is xiaomi reliable?

[asaza]

i need a mid-range phone
so what do u think of Xiaomi Note 5 (32gb version)
are their phone reliable overall?
can they die quickly?

 

[CallandorWoT]

I would avoid it personally if you live in the states. I just upgraded to this phone here:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...75220076&cm_re=asus_5q-_-75-220-076-_-Product

It just came out. has same specs as $450-500 phones. I needed a big screen for netflix and such as its my main movie watching device, lol

 

[Supercrit]

Xiaomi is the Apple of China, high quality and good reputation, and unlike Apple, prices are not bad except the high end. I personally own many of their products and they don't disappoint. Only problem? You have to deal with the lack of English, if you don't read Chinese you better avoid it.

 

[Nuke Dukem]

I bought my dad a Xiaomi Redmi 1S in 2014, it's still running fine, it's a great budget phone, zero complaints. Regular updates, running stable. I also played around with my colleague's Xiaomi Mi4 - I had to replace the cracked glass - it's one of the best built phones I've had to fix, a solid device. A friend of mine has a recent model Xiaomi Note, don't remember which model exactly, but he's pretty happy with it, too.

If you want one, get one. Just make sure you can take advantage of the warranty before buying, depends on where you're going to buy it from. Ask the seller.

You have to deal with the lack of English, if you don't read Chinese you better avoid it.

Every Xiaomi phone I've seen has had an English menu. I can't say for sure if the manuals have an English section, but they should. Even then - who really bothers reading them anymore?
Even if you decide to purchase the phone from some Chinese site, the site is in English, the sellers contact you in (yes, often admittedly bad) English. I've yet to deal with Chinese.

 

[_UV_]

Note 4 4/64 and Note 5+ 4/64 owner here (same hardware Snapdragon 625, second phone for my gf). With low usage per day (my usual activity is like 15 min talking and 20 min WiFi Internet) may last up to 10 days on 1 charge. Very good camera for its price range. Overall very good quality. I don't play games, so idk how it performs, for internet and YT more than capable, at least this year, in next 2 who knows.

PS
Almost forget the main question: Note 4 is about 1 year in use, no issues in software or build quality/battery life, 5+ is fresh 2 months, but feels same.
PPS
do not buy model with 3GB RAM, only 4 is future proof enough in next 2 years, especially with WEB browser appetites.

 

[micropage7]

I bought note 4 and in a year it dead, so i put xiaomi on the last list, i better pay higher but get better stuff than lower but questioning the quality

 

[xkm1948]

Pretty good quality I gotta say. My sister has one and it is surprisely one of the least bloated android experience.

 

[silkstone]

I have a Mi 5X and really like it. Good build quality and a good price. The OS, MIUI, has the option to set up in English. There are some residual apps left over in Chinese, but they are not generally stuff you would use and you can just change the Launcher to get a full English experience. A lot of their phones have Android roms available on XDA as well, if you want to root the phone and have stock android.
In terms of build quality, I'd put them up there, if not above, Samsung's that are twice the price.

 

[Vya Domus]

Everything can brake or die, if it has warranty go for it. I honestly kind of regret buying an S8+ last years , I mean it's great and all but certainly not worth the money.

Only problem? You have to deal with the lack of English, if you don't read Chinese you better avoid it.

Pretty sure Xiaomi started to ship phones with regional languages as default for a while now , don't know for US though but I would imagine you can change the language anyway.

 

[Caring1]

Xiaomi is the Apple of China, high quality and good reputation, and unlike Apple, prices are not bad except the high end. I personally own many of their products and they don't disappoint.

Plus one to this

 

[theFOoL]

I'd go with asus phones. Good enough and rootable. Those china phones are good but the bands and support isn't there *Yet

 

[asaza]

thanks all

 

[Komshija]

Xiaomi is a good brand and you cannot go wrong with it.

 

[R0H1T]

Where are you living? Depending on your location ASUS, OPPO, Lenovo, Meizu might be better alternatives. Xiaomi stopped making good VFM phones a while back, they're just recycling the same design & specs (SD625 in dozens of models) over & over again. If you want better specs then I suggest go to Gsmarena & see some of the recent launches, otherwise Mi is a relatively safe option.

 

[Apocalypsee]

I'm using Mi A1 since its release last year. It has been dunk in pail full of water twice. It refuses to charge at first but still charge when the phone is off. What I did to fix it to just do a clean installation of stock ROM. It still live till this day. My mum and sister use Redmi Note 4 for roughly a year and works fine too

 

[opojare]

I have mid-range Mi 4i since 2015.
If you ask about 'die', no it is still functioning normally.
That being said i will not buy from them again as software support simply suck.
Dunno about higher end.

 

[ShurikN]

Everything can brake or die, if it has warranty go for it. I honestly kind of regret buying an S8+ last years , I mean it's great and all but certainly not worth the money.

No single phone out there is worth $800+

Back to topic.
Every Xiaomi phone has 2 versions. Chinese and Global. They first release the Chinese version, Global follows soon after.
You CANNOT change language on the Chinese version. Only option is flashing Global rom on it (which a lot of people do)

I have a Redmi 4 Prime for a year+ now and have been really happy with it. Buddy of mine had Mi5 and had no issues (he eventually sold it bc he likes to change phones often)

Build quality is good, and software is not that much bloated. There are lots of custom roms on XDA if tinkering is your thing.

If I were to look for a new phone, it would probably be Mi 8 SE, first SD710 phone on the market.
Or if large screen is your thing then wait for Mi Max 3. That one will have same chip, 6.9" screen and 5400mAh battery.

 

[CallandorWoT]

$800 yikes... with my student discount I could have gotten a Samsung S9 for $640 lol...

 

[lZKoce]

I bought my wife Xiaomi RedMi Note 4x ( 32GB ROM + 3GB RAM) for 140 bucks or so ( from Aliexpress) . I love it!!!! This thing rocks, I tried an OTG cable as well, it recognizes everything: keyboard, mouse, gamepad. Also the USB provides enough electricity to even run a portable fan I received as gift (while all other phones I had in the house, including Apple) couldn't start the thing. I also have their fitness bracelet and I am very happy with it. I couldn't recommend these guys enough. I am about to get myself one too.

 

[RejZoR]

Xiaomi Mi5 user here. Can't complain. I really like the design of it, it's super convenient and software is amazing. Some will call it "bloated", but it just isn't. You can remove most of preinstalled apps (especially Google ones) using an app called System Apps Remover, designed for Xiaomi phones specifically. What I especially like is very long term software support. They were just recently pushing out updates for phones from 6 years ago (Xiaomi Mi2). If they continue this trend they got a loyal user here, because software support for other companies just plain stinks like rotten donkey ballz. The amount of updates I received just with Mi5 is more than all the phones I had combined. And some were quite big ones, last one being update from Nougat to Oreo. I hope I'll see the Android "P" one day which might be a likely thing. If I had any other big brand name I most likely wouldn't even get Oreo... So, there's that.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

A lotta my family are using their phones so I'd say yes.

Im just being the black sheep with my huwaei

 

[R0H1T]

Xiaomi Mi5 user here. Can't complain. I really like the design of it, it's super convenient and software is amazing. Some will call it "bloated", but it just isn't. You can remove most of preinstalled apps (especially Google ones) using an app called System Apps Remover, designed for Xiaomi phones specifically. What I especially like is very long term software support. They were just recently pushing out updates for phones from 6 years ago (Xiaomi Mi2). If they continue this trend they got a loyal user here, because software support for other companies just plain stinks like rotten donkey ballz. The amount of updates I received just with Mi5 is more than all the phones I had combined. And some were quite big ones, last one being update from Nougat to Oreo. I hope I'll see the Android "P" one day which might be a likely thing. If I had any other big brand name I most likely wouldn't even get Oreo... So, there's that.

And yet I'm stuck on Marshmallow for 2 years, albeit on a mid range phone. If you're not buying their flagships, they're no better than any other OEM.

 

[RejZoR]

Sure, but how many high ends get updates for so long after release? For most, 2 years is a stretch, 4 years a miracle and 6 years mark doesn't even exist. I've had 2 flagships and both disappointed me in this regard. Galaxy S2 was rubbish when it comes to software and so was Huawei Ascend P7. Both were pretty good hardware wise, but software support was basically non-existent. And I liked Huawei quite a lot. Xiaomi on the other hand really surprised me. If they get even Android "P" to it, then they are just superior in this regard.

 

[silentbogo]

And yet I'm stuck on Marshmallow for 2 years, albeit on a mid range phone. If you're not buying their flagships, they're no better than any other OEM.

But the community support more than compensates for it. Got a Mi4c for cheap a few years ago, and I was surprised to see that it has so many excellent firmware options on XDA.
Currently running Lineage OS 14.1and OTA autoupdate works like a charm. Wanted to upgrade to LOS15 at some point, but so far had no time or compelling reason. Basically it's a perfect choice for an android enthusiast.

I am currently settled on Nokia 8, but I still use Mi4c as a secondary "work" phone, cause if I drop it and break the screen - it'll only cost $15 to fix it (self-repair I mean).

 

[R0H1T]

Sure, but how many high ends get updates for so long after release? For most, 2 years is a stretch, 4 years a miracle and 6 years mark doesn't even exist. I've had 2 flagships and both disappointed me in this regard. Galaxy S2 was rubbish when it comes to software and so was Huawei Ascend P7. Both were pretty good hardware wise, but software support was basically non-existent. And I liked Huawei quite a lot. Xiaomi on the other hand really surprised me. If they get even Android "P" to it, then they are just superior in this regard.

I think you're talking about MIUI updates, including security patches. What's the last OS update pushed for Mi 2 ⚁

I think most reputable handset manufacturers push security updates for as long as they possibly can, for Mi in particular it's relatively easier because they didn't have too many handsets back then. It'd be worthwhile to see what they do to lower end phones in the next few years, given that they've released like a 1000 similar models (proverbially speaking) in the recent past.

But the community support more than compensates for it. Got a Mi4c for cheap a few years ago, and I was surprised to see that it has so many excellent firmware options on XDA.
Currently running Lineage OS 14.1and OTA autoupdate works like a charm. Wanted to upgrade to LOS15 at some point, but so far had no time or compelling reason. Basically it's a perfect choice for an android enthusiast.

I am currently settled on Nokia 8, but I still use Mi4c as a secondary "work" phone, cause if I drop it and break the screen - it'll only cost $15 to fix it (self-repair I mean).

Yes but Mi doesn't get credits for that. With RN3 I'm stuck on Android M. I can't root this device because lots of important apps don't work with root.