Underboss
ok thanks mate
ill order one ready for when my phone arrives
ill order one ready for when my phone arrives
**** The Official Chinese Phones Thread ****
- Thread starter King4aDay
- Start date
Looking likely that I wont see mine either.
I informed gearbest that yodel had said it wasn't with them, gearbest said they'd chase it and suggested 7-10 business days from ordering is likely.
After 10 business days since order/dispatch I contacted gearbest to warn I would cancel if it didn't show in tracking soon.
They replied and said they'd chase and hoped I'd hold on a little longer.
2 days later 10 Oct, they took the money off my credit card and I've had no feedback and Yodel are still not tracking it.
I've said to gearbest that I'm contacting my credit card to get the money back/cancelling with them (first thing tomorrow) due to zero feedback and charging my card following my chasing a shipping problem, frankly I'm not shopping there again!
I've used ali express before, with far less hassle!
Caporegime
Sorry to hear that and a good case as any to buy on credit card.
My refund appeared on PayPal today and when it hits my credit card I’m most likely to get the S8, but Samsung S8 instead. I have actually gone back to the iPhone and found the size to be a blessing in my pocket. The Samsung S8 is pretty much the same size as the iPhone but all screen making it the ideal replacement short of the iPhone X.
Underboss
Sounds like made the right choice and ordered from AliExpress instead of gearbest. This is the trouble with buying from abroad
Associate
- Joined
- 8 Jun 2007
- Posts
- 1,821
That's the problem with gearbest,banggood etc they list stuff they don't even have in stock.
I waited a month for a phone that was pre order and then it got pushed back another month so got a refund.
I once ordered something that was dispatched but got another refund as it never arrived after 4 weeks.
3 days later it turned up lol.
I waited a month for a phone that was pre order and then it got pushed back another month so got a refund.
I once ordered something that was dispatched but got another refund as it never arrived after 4 weeks.
3 days later it turned up lol.
Caporegime
If they have dispatched the Elephone last week I would have say sod it and kept it, now having used the iPhone again I think I'll just stick with it and get the Samsung and get NFC, something that I really want.
Underboss
just received a TXT from DHL, my shipment is being delivery today ! (that was *** quick!)
no mention of anything to pay
oh spoke to soon, now its saying i have to pay £37
no mention of anything to pay
oh spoke to soon, now its saying i have to pay £37
Last edited by a moderator:
Soldato
New to this Chinese phone lark
someone please help me.
My misses is on SIM only contract with Virgin - her phone died (Nexus 5X) and i want to replace it for her.
I am looking at the Xiaomi Mi A1 and the likes is this the right kinda thing to be going for? I dont want to spend over £200 on it.
HELP ME
someone please help me.
My misses is on SIM only contract with Virgin - her phone died (Nexus 5X) and i want to replace it for her.
I am looking at the Xiaomi Mi A1 and the likes is this the right kinda thing to be going for? I dont want to spend over £200 on it.
HELP ME
Associate
I only have very limited experience of this just having bought a Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 for my wife from Banggood in Hong Kong.
Firstly the price you see the phones available for doesn't include VAT which is liable on import. You may or may not be required to pay this and it looks as though if you choose the DHL shipping option where available there's a good chance you'll have to pay plus a small handling fee. In my case I ended up paying a total of £11.42 instead of the expected £32 as the correct value wasn't declared (I very much doubt that DHL would allow this incorrect declaration).
As you'll be aware, if something goes wrong with the phone you don't have the UK consumer protection and will have the hassle of returning it, probably at your own expense. After saying that it seems to be pretty rare for problems to occur.
Personally I'd recommend the Note 4 because the quality is excellent and the battery life amazing and it's a fair bit cheaper than the A1. However it has a 5.5" screen which may make the phone too big for your wife. Additionally it comes with the MIUI 8 overlay on top of Android which is slightly different to use compared to stock Android. After using it for a while both me and my wife prefer it especially when using a different theme (and you can customise the themes easily albeit in a limited way). Note though that some Apps that use non-standard notifications don't display the notifications properly or need extra tweaking to work properly.
Firstly the price you see the phones available for doesn't include VAT which is liable on import. You may or may not be required to pay this and it looks as though if you choose the DHL shipping option where available there's a good chance you'll have to pay plus a small handling fee. In my case I ended up paying a total of £11.42 instead of the expected £32 as the correct value wasn't declared (I very much doubt that DHL would allow this incorrect declaration).
As you'll be aware, if something goes wrong with the phone you don't have the UK consumer protection and will have the hassle of returning it, probably at your own expense. After saying that it seems to be pretty rare for problems to occur.
Personally I'd recommend the Note 4 because the quality is excellent and the battery life amazing and it's a fair bit cheaper than the A1. However it has a 5.5" screen which may make the phone too big for your wife. Additionally it comes with the MIUI 8 overlay on top of Android which is slightly different to use compared to stock Android. After using it for a while both me and my wife prefer it especially when using a different theme (and you can customise the themes easily albeit in a limited way). Note though that some Apps that use non-standard notifications don't display the notifications properly or need extra tweaking to work properly.
Soldato
I think she is keen on stock android - coming from stock on her 5X however she doesn't mind some skinned versions either, although I'm keen on her getting latest google updates if possible.
Her main use is the camera I don't know much about camera specs but if its as good as her old 5x she will be happy.
As for battery, same again, she is used to charging it once a night and has a power bank and usb-c car charger from her 5x anyway.
Ref warranty - this is something i full understand i work for a manufacturer in technology so service and consumer law is something i am VERY aware of.
is the Mi A1 the best choice considering the above? Or should i be looking at any alternatives?
Her main use is the camera I don't know much about camera specs but if its as good as her old 5x she will be happy.
As for battery, same again, she is used to charging it once a night and has a power bank and usb-c car charger from her 5x anyway.
Ref warranty - this is something i full understand i work for a manufacturer in technology so service and consumer law is something i am VERY aware of.
is the Mi A1 the best choice considering the above? Or should i be looking at any alternatives?
I had a similar issue with them recently. Ordered a phone and after 22 days it still wasn't marked as dispatched. Sent them a support ticket asking for my order to be cancelled. I used paypal and I didn't have to start a dispute as they cancelled and refunded the order very quickly, so props to them for that at least.
For around $200, yes.
Soldato
Have you tried contacting Google about her Nexus? Google will almost certainly replace it if you bought it from them. There's a small chance they'll replace it with a Pixel too.
If you didn't buy it from Google then Huawei are fixing the battery issues with the Nexus 6P so I assume LG is worth contacting about the 5X. Or try the retailer you bought it from.
I bought a Note 4 for someone and it is worse than my 6P in every area except battery, but in most areas only by a small amount... except for the camera, which while not terrible, is still a long way behind. I'll be getting a Mi A1 to replace mine (unless the upcoming Note 5 looks especially tasty) as the camera isn't a massive concern, but don't expect it to be close to the 5X, especially indoors (outdoors it won't be embarrassingly bad).
Soldato
Are the cameras way off in terms of spec then? Is it worth me just getting another 5X second hand?
She is using an old S5 at the moment to get her by but the camera on that is terrible in comparison to the 5x (mainly speed of snaps etc)
She is using an old S5 at the moment to get her by but the camera on that is terrible in comparison to the 5x (mainly speed of snaps etc)
Caporegime
I have had a little play and can get decent photos in normal light but poor lighting isn't as good. My S6 was a lot better.
Soldato
It's what I ended up doing lol
Soldato
So forgive my ignorance, but the specs of the MI A1 is good, all except the camera?
This is frustrating, I basically want a Nexus 5x replacement, i dont want to back step at all - maybe i am approaching the problem in the wrong way then?
What should I do? Look for a second hand handset? (ive been trying) or is there a chinese counterpart that ive overlooked with a good camera, at around that budget?
This is frustrating, I basically want a Nexus 5x replacement, i dont want to back step at all - maybe i am approaching the problem in the wrong way then?
What should I do? Look for a second hand handset? (ive been trying) or is there a chinese counterpart that ive overlooked with a good camera, at around that budget?
Soldato
It's just a £170 phone vs a £600+ phone (I know the Nexuses were much cheaper than that, but they were flagship phones and the camera can still match most in that price bracket).
The hardware spec probably isn't that different (aperture will be bigger, sensor probably not quite as good), it's more likely to be software optimisations that separate them, and that's where the money goes. Flagship phones probably cost £200-400 to make, but the amount of money the likes of Google, Samsung and Apple spend on programming the bespoke software will be a staggering amount. Xiaomi will spend the least to get you little more than standard Android with a few bells and whistles and why they can sell phones for little more than base manufacturing costs.