Chinese Android Phones 3 - Read First Post!

stockshares wrote: »

Will the Huawei P Smart above get Google Play updates?

I would think so yes. It was mainly the US that weren't getting them, but that has since been reversed.

cronley wrote: »

Has anybody any views on these Redmi phone prices from the Xiaomi Dublin shop. https://www.xiaomi.ie/smart-phones/
Is it quicker and less hassle than foreign warehouses.
Is there custom tariff and VAT if buy from Hong Kong site - better colour choice from HK
If buy from Bangood Spain - is there any risk the Global version will not work in Ireland.
How easy is it for a novice like me to transfer my contacts, Apps, text messages etc from my Android Motorola Moto G 6 years old.

That's not an official Xiaomi shop. They just have the Xiaomi.ie web domain and the office address is listed as Dublin. It's possible they ship via HK/China. But you may not incur any other charges.
If a phone is global, it would work without any issues. What phone are you looking at?
With regard restoring your data, check your phone is backing up to Google.

contacts.google.com
messages.google.com
photos.google.com

All the recent stuff on your phone should be there if its working ok.

Blanco100 wrote: »

Sorry for quoting my own post, but just looking for follow up on this?

You'll do well to get it under €200
https://www.edwaybuy.com/redmi-note-8-pro.html €213.92

https://www.amazon.de/-/en/gp/offer-listing/B07YB7NLY7/ref=dp_olp_ALL_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=ALL

https://www.amazon.es/dp/B07YB7NLY7?tag=haggle-web-es-21&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1 €199+ shipping

Blanco100 wrote: »

Can anyone tell me why there are 2 versions of what looks like same phone for different prices on Banggood

https://www.banggood.com/search/redmi-note-8-pro128gb.html

Different amounts of Ram and Storage
4GB/64GB, 6GB/64GB, 6GB/128GB etc.

Yes, usually reliable enough assuming there aren't any further shipping restrictions or delays.
Czech Republic is just another EU warehouse option that might suit some countries better than Spain.

Can anyone tell me which Chinese phone has the best camera for portraits etc.? Although I adore the piece of kit that is the Realme X2 Pro, the camera when taking pictures can make people out orange-y or unnatural and doesn't show people in the best light/filter compared to say, an iPhone.

Has anyone experienced this?

sioda wrote: »

Have you changed the camera software. Pics on my x2 are excellent tbh but I use gcam software rather than the stock one

Have been just using the stock. I'll look that up now. Many thanks!

Lads, was going to get my young lad the Poco X3 for Christmas but am after thinking the phone is probably too big for his hands.. anything smaller with similar spec?

keano25 wrote: »

Lads, was going to get my young lad the Poco X3 for Christmas but am after thinking the phone is probably too big for his hands.. anything smaller with similar spec?

NOC3185 wrote: »

Hi guys,

Can anyone recommend a slightly smaller size phone around the €200 to €250 mark, in the region of 145mm to 155mm in height. Have looked at all the ones recommended over the past while, Redmi Note 8 and Note 9 series, Realme 6, Poco X3 etc. but all are quite large 'phaphlet' size phones over 160mm plus in height. Something around the Huawei P30 lite size would be perfect. Would that be a good option or is there anything with better specs available? Thanks.

I think the Pixel 3A can still be bought for a decent price I haven't been following the thread though - https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2058028306
https://www.hagglezon.com/en/s/pixel%203A

Or maybe the Mi 9SE if you can find it, I haven't looked too hard. It is around €250 and both have a screen suitable for smaller hands.
I would probably go for the Pixel.

Is it the 9S?
I put mine on the xiaomi.eu rom as soon as I could!
Once you register to allow yourself to unlock the bootloader, you've to wait 168 hours (1 week) for it to work

Have Redmi note 8 pro and been onto Vodafone to activate wi fi calling on this as doesn't show up as option when go into wi fi settings. After numerous calls and being sent around the houses by their technical support I was told that they only allow wi fi calling on recognised I phone samsung and some huawei devices. Anyone have experience of this of being unable to use wi fi calling on some of android phones mentioned on this thread.

wilsixon wrote: »

My Redmi 9 just arrived - looks good. Any advice on best (easiest and safest... don't want anything to stop working!) way to remove all MIUI bloatware from somebody with experience? Thanks

There are a few ways. (I think there is an actual Mi bloatware remover tool too).

https://fossbytes.com/miui-hidden-settings-for-xiaomi-remove-bloatware/

https://selivan.github.io/2020/02/25/removing-bloatware-from-xiaomi-miui-android.html

Is it only Huawei of the Chinese phone manufacturers who are banned from Play Services? It seems that there are workarounds you can do to get them on a Huawei phone, but Google and Huawei seem to patch these as they release updates, not sure I can live without Google Services, and not sure the hassle of trying to bypass the prevention techniques is worthwhile given they patch so regularly. Thoughts?

Inquitus wrote: »

Is it only Huawei of the Chinese phone manufacturers who are banned from Play Services? It seems that there are workarounds you can do to get them on a Huawei phone, but Google and Huawei seem to patch these as they release updates, not sure I can live without Google Services, and not sure the hassle of trying to bypass the prevention techniques is worthwhile given they patch so regularly. Thoughts?

Auroraoss.com will help with most.

F-Droid / Fossdroid have some great alternative apps too, which are likely to be safer.