Related
need some ques for firsthand users...is it laggy or smooth...hearing a lot of complaints about it...
go ahead, best phone at this price
There are touch issues with many of them, mine had also gone back to the service centre for touch repairs. Careful where you buy it from, you might not get warranty option
regret, i brought it based on its excellent specifications.
worst phone i ever had (china version).
better to buy xiaomi than lenovo, better of the worst.
saintsoh said:
regret, i brought it based on its excellent specifications.
worst phone i ever had (china version).
better to buy xiaomi than lenovo, better of the worst.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what happened with your phone? the phone was pretty good in my opinion, did everything so well, i wish the camera was better but for the price its good. I only started the have touch issues after i dropped it from about 1.5m on concrete. I had the indian version but they are identical with different names and boxes
This phone is good..
If this phone is not good then xda won't let it have its own forum..
All those developers don't develope their rom or
They don't give all those supports..
For me its awesome..
You want the truth? Here you go!
I'm an end user of this phone myself and it is literally the worst phone I had ever experience because of this Phone I had to learn how to root and install custom recovery which I never done before in quite a while on the get-go. Not to mention that I had to learn about Xposed because it lacks customisation options. The Official OS sucks the worst trully! I prefer Nexus ROM by Dr. Root better. Specs are ok for the price and if you use Nexus Custom ROM as mentioned previously you will have a lot of free space for RAM. If you are a normal end consumer who wants it easy either look for another phone OR buy an iPhone, but if you have interest in technology and wants to customise your software, look no further this is by far the best cheap phone I used so far.
Here are the MUST you need:
1) Interest in android
2) Tech Savvy
3) Learn to root in anyway possible i.e. One-click root, SP Flash tool and/or adb fastboot
4) Learn more about Xposed framework
5) Learn to flash custom recovery using mobile uncle (or anything similar), SP Flash Tool and/or adb fastboot
Optional but very effective that you don't need the previos 5
6) Have a friend that can do number 1-5.
Once a gain and I quote "If you are a normal end consumer who wants it easy either look for another phone OR buy an iPhone, but if you have interest in technology and wants to customise your software, look no further this is by far the best cheap phone I used so far.". The Official ROM is full of bloatware that hogs your RAM thus choosing a Custom ROM is compulsory.
rpgiqbal said:
I had to learn how to root and install custom recovery which I never done before in quite a while on the get-go. Not to mention that I had to learn about Xposed because it lacks customisation options. The Official OS sucks the worst trully!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No mate, you didnt have to learn it, you chose to do this yourself, you couldve simply used a stock launcher, but you didnt, you had youtube reviews showing it all, but you ignored that and still purchased the phone. The stock one isnt bad and the stock OS does not suck so dont go ahead blaming it because you didnt like it and made poor decisions.
buy an iPhone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if someone is looking at buying this phone, why would they opt for an iphone which is 5 times the price?
OP its all about preference, if you have a price range and cant go higher, go for this phone, keep in mind, it has no app drawer, but you get used to it, also if you want an app drawer or stock feel, you can always install a launcher like google launcher or nova. This phone is very good for its price and i would highly recommend it, just be warned about the touch issues many users are facing
stock OS is one of the biggest sh*t (chinese version).
the moment it is connected, if u r lucky using wifi, otherwise data connection cost money wasted on all the bloated malwares downloaded.
worst of all, lenovo game center, apps/games applicable to china only.
if it is ROW (Rest-Of-the-World) maybe better, no gapps for chinese version.
local radio (ota) cut-off every 15 minutes.
speaker too small and soft, always missed call in my pocket.
heat up every fast.
everything in chinese widgets/themes/fonts...........
weather only in china cities......
lists continue....unable to uninstall bloatware, some unable to disable............
block all bloatwares permission to data connection/wifi/auto-start run/background-run still some able to auto-run............
how good can stock os be?
nonsense, it is so bad, tats why custom roms are put up on xda......
ps;
since i had this phone, there r several major updates (chinese version) in just a few months. this will never happens to any phone makers, reasons is very simply....too many sh*tty problems.
op if u r not tech savvy or know basic linux commands, get yourself a xiaomi. at least they provide google installation apps, world-wide recognitions (not limited to regions eg. china, india, russia) and lesser problems from the go-start.
pss;
i had to use Mediatek engineering mode app to boost volume level, risk damaging to the phone speaker or my expensive head-set.
psss;
one last sh*t from lenovo.......install lenovo usb driver......it will load chinese malwares.
pssss;
i promise this will be the last of my sh*t......ROW (Rest-Of-the-World) does not means the WORLD, it meant for india and russia. if u live in these countries, its ok to buy.
Hartik said:
No mate, you didnt have to learn it, you chose to do this yourself, you couldve simply used a stock launcher, but you didnt, you had youtube reviews showing it all, but you ignored that and still purchased the phone. The stock one isnt bad and the stock OS does not suck so dont go ahead blaming it because you didnt like it and made poor decisions.
if someone is looking at buying this phone, why would they opt for an iphone which is 5 times the price?
OP its all about preference, if you have a price range and cant go higher, go for this phone, keep in mind, it has no app drawer, but you get used to it, also if you want an app drawer or stock feel, you can always install a launcher like google launcher or nova. This phone is very good for its price and i would highly recommend it, just be warned about the touch issues many users are facing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never think it was a mistake, for me. It was good that I purchase the phone with faulty ROM since I get to learn anything and everything about android. It's a win for me since the specs ain't bad.
Buy it if you want some adventure with android.
one of the Best community for a mid-range phone.
I learned a lot of things by using this phone.
From flashing custom ROMs, using SPFlash Tools(Really helpful, helped many of my friends to recover from bricking.)
I suggest you to buy this phone.
Hi guys,
Could anyone in the UK who has bought one of these, let me know what they think?
Where did you buy it?
Did it work straight out of the box without any flashing needed?
Which ROM came installed on it?
Does Google Play store work fine?
Any issues with Banking Apps?
Does Android Pay work ok on it?
I need to choose between this one, and the Huawei Mate 9.
Thanks to anyone who can take time to give me their opinion of it now they have one.
greatcapp said:
Hi guys,
Could anyone in the UK who has bought one of these, let me know what they think?
Where did you buy it?
Did it work straight out of the box without any flashing needed?
Which ROM came installed on it?
Does Google Play store work fine?
Any issues with Banking Apps?
Does Android Pay work ok on it?
I need to choose between this one, and the Huawei Mate 9.
Thanks to anyone who can take time to give me their opinion of it now they have one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Considering there are only two variants of the device (4/128 & 6/256) available, I don't see how a "UK" buyer's opinion would be any different from that of others.
Now, to answer your questions, most buyers here, have bought from Chinavasion and Flosmall as they have ready stock and promise fast shipping. Wondamobile is also recommended by many and their prices are inclusive of import charges. The price you pay on Wondamobile is the final price. Flosmall also offers a similar option if you choose to opt for their "EU customs insurance". If you opt for this, they claim that they will refund any import charges paid to customs minus DHL's clearance processing charges, within 1 business day of submitting the customs invoice to them.
2. It will work straight out of the box without the need for any flashing as most vendors ship it with a customized ROM with Google services pre-installed. There are no issues with the vendor ROM but it is recommended that you switch to the EU beta ROM or one of the custom ROMs available, if you need updates.
3. Android Pay should work on phones with bootloader locked. If your phone comes with an unlocked bootloader, its fairly easy to relock it using Fastboot.
And when you compare the Mix with the Mate 9,
Mate 9 - Pros
The Mate 9 has a slightly better quality IPS display. (Same FHD resolution, but higher pixel density due to smaller 5.9inch screen, slightly better contrast and colors.) - Source: GSMArena Display Tests. The Perceived quality difference is almost negligible though. The Mix also has one of the best FHD IPS panels in the market.
I have compared both displays side by side and both look equally great. So its up to you to decide whether numbers matter.
The Mate 9 has one of the best cameras on a flagship phone. So if you are someone who takes a lot of photos, the Mix isn't for you.
Expandable Storage via Microsd on the Mate 9, but do you need more than 256 GB of UFS 2.1 Fast onboard storage on the Mix?
Mate 9 - Cons
The Mate 9 has a Kirin 960 processor. While CPU speed is close to the Snapdragon 821, the GPU is slightly weaker. The main drawback however, is that the Kirin Chipset is not as developer friendly as a Snapdragon.
There are fewer custom ROMS for Custom designed chipsets like Huawei's Kirin and Samsung's Exynos. Any stable custom ROMS you find will be based on the base OS.
Forget stable AOSP\CM\Lineage OS development. Most developers prefer Snapdragon.
Once\If Xiaomi releases the kernel sources for the Mix, the device will definitely be open to development. This is one of the reasons why I chose the Mix over the Mate 9. I've used Samsung phones before and none of them had decent custom ROMS due to the Exynos chipset. So I wanted a Snapdragon based device as development makes your device more future proof.
The International Version of the Mate 9, MHA-L29 only has 4GB RAM at the moment. There are rumours of a 6GB L29 Variant though. As of now, only the Chinese variant (MHA- AL00) has 6GB RAM and 128GB Storage. While 4GB of RAM is more than sufficient, almost every flagship this year will come with 6GB as a minimum. So the Mix is more future-proof.
Smaller battery (4000maH) compared to the 4400mah battery of the Mix. And the Mix has excellent battery life.
While the design of the Mate 9 is decent, it isn't a head-turner like the Mix!
Hope this helps.
Cheers!
greatcapp said:
Hi guys,
Could anyone in the UK who has bought one of these, let me know what they think?
Where did you buy it?
Did it work straight out of the box without any flashing needed?
Which ROM came installed on it?
Does Google Play store work fine?
Any issues with Banking Apps?
Does Android Pay work ok on it?
I need to choose between this one, and the Huawei Mate 9.
Thanks to anyone who can take time to give me their opinion of it now they have one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok bought mine from gearbest paid £520 with the shipping 4g/128 via China post, took a bit longer but no custom payment. Bootloader unlocked so no android pay, PayPal works fine. I removed vendor rom because you don't get any updates. Installed Chinese stable ROM and Google play from mi market and it was fine. Have now installed EU ROM and wish I had done it before comes with play store. Depending on which network your on 4g works great, might struggle with o2 or Vodafone in most places. Bootloader can be relocked easily if you follow all the guides. Glad to own the mi mix.
Damn OP, how did you not thank this guy for his super detailed answer? He's the most helpful guy around here :laugh:
Thanks for the detailed replies guys, much appreciated,
I was looking at using Wonda Mobile and it seems that they ship it with Chinese ROM with Google Play installed.
They say it's not rooted, but does that mean either way that the bootloader is locked/unlocked, or is that entirely different (I''ve been very out of touch with rooting now, it's been years since I've done that)?
Would Chinese ROM stilll have English language on it if I wasn't confident in flashing the EU ROM? (I'll search for an idiot's guide to re-flash the phone).
Oh, and one more thing, the fact that it has no speaker at the top of the handset for making/receiving calls - I understand that the screen vibrates to allow you to hear (kind of). Does it actually work ok in real life?
Thanks again.
greatcapp said:
Thanks for the detailed replies guys, much appreciated,
I was looking at using Wonda Mobile and it seems that they ship it with Chinese ROM with Google Play installed.
They say it's not rooted, but does that mean either way that the bootloader is locked/unlocked, or is that entirely different (I''ve been very out of touch with rooting now, it's been years since I've done that)?
Would Chinese ROM stilll have English language on it if I wasn't confident in flashing the EU ROM? (I'll search for an idiot's guide to re-flash the phone).
Oh, and one more thing, the fact that it has no speaker at the top of the handset for making/receiving calls - I understand that the screen vibrates to allow you to hear (kind of). Does it actually work ok in real life?
Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The official Chinese ROM doesn't have Google play pre-installed. So its most probably a Vendor-customized ROM they are referring to. I bought mine from Chinavasion. It came with a Vendor ROM but it wasn't rooted and bootloader was locked. But there are others who received the device with bootloader unlocked. The phones don't come rooted though. You can always unlock and re-lock bootloader as its a fairly simple process once you receive your unlock code from Xiaomi. You need an unlocked bootloader for flashing ROMS and modifying core system files. So, it isn't a necessity unless you wish to switch ROMS.
The Vendor ROM is a multi-language ROM, so English is definitely there.
Regarding the earpiece, no issues whatsoever. As the sound isn't channeled through a dedicated earpiece, it may sound like the phone is in hands-free mode (The intensity of the sound is the same, no matter wherever you place your ear on the phone during a call) but otherwise no issues. It works quite well.
satishp said:
The official Chinese ROM doesn't have Google play pre-installed. So its most probably a Vendor-customized ROM they are referring to. I bought mine from Chinavasion. It came with a Vendor ROM but it wasn't rooted and bootloader was locked. But there are others who received the device with bootloader unlocked. The phones don't come rooted though. You can always unlock and re-lock bootloader as its a fairly simple process once you receive your unlock code from Xiaomi. You need an unlocked bootloader for flashing ROMS and modifying core system files. So, it isn't a necessity unless you wish to switch ROMS.
The Vendor ROM is a multi-language ROM, so English is definitely there.
Regarding the earpiece, no issues whatsoever. As the sound isn't channelled through a dedicated earpiece, it may sound like the phone is on hands-free mode (The intensity of the sound is the same, no matter wherever you place your ear on the phone during a call) but otherwise no issues. It works quite well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once again, many thanks for your input. I'll give it some thought over the next few days and maybe take the plunge. :good:
greatcapp said:
Once again, many thanks for your input. I'll give it some thought over the next few days and maybe take the plunge. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I say if you're not willing to flash from vendor rom don't get 1 it may have English language but not UK only US which causes a few problems. If you really want one just flash EU or globe ROM
jazz452 said:
I say if you're not willing to flash from vendor rom don't get 1 it may have English language but not UK only US which causes a few problems. If you really want one just flash EU or globe ROM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your input.
What sort of issues do you think it may cause me?
I may be willing to go to the EU ROM I'm just a little wary having not tried rooting/flashing etc in many years now.
greatcapp said:
Thanks for your input.
What sort of issues do you think it may cause me?
I may be willing to go to the EU ROM I'm just a little wary having not tried rooting/flashing etc in many years now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think you would face any issues by selecting US English! The only issue you may face with language set as "English US" instead of "English UK" may be slight variations in spelling of certain words.
For example, COLOR is the preferred spelling in American English whereas "COLOUR" is preferred when the phone uses UK English.
I don't know whether these minor differences matter to a lot of people but it most certainly doesn't affect user experience. I don't think this should even be a deciding factor when buying a phone.
Play store content is localized based on location data reported by Google's location services. So you aren't even missing out on anything and you will full have access to the UK Play store.
You can still utilize every feature of the device regardless of what language you've chosen. Hope you get the point.
But if you really need to have UK English on the device, you can always flash the EU ROM using one of the guides. Its a fairly simple process.
And regarding the Vendor ROM, a vendor wouldn't sell the device with a broken ROM. The ROM which came pre-installed on my device didn't have any issues. It didn't even have any Chinese bloatware.
My point is, the vendor ROM is perfectly fine until you feel the need to update to a newer software version. Most people import phones from China and use it with the Vendor ROM without any issues.
Its just a minority here on XDA and other forums who actually take the time and effort to flash ROMS and updates.
Cheers!
satishp said:
I don't think you would face any issues by selecting US English! The only issue you may face with language set as "English US" instead of "English UK" may be slight variations in spelling of certain words.
For example, COLOR is the preferred spelling in American English whereas "COLOUR" is preferred when the phone uses UK English.
I don't know whether these minor differences matter to a lot of people but it most certainly doesn't affect user experience. I don't think this should even be a deciding factor when buying a phone.
Play store content is localized based on location data reported by Google's location services. So you aren't even missing out on anything and you will full have access to the UK Play store.
You can still utilize every feature of the device regardless of what language you've chosen. Hope you get the point.
But if you really need to have UK English on the device, you can always flash the EU ROM using one of the guides. Its a fairly simple process.
And regarding the Vendor ROM, a vendor wouldn't sell the device with a broken ROM. The ROM which came pre-installed on my device didn't have any issues. It didn't even have any Chinese bloatware.
My point is, the vendor ROM is perfectly fine until you feel the need to update to a newer software version. Most people import phones from China and use it with the Vendor ROM without any issues.
Its just a minority here on XDA and other forums who actually take the time and effort to flash ROMS and updates.
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some banking apps don't work properly with language set English US, like PayPal which I use for work all the time, can still use it but can't use mobile pin, have to put full password in with caps and number's.
jazz452 said:
Some banking apps don't work properly with language set English US, like PayPal which I use for work all the time, can still use it but can't use mobile pin, have to put full password in with caps and number's.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're referring to the issue where you can't login to the app using mobile number and PIN, that seems to be an old PayPal bug from 2014 where language had to match account location. Wonder why they haven't fixed it yet.
So technically, its an APP related bug which has got nothing to do with the ROM and looks like its an issue specific to the Paypal app. Haven't heard of similar issues with other apps.
But its good that you pointed this out in case the OP also uses the PayPal app. In this case, he may have to use the EU ROM I guess.
satishp said:
If you're referring to the issue where you can't login to the app using mobile number and PIN, that seems to be an old PayPal bug from 2014 where language had to match account location. Wonder why they haven't fixed it yet.
So technically, its an APP related bug which has got nothing to do with the ROM and looks like its an issue specific to the Paypal app. Haven't heard of similar issues with other apps.
But its good that you pointed this out in case the OP also uses the PayPal app. In this case, he may have to use the EU ROM I guess.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was a nightmare having to login 20 time's a day without mobile pin. With globe or EU ROM no problems when English UK language set.
satishp said:
I don't think you would face any issues by selecting US English! The only issue you may face with language set as "English US" instead of "English UK" may be slight variations in spelling of certain words.
For example, COLOR is the preferred spelling in American English whereas "COLOUR" is preferred when the phone uses UK English.
I don't know whether these minor differences matter to a lot of people but it most certainly doesn't affect user experience. I don't think this should even be a deciding factor when buying a phone.
Play store content is localized based on location data reported by Google's location services. So you aren't even missing out on anything and you will full have access to the UK Play store.
You can still utilize every feature of the device regardless of what language you've chosen. Hope you get the point.
But if you really need to have UK English on the device, you can always flash the EU ROM using one of the guides. Its a fairly simple process.
And regarding the Vendor ROM, a vendor wouldn't sell the device with a broken ROM. The ROM which came pre-installed on my device didn't have any issues. It didn't even have any Chinese bloatware.
My point is, the vendor ROM is perfectly fine until you feel the need to update to a newer software version. Most people import phones from China and use it with the Vendor ROM without any issues.
Its just a minority here on XDA and other forums who actually take the time and effort to flash ROMS and updates.
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great info. Thank you very much. I'm thinking I might go for it in a day or so. :good:
Something else I am curious about. THe aspect ratio of the phone is 17:9 instead of the usual 16:9. What issues if any, does this bring? Would a standard music app (maybe PlayerPro or GoneMad player) or a banking app (Barclays etc) or even apps like Google Maps, GMail etc open full screen or wou;d there be black bars at the top or bottom where they might be designed for the more standard 16:9 screen? I understand that video in 16:9 would obviously need to have the back bars at the sides (when vieiwing landscape). Thanks.
greatcapp said:
Something else I am curious about. THe aspect ratio of the phone is 17:9 instead of the usual 16:9. What issues if any, does this bring? Would a standard music app (maybe PlayerPro or GoneMad player) or a banking app (Barclays etc) or even apps like Google Maps, GMail etc open full screen or wou;d there be black bars at the top or bottom where they might be designed for the more standard 16:9 screen? I understand that video in 16:9 would obviously need to have the back bars at the sides (when vieiwing landscape). Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The aspect ratio doesn't affect any apps. All apps and games adapt to the aspect ratio. That extra bit of the 17:9 aspect ratio is used by the Navbar
Like you've mentioned, the only time you would notice black borders, is when watching videos as most videos use a 16:9 ratio. But this isn't a deal-breaker as you'll hardly notice it considering these bars are very small and appear on each side, which is less distracting compared to those ugly big bars on the top and bottom when watching 4:3 content on 16:9 screens. Moreover, the display has excellent contrast and blacks for an IPS panel.
Nothing to worry here!
So I went for it, & it arrived yesterday.
I'm liking it so far, even though it's a lot of work for me to get everything going. Very often, for a lot of apps (ie Android Pay, GOSMS, Gmail, and many others), to get them working properly, i have to go into Settings/Permissions/Permissions/Permissions Tab/ and then into lots of settings inside there & change to "Accept" for anything to work properly. Is that normal?
greatcapp said:
So I went for it, & it arrived yesterday.
I'm liking it so far, even though it's a lot of work for me to get everything going. Very often, for a lot of apps (ie Android Pay, GOSMS, Gmail, and many others), to get them working properly, i have to go into Settings/Permissions/Permissions/Permissions Tab/ and then into lots of settings inside there & change to "Accept" for anything to work properly. Is that normal?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes normal.
greatcapp said:
Hi guys,
Could anyone in the UK who has bought one of these, let me know what they think?
Where did you buy it?
Did it work straight out of the box without any flashing needed?
Which ROM came installed on it?
Does Google Play store work fine?
Any issues with Banking Apps?
Does Android Pay work ok on it?
I need to choose between this one, and the Huawei Mate 9.
Thanks to anyone who can take time to give me their opinion of it now they have one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought mine from Eglobal Central.
No flashing required.
It came with the stock Chinese ROM (which includes English).
Google Play works fine once you install it from the Mi Market.
No issues with banking apps.
I've not installed Android Pay, but I've set up contacless payment using my Barclaycard and the Barclaycard app. I've not actually used it yet, but the app does a compatibility check and says it should work fine.
Moandal said:
I bought mine from Eglobal Central.
No flashing required.
It came with the stock Chinese ROM (which includes English).
Google Play works fine once you install it from the Mi Market.
No issues with banking apps.
I've not installed Android Pay, but I've set up contacless payment using my Barclaycard and the Barclaycard app. I've not actually used it yet, but the app does a compatibility check and says it should work fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it came without play store android pay might work, if it comes with play store usually vendor ROM and definitely don't work.
Hello World,
I bought a Galaxy Note 8 DUOS (two SIM cards) with 256GB internal storage and Exynos CPU - its the Hong Kong Version of the China Model from Samsung.
I tried in vain to flash European Exynos Firmware for LineageOS respectively Resurrection Remix onto it, but it just won't take (flash works fine with TWRP, but phone never gets to boot past the initial loader screen).
Now before I put back that humongous (3+GB!) Samsung HK crap onto it, I wanted to check one last time if there is or isn't a custom Firmware available for this model?
I would prefer RR, but pure LOS would also do.
Xda has a very good search engine, there's a Note 8 roms section,...
You might learn something along the way.
Sent from my Galaxy Note8 using XDA Labs
Just a question...
I've got the 9500 as well. Mine is from HK as well but it's a Snapdragon.
Are you sure yours is an exynos? Please double check. Wouldn't want you screwing the phone up.
Dejan Sathanas said:
Xda has a very good search engine, there's a Note 8 roms section,...
You might learn something along the way.
Sent from my Galaxy Note8 using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please *not* in this patronizing tone.
You might think of yourself as the great "know it all", but your assumption that I am asking this question because I am too lazy (or too stupid) to utilize a search engine first, is truly denigrating.
And I have been an IT engineer for three decades, a Linux user for 15 and an Android user for over 5 years by now.
So I recon I already have "learned something".
charmz2k2 said:
Just a question...
I've got the 9500 as well. Mine is from HK as well but it's a Snapdragon.
Are you sure yours is an exynos? Please double check. Wouldn't want you screwing the phone up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went by the info that the Snapdragon is sold exclusively in the States (sorry, but the article is in German):
http://www.areamobile.de/news/43095-samsung-galaxy-s8-glaubensfrage-snapdragon-versus-exynos
And elsewhere I found the info that the Duos sold in HK is based on the Exonys.
I also "confimed" this via the device's ID number on an Asian website.
But given that I am currently not able to boot into the system (stuck @twrp), I might be assuming stuff here.
In any case, I located and tried two different custom firmwares I found on XDA for the N8 and they were all for various models of the N95xx *except* the 9500 (wasn't listed). And none worked.
I also searched for custom firmware specific to the N9500 Duos on XDA, Google and even some websites I normally wouldn't even want to download shabby videos from, but I found none.
So now I am about to flash back the stock Samsung HK firmware to it, but that would be my least favored choice.
Masinissa said:
I went by the info that the Snapdragon is sold exclusively in the States (sorry, but the article is in German):
http://www.areamobile.de/news/43095-samsung-galaxy-s8-glaubensfrage-snapdragon-versus-exynos
And elsewhere I found the info that the Duos sold in HK is based on the Exonys.
I also "confimed" this via the device's ID number on an Asian website.
But given that I am currently not able to boot into the system (stuck @twrp), I might be assuming stuff here.
In any case, I located and tried two different custom firmwares I found on XDA for the N8 and they were all for various models of the N95xx *except* the 9500 (wasn't listed). And none worked.
I also searched for custom firmware specific to the N9500 Duos on XDA, Google and even some websites I normally wouldn't even want to download shabby videos from, but I found none.
So now I am about to flash back the stock Samsung HK firmware to it, but that would be my least favored choice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh no... What a pain...
I think HK and China ones for 9500 are Snapdragon...
Hope you get it sorted.
:good:
Sent from my Galaxy Note8 using XDA Labs
charmz2k2 said:
Just a question...
I've got the 9500 as well. Mine is from HK as well but it's a Snapdragon.
Are you sure yours is an exynos? Please double check. Wouldn't want you screwing the phone up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One more info: I tried the Notorious kernel and its install screen specifically lists the compatible model versions and the N9500 is *not* in that list.
Since the XDA Lineage OS & RR ports are based on the Notorious kernel, it seems all but certain now that the HK model isn't supported by the XDA custom firmware.
So I'll stop with Notorious now and will instead flash myself all the way back to the shores of Honk Kong bay
Masinissa said:
One more info: I tried the Notorious kernel and its install screen specifically lists the compatible model versions and the N9500 is *not* in that list.
Since the XDA Lineage OS & RR ports are based on the Notorious kernel, it seems all but certain now that the HK model isn't supported by the XDA custom firmware.
So I'll stop with Notorious now and will instead flash myself all the way back to the shores of Honk Kong bay
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
N9500 IS Snapdragon! Try downloading "systeminfo" from Google and that should confirm!
Sent from my SM-N9500 using Tapatalk
Dejan Sathanas said:
Xda has a very good search engine, there's a Note 8 roms section,...
You might learn something along the way.
Sent from my Galaxy Note8 using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The fact you take the time to post this says alot. Why don't YOU try to use the search function to the question that was asked and see what YOU learn, jackass.
robmeik said:
N9500 IS Snapdragon! Try downloading "systeminfo" from Google and that should confirm!
Sent from my SM-N9500 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I first have to flash myself back into a working system with the latest HK firmware.
But by now I am all but certain, that the info from that tech article (in German) was wrong, where they stated that N8 models sold outside the States were (all) based on Exonys. Well, they actually said, that only models sold in the US were based on Snapdragon. Fact is that I could not find *any* Exonys custom firmware that would be flashable onto my device - and I did a lot(!!) of searching about this. For me that means it must be Snapdragon.
Now my plan B is to get back to firmware, keep the darn thing rooted and then rip out as much of the Samsung crap as possible manually.
Is there any list which services and system apps are safe to remove on a stock firmware N8 9500?
Masinissa said:
I first have to flash myself back into a working system with the latest HK firmware.
But by now I am all but certain, that the info from that tech article (in German) was wrong, where they stated that N8 models sold outside the States were (all) based on Exonys. Well, they actually said, that only models sold in the US were based on Snapdragon. Fact is that I could not find *any* Exonys custom firmware that would be flashable onto my device - and I did a lot(!!) of searching about this. For me that means it must be Snapdragon.
Now my plan B is to get back to firmware, keep the darn thing rooted and then rip out as much of the Samsung crap as possible manually.
Is there any list which services and system apps are safe to remove on a stock firmware N8 9500?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I have read you'll have difficulty in getting back to anything "normal" I think a rooted Snapdragon can only charge to 60% and once rooted all "secure" features are made redundant! That's why I have steered clear of rooting and anyway with the new software there's not that much that rooting enhances as far as I can see from my reading into the many threads on xda and other android related forums!
I was reading somewhere on here about getting rid of (freezing) some Samsung apps with out rooting though ... I'm leaving mine as it is as I'm happy with what I have!
Sent from my SM-N9500 using Tapatalk
robmeik said:
From what I have read you'll have difficulty in getting back to anything "normal" I think a rooted Snapdragon can only charge to 60% and once rooted all "secure" features are made redundant! That's why I have steered clear of rooting and anyway with the new software there's not that much that rooting enhances as far as I can see from my reading into the many threads on xda and other android related forums!
I was reading somewhere on here about getting rid of (freezing) some Samsung apps with out rooting though ... I'm leaving mine as it is as I'm happy with what I have!
Sent from my SM-N9500 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As a power user I happen to disagree as far as the usefulness of "rooting" is concerned.
Whilst that should never be a concern for "normal" users, even something as basic as changing those abysmal write blockages on the external SD card requires access to the stuff under the hood.
The same goes for using many of Chainfire's tools or being able to perform true full device backups *locally* (I would never entrust my data to the Samsung cloud).
And as far as the Snapdragon charging issue is concerned, last thing I read was this is now at 95-98%.
And since I used an official Samsung method to unlock the BL, I might not be affected by that at all.
In any case, I am sure I could compensate for those 5-3% in loss with a proper CPU governor (=root access).
Masinissa said:
As a power user I happen to disagree as far as the usefulness of "rooting" is concerned.
Whilst that should never be a concern for "normal" users, even something as basic as changing those abysmal write blockages on the external SD card requires access to the stuff under the hood.
The same goes for using many of Chainfire's tools or being able to perform true full device backups *locally* (I would never entrust my data to the Samsung cloud).
And as far as the Snapdragon charging issue is concerned, last thing I read was this is now at 95-98%.
And since I used an official Samsung method to unlock the BL, I might not be affected by that at all.
In any case, I am sure I could compensate for those 5-3% in loss with a proper CPU governor (=root access).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As a power user who uses my phone normally I feel that the latest developments in the operating system don't need endless tweaking! It seems that so many users now just tweak for the sake of tweaking rather than enjoying what their communication device has to offer!
I bought a 256Gb dual sim device as I didn't want problems with sd cards and I'm OK with backing up to the Samsung cloud ... but hey, that's just me a simple normal user who has been using Android since it began and was very much into tweaking in the early days as there was so much improvement to be had through rooting.
OK I use Nova rather than Touchwiz (but that's improved dramatically) and my main grip of adverts is now minimised by using "paid for" apps where possible and Samsung's own Internet app is very efficient at stopping adverts!
Sent from my SM-T805 using XDA-Developers Legacy app
robmeik said:
As a power user who uses my phone normally I feel that the latest developments in the operating system don't need endless tweaking! It seems that so many users now just tweak for the sake of tweaking rather than enjoying what their communication device has to offer!
...
Sent from my SM-T805 using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It got nothing to do with "tweaking", but with overcoming intentional crippling of the device done by Google and Samsung together.
And for me a "power user" is not defined by someone who use his device often or has a lots of software on it, but by someone who insist on getting every ounce of possibility out of the hardware he paid good money for.
W/o root I can not decently mount ISO images or foreign file systems via SSH. W/o root I can not link across file systems or mount folders where *I* want them to be. W/o root I got no chance to alter the boot up behavior of the phone and I most certainly have no influence over anything running on it with "system" privileges.
I paid enough cash for my N8 for three new Laptops and in return I am supposed to be a devout little penguin who accepts any data stealing crap running in the background, any forced update Samsung pushes down my throat, learn to live with any security hole they won't patch and not be able to use my phone in ways *they* don't want me to?
If it be up to Google I wouldn't even be allowed to save YouTube Videos locally. For me being a "power user" means "being in power" - nothing more, nothing less.
since you are on snapdragon and you have been trying to flash exyno stuff, just wipe and you will be able to boot phone. i doubt any files were acctualy flashed. also any odin firmware you may have tried would have also failed.
by not having a custom recovery and probably not root either i do not see why your device is non operational.
looks like you probably used thisor should have)
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-note-8/how-to/guide-n9500-unlocking-bl-twrp-t3696103
anyways flashing back stock FW and following the steps in that link to gain twrp and root/magisk and xposed is all you need. custom roms have all of this baked in so you are not missing anything. maybe a few unique settings some have via rom control but nothing big.
but in the end its a shame a novice mistake was done by buying a snapdragon and tripped knox so you cant return it for a exynos.
,,,,
bober10113 said:
...
but in the end its a shame a novice mistake was done by buying a snapdragon and tripped knox so you cant return it for a exynos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Buying this phone wasn't a "novice mistake", as I looked for the HW specs first.
There are specific things I want to do with this phone - like using it as a portable PC replacement and building a cluster with my tablet and my CuBox - thus I went for the top HW specs.
And that model is the only one with DUAL SIM (or SDXC card), and 256 GB internal storage. Naturally I needed to root the darn thing to install all the stuff I want. Tripping KNOX was never an issue for me, as getting rid of stock firmware is always one of the first things I do. 64GB internal storage just wasn't enough for me, as I plan to install quite a few qemu and other "alternative" systems on it. I work as a consultant in Enterprise IT and I got to travel all the time because of that.
Now whenever I am not required to work with a company laptop I prefer to travel as light as possible.
Honestly speaking, the modern high end smartphones have at least as much computing power as a middle class laptop, the only limitations usually being storage speed and RAM size.
With the flagship N9500 these limits no longer exist so why should I still slug around another laptop (even if its a small one), if I can use my smartphone plus a WiFi cast dongle for private browsing, code testing and writing my invoices?
The mistake I made was to not take the time to verify the info from that tech article and thus to assume that, because my phone wasn't sold in the US, it couldn't be a snapdragon (and yes, originally I tried the firmware from that XDA post).
So now I gotta do it the hard way, flash back to stock Firmware and then "customize" that one manually.
Last info on this thread:
I was able to flash myself into a working phone, by downloading the latest Hongkong firmware from sammobile.
Then I used twrp to flash the extracted boot and system images (both are required, once you were foolish enough to try and install Exonys based firmware to it).
Now I am installing Magisk and just rip out anything "Samsung" from the darn thing by hand.
BTW, the BL unlock & TWRP install method for Snapdragon China phones (not US!) described here on XDA does not seem to have that battery issue described elsewhere, as it is not based on SAMfail.
robmeik said:
From what I have read you'll have difficulty in getting back to anything "normal" I think a rooted Snapdragon can only charge to 60% and once rooted all "secure" features are made redundant! That's why I have steered clear of rooting and anyway with the new software there's not that much that rooting enhances as far as I can see from my reading into the many threads on xda and other android related forums!
I was reading somewhere on here about getting rid of (freezing) some Samsung apps with out rooting though ... I'm leaving mine as it is as I'm happy with what I have!
Sent from my SM-N9500 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will charge up to 80%.
I traded my Rog phone 5 for a brand new in the box oneplus 10 pro. I received the version that is 12 gigs of ram with 256 gigs of storage. It's running the CN software though and I would like to change it to whatever version is the best for Canada.
Can I do this without a computer handy or is it impossible? I can follow directions well enough so if there's an accurate step by step walk through I will be able to manage it. I guess I just need to know which version of the OS and if someone can find me an to date walk through.
Absolutely love this phone so far,
Thanks so much for the help
1BDB1 said:
I traded my Rog phone 5 for a brand new in the box oneplus 10 pro. I received the version that is 12 gigs of ram with 256 gigs of storage. It's running the CN software though and I would like to change it to whatever version is the best for Canada.
Can I do this without a computer handy or is it impossible? I can follow directions well enough so if there's an accurate step by step walk through I will be able to manage it. I guess I just need to know which version of the OS and if someone can find me an to date walk through.
Absolutely love this phone so far,
Thanks so much for the help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stay on ColorOS as it's same as OxygenOS !!
None of the theme stuff works, nor does find my mobile etc
1BDB1 said:
I traded my Rog phone 5 for a brand new in the box oneplus 10 pro. I received the version that is 12 gigs of ram with 256 gigs of storage. It's running the CN software though and I would like to change it to whatever version is the best for Canada.
Can I do this without a computer handy or is it impossible? I can follow directions well enough so if there's an accurate step by step walk through I will be able to manage it. I guess I just need to know which version of the OS and if someone can find me an to date walk through.
Absolutely love this phone so far,
Thanks so much for the help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You will probably want either NE1113 or NE2215. Both of which are pretty easily interchangeable. I'm not sure about the 12gb/256gb version if there are different ROMs but switching regions away from and back to china software I've seen done couple dozen or so times now on this forum.
You're basically going to want to use the full downgrade zip of the region you want to switch to and just flash it normally with a local update. I think you need to be bootloader unlocked, not sure though. As far as I know, that alone is enough to switch regions on this device. As to whether it actually enables different bands for networks or anything though, has really yet to be proven.
Prant said:
You will probably want either NE1113 or NE2215. Both of which are pretty easily interchangeable. I'm not sure about the 12gb/256gb version if there are different ROMs but switching regions away from and back to china software I've seen done couope dozen or so times now on this forum.
You're basically going to want to use the, full downgrade zip of the region you want to switch to and just flash it normally with a local update. I think you need to be bootloader unlocked, not sure though. As far as I know, that alone is enough to switch regions on this device. As to whether it actually enables different bands for networks or anything though, has really yet to be proven.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I seem to have good coverage in Vancouver Canada and I'm not all that worried about that aspect of it
It's more the fact that quick functions don't work properly, find my mobile, the cloud storage, theme store and a million other apps won't work because I cannot even login to them. The phone keeps asking if I'm roaming and want to buy data in Canada even though I am using a Canadian sim and plan.
My question to you is this, which is the rom I am looking for? Which region is it for? North America?
I appreciate the time you spent with helping me with this
Oh and how can I get rid of breeno or whatever the voice assistant app is? Bloatware app or hidden settings app?
NE2215 is "Global" (North America)
NE2213 is EU.
Flashing away from the China firmware then doing a full wipe should get rid of most bloatware.
Prant said:
NE2215 is "Global" (North America)
NE2213 is EU.
Flaahing away from the China firmware then doing a full wipe should get rid of most bloatware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much for the help
Prant said:
NE2215 is "Global" (North America)
NE2213 is EU.
Flashing away from the China firmware then doing a full wipe should get rid of most bloatware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never rooted or unlocked anything in my life, am I in over my head trying this? Should I pay someone to do it for me? I have done many frp bypasses and things just by following walk throughs.
One more question, I have a MacBook, I cannot do this with it can I? I need to be using a pc?
Prant said:
NE2215 is "Global" (North America)
NE2213 is EU.
Flashing away from the China firmware then doing a full wipe should get rid of most bloatware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you point me in the right direction for a step by step guide with the NE2215?
1BDB1 said:
Can you point me in the right direction for a step by step guide with the NE2215?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here you go buddy.
OxygenOS 13 Open Beta for the OnePlus 10 Pro
Release OxygenOS 13 Open Beta based on Android 13 for the OnePlus 10 Pro. Source: https://community.oneplus.com/thread?id=1128573883411595264[/SPOILER] Source: https://community.oneplus.com/thread?id=1133627576771149833 [/SPOILER]...
forum.xda-developers.com
If you access the OnePlus community links, you'll find all the relevant files required.
Have rolled back before myself.
Follow the guide and in your case I think the global ROM would suffice.
This is the link to the community page where the instructions are.
OnePlus Community
Introducing our new OnePlus Community experience, with a completely revamped structure, built from the ground-up.
community.oneplus.com
Hey guys! I have been scouting around for Note 8 help but thought it was time to join myself.
Hopefully if I am able to solve my specific problem or get my questions asked it can help someone else.
Specifically, right now, I picked up and refurbished a Samsung Galaxy Note 8 since I have one currently that is phenominal, and wanted one in the back pocket in case anything happens but it is locked to ATT, which isnt the real problem. The real problem is that it is still on Android 7.1.1 and I would like to get it to Android 9 Pie.
I am unsure of a few things like whether I need all updates between 7 and 9, or if I can jump straight to it. But things of that sort.
It sucks that its ATT locked but I feel its worse that its on old Android since I refurbed it, (fixed screen and replaced with fresh samsung battery) but its being held back in certain functional capabilities. Either way, I am a techy, not yet able to solder, but definitely able to troubleshoot my way around a Windows Blue screen of death.
Looking forward to learnin more!
MethudMann said:
Hey guys! I have been scouting around for Note 8 help but thought it was time to join myself.
Hopefully if I am able to solve my specific problem or get my questions asked it can help someone else.
Specifically, right now, I picked up and refurbished a Samsung Galaxy Note 8 since I have one currently that is phenominal, and wanted one in the back pocket in case anything happens but it is locked to ATT, which isnt the real problem. The real problem is that it is still on Android 7.1.1 and I would like to get it to Android 9 Pie.
I am unsure of a few things like whether I need all updates between 7 and 9, or if I can jump straight to it. But things of that sort.
It sucks that its ATT locked but I feel its worse that its on old Android since I refurbed it, (fixed screen and replaced with fresh samsung battery) but its being held back in certain functional capabilities. Either way, I am a techy, not yet able to solder, but definitely able to troubleshoot my way around a Windows Blue screen of death.
Looking forward to learnin more!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome to XDA! As for updating your phone, could you please tell me your model number?
ethical_haquer said:
Welcome to XDA! As for updating your phone, could you please tell me your model number?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, sorry for long response time.
For the important info:
Model: SM-N950U
Android. 7.1.1
Build:NMF26X.N950USQU1AQH7
CSC: ATT
I'll monitor more closely so let me know if you need any other info
MethudMann said:
Yeah, sorry for long response time.
For the important info:
Model: SM-N950U
Android. 7.1.1
Build:NMF26X.N950USQU1AQH7
CSC: ATT
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright, there are two versions of firmware available for your device. One is "branded" and has carrier bloat, whereas the other does not have carrier bloat but might have issues with VoLTE (probably not, but there is a chance). What one would you prefer? Let me know if you have any questions regarding the difference.
ethical_haquer said:
Alright, there are two versions of firmware available for your device. One is "branded" and has carrier bloat, whereas the other does not have carrier bloat but might have issues with VoLTE (probably not, but there is a chance). What one would you prefer? Let me know if you have any questions regarding the difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the research and yes I do have questions if its not too much of an issue:
1.) Carrier bloat is like the usual and can just be deleted anyways correct?
2.) In what scenarios (in case everything was working fine with OTA updates) would the phone have downloaded a version without bloat?
3.) Would updating to the non-bloated version cause any issues since the phone is still carrier locked?
4.) Lastly, for the firmware, would I need to download multiple updates until that point or just straight to the firmware?
If not, I can research the answers as I have been on it on and off for a month with research but other than that, you're a god send.
By the way, if #1 is true, I'll just take the bloatware no doubt just to be as safe as possible.
Thanks again for all the help @ethical_haquer
Been busy researching in the Samsung Note 8 ATT threads and I was able to find the answer to number 4 in that using Full ODIN files is a complete flash and different than just an update which requires the previous updates.
The answer to number 3 from what I have seen no. The only thing is that certain features may NOT work such as VoLTE; pretty much you already answered 3 and I was literally too dumb to see that until I started writing this message. *face palm
Question 2 is pretty much inconsequential so don't worry answering that. Its was just curiosity. But for anyone who does see this possibly, my speculation is that NO, the carrier version would never download the non-carrier version. The non-branded update is for those unlocked phones that receive over-the-air (OTA) updates that were not associated with any carrier, in other words buying a phone directly from samsung's website.
For 1, I am guessing it is "Yes" since I was able to do that in the past with all my other phones. But either way it is not a make it or break it so it doesn't matter.
I have been able to find some full ODIN files for the updates I was looking for, so will be attempting my first flash soon. Will be posting all my findings to the thread I was reading just to potentially help anyone else (though rare since this device is getting real old) who has the same questions I had and I can get them up to speed without having to search everything
Just finished flashing the ATT Note 8 to and the Answer to Number 1 is that NO, you cannot Uninstall the bloatware
Again, will post all these findings to the proper thread in after completed
Sorry for the late reply! I would try installing the firmware for the SM-N950U1 (notice the 1). It should work and won't have carrier bloat.
ethical_haquer said:
Sorry for the late reply! I would try installing the firmware for the SM-N950U1 (notice the 1). It should work and won't have carrier bloat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're all good!
I may but I actually have to find one more update I am looking for (Full ODIN FILES). My daily driver note 8 is on N950USQS7DTE5 and it is a T-Mobile Version (though it bein g TMO is inconsequential at the moment. Just thought I might mention it).
That is the update I would like for ATT just so that I know there wont be any differences (or less differences) between my daily driver and this.This is me being picky at this point but isn't the point of life getting what you want? I found one update above that but different bootloader. So for whatever reason may happen, no going back.
What I currently flashed to was N950USQS3BRA8 so it's still on Android 7.1.1 but I did this just to test to the process (my first flashing). Now I am ready.
So I will look for that then flash it and update as usual
Just found, or couldnt find, that ATT has the same update so will just go with what I have. Close as I can get