pants.

I am really surprised by that, many people I know who've had the latest phones have bought this and been so impressed

I've got an iphone 6 and before that a Samsung S3. They have/had nice cameras you could just point and click. Maybe I'm spoilt but this thing is fuzzy town even when holding still for 5 seconds.

I am genuinely worried now xD ok so the camera is par, nothing special

What about the screen quality? Colours, speed, any lag? good battery life, heat issues, etc...? If you dont mind

Decided to get the Honor 7, family wanted to treat me and it's about time lol :smiley:

Fantastic phone, I wonder what will be out in terms of great Chinese phones when I upgrade in 6 months ^^

I won't be upgrading for some time lol
Hopefully nothing too good, otherwise I'll feel jelly

anyone know how to buy without the warranty?

get a job as a postie and nick one in the post

showing as £124.35 here without DHL shipping?

None have a warranty (effectively), please correct me if I am wrong as mine turned up today with a SIM tray that refuses to open.

Depends how you bought it and through what payment system

Are you sure you haven't added a screen protector or case with it too?

Nope, payment method has no impact on warranty, may help getting a refund though. Purchased using Halifax Clarity from the earlier thread.

How does the 650 compare to the 808 processor?

​i agree with showmee as X usually make sound of SH
i remember 3 different ways I used to pronounce (hundai) (Yundaee) and now (hy-yundai) still not sure what real pronunciation is
but still hate them

I'm calling it Eggziomi.

freezed alittle, the op is trying his hardest to sell this phone, anyway mate sometimes it's better to post a deal and leave it be, no point arguing and arguing your case especially if you don't even know what you're talking about, and keep changing your mind and giving advice Willy nilly. it's a good specced phone. I would get one if I was on the market for one, but would not recommend it to everyone especially the less tech savvy people, they just need to go buy a moto g3 or the like, it will save them from headache and Chinamen Trojan spyware etc etc

i have to correct you i am running the Chinese stable rom had the phone for 16 weeks now and have had 9 or ten ota updates latest one last Thursday 7.3.6.0 LHOCNDD had my phone delivered factory sealed put google services (play store ect ) on myself no add-ware on it deleted most of the chinese apps one at a time only a few left now that cant be removed no problems what so ever other than notifications that apps have been updated or update available

screen quality is excellent colours are excellent speed brilliant no lag what so ever battery is excellent charge lasts me 3 to 4 days not a heavy user charge from 0% to 100% takes 2hrs 15 min i have no heat issues hope this helps you

For those of you that say the camera is bad in low light, install camera Zoom 6.1.8 and increase exposure until it takes a good picture. Works for me.

good to see more aliexpress,100% fine up to £14.99

I got a message from seller he said lowest value mark will be 45 dollars although I have requested to do 20 is 45 is ok to avoid charges, I guess I am dealing with some stupid moron

I just heard from the Vodafone Store staff that they are launching Smart Ultra 7 in July. Date not confirmed.
But below are the specs.
https://www.vodafone.com/content/devices/smart-ultra-7-en.html

guys please confirm is there custom charges if its mark as $45 or is it so minimal ?

Any goods imported into the UK over the value of £15 are liable to import VAT.

thanks mate

Unless marked as a gift in which case it's £36. $45 should not attract a charge.

I have used Halifax clarity and just checked the amount deducted was 120, so is pretty useless this time as xe.com showing is 116 and if you buy in Sterling is 118, so it's not always true paying in dollar is cheap, anyways looks like I am going to cancel the order

I didn't know that, thanks for the information

I have a redmi note 3 - whilst its a nice piece of hardware - the OS is pretty terrible.

MIUI is a weird version of android - and it often kills background tasks has lots of crapware and is a bit out of date with no updates.

Gearbest sold me a weird phone - locked bootloader and recovery. Without a very new desktop computer running windows 10 64bit - your not getting rid of this :disappointed:

I dont have access to a windows box.

Snapdragon 650 is better, it has better graphics (510 vs 418, significant increase)
Has been talk of the 808 overheating quite badly?
Also the 650 scores overall 8000 more on the Antutu score which rates it in general

So the 650 is the much better choice

Well, it does, as if you paid through, for instance, Paypal on a different site you get their buyer guarantee. And if you pay here using a credit card you get the Section 75 guarantee, which also covers refunds. Perhaps warranty was the wrong word from me tho

It completely matters ^^

Yes, this is liable for tax, end of, but most people end up paying nothing if they use standard delivery as they essentially smuggle it in as a cheap mp3 or something ^^

That sounds like quite the problem

Surely most PCs are able to run Win10 64 bit tho? xD like cmon, it doesnt take a beast to run 64 bit, just an average desktop

Anyone recommend a case / screen protector for it?

Nice find op, I bought this a few days ago, at £127, dint think it could get cheaper!

All depends what case you like, I bought the nillkin case and screen protector here: http://www.banggood.com/search/redmi-note-3/0-0-0-1-3-45-0-price-0-0_p-1.html?sortType=asc

Still kitkat based rom.. Your making us fools(Xiaomi)and there is no OS Update for many Xiaomi phones, 
Android N Developer Preview 3 is now out, and the launch date could be as soon as this summer.
for Redmi note 3G Resurrection Remix 5.6.9 (CM 13) Android 6.0.1  Custom Rom have more Features and Good USER INTERFACE!!!

I have bought two of these, one from Ebay which would not autofocus and the other from Aliexpress....to my horror, it wouldn't autofocus either. That is a huge coincidence. I got my refund from Ebay but I have had to open a dispute with the seller on Aliexpress...think I'm lying? I have a video on Youtube ...Redmi Note 3 autofocus....BEWARE!

Yeah, still making the same old mistake. Wasn't it Lei Jun who worked for Nokia and mentioned that from the very moment a company starts to neglect its customers it's the beginning of a fall?! Nokia, Moto, now Apple has a trough in sales, Xiaomi for sure decided to join them). Do not say that everything is for Chinese market, China Dev has no New York Cheesecake or Marshmallow either. My cellphone is on Android 5 for 2 years now. When earlier the lag between a new version of Google's OS and MIUI base OS was a year the situation seemed bad too. Now the lag is 2 years. Yay! Cheesecake to flash in 2020. Gogo Xiaomi!

where is this youtube video cant find it link please

as I see in all reviews, the critical failure factor is camera in low light, camera is not great.
is it really worth to buy xiomi note 3.

How about camera in moto 4g given that all features are same when we compare btween moto 4g and xiomi note 3..except 2gb vs 3gb, NFC etc
is it worth to buy moto 4g instead of xiomi note 3
the reason is i bought xiomi note 2 and it is quite hopelessphone...i use 3 netweork and lyca..batter drains up in 3 hours if you put mobile on..just it is 8 months old phone..but lot of problems.not sure...
hence before going ximomi iam thinking twice..please advise me

hi have a look at this the recording calls part is about half way through link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6yHZw5bLC0 hope this helps

This is the 3 pro, a different phone, the successor to the 3

Again, this is not the 3, it is the 3 pro, like the s7 and s7 edge

We have established that the camera is fine everywhere and crap in low light, which can be fixed using Zoom (app) or by illuminating whatever you're photographing

If you want a good camera on your phone, buy the Moto G

If you want a good phone attached to your camera, buy the Xiaomi 3 pro

I'd have been all over this if it wasn't for the substandard camera.

Sorry to be geeky but it's not 32GB ROM (read only memory). 32GB 'storage' would be more appropriate (even better would be stating the space left after the OS is installed (yeah i'm looking at you Samsung 0.o)).

Is this better than the ulefone power ?

I ordered the Global Firmware version ... Should I still install Global ROM myself?

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Original-Xiaomi-Redmi-Note-3-Pro-Prime-32GB-ROM-Official-Global-Firmware-Mobile-Phone-Snapdragon-650/311331_32672119908.html

Love these threads. At the start you get "this phone blows flagship phones out of the water", and then you read on and find:
- it doesn't do 4G on some networks
- the camera is crap
- it might come set up in Chinese and you have to figure out where the language settings are by having another phone with the same OS version to compare
- you probably need to install a custom ROM (a task way beyond the average mobile phone user)
- it doesn't have NFC
- you can't use banking apps or Android Pay.
- you've either got to have it illegally smuggled into the country or pay about 30% more in import charges
- there's no proper warranty

Have I missed anything?
Smart Ultra 6 is sounding a much more attractive bet.

￡123.68 when I look.

-the camera is only poor in low light and can easily be solved using Zoom or extra lighting
If the average camera is a deal breaker then you need a camera, not a phone

-It works on 4G on all major carriers except o2, who are also (apparently) rolling out a new band that'll work soon anyways, besides, again, 3G will not kill you
-It will not come set up in Chinese, it will come with a language choice at setup, like pretty much any smartphone ever made
-You can buy the pre flashed phone for about £20 more, or do it yourself, yes, that is just something you have to do with import phones, not just this one
-NFC is not a godsend, its only been kicking about on the phone market for a few years and suddenly its a necessity? I've never even used it xD but yes, it does not have NFC
-Its not rlly smuggled so much as, you buy it, they deliver it as a gift, thats it, Im sure many people here go abroad and buy cigarettes or booze, or whatever, or maybe don't pay a TV licence and watch iplayer, that is the same thing
-You won't need to pay the charges if you get standard delivery/ if you buy it from an EU warehouse
-Android Pay, again, is not a necessity, it is contactless cards on your phone...just use your contactless card!
-If you use a credit card you are covered by the bank and can claim a refund under Section 75, plus there is a moneyback guarantee if it doesn't arrive, Aliexpress are very reliable

The only cons I see there are, it has an average camera that is easily fixed via apps and lighting, you will get 4G on almost all major carriers, you can easily choose English like any other phone and just buy the international ROM, and Im sure most people survive without NFC and Android Pay

I agree completely that its a bummer that there is no UK outlet atm, or that there is no actual warranty, however credit cards protect you as much as a warranty if you pay through them so at least theres that.

Specs wise this phone is miles better than the Ultra 6 and if you can get it from China, to the UK, without import tax, and get an international ROM on it, you're laughin'.

This deal may not be for you, not every deal is for everyone. But if you buy a Smart Ultra 6, you are paying a similar price for a worse, UK phone

Select standard edition

Pick your colour

Total including shipping: $178.49, which is £121.67

Idk where that 2 quid is from mate ^^ but its still cheaper than previously if so

-Still does 4g on most networks
-Camera is not crap, it just isn't the best
-Will only come in Chinese of you order it from a Chinese warehouse
-Installing a ROM really is not hard, there are guides that are fool proof. If you are not "geeky" enough to do that, don't buy it.
-NFC is not vital and essential for everyone, just preference
-You don't have to pay for import charges if you order from a EU warehouse
-There is warranty, while you may say that it isn't "proper" you still have it

Yes there is a risk getting these chimes phones, but then again there is always a risk with anything. People should do their research or ask questions like many have done in this thread, and it still does blow flagship phones out of the water lol. This is around £130, while flagships cost £400+ brand new excluding warranty. That's a minimum of £270 saved, which imo amazing, because I can't afford flagship phones with bloatware, and unnecessary features that I can buy something that is cheaper and does the job 10x better.

For a price would look for a Samsung note 3 in good condition

Hmmm I don't think you need to, but this would be a better question for DatAlbino. But I don't think you need to because in the description of the link you sent, the language English is available and it says it gets OTA updates, all should be good :innocent:

Samsung phones have too much bloatware, like a lot of unnecessary cr*p

what i recommend is that you install and run malware bytes to check for any spyware or trojans i say this because the global rom is still installed by the third party seller,xiaomi do not supply it already installed and on another thread someone found a trojan and could not remove it. I ran it on mine and it found 2 p.u.p's ( possible unwanted programme ) pups can be genuine apps and the 2 it found on mine were genuine mi apps so no problem

I dont have too much experience with phone malware, glad for your help!

Like he said I would search using malware bytes

You can also do the global ROM yourself if you know how it rlly isn't that hard, and there are certainly foolproof guides to doing it online

There is no official global firmware atm, so it is likely a custom seller ROM, so I would check it :smiley:

Just got mine today and I'm not kidding when I say it's an amazing phone. The quality and speed/specs of it are a steal for the price. I'm on Vodafone and the browsing speeds on this are faster than iv seen on a phone ever. It's big in the hand mind and thin so don't drop it. Or like most phones these days it will break.

Anyone contemplating one of these just do it. You will be amazed at it.

The Gearbest link says "stock in China". Does anyone know how to get an EU option?

what i would recommend is you install CM13, done then it is exactly the same as every other phone running CM13

but with a fantastic battery and a fingerprint thingy

They are always nice after receiving them.. but use it for a couple of weeks and report back!

Have you peeled off the plastic covering the lens?

If you have, then select a different focus option in the settings. The focus will reset itself after that. I was playing around with the camera settings when I first got one and ended up with the blurred mess that you have because I pressed the wrong thing. Just reset the focus.

Also using a different camera app eg. Open Camera, Camera Zoom FX, will reset the focus. Have you tried that? The stock camera app is crap anyway. I can't imagine why people would use it.

No need to return it so soon!

You don't own this phone and you've never owned one, so why are you constantly making posts about things that you have no experience of? It's clear that you don't have much of a clue what you're talking about.

Copy and pasting from stuff you've read elsewhere on the internet (and not properly understanding it) isn't a sign of expertise.

Only the other week you were bleating on in the other Xiaomi thread telling people not buy any phones from China because the Chinese government were using the phones to spy on people in the West :laughing:

i have had mine 16 weeks now fantastic phone and i am running it with the original xiaomi chinese rom put google on myself got rid of most of the chinese apps no problems what so ever regular ota updates about 9 so far battery life is fantastic and i personally love the miui interface i paid £162 for this phone and £25 custom used dhl back in Febuary but i still think i had a bargain at these prices its a steal get one you wont regret it

It's declared as a gift - which is isn't - and as a low-priced MP3 player (apparently) which it isn't. Therefore it's being smuggled. It's the seller who's breaking the law, so you won't go to jail, though in theory they could certainly confiscate the goods if they felt like it (they won't, they prefer to levy the charges). Buying cigs and booze within the legal limits is fine, more is smuggling. No doubt some people get away with it. You don't need a TV licence to watch iPlayer. I'm not making any comment on the morality of ordering stuff like this from abroad (or in Dixons Duty Free on your way out - how many people declare those when they get back?) but it's quite a lot more expensive if it isn't illegally imported.

Haway don't spoil my enjoyment.

If it was confiscated surely you would get a refund.

Look like this option here is EU? ^^ cheap too

Although a smaller screen. 5" instead of 5.5"

So basically, I can't run my Banking apps on this? (that is the deal breaker for me)

ok. ..so to you guys in the know. ... does this phone have fast charge like the sammy s6 ?
if not. ..which Chinese flagship has a great camera AND fast charge ?
thanks

Get back to revising for your GCSEs because you're gumming up this thread with useless and incorrect information about things you clearly don't understand.

It has QuickCharge 2.0

The CPU actually supports 3.0, but Xiaomi don't use it so they don't have to pay more to QC, to use the 3.0 xD

The camera is average, fine in normal light but poor in less ideal settings...can be helped using apps or extra light but, yes it is not an amazing camera. You only get so much for 120 quid

I don't know, I think it depends on the bank, alot of people say it doesn't work full stop, but a quick google shows you forum posts like this one here, seem to suggest that following several updates some apps do work??

However I know for a fact that Barclays (maybe others too idk) released a statement saying that to protect 'user data' they would not allow their app on rooted or flashed Xiaomi devices. It may have changed recently, but that's what it seems to suggest

So long and short is, some do, some don't, Xiaomi are releasing an official global ROM soon (apparently) so if you really, really need your app, do some google digging or wait til they possibly fix the issue. Sorry I couldn't help much :smiley:

True, altho still very similar specs, slightly smaller, gives people an EU option is all :smiley:

A Levels*

Go away. You're horrible.

Just ordered one of these and the seller has informed me it will come with the Chinese Rom (it will be set up for English and Play Store installed).,

Been reading that CN firmware may have spyware and useless CN apps though. Can I simply use the phones inbuilt updater to change to the official stable global rom? I'm gonna assume the bootloader will be locked etc, but would rather a simple flash method than having to install adb drivers, disable driver enforcement etc, and run the flash program all from my PC..

Did you get confused with a band of a different kind as O2 in Greenwich does get busy at this time of the year? lol.

There is NO information on the Ofcom site for a previous or an upcoming auction or even a transfer with regards to this! Source?

You're destined to fail if all you do is spend your time posting incorrect and wrong information about phones you've never owned on HUKD.

Thanks alot.

aishakhan894

So basically, I can't run my Banking apps on this? (that is the deal breaker for me)

I don't know, I think it depends on the bank, alot of people say it doesn't work full stop, but a quick google shows you forum posts like this one here, seem to suggest that following several updates some apps do work??

However I know for a fact that Barclays (maybe others too idk) released a statement saying that to protect 'user data' they would not allow their app on rooted or flashed Xiaomi devices. It may have changed recently, but that's what it seems to suggest

So long and short is, some do, some don't, Xiaomi are releasing an official global ROM soon (apparently) so if you really, really need your app, do some google digging or wait til they possibly fix the issue. Sorry I couldn't help much :smiley:
Thanks alot.

Why the insults? I asked a perfectly valid question, it is your deal and you need to fact-check before you quote someone else?
BTW, copying someone's response then calling it your own and dumping them in it - very very uncool!

Ordered and told by seller it will have the Chinese Rom. Any issues with it at all? And is it easy to get rid of the chinese apps (and do they stay removed with OTA updates)?

They stay removed if you flash to global, should stay removed even on Chinese with OTA, but you never know, auto-updates can be very annoying on all smartphones, including Xiaomi

I would go global ROM anyways ^^

I'm using Vodafone and not getting a 4g signal on the top of the screen. However the phone and browser is blisteringly fast and blows my s4 out of the water.

I'm using the Halifax banking app no problems at all. Not barclays I know.

Using the supplied Xiaomi charger:



That's nowhere close to the S6 charging times.

This isn't the Quick Charge 2.0 standard either:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YedjT3ANTSE

Even Xiaomi themselves say it only supports charging up to 5V/2A.

That's not the Quick Charge 2.0 charging standard.

If officially has 2.0 but many have reported that it charges at a standard pace.

2.0 can be unlocked through the kernel, but as I said Xiaomi disabled QC to save money

However, it officially says 'supports QC 2.0', you just have to unlock it yourself. Which is a pain.

You really don't have a clue what you're talking about.

You don't own the phone. You've never owned the phone. You're just cribbing random information you've read on the internet, misinterpreting it and getting it wrong.

All you're doing is misleading people, time and time again, with your posts.

Stop posting about things you do not understand and which you have no experience of.

Harvey, I have absolutely no idea what you are getting at; a 4G or LTE signal at the top of the screen means nothing if your provider has not deployed the relevant frequency within the spectrum in your area. However, the OP was suggesting that O2 have magically acquired a part of the spectrum - which is BIG news! Also, your comment about your new phone being faster than the S4 is irrelevant unless you have tried an optimised CM13 on it and vice-versa to make some comparisons.

What I am saying is I'm on Vodafone and not getting 4g. The phone is faster than my old s4 which incidentally was running cm13. More than happy with the note 3 pro though, it's an outstanding phone and even without the 4g, browsing speeds are still faster in my case compared to my s4.

there are no issues other than notifications that updates available or app has been updated as for getting rid of chinese apps basically if you can hold and drag to bin its safe to get rid of. These are the apps you cant THEMES, MI APP STORE, MI WALLET, GAMES, Amap, and MI VIDEO.Yes they do stay removed with OTA updates you will have to put google services(play store etc) on yourself heres link how to http://en.miui.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=198204&highlight=google%2Bplay%2Bstore its easy to do just follow tutorial in link hope this helps you

I don't want my advice in this thread to be misquoted or plagiarised or replicated and then fed to some unsuspecting person but you can head over to XDA and look at changing the baseband. Good luck.

Your new phone is always going to be faster than the S4 due to the specs but not to be written off just yet!
Edit: which version of CM13 are you running?

I couldn't get NatWest app working but installed their business app instead, using normal login details this worked for some reason, might be able to do same with Barclays if theres a problem?

i have this phone and can confirm it takes about 2hrs 15min to charge from 0 to 100% it must be some form of fast charge let me remind you this is a 4000mamp battery not your standard 3000 so in my opinion pretty quick charging if not the fastest

just replied to your request in post 282 but now read your original post you first need to check if it has the official xiaomi chinese rom currently MIUI 7.3 STABLE 7.3.6.0(LHOCNDD) or a custom chinese rom if it is the official xiaomi rom and seller has installed google for you then what i have said in post 282 applies minus putting on google yourself but if it is third party custom rom then no ota updates you will need to change to official global or chinese in order to get ota updates either way i recommend you install and run malwarebytes to check for virus and spyware because third party seller has either put custom rom in one instance or google services in the other . if it has official xiaomi rom malwarebytes should only find a couple of P.U.P's (possible unwanted programme) which are genuine mi system apps with amber warning these are ok

I have this phone as well (and also the Redmi 3 Pro!). Quick Charge 2.0 (QC2.0) and Quick Charge 3.0 (QC3.0) is a Qualcomm invention and a specific, proprietary charging standard. As well as faster charging overall, one of the notable features of QC2.0/3.0 is that you can get several hours of battery life from a brief charge of say 15mins. 'Fast charging' is just a generic term and can mean anything.

Just because Quick Charge is a feature available on the 650 doesn't mean that it's actually implemented on the specific phone as the manufacturer has to pay a licence fee to Qualcomm as well as compliant power management circuitry being needed as well as possibly other hardware requirements eg. a QC compliant battery. For budget and lower / mid range range phones, it's rarely implemented in order to keep costs down. The Note 3 Pro charges fairly quickly but definitely not to QC2.0 or QC3.0 standards even when using a QC2.0 / 3.0 compliant charger as it's simply not enabled. On my S7 for example, I can get almost 50% battery from just a 30 minute charge. There's nothing similar on the Note 3 Pro even when using a QC2.0 / 3.0 compliant charger, even though as you say, it's not a particularly slow phone to charge overall (though that's still dependent on the type of charger you're using and you not frying the battery by using an overpowered charger).

There has been some discussion on some online messageboards about people who have supposedly hacked a Sony phone (and a couple of others to enable QC2.0) but DatAlbino is talking absolute nonsense when he says its possible with the Xiaomi Note 3 Pro. He has absolutely no idea and is just spouting hot air (again).

Thanks for the replies. Since I'd rather be safe than sorry I've checked the Mi forums and they suggest a long winded method of flashing via PC. Can I just change the Rom using the in built updater on the phone (download the latest official stable release and copy over to phone, then run that) or does it have to be done via PC using flash tools?

i use the supplied 2 pin xiaomi charger with 3 pin adaptor i'm just saying how long it takes mine to charge like i said its not bad for a 4000mamp battery

i dont know about that would imagine the forums would suggest that if it was possible

Can you expand on that? Is it ever possible to fry a battery by using an "overpowered" charger? What does that mean anyway? I've never had a problem charging phones from power suplies rated at 2.0 or 2.4A, I assumed all devices would take only the current they can accept. I can only see a problem if the charger is putting out the wrong voltage.

I'd normally put that comment down to ignorance, but you appear to know what you're talking about so I'd be interested to know what you mean.

How to I uncheck the option for the 1 year peace of mind at £5.88 ??

AFIK you can't on a PC. I had to use the mobile app to purchase without the warranty. That's how others have gotten around it too.

:innocent:

Hi thanks for replying.

Yes, I've heard there is that function, but also that the quality of call recording is poor.

My bad choice of phrase. What I meant was dodgy third party chargers (particularly cheap no brand car chargers) that don't regulate power outputs correctly or consistently but which people say can charge the phone faster. For example:

http://www.macrumors.com/2014/06/19/iphone-5-faulty-chips/

With my S2 and S3, the batteries never held their charges properly after 2-3 years. All the chargers I had at home were from Samsung, Logitech etc, but I used to charge those phones alot using no brand, cheap car chargers when travelling. With my S5, I never had a problem with the battery since I started using branded (presumably better quality) car chargers (the home chargers remained the same) and I used that phone a huge amount. Not sure if the circuitry or battery tech is different but the only thing I've changed is the quality of the charger. The S7 I've currently got is too new for any problems to be apparent.

However, it doesn't seem to only be limited to cheap, generic car chargers. It would follow that cheap, generic wall chargers can also provide inconsistent or out of spec power outputs. I never bother with anything other than branded chargers now from reputable manufacturers. For the sake of a few quid more, it's not worth the trouble IMO.

http://www.righto.com/2012/10/a-dozen-usb-chargers-in-lab-apple-is.html

How does the non Snapdragon version of this compare? I want to order from an EU warehouse but the Gearbest one seems to come with a Helio X10 processor and the Snapdragon version is approx £175 at honorbuy.

Would you get OTA updates if flashed official global ROM?

yeh I've done that and it gets updates.

I'm pretty sure it has quick charge 1.0 but not 2.0 like OP was saying.

The x10 version has a slightly worse camera, worse processor/graphics and no sd card slot. There is a written comparison of the differences HERE.

Hi
Could anybody who has this phone check for me whether it records phone calls, both ways, and what quality are these recording?

Thanks

Yes, just received the latest update this morning

V7.3.6.0 LHOMIDD

I'd get the snapdragon version any day of the week

​There's already a global ROM

​one plus 3

This seller seems to offer DHL fast shipping with no custom fees. £145.

What no NFC?? Wont be able to use Android Pay that was released in UK last month. My Nexus 4 released in 2012 has NFC!!

For anyone looking for a bit of extra info to flash official global or developer rom, unlock bootloader to flash all unofficial roms, unbrick or just some info about the phone, have a look at these links..

Unboxing and review..

https://youtu.be/m9RFCvTA1BI

Flash global or developer rom to get rid of the vendor rom and malware..

https://youtu.be/4sqbVyCcjBw

Unlock bootloader to flash unofficial/3rd party roms..

https://youtu.be/yro0ZNXqfms

If things go south and you manage to bootloop or brick it..

https://youtu.be/NNhdQT9Ivu0

Its showing £116 today but total price £122 whats that all about which is it.

Might be the added warranty website forces you to take, try ordering via app/mobile site to avoid it

To be honest, I haven't missed Quick Charge 2.0 / 3.0 on this phone at all. Sure, I can imagine there might an isolated occasion in future where I need to go from 0-50% very quickly, but I haven't found it necessary at all in the time I've owned this phone due to the size of the battery. I get home at in the evening after a day of fairly heavy use and I'm at 25-30%. Put it on a hour or so of charge and I'm at ~70%. That's enough to get me through the next day and saves me having to keep on the phone on charge overnight (which saves on battery wear) as I also have the phone auto scheduled to turn off during sleeping hours and automatically on again the next morning. No power wastage or unnecessary charging and keeps the phone in the best charge band for longevity (particularly as the battery isn't the easiest to replace).

​i bought from India 1 year warranty...

Anyone bought from this seller had shipping confirmation yet? Still waiting here.

Mine is really tinny/distorted on maximum volume through speakers. Is this normal or is mine broken?
Appreciate due to price it's not gonna be dolby

I'm guessing its just tinny for the price, probably poor speakers

Use headphones or pick up a Bluetooth speaker, for this price you could buy a speaker and still save money xD

Mines fine, sound is pretty good to be honest

Anyone had problems making outbound calls on this phone? I got it yesterday, can receive calls and everything else works perfectly, but can't make calls - am on EE4G... Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

Anyone had problems making outbound calls on this phone? I got it yesterday, can receive calls and everything else works perfectly, but can't make calls - am on EE4G... Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

Put this on other thread and worked for others:

Check, settings-sim cards & mobile networks, I noticed problem other day and was to do with having "VoLTE enabled"
once I unchecked that all was ok( if it is the same you may be seeing "voLTE" in notification bar also)
Hope this helps

So do Xiaomi phones have spyware? And is it safe to use with banking Apps?

With apple and other manufacturers we hit the AGREE button and allow information to be sent from our phones. But does this spyware people talk about compromise the security things like banking apps?

Thanks - worked perfectly! Saved me a trip to the EE store too!

Good news :smiley:

Using banking apps no bother. This phone is class, been using 2 days and battery still on 30%.

Yeah I bought from them 3 months ago and the phone arrived broken and I have only just finished the dispute after 2 and a bit months, and delivery still took 2 weeks, really poor after sales experience so I would avoid

Still 'processing' and waiting for shipment here (Ordered 20th).

Just don't use DHL and you won't pay fees.

Shame I didn't see this earlier. Ordered with them however HSBC blocked my purchase because of fraud detection. Think I'll give them a swerve now. Cheers.

Still 'processing' order after 5 days....

Yep order still processing here too. 2 days to go

Up to 7 days processing

**** poor seller no communication, been 3 days.

Who is the next best seller in terms of price and communication on Ali for this device?

TopOne, they will flash it for you and have better communication, is about 20-30 quid more tho

Like I said, up to 7 days processing, technically they can wait another 3 days before replying xD as long as they acknowledge and dispatch the order within a week.

Gotta remember it is China, people

I can recommend this seller, good communications , fast despatch. I ordered one and it took 12 days to get here from day of ordering( no customs with normal post) and have a 2nd on the way. Price has gone up to £126 but think that's to do with the way the pound rate has gone last few days. He will also flash global rom for you if wanted:
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Xiaomi-Redmi-note3-Pro-Prime-snapdragon-650-3G-32G-4000mAh-13ML-1080P-5-5-screen-octa/32636040211.html

If you do order one thing to note, on track shipping page it didn't really update after " sent from original country" so don't be to worried if it sticks on that when looking.

Still a little concerning they seem to need all that processing time before shipping. Hopefully mine will be updated to shipped soon enough as time is running out. Presumably Ali simply cancel the order and refund if the seller has not processed and shipped within the deadline (I certainly aint gonna extend it).

Glad I paid by debit card too if push comes to shove.

Yeah it does suck man, I agree with you, its too long, but thats this seller's policy :/

Aliexpress give full refunds if the order falls through, thats the benefit of using a reliable retailer like them ^^

I asked to cancel my order the day after I ordered, they rejected my order cancellation request. They emailed me asking why I want to cancel and that I should keep the order as all the items are in stock. I had to make up some excuse or they probably wouldn't have let me cancel it.

I am so confused by the GUI. There is the MIUI. But I have saw people with the android GUI, which is what I want. Do you have a choice. If not is it easy get the android GUI?

MIUI is Xiaomi's own "skin" on top of Android so it behaves more like iOS.

I believe if you unlock the bootloader on the phone you can then install CM13 which is based on Vanilla Android.

They got about 20 hours left to ship mine so may as well see if they do. Very slow processing isn't encouraging at all though.

And now shipped, lol. Lets see how long that takes.

Did you go for normal shipping and did you get a tracking number?

Prices jumped up due to pound dollar.Think i'll wait a week or two.

Normal shipping and I have a tracking number, but not showing up in the system just yet. If you went with DHL the odds of getting hit by customs plus their admin fee are very high. Normal post could still be hit, will just have to wait & see.

Just got my shipped notification now so it looks like it is on the way!

I also chose Normal post and have what looks like a Singapore Post tracking number that is not yet recognised.
Hopefully it gets to me soon....

Same still no contact from seller so not sure if he's sending a sealed box or opened one with custom rom.

The seller told me they will be installing a custom ROM and they have to do it for everyone as they check the quality and also install the ROM at the same time so no chance of a sealed box with factory ROM.

It looks easy enough to install the stock Global Rom though anyway.

I wanted a sealed one and the seller didn't even respond. Terrible service let's just hope it arrives and working.

I asked for the global rom but was told I'd get the Chinese rom with multi language and play store added (Chinese Rom also has English, so presumably the mod is for additional languages). No idea why they couldn't just put the global rom on it as flashing custom is likely a more tricky option, but given the possibility of the custom rom having stuff we might not want I'd be changing from that sharpish.

Don't really know if that can be done via the Phones in built updater or if we have to do the more complicated method I've seen (Flash via PC), but I'll be doing it whatever the case.

Now the waiting game to see if it arrives.

I've had stuff from Asia arrive in a week or a little over before now, but I'd expect a minimum 2 weeks for this one. If the tracking shows it has arrived in the UK and it doesn't show up within a week after that I'd be concerned. The last time I had that was from an ebay purchase and the order never arrived.

Meanwhile, I'm still waiting for amazon to ship my Honor 7 from scotland lol

Great phone, im using it right now to write this comment

How does the camera perform with photos and video?

Is it comparable to something like the HTC M8?

From what I've read the actual camera sensor is very good (a good Sony one iirc), but images (low light especially) are let down by the built in camera software, and better results can be had using 3rd party camera apps you can get for nowt via Play.

Can't be worse than my current phone at any rate (Honor Holly...Good enough daylight shots, but crap in low light).
hopefully mine will arrive soon so I can play about with it.

Is your tracking number working yet?

Not Yet: "Tracking information is available within 5-10 days". Using other sites with the number provided suggests they are using "Singapore post," so yet to be registered into their system, and will likely end at when it its Heathrow unless they have the common sense to have tracked all the way (cannot cost that much more ffs...Gearbest use it)

Seriously...it getting to Heathrow is one thing, untracked beyond that is open season for opportunists in the PO (and lets face it, they are there) once there (from experience). I'd add this seller (going by their feedback) is not averse to using false tracking info to get past those pesky shipping deadlines.

If all arrives in a 2/3 weeks I will be more than happy, If not, and ALI dispute is no good, I will seek (with all due enthusiasm) the chargeback for sure.

Received mine today within 13 days. No custom duty and packaging was good. The seller was very responsive too.

Can you pls share with us which ROM you requested and who you bought from ? Thanks

I ordered the Global version (supports OTA) from HongKong Goldway:

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Original-Xiaomi-Redmi-Note-3-Pro-Prime-32GB-ROM-Official-Global-Firmware-Mobile-Phone-Snapdragon-650/311331_32672119908.html

- Used standard delivery
- Seller provided UK adopter + screen protector

Can someone post a screenshot?
Showing as £130 on mine:

Prices have increased because of the pound dropping against the dollar

Question - I'm on Vodafone 4G - would this support 4G?

Yes, I posted all available networks in the descripton :smiley:

Please do not follow any advise DatAlbino gives you. Unless you live, work, eat and sleep in one of the busiest parts of London you will NOT get 4G. I am on Vodafone and live in Croydon. I am in a well populated 4G area and I only get H+ (3G)..

Is this due to voda's poor 4G coverage in London, or is it due to the phone's limited support of the spectrum used in the UK?

It's due to the missing "Band 20" (800mhz) from the phones modem. Vodafone uses that particular band for the majority of their 4G bandwidth.

In some busier places they broadcast 4G on more than just the one frequency (band 20 and band 7)and that is why you might get 4G in parts of central London..

Vodafone also uses 2600Mhz band which is available on the phone

I never said that every single band would be there, I am showing the bands that are available, and one of Vodafone's bands is

Use willmyphonework.net, it gives a simple and comprehensive measure of what networks work with which phones

Vodafone does work though. Band 2600 is supported. I'm sorry your particular area doesn't get 2600, keenan, but elsewhere it may

Mine arrived today. Only had a quick play with it. But I'm well impressed, so thank you for flagging this up. I am a tight wotsname so wouldn't have bought this if you hadn't let me know about the good price.

Not sure what ROM it had on it, but flashed the global stable version myself, which was actually very easy. The fact that it allowed me to do this from the updater on the phone suggests it was running a xiaomi rom anyway - I think. I just got paranoid that it didn't find an update.

Coming from an Asus Zenfone 2, which was fine but I just got a bit bored with it.

Thanks again!

What date did you order and was it from this actual seller on Aliexpress?

Still waiting on mine to arrive...

​Yes I ordered from eternal team as in OP, on the day this was posted. 20th of June I think. It was during the second half of the England Slovakia game!

Took nearly the full 7 days to despatch, which had me worried but I kept an eye on this thread and I didn't seem to be alone.

Singapore post showed it left China on 2nd. Arrived in GB on the 4th. Really didn't expect it yesterday! Was surprised to be the only one posting that they had received theirs.

If you have any questions I'll answer for you in the meantime as best I can if you want. Good luck!

Seems you had no hassle installing the official global ROM just by using the updater app on the phone?

Was the play store also on it?

How is the camera in real world use?

Cheers...

got mine today. ordered from the eternal team linked to this post on 22nd June, standard delivery. no custom fees. looks great. global 7.3.6 stable ROM was pre installed. thanks OP

I ordered two but only received one by post.

Hey, I received mine yesterday (ordered on 20th, shipped standard on 27th, arrived on 7th). Global rom 7.3 stable is already installed and play store is available. Haven't tested the camera yet but on first glance it looks great. Will update tomorrow with pics

​Yes that's right was expecting it to be much more difficult. Play store was indeed installed straight away. Much less faffing than I expected.

Haven't used the camera much at all. I was expecting it to be shocking, which it isn't. If I can figure out how to put up some pictures I will tomorrow.

People recommended using a different camera app on one of the threads, so I'll give that a try too.

OK, seems I will have to be sending mine back. The speaker seems to be broken as it makes popping noises almost every time it makes a sound. The popping noise isn't present when I plug in my headphones.

Can anyone advise me about getting a refund? I paid by Visa debit, any way to make sure I get my money back?

Do not use a debit man! Use a credit card as then you can charge your provider and use real money to insta pay off the credit! *sigh*

Oh well, I would contact aliexpress by going to you orders and clicking 'Open Dispute', much like Amazon

They do have a 60 day money back guarantee and a returns policy if the phone arrives faulty, so you should be fine, however as for posting it you're gonna have to use a postal service, I dont think they cover return postage usually

Contact the seller, open a dispute and ask for a full refund + return postage, if you used a credit card it would be simpler, but I think this is your best option now

Got mine today as well. Running global rom with play store installed. No issues at all. Great phone for the price.
I ordered on the 20th and received on 7th. A bit long delivery time but it's well with in the stated period.

Are you able to check it's tracking history? Mine seems to have arrived to UK on 4th but hasn't moved since. Also ordered same day as you did - 20th.

Mine was delivered today and according to tracking arrived in Heathrow DC on the 6th July.

​Mine is still showing received in destination country despite me having it in my grubby mitt right now.

How long ago did you order it?

dark grey is £133 at geekbuying just bought one

Finally received mine, ordered on 22nd of June, took them a good 6 days to dispatch the phone.

Just got a chance to set mine up today and this is some phone for the money...

​20th and it got to the UK on the 4th. Same as yours. Royal mail delivered it. Hope all turns out OK in the end.

What android version is it running?

It runs MIUI a customised version of android 5.1.1

How's the performance vs e.g. Snapdragon 820 powered handsets?

e.g. would you feel the difference?

Asking as the ARM A72 core x 2 @ 1.8Ghz is suppose to be quite powerful. Deciding between getting this now (pay upfront) - or upgrade to S7 in 3 months time (contract upgrade).

Can it be upgraded to android 6?

I noticed the seller didn't install the Global Rom but a modified China version.

The tracking is useless. Mine said left the warehouse for more than a week. Hopefully you will receive it soon.

Were you tracking on Singpore post / 17track website? Ali express tracking definitely useless, but 17track / Singapore Post seems to be tracking ok. Until it reached UK obviously, then total silence for a week now.

what's the best ROM to install on this, heard possibly international ROM runs the best.
Is there a seller that installs international ROM on it.

Prefer this to my HTC M9 great phone for the money!

Easy enough to flash the global rom if needed plenty of guides online. I went with a custom rom which was simple enough to flash.

Genuinely a fantastic phone and an absolute bargain

Oh and a quick message will get the value declared under the customs amount to avoid any additional fee's :wink:

This has now expired for the initial price - it's around 136-137 now.

Mines arrived with

MIUI Global 7.3 | Stable
7.3.6.0.0(LHOCNDD)

Is this a vendor customised rom as when I try and use the software updater to flash Version: V7.3.7.0.LHOMIDD (MIUI7) , it says it can't verify it.

Had to flash ROM with MiFlash, now on:

MIUI Global 7.3 | Stable
7.3.7.0(LHOMIDD)

Wasted a few hours of my day! Seems like a nice phone though.

I did the same thing, didn't like miui so I installed cm13.