The Official Xiaomi Thread

PhireSide

PhireSide

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The Official Xiaomi Thread


800px-Xiaomi_logo (Small).png​

Hi all

Since there is quite a big following of these Android phones on here and the volumes are growing and growing, I have decided to start this thread with a mod's permission as the central starting point for all things Xiaomi.

I will update this thread in time with proper headings and sections and possibly, if time permits, a FAQ section and guides on MIUI in general, tips and tricks, importing and which retailers to use, which shipping methods are the most cost effective and so on and so forth.

Any suggestions and tips will be welcome. This thread is for the benefit of members, new and existing in an attempt to get an idea of the following we have here while providing everyone with a central location to find the info they need instead of trawling through all the other threads in this section. I will be reserving another two posts beneath this one for future use, depending on the amount of content I am allowed per post.

Other device-specific Xiaomi threads on MyBB:
Handy links and how-to's:
FAQ

I want to buy a Xiaomi device that I cannot source locally. Where is the best place to purchase it?

There are various online retailers that stock Xiaomi devices, with generally good feedback from most of them. A few reputable sites are listed below:


There are a few local retailers available too, if you feel that local is lekker:

***NB***

MIUI does not cater for second hand markets. If someone buys your phone and some time in future logs in 3 times wrong with the Mi account the phone will go into a lock state and only the 1st Mi account that activated that phone has the ability to unlock it. There use to be a tool to remove and bypass this Mi account but this now 2 does not work anymore as the phone will reset its lock state the moment it has access to the internet. To overcome this you need to send Proof of purchase, photo of phone box with IMEI and a code you get from the phone by tapping 10 times on the lock to [email protected]

Give them about 3 days to respond. They say about 3 days for the Unlock to happen but will update how long the whole process took. -AlphaJohn

As for import costs: (thank you Bryn for this info)
- Charger value is exempt from duties.
- Courier fees not included.
- Duty will be 14% of the remaining declared value.
- VAT will be calculated on 110% of that remaining value plus the import duty.
- 3 day courier typically costs $40-60 incl insurance.
- Disbursement fee from courier to handle customs for you is usually R150-250.
- I recommend DHL Express.
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Click to expand...

I see there are Global versions of my device available. What does this mean?

Global versions of Xiaomi smartphones are built primarily to be exported to the next biggest market outside of mainland China, which happens to be India. The Global version has access to LTE and GSM bands that China are not currently using, and they also sometimes use Snapdragon chipsets due to licensing. As it stands Snapdragon devices cannot be sold in China, hence why the vanilla versions of the Xiaomi devices are Mediatek-based.

Certain devices need their bootloaders unlocked in order to load a custom ROM. How do I do this?

Navigate to this link and follow the process to request an unlock for your bootloader. Do take note that this may take up to a week to be processed.
Click to expand...

Where can I find information on ROM's and development on the Xiaomi devices?

Head over to the XDA Forum and find your device using the search function.
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Bricked your device? Thanks Conack for the submission

Boot phone to Fastboot and run the following from cmd prompt:

"%~dp0fastboot_edl.exe" reboot-edl

Screen will turn black with a flashing red light only. Now you can flash away with MiFlash.
Click to expand...

How do I know whether the Xiaomi device I intend on purchasing has a legitimate version of MIUI installed? Thanks AlphaJohn for the info

You can check out this thread for more info.
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Click to expand...
 
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Xiaomi device reviews and observations​

GSMarena.com:

Mi lineup:
Poco lineup:
Redmi lineup:

Black Shark lineup:
CC lineup:

Henry's Awesome Tech Reviews:

Mi Max
 
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Placeholder #3
 
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It most likely is.

Alternative models from Samsung and Huawei don't really come close in terms of specification. I'm not sure of the rest, though
 
Foolproof guide to Installing Lineage OS (Android 7, Nougat) on both the Note 3 Kenzo/Kate variations:

https://forum.xda-developers.com/redmi-note-3/how-to/kate-guide-install-lineage-os-locked-t3546154

-
MIUI8:
Follow the same guide as for Lineage up until the point where you've just booted into MIUI: https://forum.xda-developers.com/redmi-note-3/how-to/kate-guide-install-lineage-os-locked-t3546154

Foolproof guide to install Rooted MIUI V8.0.6.0.LHOMIDG without unlocking bootloader. (Android 5)
https://forum.xda-developers.com/redmi-note-3/how-to/method-miui-8-unlock-bootloader-twrp-t3529458


Other handy info:

https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/software-hacking/guide-how-to-reboot-to-edl-fastboot-t3394292

Bricked your device?

Boot phone to Fastboot and run the following from cmd prompt:

"%~dp0fastboot_edl.exe" reboot-edl

Screen will turn black with a flashing red light only. Now you can flash away with MiFlash.
 
What's the difference between the "global" and "international" versions of the Xiaomi phones? From what I can tell both support Play Store services, multi languages and OTA updates.
 
AlphaJohn said:
http://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_redmi_4a-8420.php gives it a 3/10 for price group so I would venture a guess and say not really.

Where are you planning to buy/whats your budget like, more info might get you better help.
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Agree, I haven't found anything that can seriously compete. Not sure why it got 3/10.

It's massive pain getting covers for the phone though locally.
 
Bradley82 said:
What's the difference between the "global" and "international" versions of the Xiaomi phones? From what I can tell both support Play Store services, multi languages and OTA updates.
Click to expand...

Global = Official ROM from MIUI as per http://en.miui.com/download.html
International = Normally a Custom ROM from seller set to English or such with Google Apps flashed
 
Bradley82 said:
Okay. Is it an easy process to flash the global rom?
Click to expand...

Depends, some phones you just download the ROM and use the internal updater. Orders you have to Unlock (Also easy) and then flash. Then there is the ones that gives you 9 types of hell and you end up using MiFlash on an unlocked device and pushing the tgz roms.

Example My 1st phone I imported had a China custom ROM that refused to flash China Official or Dev even after it was unlocked. Also could not get Global dev or Stable on it. Ended up downloading rom from http://en.miui.com/a-234.html and boot into fastboot using MiFlash tool to get it sorted.

My Mi5 on the other hand, I can flash any official ROM via update tool and it just says "you going to lose your data" and flashes.
 
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Finally! Nice OP @wabbit16. My sandstone Note 3 cover should be here tonight. Will share pics...
 
shiverz said:
Finally! Nice OP @wabbit16. My sandstone Note 3 cover should be here tonight. Will share pics...
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As promised... Fits like a glove. Feels like sandpaper. Grippy AF. Has a small lip over the tempered glass. Only flaw is that currently it has a strong textile kind of smell to it. I'm sure that'll fade tho.

262wpbr.jpg


2ujjkh2.jpg


If anyone wants my Lenuo cover I'm willing to give it away to a Kate owner. I don't forsee me using it aymore. First to pm me will get it. :)

Thats this one:

24434314-c13d-40fc-99b1-e027bc1486fc.jpg
 
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shiverz said:
Finally! Nice OP @wabbit16. My sandstone Note 3 cover should be here tonight. Will share pics...
Click to expand...

Oh yes, I haven't given it much attention though due to me switching careers last month. But it's a work in progress and it would be nice to get all the Xiaomi information centralised over here one day :)
 
wabbit16 said:
Oh yes, I haven't given it much attention though due to me switching careers last month. But it's a work in progress and it would be nice to get all the Xiaomi information centralised over here one day :)
Click to expand...

Thanx for the good work. Great collection of info we getting here.

Mind adding 2 URL's and a store?
How to spot fake MIUI rom's on a Phone: http://en.miui.com/thread-392159-1-1.html
Official Fastboot ROM URL: http://en.miui.com/a-234.html

Under your Stores, I don't see Gearbest: http://www.gearbest.com/
 
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