Aliexpress and eBay UK have lot of options

oh and others might be able to advise a bit better than me as im new to these chinese phones

Depends what you want out of your phone, i used to root my android phones years ago but recently cannot be bothered so tend to stick with official release unless it slows handset down cos of all the bloatware.

I'm enjoying MUI7 and will update to MUI8 whens its available

and yeah would do a full install just to be sure, make sure you install the global version of MUI which has all the google stuff on it

I ended up buying this from Hong Kong Goldway as Dreami was slow to respond. It was on offer for $169.99 but Dreami are selling it for $168.99 for the Global EU Rom version. (gold versions)

HK Goldway said might as well go for the cheaper $169.99 as updating the ROM is very easy - they have a youtube video showing how to to do it.

The official public release of MUI8 for the Redmi will be released on the 16th of August.

So quick question - is it best to stay on MUI8 or root and install CM?

Once I get the phone should I do a full re-install of the OS to make sure there are no unwanted spyware?

I ordered on the 4th August 8pm local time in China.

Its been shipped today 5pm local time in China

The seller offers a warranty smart **** anyway ive ordered one from the link in the deal

Had this phone for a couple of days now and im really impressed with it, i was coming from a Galaxy Note 3 so the battery life is way better and for the cost of the phone its a bargain imo. People with newer phones might not see a big difference but yeah im very happy

I would wait. It's not even a month away.

i am on miui 8 dev rom...too good...just install it using updater app....

Get the one with 650 snapdragon... it is supposedly the fastest processor

I would wait for the official version

Why not Moto g4?

i know its slower but you can use the finger print sensor on the back to wake the phone

Redmi 4 incoming http://www.ibtimes.co.in/xiaomi-redmi-pro-aka-redmi-note-4-launch-live-updates-where-get-live-notifications-smartphone-687992#O2XHD8IYdY5QoDCx.97

I'm decided to get the Xiaomi Note 3 pro 32GB 3GB RAM 5.5" but...... whilst searching for the best price I've come across different versions and not sure which one I should be going for, some say ''note 3 pro''(which is the one I thought I was going to buy) others say ''note 3 prime'' and others say ''note 3 pro prime''?!

Pro Prime says 650 snapdragon

Prime - MTK Helio X10 octa-core

Pro - Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 Hexa Core MIUI V7

My head hurts, which is best?.. would be better is someone could find me the cheapest :laughing: Mainly looking on AliExpress and the different models/versions are all ~$180

No double tap to wake on these are there ?

​Unless, of course, it has the Global ROM pre installed. You can check in Settings - About phone - MIUI version

There are 2 ROMs, Chinese and Global. The global has Google services and Play store etc. The Chinese ROM has no google, as it is banned in China, but has Chinese versions if the Google apps. If they install Google Play on a Chinese ROM. it will still have all the Chinese stuff on the phone. If it were me, I would install the Global ROM in any case, just to make sure I was starting off on the right place. Don't worry, it's easy.

Think I'll get me one

if buying from geekbuying then apply '4AndroidPhones' as the coupon code for extra 4% off! just purchased the 3gb 32gb version with case and glass screen protector for £133!!!

I paid using a Visa credit card on AliExpress.
Although paypal is usually good, they refused me a claim on an eBay purchase, when I got a different item.

One general piece of advice if you are switching from a smaller handset - This phone although light, is big. So, get a case before you start using it. Last night, it slipped from my hands and got some scratch marks on the metal body.

Though the phone is still working, and the screen is intact, it was painful to get it scratched in the first 10 days of use :disappointed:

Anyone bought one with a credit card,If so where from,Don't trust paying with paypal.

Thank you for the code its appreciated.

when buying i should go for the international firmware version right? Not the [HK Stock][International Edition]?

If going with the international firmware, is that easy to upgrade to MIUI8?

thank you.

​I'd agree with this. I have bought from a lot of Chinese sites and never had a problem.

​i came from a samsung s4 to the redmi note 3 pro. the note 3 is streets ahead.

Geekbuying is a pretty good website, gearbest is fine aswell but some people have complained about them. Aliexpress is Chinese version of eBay and you need to find a good seller but majority of them are fine. Personally I have purchased from all sites and had no issues so which ever site is cheaper go for them, I would prob vote for geekbuying this time.

Thanks for the details. Sorry for the questions but I am new to these mobiles. Is buying through geekbuy better than aliexpress or gearbest.

AliExpress is actually quite a safe platform though. You need to confirm that you have received the item or allow 90 days to pass before the seller gets a penny and the money is held in Escrow until then. For that reason a lot of AE sellers will try to bend over backwards to please buyers. With PayPal the likes of GearBest, GeekBuying etc all get your money straight away so there is far less of an incentive there from their point of view.

- the G4 has 2 years warranty
- the G4 has Gorilla Glass
- the G4 has removable battery
- the G4 has one of the best cameras on any phone in the world
- the G4 has all the 4G bands
- the G4 has 3GB/32GB RAM/ROM
- has double-tap to wake up but no fingerprint reader
- has some reliability issues (boot-loop?)

- the Xiaomi has no warranty, no Gorilla Glass, no removable battery
- the Xiaomi has better battery life
- the Xiaomi has just 2GB/16GB RAM/ROM (there is a version with 3GB/32GB, but not the one on this thread)
- the Xiaomi is a Dual SIM phone if you give up using a SIM card (highly unlikely if you get the 16GB version)
- the Xiaomi camera is quite poor compared
- the Xiaomi will probably never see Android 6.0
- the Xiaomi will need some ROM fiddling to get rid of chinese apps
- the Xiaomi does not have all 4G bands, does not work on band 800, which is quite a used one in the UK
- has a fingerprint reader on the back of the phone (annoying if you have the phone facing up IMO) but no double-tap to open
- has its issues as any chinese phone, that may or may not be ironed out with an upgrade

AliExpress does not offer Paypal ! This deal is from AliExpress

Even if they did, won't they ask you to return the item to the seller at your expense though?
I've seen a few stories where the sellers claim they never received the broken phone, despite the tracking saying otherwise.

​no 4g on voda for me. however it fly's on 3g regardless.

lol warranty is only as good as when you need it

I'm quite new to the Chinese phones, is the redmi note 3 the latest and best one they offer?

Also, how would it compare to the Lg g4?

Warranty isn't an issue. If you pay by Paypal you can claim back shipping back to China and full refund, £116.22 is worth a gamble. Also your not going to be stupid enough to buy this phone first before checking if it supports your network.

Or maybe phones don't need 3GB of RAM because your never going to open 50+ apps all in one go.

Hi guys if I buy this phone, is it easy to put cyanogen mod or something else thats easy to use, and at same time have access to google play store for downloading apps?

For people bothered about warranty just order one off ebay, a guy is selling them for £144.99

​Or rather, there is a warranty, but nobody can be arsed claiming off it.

Basically everyone here got it being aware there is no warranty on this item.

AliExpress does not allow Paypal

​You're welcome.

When they said "the full version" I think they meant, the 3GB/32GB model as opposed to the 2GB/16GB model of this deal. Probably referring to this deal. It still doesn't support 800MHz 4G. However there is a "Special Edition" model which supports this but is meant to be a Taiwan version and is difficult to find. Check this page. 4G will be an issue if the network if it lists 800MHz only, under 4G.

Dual sim means you can have 2 sims at the same time. It's not a requirement. You can use a single sim and you can even disable the 2nd sim so you can leave 2 sims in the phone, even when you aren't using one of them. Say for example you had an EE sim with data allowance and your existing O2 had minutes/texts. You could use data on your EE sim whilst still being able to call/text from your 2nd sim. Both sims will have the basic ability of making/receiving calls/texts but you can only set 1 sim as data, and then the other becomes 2G for calls/texts only. Therefore if Three was your calls/texts only sim, it won't work since it has no 2G. If O2 is your data sim, it will be restricted to 3G since O2's 4G isn't supported.

​No, you only need one.

Im confused about the whole dual sim thing, if i buy this and use my existing o2 contract sim it will work fine forgetting the whole 4g issues?Or do i need 2 sims?

slightly cheaper here
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Original-Xiaomi-Redmi-Note-3-Pro-4G-LTE-Cell-Phone-Snapdragon-650-Hexa-Core-Fingerprint-Metal/32600047369.html?spm=2114.01010208.3.254.6hSTr4&ws_ab_test=searchweb201556_0,searchweb201602_5_10057_10056_10055_10049_10017_405_404_10059_407_10058_10040,searchweb201603_7&btsid=52f99096-850b-4cf4-853a-f5ce50e98b22
good reviews

Hi can you please link me the better version? I'm currently with virgin and they don't have 4g for now but that could change or i might change provider in which case i would rather have guaranteed 4g availability if it's only less than £10 more than the phone on this deal.

All of the networks use 800 on 4g to some degree. But I was merely saying that not supporting all bands will reduce the heat of a deal. Though the full version of this did get over 1000 degrees last month at £128 btw.

2020 seems to be the earliest, expect most would be on a new phone by then anyway. 3G could even possibly go first

It would seem that it is not all dual sim phones. Lately there have been some newer phones released that support 4G+3G simultaneously. However they appear to be mainly chinese brands which offer this feature:
http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/android-user-group-323/dual-sim-phone-support-4g-3g-5374503.html
4G+2G still applies to most phones though. Even ones released recently, such as the Samsung S7 dual sim. EE still provide 2G coverage. I have a friend who is able to use EE in the 2nd sim slot of his phone. The 2 largest American networks have announced shutting down their 2G, with one happening end of this year and the other planned for the end of 2019 so I assume it'll be a matter of time before the main UK networks shut down their 2G.



I wasn't sure why you had suggested glonass and compass as missing features in that earlier reply or why you're still focusing on those given that they are features of this phone?
http://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_redmi_note_3-7863.php
As for the 3GB/64GB part. This phone does come in 3GB/32GB model and this snapdragon version also has expandable micro SD storage. Motorola is owned by Lenovo now, a chinese company. You said you had a Motorola G2 in previous comment which implies you would opt for good value, so I am not sure why you're criticising chinese phones when they mostly offer more features and better specs than other phones in the same price bracket.

If it had all the bands it likely would. The grown up version got to 848 at just a fiver more it's worth noting. Though it's still a bigger gamble than the motorola g4 as you have little to no warranty.

You're too obsessed with making up that you need to be running 50+ apps, it's not the case, 2gb is a good way to hobble the device. That's the fools way to go, good luck with it.

The SD 650 in this phone is similar in performance to SD 808 you would see in a LG G4 (LG 2015 flagship phone). The SD 617 you see in a Moto G4 is similar to SD 801 that you would see in 2014 flagship phones. This phone and the Moto G4 can be seen as a good upgrade to a galaxy S4.
This phone should really be hitting the 1000+ degrees because of the value your getting.

​Nonsense. Encryption and a compass are basic features that all phones need and should have and GLONASS isn't only found in high-end phones. It's not like I'm asking for 3GB/64GB, or an OLED screen! There are daft decisions being made which must only save pennies but make these phones far less useful or attractive to potential customers. Heck, even Moto had the stupid idea to leave out the compass from their new G4.

Hello how does this compare to a moto g4 please?
Also can it be considered a good upgrade from a galaxy s4? Don't care about nfc and my provider doesn't have 4g at moment

​I wasn't aware this applies to all dual-sim phones and I've seen people report that other phones do 4G+3G or 3G+3G simultaneously but maybe they were confused. I don't see a problem with the phone knowing which SIM to use for data though if it was 4G/3G+3G, I have to set this on my Moto G2 and even with 3G+2G the 2G SIM could presumably be the data one if you wanted for some reason. I think EE doesn't support 2G either and I'm worried about other networks following suit in future, making the dual-sim feature rather useless.

The special edition appears to be around/announced in Taiwan (see links below). Know of any sellers to get it in the UK yet please? If you do come across any please post.
http://en.miui.com/thread-299743-1-1.html
http://www.mi.com/tw/note3/specs/

Video or no video, if you know about phone you should know (which you don't) you don't need that much RAM in a phone because your never going to have 50+ apps running simultaneously. Your too spec orientated. If there is two version available 2GB or 3GB RAM then the 2GB version all day long.

Yeah everyone is imagining the difference, yep you and the droning bore are the shining lights in the darkness we need. Read the youtube comments on the video, many pointing out the obvious flaw in his video. He was doing a comparison suitable for different processors rather than different ram amounts.

Now even if you were right, you'd agree that less than 2gb isn't enough this year? Given that ram needs increase isn't it likely that more than that would be advantageous shortly?

I believe that because its true. All these phones with 4-6GB of RAM is an overkill. You won't see much of a difference in performance 2GB vs 3GB.

Hello how does this compare to a moto g4 please?
Also can it be considered a good upgrade from a galaxy s4? Don't care about nfc and my provider doesn't have 4g at moment

At this price you want all the features of a top-end smartphone... Unfortunately, this is not Utopian land

Both sim slots are 4G capable. When one sim is already being used for 3G/4G data, then the 2nd sim becomes 2G only for calls/texts. This is the case with all dual sim phones. Not a chinese phone specific restriction. It works against Three, since they have no 2G coverage therefore 2 Three sims is not possible. 3G/4G being used on both sims simultaneously wouldn't work. If you were accessing data and both sims had 3G/4G active, how would the phone determine which sim's data to use? Before criticising it as being a missing feature, you need to consider how dual sim works.

​So it only does 2G on the second SIM? Useless as far as I'm concerned then. Probably no encryption either knowing these cheap Chinese phones. What other useful features are missing, compass, GLONASS?

​depends if you want to spend £50 more buying off eBay. I got mine from china no issues.

hi guys. im being told if there is anything wrong u need to return them to China and it costs quite a lot to send it back. so do you guys think its worth it to buy from china or just buy it from local UK ebay sellers with domestic return?

Depends on the seller. Some will send an adapter and some won't. In any case, they're only like the chargers you probably already use.​

Do these phone's from China come with UK plugs or is it best to order an adapter?

​head over to XDA forum. you will need to ask xiaomi to unlock the bootloader too.

​2 days I'm getting on a charge.

​try cm13 on it. its on another lever to the mu ROM.

It came with old version of Global ROM.
But later flashed with latest Global ROM MIUI7 here http://en.miui.com/download-301.html#449
Then also flashed with eu-MIUI8 un-offical ROM http://miuif.celogeek.com/6.6.30/xiaomi.eu_multi_HMNote3Pro_6.6.30_v8-5.1.zip and it works better. All English No chinese stuff.

Just go for it, it should work fine with Vodafone not different then Three or Tesco networks.
EU stock takes about 1 week.
China stock will take about 3-4 weeks.

Cheers, would that require faffing around installing different ROM's or whatever? I'd prefer something working straight out the box and have you ordered from that website before? Whats the delivery times like? Need to know if it works on vodafone before I order anyway!

The 5.5 inch, 2nd link is the best for extra £20. I think the Pro is the extra bits 32GB ROM, 3GB RAM and 16MP camera. Not sure if this works with Vodafone. I have tried works SIMs Lebara, Tesco, Three and TalkTalk and they all work fine..

Cheaper price £129 here: http://www.geekbuying.com/item/Xiaomi-Redmi-Note-3-Pro-5-5-Inch-FHD-3GB-32GB-Smartphone-Qualcomm-Snapdragon-650-Hexa-Core-MIUI-V7-16-0MP-TOUCH-ID---Dark-Gray-362397.html

Can someone tell me the difference between the Redmi Note 3 and Redmi Note 3 Pro? Just the size?

I've found these two and wondering which is best and if they will work with vodafone

http://www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_349209.html

http://www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_308823.html

​Don't I? How come it's worked on all the Xiaomi devices I've ever owned, including the one I'm typing on now? I thing it's you who is clueless, my friend. Now shush, adults are talking.

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

That doesn't mean anything. Ali Express is a marketplace like Ebay or Amazon / Amazon Marketplace. There are different sellers within that marketplace. What you need to look at is the actual seller selling the product.

BUYER BEWARE !!!
Read Trust Pilots customer feedback before dealing with this company. Really bad reviews !!!! 1 star out of 5 !!!!!
https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.aliexpress.com

Did you buy with credit card,If so get on to them they will refund you.

​They all do that as it wasn't intended for the UK (thus no UK locale).

Doesn't matter though as it's only used to set the time, which your network will override once you insert a SIM

Nice price but I'd definitely go for the 3Gb over this.

That's mainly because he did it badly. And damn his droning grates.

Are you sure you aren't the one who hasn't got your head around the different versions? That link isn't even the same phone. That's the 720p 5" Redmi 3 Pro. This deal is the 1080p 5.5" Redmi NOTE 3 Pro.

Perhaps you're confused by the "Pro" part. The Redmi Note 3 Pro and standard Redmi Note 3 each come in both 2GB/16GB and 3GB/32GB versions. The Redmi 3 however is different. The standard Redmi 3 is 2GB/16GB only and the Redmi 3 Pro is 3GB/32GB only. This deal is a Redmi Note 3 Pro which does have a 2GB/16GB version unlike the Redmi 3 Pro which is 3GB/32GB only.

Does anyone know how to root this phone with cyanogen ROM?

I know what I ordered for Christ's sake!
Gosh!

This phone is only 16GB ROM. If you can afford extra ££, buy the 5.5 inch Pro 32GB ROM version http://www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_308825.html @ £140-147 depending on colour selection.

Make you sure you get your head around all the different versions, this is the 2GB/16GB version.
Maybe you got the 3GB/32GB ? http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/unlocked-xiaomi-redmi-3-pro-32gb-rom-4g-smartphone-silver-115-41-gearbest-2470321?p=28322589

That would be factually accurate/certain if you added 'in some areas' - I believe that o2 may have a sharing agreement with Vodafone (not certain & could be limited areas). My point is still valid (provided the specs are correct) - this will not get 4G in as many areas as 'UK spec' 4G phones. Especially true for rural areas, as 800Mhz is longer range. Also you may find urban areas where any network, even EE, only offers 4G over 800Mhz.

EDIT: More info: http://www.4g.co.uk/4g-news/phones/o2-to-utilise-1800mhz-spectrum-for-improved-4g_300114007.html

Yeah, good point. Xiaomi.eu ROMs are said to be better but someone looking to simply update from an older official ROM could potentially run into problems.


iD will work with 4G. Giffgaff however is almost certain to not work.
http://www.4g.co.uk/4g-frequencies-uk-need-know/
It uses 800MHz only which is not supported. There's quite a few Giffgaff forum threads asking about Xiaomi and they say the same thing about 4G not working. Apparently O2 have limited 1800MHz 4G coverage in some areas so Giffgaff 4G may work for some people but chances are it won't for most others.

A few months ago I bought the Ulefone Vienna for £124 ( a great phone 3gb and with band 20), from geekbuying because they sent it by DHL I ended up paying £23 custom duty. I think if it was send by snail mail the Royal Mail won't charge anything.

​Also, I think it's worth noting that it's not an official ROM.

Whether the RAM is 2GB or 3GB doesn't distinguish the PRO version from the original Note 3. It's the chipset. Original is Mediatek, Pro is Snapdragon. Both come in 2GB/16GB and 3GB/32GB versions. Your 1st link is for the Mediatek version. If someone had a 2GB/16GB Snapdragon version and tried to flash that ROM, they could potentially brick the device. Likewise for people with a 3GB/32GB Mediatek version trying to flash that 2nd ROM.

It does appear to be. However the seller has 61.6% feedback and 14 negative in the past month so combined with that low price, something seems off.

From this youtube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLZk-XrinBU 3GB version is a micro second faster, your better off buying the 2GB version.

Huawei build quality is better than Apple and HTC. The P9 plus is on pare with the Galaxy S7E. Xiaomi can also make premium handsets, my Mi Note pro was lovely. But the RN3 is a cheap phone and should be compared with others in the price range and it stands out as very well built indeed.

​A lot of sellers will provide a sealed box if you ask, but if they do install a dodgy ROM, just download the official global ROM from Miui.com and then flash using the updater app.

For those asking, it will work with ALL UK networks on 2 &3G. You will only get 4G on EE and 3 and O2 and VF require B20 support. 3 also support "limited" B20 (I won't go into detail for a no techy audience) and not really a deal breaker for this phone unlike O2 and VF.

The killer feature for the phone is the battery life. It will last a very heavy day on a marginal signal. I would say the battery life is 2.5 times better than my OnePlus 2.

Make sure you request an unopened sealed box as you don't want any custom crap rom installed. Then flash the global MIUI ROM - which I love. OK it is still on Android 5.1 (MIUI 7.3.7) but it gets lots of updates and the security patch level is 1/6/16 so I don't care about 6.0.

My next phone will also need to have great battery life after this one. I will change when my building society supports Android Pay but only because of the lack of NFC.

Hi! I got the 3gb version from Ali Express earlier this month.

Quick review.
Pros
Phone is very quick.
Nice screen for the money.
Build quality is top drawer.
Fingerprint scanner works really well.

Cons
GPS can be slow, however it's never been a massive issue for me when driving around!
The camera isn't good. On a super bright day you can take semi decent shots but it's horrible for everything else.

NOTE if you buy this from a seller on Ali Express it is Very likely they will install a custom version of the MIUI software on the phone.. This can cause some errors and features to work incorrectly.

To fix this you can check on XDA forums or go to reddit and r/xiaomi. There is tonnes of easy to follow guides online.

All in all I love this phone but as I need a good camera I will be changing and having this as a backup!

#essayover

AliExpress - that says it all for me. I'll never buy anything through them again having been messed about with delayed order, then out of stock, then months to get a refund.

Still struggling with skygo and iplayer with this phone, have yet to discover a work around. Any help greatly appreciated.

Yes agreed that is the risk you take. Aliexpress offer buyer protection which gives you a few weeks. The benefit is the amount of phone you get for the money from a major player. You would pay a lot more to buy a comparable model in the UK.

​No. This doesn't support Band 20. What you need is the Redmi Note 3 Special Edition, which supports band 20 and will work with O2.

Will this work on 02?

I should have declared its value down then... DHL is good though with delivery times

Getting is ok within 2 weeks, but what shall we do to send back if any repair.
each and everytime if any problems during the warantty, just image how long it take to send and get it repaired from there and again back to uk

​It does with the Google camera app

Got mine for £109 pre Brexit. Great phone. B20 is working on CM13 ROM I think. My only issue is that I can't use 2 Three SIMS but that will be no problem once I shift properly to the Data Reward tariff. Took a week from China. No duty.

Shipped via DHL from Gearbest (£140 for the Note Pro 5.5" 3gb, 32gb rom version) and it arrived within 4 days! Asked for them to declare 20$ and they did so on the front of the DHL packet, no customs charges :smiley:

Great phone too btw.. Nothing like my 2 year old Lenovo.. Has a fantastic screen, loud speaker is large, loud and clear for its type and the overall build quality is great!

Didn't think I was gonna like the Manufacturers OS, and was planning to switch to Cyanogenmod 13 instead, but its actually very sleek and well made so I'm not gonna fix what is clearly not broken and stay with it :smiley: would recommend this phone to anyone. even my GF (who owns a Oneplus One) would buy one if her phoned stopped working :smile:

"Thanks for your edit jnm... But it works with Giffgaff (O2) 4G"

That's hard to believe

Bands: 3 and 7 Edit and some 20 too so coverage could be reduced in some areas
Mhz: 1800 and 2600 Edit and some 800 too so coverage could be reduced in some areas

Dreami