Database Info

Help me understand things about X2

Dear X2 users,
I am thinking about purchasing X2, and I would like to ask you to share your experience with this device, and also help me understand a few moments. I am pretty new to nowadays devices, and my experience is limited to rooting and changing rom on old galaxy nexus years ago.
1. Firstly, I see users post updated firmware in this forum for X2, different GEM versions. How do I know which version will I purchase? Can it be viewed somewhere in settings/menus? In the shops of my country, this device is called "Mediapad X2 LTE". I want to know the version to be able to understand which updates and customization might be available for this device.
2. Secondly, I would like to ask your opinion about the amount of RAM. Unfortunately, 3 GB version is not available in my country, none of the suppliers can offer it. I don't want to buy it online from other countries, because locally purchased device may have extended warranty, warranty against braking/losing/water-destorying the device etc. So, I can buy 2 GB version or nothing. I shall use the device for movies via VLC, internet browsing, youtube videos, calls, alarm clock, a few news apps. I never play games, and almost never use camera. I think 2 GB of RAM should be enough, but I would like to ask you to share your memory usage just to be sure.
3. Say I will have a reason to rood the device and change the recovery to TWRP. And say after some time something will stop working, and I will need to bring the device to warranty service. Will it be possible to restore the standard recovery and un-root the device to avoid any questions at warranty service?
4. This post: http://forum.xda-developers.com/mediapad-x2/general/emui-3-1-apps-multiscreen-t3193389
Does it mean that it is possible to make X2 display two different programs at the same time, like e.g. on galaxy note 4 ?
5. I've read that sometimes preinstalled apps are slowing down the device and are useless. What is your experience? Is it necessary to get root to remove this bloatware?
Thank you for sharing your experience in advance

Hi
Just my sharing to your 5 questions:
1) There are 3 variants for X2 --> GEM-701L, GEM-702L and GEM-703L depending on which country. I noticed GEM-701L is prevalent in Europe (eg. Russsia), GEM-702L in Asia except China (eg. Hong Kong, Taiwan) and GEM-703L is for the China market. So far Huawei seems to have concentrated the ROM upgrades for the model GEM-703L which currently is at Android 5.11. The other 2 models are still at Android 5.0.5. If you're able to have physical access to the X2 in your country's shop, you can check the model by SETTINGS--->ABOUT PHONE--->MODEL NO.
2) Based on your usage description personally I think 2GB RAM is sufficient. Of course the general rule is the more RAM the better.
3) Yes it is possible to un-root your X2 and restore it back to stock status.
4) Yes - this is the split screen feature available if you're on GEM-703L models only.
5) I never had the experience of the X2 pre-installed bloatware affecting my usage so far. Anyway to prevent the effect of bloatware slowing down the device if you experience it, you can "disable" these pre-installed apps from the MANAGE APPS within the SETTINGS. No need to root the device to disable it. After reboot these bloatware won't start anymore. But to remove/uninstall these then you need root access.
To add on to your Q1, another way to check which model is the X2 in your country's shop is by checking the LTE Bands that is supported as stated in the advertisement of your shop:
GEM-701L
LTE Bands 1/3/7/20/38/40
Model: GEM-702L
LTE Bands 1/3/7/8/28/38/39/40/41
Model: GEM-703L
LTE Bands 1/3/7/38/39/40/41
Hope the above helps.
---------- Post added at 03:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:51 PM ----------
To further add-on, the coming Android Marshmallow 6.0 Huawei has announced officially that they'll upgrade the GEM-703L only

Darn. I hope the 702 to 703 method will allow a 6.0 update

Rudolpht said:
Darn. I hope the 702 to 703 method will allow a 6.0 update
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well keep our fingers crossed, will attempt it when it comes.

kpcheang2 said:
Hi
Just my sharing to your 5 questions:
1) There are 3 variants for X2 --> GEM-701L, GEM-702L and GEM-703L depending on which country. I noticed GEM-701L is prevalent in Europe (eg. Russsia), GEM-702L in Asia except China (eg. Hong Kong, Taiwan) and GEM-703L is for the China market. So far Huawei seems to have concentrated the ROM upgrades for the model GEM-703L which currently is at Android 5.11. The other 2 models are still at Android 5.0.5. If you're able to have physical access to the X2 in your country's shop, you can check the model by SETTINGS--->ABOUT PHONE--->MODEL NO.
2) Based on your usage description personally I think 2GB RAM is sufficient. Of course the general rule is the more RAM the better.
3) Yes it is possible to un-root your X2 and restore it back to stock status.
4) Yes - this is the split screen feature available if you're on GEM-703L models only.
5) I never had the experience of the X2 pre-installed bloatware affecting my usage so far. Anyway to prevent the effect of bloatware slowing down the device if you experience it, you can "disable" these pre-installed apps from the MANAGE APPS within the SETTINGS. No need to root the device to disable it. After reboot these bloatware won't start anymore. But to remove/uninstall these then you need root access.
To add on to your Q1, another way to check which model is the X2 in your country's shop is by checking the LTE Bands that is supported as stated in the advertisement of your shop:
GEM-701L
LTE Bands 1/3/7/20/38/40
Model: GEM-702L
LTE Bands 1/3/7/8/28/38/39/40/41
Model: GEM-703L
LTE Bands 1/3/7/38/39/40/41
Hope the above helps.
---------- Post added at 03:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:51 PM ----------
To further add-on, the coming Android Marshmallow 6.0 Huawei has announced officially that they'll upgrade the GEM-703L only
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much for such a detailed answer. I have visited a local shop, so it is GEM 701. I tried to load the device with software, and I didn't exceed 1 GB of RAM usage. So I guess 2 GB should be enough in all cases of my non overloaded usage.
Just a couple more questions:
6. Does this device have a one handed operation, when all the screen becomes smaller and moves to the right side of the screen? Samsung and some other phones with big screens has this functionality, but I didn't find it in this device. Is it there?
7. I installed Apex launcher and Nova launcher on that device in the shop, because I prefer the app drawer (secondary menu for apps instead of all of them being on the desktop). With these launchers half of desktop in each homescreen is black. Do you have any experience of these aftermarket launchers? Did you have any issues? What may be the reason for the half of the screen being black? Haven't found any similar topics anywhere on the web ...
8. Just for a curiosity - GEM 701 and two other versions are basically different for their supported radio bands. How come the split-screen functionality is dependent on that?
Thank you again for your time sharing the experience

astuntas said:
Thank you so much for such a detailed answer. I have visited a local shop, so it is GEM 701. I tried to load the device with software, and I didn't exceed 1 GB of RAM usage. So I guess 2 GB should be enough in all cases of my non overloaded usage.
Just a couple more questions:
6. Does this device have a one handed operation, when all the screen becomes smaller and moves to the right side of the screen? Samsung and some other phones with big screens has this functionality, but I didn't find it in this device. Is it there?
7. I installed Apex launcher and Nova launcher on that device in the shop, because I prefer the app drawer (secondary menu for apps instead of all of them being on the desktop). With these launchers half of desktop in each homescreen is black. Do you have any experience of these aftermarket launchers? Did you have any issues? What may be the reason for the half of the screen being black? Haven't found any similar topics anywhere on the web ...
8. Just for a curiosity - GEM 701 and two other versions are basically different for their supported radio bands. How come the split-screen functionality is dependent on that?
Thank you again for your time sharing the experience
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
6. Does this device have a one handed operation, when all the screen becomes smaller and moves to the right side of the screen? Samsung and some other phones with big screens has this functionality, but I didn't find it in this device. Is it there?
[kpcheang2] Currently no. I"m not sure if they will implement it via future ROM feature upgrades.
7. I installed Apex launcher and Nova launcher on that device in the shop, because I prefer the app drawer (secondary menu for apps instead of all of them being on the desktop). With these launchers half of desktop in each homescreen is black. Do you have any experience of these aftermarket launchers? Did you have any issues? What may be the reason for the half of the screen being black? Haven't found any similar topics anywhere on the web ...
[kpcheang2] I never used these 2 launchers so I can't comment much. Could it be these launchers are targeted at smartphones because some APKs have display related issues when working in smartphone or tablet modes as there are too many resolution variations for Android devices. You may want to write to the developers to confirm.
8. Just for a curiosity - GEM 701 and two other versions are basically different for their supported radio bands. How come the split-screen functionality is dependent on that?
[kpcheang2] The split screen feature was implemented in B106 ROM of the GEM-703L - that's why it's available to owners of GEM-703 If you follow their official upgrade path. They never upgrade the ROM for GEM-701 and 702 so far. However if you want to try flashing the B106 onto the 701 to see whether it works at your own risk and of course voiding the warranty. I did it on my 702 and I got the feature working although the B106 was meant for 703.

Thank again for your time sharing the experience, it helps a lot to get things clearer.
Today I visited the shop again. Now I installed all the apps I use, and looked how they performed. I installed firefox, chrome, vlc, contacts plus, and a few other. Then I launched stock apps - youtube, google playstore, and something more. The device was taking 1.2 GB of ram. So now I am sure 2 GB is enough.
All the apps performed without any issues, at least as much as I could have tested. There was a tiny lag during browsing with firefox at moments when apps were being downloaded and installed in the background via Play store, but this is totally reasonable.
Then, I tried all the different launchers to see if I can get the broken background fixed with any of them. I tried again Apex and Nova and looked at their settings without any luck to solve the problem. Then I tried Action launcher and Google Now launcher - they all had the same black marks on the screen. So I guess it is a firmware issue, not related to the launchers. This means I will have to live with the default launcher if I purchase it.
I took a better look at preinstalled apps. There are none! Playstore, contacts, chrome, video player and a couple others, thats all. No bloatware at all. Nothing is launched after the phone is started.
I also tested GPS - it went very smooth, in a few seconds it connected to 8 or 10 satelites and gave a good accuracy despite I was inside the building.
I am now confused between X2 and Note4. I put them side by side in the shop. Note4 was really noticeably faster in performance, better firmware, multiscreen function, etc. But, while Note has advantages, most of them are not important to me - the screen of Note4 is ridiculously small - it is not a phablet, it is a phone with normal size screen (for a phone).
So I am heading towards X2. It is also almost twice cheaper, but that does not play the main role in decision ...
Just one more question about X2: I didn't manage to launch any additional widget. I didn't find anywhere in the settings to enable them. But there are two preinstalled widgets: google search window and a big clock. So it looks that it should be possible to have a widget in the homescreen of X2, but I can't find anywhere how to do it, nor I succeeded to do it in the shop. Is it possible? If so - how?
++EDIT: I also tested FM radio in the shop in this device. It was very bad quality. I tried different headphones for antena, with all of them the sound was inappropriate. So, even though FM radio is available, actually it is useless because of unacceptable quality. PS: the radio signal was really good because all the other stereo devices were playing without any issues.

astuntas said:
Thank again for your time sharing the experience, it helps a lot to get things clearer.
Today I visited the shop again. Now I installed all the apps I use, and looked how they performed. I installed firefox, chrome, vlc, contacts plus, and a few other. Then I launched stock apps - youtube, google playstore, and something more. The device was taking 1.2 GB of ram. So now I am sure 2 GB is enough.
All the apps performed without any issues, at least as much as I could have tested. There was a tiny lag during browsing with firefox at moments when apps were being downloaded and installed in the background via Play store, but this is totally reasonable.
Then, I tried all the different launchers to see if I can get the broken background fixed with any of them. I tried again Apex and Nova and looked at their settings without any luck to solve the problem. Then I tried Action launcher and Google Now launcher - they all had the same black marks on the screen. So I guess it is a firmware issue, not related to the launchers. This means I will have to live with the default launcher if I purchase it.
I took a better look at preinstalled apps. There are none! Playstore, contacts, chrome, video player and a couple others, thats all. No bloatware at all. Nothing is launched after the phone is started.
I also tested GPS - it went very smooth, in a few seconds it connected to 8 or 10 satelites and gave a good accuracy despite I was inside the building.
I am now confused between X2 and Note4. I put them side by side in the shop. Note4 was really noticeably faster in performance, better firmware, multiscreen function, etc. But, while Note has advantages, most of them are not important to me - the screen of Note4 is ridiculously small - it is not a phablet, it is a phone with normal size screen (for a phone).
So I am heading towards X2. It is also almost twice cheaper, but that does not play the main role in decision ...
Just one more question about X2: I didn't manage to launch any additional widget. I didn't find anywhere in the settings to enable them. But there are two preinstalled widgets: google search window and a big clock. So it looks that it should be possible to have a widget in the homescreen of X2, but I can't find anywhere how to do it, nor I succeeded to do it in the shop. Is it possible? If so - how?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Vey detailed research you've done on the X2. You're like me - I did similar "touch" and "install" routine on the X1 (my country has no X2) just to make sure I'm comfortable with the X2 (they're both similar in size and capacity except for CPU and dual SIM LTE support).
As for widgets, yes you can install the default or 3rd party widgets. Just put 3 fingers on the home screen for 1-2 seconds and then lift up. The home screen will shrink to let you customise it. Once of the available customisation option is to add widgets (shown at the bottom). The list of available widgets will be the pre-installed ones plus other 3rd party apps that has widget capabilities.

astuntas said:
Then, I tried all the different launchers to see if I can get the broken background fixed with any of them. I tried again Apex and Nova and looked at their settings without any luck to solve the problem. Then I tried Action launcher and Google Now launcher - they all had the same black marks on the screen. So I guess it is a firmware issue, not related to the launchers. This means I will have to live with the default launcher if I purchase it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
uh no. this is android. everything is possible and with the huawei firmware its more tweakable. you just didnt look hard enough.
to make another launcher default you just need to do the following:
actually, just see this video. its all the same for all huawei.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YozCv4lZNM

cylent: the launchers do work. The problem is that half of the homescreen becomes black with nothing on it with an aftermarket launchers
kpcheang2: I will try to edit widgets in the shop tomorrow by your explanation. But I think this won't play the main role and I will buy X2 anyway

I use Nova and it works well full screen. Are you opening Multi Window for some reason?

So, today I was in the shop again. Firstly, I tried widgets, and I also tried homescreen toggle switches - apparently, everything is working.
Then I tried again to make Nova launcher work. It was still a black screen - I tried different settings in the phone and different settings in Nova - nothing helped. This is how it looked:
https://youtu.be/Y2ZyaQFMYio
In the video, firstly I am on standard launcher, then I turn on the Nova. "Home" button returned me to the default launcher because Nova was not set as default. I later set it to default, but doing that didn't change anything.
Then I restarted the phone - still the same. Then I changed the background image (in Nova) - and it started to work normally - no black screen! Changed it to a few other backgrounds - it was still working good. Not sure what was the exact issues, furthermore it was the same with ALL aftermarket launchers, and in two different shops with two different devices (both GEM701 with B003 FW). So I will call this issue also solved.
So now everything is clear I guess. I will order a glass protection and silicon cover for X2, and as soon as they arrive - purchase the phone.
Thank you again everybody, especially kpcheang2, for help and all the information, it would had been difficult to find out everything without you. Thank you!

Glad it's working! I typically like glass protectors, but the device shipped with an installed protector. I use a flip smart cover on every device I had so I figure that buys me enough protection.

kpcheang2 said:
6. Does this device have a one handed operation, when all the screen becomes smaller and moves to the right side of the screen? Samsung and some other phones with big screens has this functionality, but I didn't find it in this device. Is it there?
[kpcheang2] Currently no. I"m not sure if they will implement it via future ROM feature upgrades.
7. I installed Apex launcher and Nova launcher on that device in the shop, because I prefer the app drawer (secondary menu for apps instead of all of them being on the desktop). With these launchers half of desktop in each homescreen is black. Do you have any experience of these aftermarket launchers? Did you have any issues? What may be the reason for the half of the screen being black? Haven't found any similar topics anywhere on the web ...
[kpcheang2] I never used these 2 launchers so I can't comment much. Could it be these launchers are targeted at smartphones because some APKs have display related issues when working in smartphone or tablet modes as there are too many resolution variations for Android devices. You may want to write to the developers to confirm.
8. Just for a curiosity - GEM 701 and two other versions are basically different for their supported radio bands. How come the split-screen functionality is dependent on that?
[kpcheang2] The split screen feature was implemented in B106 ROM of the GEM-703L - that's why it's available to owners of GEM-703 If you follow their official upgrade path. They never upgrade the ROM for GEM-701 and 702 so far. However if you want to try flashing the B106 onto the 701 to see whether it works at your own risk and of course voiding the warranty. I did it on my 702 and I got the feature working although the B106 was meant for 703.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi.
Is it possible to manually update the Gem-703l B106 onto Gem-702L, to get split screen?. Or do we need to unlock bootloader and root first?

Aznbull said:
Hi.
Is it possible to manually update the Gem-703l B106 onto Gem-702L, to get split screen?. Or do we need to unlock bootloader and root first?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unlock and root first.

Aznbull said:
Hi.
Is it possible to manually update the Gem-703l B106 onto Gem-702L, to get split screen?. Or do we need to unlock bootloader and root first?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need to unlock bootloader, root first before you can apply the modded ROMs

Apps look really small

Hello.
Finally received my MediaPad X2 yesterday after wasting 14 days waiting for it to arrive from Saturn (Saturn is a large Tech store here in Germany for those who aren't familiar with it). I got an email late on Friday saying that it still hadn't arrived and that it would take at least another week. Sick of waiting so I cancelled the order and immediately bought one from Ebay instead.
The device was listed as "New B-Ware" but in the description they said it was a return - ie box opened, customer didn't like the colour or whatever, and immediately returned it to the supplier. I ordered and paid for it at 16:03 on Friday - it arrived at my front door at 15:35 the following day! Absolutely unbelievable delivery speed
The phone was absolutely as described, in perfect condition and the only evidence that it was "used" was that the original box was slightly messed up from the PO removing the sticky tape when opening it. The phone is absolutely beautiful and I love it, plus I saved about €50 .
It's a GEM 701L model and came with all Google apps pre-installed & the Build Number is - GEM-701LV100R001C100B003, which from what I've read here means that it has ROM vB003 - ie quite old!
I'm now going through all the threads here trying to work out how to go about updating it to Android v6 but it's taking a while because there are so many version numbers and the guides are really confusing.
But anyway, onto my question.
I installed an app that I need for my work everyday but was shocked/surprised to see that the screen resolution is really tiny, the screen is really small. I thought these phones had a 1920x1200 display so I can't understand why this app looks like it's running at 800x600 or something?? It can't be the app itself because on my (work provided) cheap tablet that only has a 1200x780 (or something) resolution - it looks a lot better, ie I get more on the screen!
Also the web browser looks really tiny, I was expecting it to be almost the same as my laptop that has a screen size of 1920x1280. In settings -> about phone it tells me that my screen is running at 1920x1200 .
Where has all my extra screen resolution gone, and how can I get it back?
Thanks .

In Settings under the "Display", there are 2 menus that can help with this: "View Mode" and "Font Size". There is also a menu somewhere that has a per-app setting that can help you with this. You are on an older EMUI version than me so I'm sorry if the menus are slightly different than what I have quoted.

Sceen resolution can be set to 320 on KANGVIP Menu.
Just update to 5.1.1 or 6.0 and you will be able to set resulution, so that you will have what you expect.

Thanks for the replies.
Fontsize only has 3 settings and I'm already on the smallest, the other menu entry doesn't seem to exist - I'm on Android 5 maybe that's why.
Meanwhile I found an app on PlayStore that makes the fonts smaller (down to 20%!), called BigFont, and it seems to work good enough for now. Without root too, so not bad.
I actually like EMUI, it has a nice, organised look to it and I'm getting used to it. Also very impressed with Huawei software overall, there's a lot of really nice features they've included as standard (like the silent hours feature) and everything seems to work very well.
I'd love to upgrade to 6, but I'm still trying to work out how to do it safely. I've read many of the threads but they're not easy to follow or understand, and I'm scared of trashing my MediaPad! Plus I need it every day for work so I'll need to find the time first. From what I've gathered I first need to unlock the bootloader, root it, then convert it to a 703 by flashing a cust file from the 703 or something. I'm following your (AudioRalf's) thread here - http://forum.xda-developers.com/mediapad-x2/general/how-to-flash-rom-gem-701-702-703-t3293795
I'm working on it .

EMUI 9.1 for MediaPad M5 is coming soon

As the Titel says, EMUI 9.1 is coming for MediaPad M5 and for more 49 Devices from Huawei and its sub-brand Honor.
The confirmation is from the Chinese club.huawei (see the attachment below)
Why EMUI 9.1 is a really big deal and better than its previous firmware:
PERFORMANCE
Previously, the F2FS file system was tailored for flash memory to improve the read and write performance after long-term use. Now, with EROFS, the random read speed will be 20% faster and the system space will provide extra personal storage of up to 1000 pictures or 500 songs. Plus, the read-only memory design isolates outside interference for added security in your system files.
GPU TURBO 3.0
GPU Turbo 3.0 is a new upgrade that covers 25 of the most popular games. This new update includes reducing SoC power consumption by 10% and optimizing the underlying system performance to provide a continuous gaming experience.
HUAWEI VLOG
It has new features and effects that are perfect tools for easy editing and you can share with one-click. The Highlight videos are automatically edited with dramatic filters and give you the option to apply special speed effects and unique background music. Your cherished videos can be transformed into a personal cinematic masterpiece.
ANYTIME ASSISTANT
Whenever you need to use the virtual assistant to carry out tasks, look up facts or need an answer to a simple question, just press and hold the power button and the Google Assistant will launch in a second.
AR MEASURE
When you need a quick measurement tool for simple DIY projects, just open the AR Measure App. You can accurately measure length, total area and volume with the Huawei TOF Camera.
By utilizing the Face Recognition technology, you can now measure the height of a person with just a simple task of scanning from toe-to-head.
ONEHOP
A simple tap from your phone to the computer can send pictures, videos, and documents in seconds. You can also efficiently copy and paste between devices with Huawei Share OneHop.
And, while playing a game, just shake and touch the phone to your computer to initiate a 60-second recording of the screen1 that saves to your phone.
HUAWEI CARKEY, SECURE AND CONVENIENT
EMUI 9.1 allows you to automatically unlock your car with NFC on your phone when you forget the key and you can share this key with up to 5 people.
You can still unlock your car even if your phone is out of battery. Additionally, you can start your engine using your phone, once the phone is placed inside the secure phone box.
THE PERFECT WORKOUT PARTNER
EMUI 9.1 turns your phone into an ultimate workout partner. Use your phone to connect to a treadmill and collect information like calories burned, running speed and length of the workout.
The phone can also use an algorithm to intelligently measure the step vibrations, so you can accomplish your personal fitness goals.
SIMPLY SWITCH
With HUAWEI Phone Clone, you can simply and quickly transfer your contacts, photos, videos and more to your new phone in just a few moments.
Source: Huaweicentral
And other more detailed Improvements like: (i collected those infos from some Mate 20 pro users):
Navigation Gestures are LOT way better now than EMUI 9.0 (more fluid)
Desktop Mode got some Improvements and fixes too
Battery life is better now (the drain issues got fixed)
Thats all i can remember till now

It also says it's released, I wasted time I stalling the beta app, and setting up Huawei Id only to find I need to insert a SIM card in my WiFi only tablet.....

Chr1stOnABike said:
It also says it's released, I wasted time I stalling the beta app, and setting up Huawei Id only to find I need to insert a SIM card in my WiFi only tablet.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean you installed the 9.1 update?

No, doesn't seem to be available, and it says I need to insert a SIM card in my WiFi only tablet.

Chr1stOnABike said:
No, doesn't seem to be available, and it says I need to insert a SIM card in my WiFi only tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, correct, in order to use the beta app you must insert the sim card, but even doing this you won't be able to get the 9.1 as it is not available yet on M5

So there is no point trying this app if you don't have a 4G device?

Chr1stOnABike said:
So there is no point trying this app if you don't have a 4G device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, without sim and number it is useless

I got a m5 lte 10.8 can I get the beta version?

I can't even get 9.0 for the US 8" model yet. I'm sure I'll see 9.1 after Android 10 is released.

I'm still running 8.0. Not even a sniff of 9.0 let alone 9.1! Quite disappointed if I'm honest!

littleash88 said:
I'm still running 8.0. Not even a sniff of 9.0 let alone 9.1! Quite disappointed if I'm honest!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me too! I checked for updates many times but nothing new
My mediapad details:
Model SHT-W09
Build number SHT-W09 8.0.0.198(C567)
EMUI version 8.0.0
Android version 8.0.0

littleash88 said:
I'm still running 8.0. Not even a sniff of 9.0 let alone 9.1! Quite disappointed if I'm honest!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here!

Got my tablet last week SHT- AL09 LTE
with version 8, checked for updates and went up version 8 in steps. Then was given 9 and more steps to final 9.01.190

I have the same tablet, and same version of the software.
Very nice tab, i like everything about it except for the battery life which is not too good, and also wish it supported VoLTE.

I was wondering, whether it will receive Android Q :-o

I just checked what is the firmware history of Samsung tablets on sammobile. So after 1st year of release they updated their tablet quarterly, and after 2nd year they stops updating. So it is pretty much almost the same. Except that they are much much more expensive devices. Like new tab s6. Great tablet, but quarter updates after 1st year? No thanks.

Got the EMUI 9.1 update (9.1.0.325) on my M5 8.4 WiFi last Saturday (31 August 2019) here in Romania. It's 3,51 GB in size and I got it through OTA.

metadethrax said:
Got the EMUI 9.1 update (9.1.0.325) on my M5 8.4 WiFi last Saturday (31 August 2019) here in Romania. It's 3,51 GB in size and I got it through OTA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's good news !

Just received 9.1 on my M5 10.8 WiFi in the UK as well via o.t.a.

I can confirm that update is rolling out. Just receveid it via ota ( model c432, italian )

Taking the plunge.

I have ordered a Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra and am now waiting for it to be despatched and delivered. I wish I had found this forum earlier and I might have ordered from a different (recommended) seller. I'm told that despatch will be no later than Friday 4th December - we shall see.
I have ordered the Chinese version and have bookmarked a web page which explains how to access the appropriate settings, not being able to read Chinese, by using icons. I'm hoping that I can get through that to convert to English otherwise I'm stuck. I see that unlocking the bootloader is pretty straightforward so I shall start that process as soon as I receive the 'phone.
I have flashed custom ROMs and rooted most of my previous 'phones although now that I'm 84 I have to work from a printed list of instructions in order that I don't forget something. Bad memory comes with age. I haven't yet decided whether or not to flash the European ROM.
I have seen, on the web two differing opinions regarding the Chinese ROM camera and the European ROM camera. I am buying this phone because of its camera and I have seen remarks that infer that the camera in the European ROM is not as good as the one in the Chinese ROM so I am wary of flashing the EU ROM. Does anyone have any knowledge of this?
Now I just have to wait.

If your device is pristine, at first boot you will be prompted to choose the language.
Some sellers wight do that for you, so you could receive your device already in English and even with google play store installed.
This way or another, you will have to wait 1 week in order to unlock bootloader. Plenty of time for playing with stock rom.
From what I realized, I could be easily staying with stock rom. But now I am sure that switching to EU rom is the only way to go. I moved to EU rom right after unlocking and never looked back.
As for camera question - I am enjoying EU rom camera, nothing bad so far.

batareikin51 said:
If your device is pristine, at first boot you will be prompted to choose the language.
Some sellers wight do that for you, so you could receive your device already in English and even with google play store installed.
This way or another, you will have to wait 1 week in order to unlock bootloader. Plenty of time for playing with stock rom.
From what I realized, I could be easily staying with stock rom. But now I am sure that switching to EU rom is the only way to go. I moved to EU rom right after unlocking and never looked back.
As for camera question - I am enjoying EU rom camera, nothing bad so far.
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I am supposed to be getting a sealed box which means that nothing extra will have been installed. If I do get a language prompt on first boot then that will make things easy. I haven't seen anyone mention specific camera problems i.e. exposure, contrast, tonal range etc so I've really no idea what these problems might be.

BarrySamuels said:
I haven't seen anyone mention specific camera problems i.e. exposure, contrast, tonal range etc so I've really no idea what these problems might be.
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Just think about it like this "Who in the world would want to create from the scratch an alternative cam application for a very sophisticated cam if this app can be ported from Chinese rom in a snap of fingers?" There is no alternative cam app for Mi 10 ultra. It is the same app. So it is buggy at the same extent as stock rom cam app. As one of devs elaborated on this issue "there might be numerous factors contributing to bad image quality on a particular device. but that not necessarily means that camera app is buggy"

batareikin51 said:
Just think about it like this "Who in the world would want to create from the scratch an alternative cam application for a very sophisticated cam if this app can be ported from Chinese rom in a snap of fingers?" There is no alternative cam app for Mi 10 ultra. It is the same app. So it is buggy at the same extent as stock rom cam app. As one of devs elaborated on this issue "there might be numerous factors contributing to bad image quality on a particular device. but that not necessarily means that camera app is buggy"
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I see your point. So there is really no reason to not install the EU ROM. Thank you for your reply.

This has now become purely theoretical as I have just discovered that my local service here in rural Wales depends on Band 20 which this phone doesn't have.
I have cancelled my order which is a great pity as I was looking forward to using this device. Quite a disappointment.

BarrySamuels said:
I have cancelled my order which is a great pity as I was looking forward to using this device. Quite a disappointment.
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Yeah, that is its Achilles heel
Luckily in my area band 20 is of less significance.
Ultra is a true legend, but there are Mi 11 series' devices coming in pipeline.

I understand that Xiaomi said that they wouldn't produce an international version of Mi 10 Ultra but perhaps that is because one of the new Mi 11 range will have similar specifications. Here's hoping.

I'm in South Wales and have the Ultra on the way, it was despatched a few days ago. When you mentioned band 20, I'd that only for 5g? If it is I've no problem missing out on that as 4g is plenty fast enough for me plus I have unlimited data on the 3 network.

potsykate said:
I'm in South Wales and have the Ultra on the way, it was despatched a few days ago. When you mentioned band 20, I'd that only for 5g? If it is I've no problem missing out on that as 4g is plenty fast enough for me plus I have unlimited data on the 3 network.
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No bro. Band 20 is for 4g. But 3g would be pretty fast too.

sunilstark 1 said:
No bro. Band 20 is for 4g. But 3g would be pretty fast too.
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Thanks for that, if I'm reading write it'll support 5g over here though and 5g is being rolled out in my area.
Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra: Price, specs and best deals
As with the vast majority of Xiaomi phones, the Mi 10 Ultra does not go unnoticed far from it. It has the well-known Snapdragon 865 that we can combine with 8GB, 12GB or 16GB of RAM and a storage capacity that has its ceiling at 512GB. With this data, the AnTuTu score reaches 589,000 points...
www.kimovil.com

If you are in UK then go onto sim that uses EE network which predominantly uses band 3 & 7 for 4G.
I use Three network and not had any issues with 4G. I live in the North East UK

Nobody asked but I am using EE here in Essex and my Ultra gets 5G... giffgaff gets 4G.
By the way, I have never flashed custom ROMs or rooted any of my devices and to be honest I am still comfortable with the Chinese ROM despite the annoying notifications in Chinese. I haven't had the chance to try everything tho, I received my device a week ago.
What do you guys think? Should I aim to flash the European ROM anyway? I think that the warranty is void if the phone is flashed or rooted.

It's up to you if you want to change to EU or not. Yes gifgaf is based on O2, so no band 20 as you have found out. I'm the same too with Sky and EE.
I did move over to the EU ROM as it gives you full GMS over the hacked version installed by the seller but also for the great additional extras to the ROM and the support from the Xiaomi EU forum.
If you've not done any modifications or flashed ROMs it can be daunting but with this phone and it ability to access fastboot, you can practically never brick it. There is always a way of getting back to a working phone. You will need to unlock your bootloader and wait a further 168 hours to do anything but I have produced a guide that takes you through all this if you want and I'm here if you need help, just message me. I have in the past even helped over Skype and remote pc for some.
As all the most recent ROMs are now twrp compatible, you only need your pc to push twrp from fastboot to replace your stock recovery, then install your first EU ROM by twrp. After that you can just use the inbuilt updater to update. Of course it's your preference. If you don't like it, you can always go back stock Chinese, this will remove twrp and you can lock your bootloader again ( can't do this while on EU ROM) and you will be back to how you were. My only advise as you will get your phone formatted when you unlock after 168 hour wait and you must if you change ROM branches too, so make a good off phone back up so you can restore your data.

Here is a list of the EU ROM extras...
Based on China Stable / Weekly builds
Enabled search gesture (swipe up) on the desktop
3way reboot menu (in dev settings)
Dark Mode (Night Mode) for all devices
Removed ads in MIUI system apps
MIUI Dialer and Messages apps
Face Unlock for all devices
Vertical clock widget on lockscreen
Steps counter in Assistant screen
More shortcuts on left lockscreen
Wake up gestures for all devices
AI preloading option in MIUI Lab for all devices
Fullscreen gestures for all devices
Option to auto-expand first notification
Notifications priority settings
More edit options in Gallery app
Enabled MiDrive in File Explorer
Added landscape mode for SMS app
Sunrise/Sunset in the weather app
Google apps support integrated
Removed 5GHz region restrictions
Confirm dials from call logs
Morning report on alarm at morning
More apps supported for AOD notifications
More styles for AOD screen
Raise to wake gesture
AOD notification received animation
Default volume control stream toggle
Tap fingerprint sensor to wake toggle
More Camera features
Double tap to lock screen
Battery AI scenes
Allowed disabling specific system apps
Importing theme .mtz from zhuti.xiaomi.com via ThemeManager
No useless Chinese bloatware apps
More free RAM due to less background processes
Unified flat style app icons for both system and 3rd party apps
Advanced menu with color icons
No any Chinese character under the full system
Mi Video, Mi Music, Mi Browser: No any useless Chinese content
No possibility to re-lock bootloader accidentally with flash any xiaomi.eu release
Added real 27 languages translation made by Official MIUI Fansites and MIUI Fans
Added EU T9 dialer support
Added charging sound switch
Added Screen-OFF animation
Optimized GPS settings for EU
Optimized Battery consumption
Optimized RAM consumption
Added 3D Touch to MI5S 3GB RAM version
Added GSMalphabet into SMS app options
Added more icons grid layout 4x5, 4x6, 4x7, 5x5, 5x6, 5x7 (depends on device)
SafetyNet passed (Google Pay)
Play Store Certified
Deodexed
Added automated tasks in Security app
Added game speed booster
Added erase module (magic elimination) to Gallery photo edit options
Fixed low volume sound via headphone
Charging screen for all devices
Widevine L1 (for supported devices)
And more, and more made by our 9 years MIUI mods experience.

Hey, thanks for that and the document, really appreciate it!
I am still thinking about having giffgaff as my main SIM despite getting 4G. I have 5G with EE on my Ultra but the problem with EE is its signal indoors. For any reason it is pretty bad, even when I am in Central London, while giffgaff runs smoothly. I don't know how many calls I have missed due to that, and apparently I am not the only one with this issue.
This has been happening with my Redmi Note 4 in the last 3+ years and now happens with my Ultra as well, so defo the problem is the network not the phone. I also use giffgaff for international calls, EE tariffs are 5x or more expensive for int'l calls to the same country... crazy!
Regarding the EU ROM procedure, I will try doing so in the next days following your instructions and I will write down my experience here. I reckon I am a bit scared to do so, it's first time I spend that much money on buying a flagship phone (and on any electronics I think) and don't wanna mess it up. However I will post any issues I encounter.
Cheers!

Good luck if you do make the plunge to go EU. As I said, you can always go back if you want to.
Just make sure you have an off phone back up before you start and you have the new ROM ready to copy over from your PC or usb stick. This way you can use fastboot to push twrp, then reboot straight to recovery (twrp) and flash your ROM. There is a good chance the twrp may be in Chinese, so you will need to change it to English. Once done, format data and reboot. Then wait as it will take ages but as long as you see 5G and miui then it will be fine. If you need any support, message me.

Install Japanese APk for Wena 3 device

I just obtained a Wena 3 (smart watch band) from Amazon Japan, and I downloaded the apk to side install but I get "App not installed" at the end of installation. I tried running a vpn with a Japan host, and then clicked the Japanese play store link from the Wena website and I get "this item isn't available in your country." So I have a tiny brick on my hands. I actually was able to download the app on my iPad but want it synced to my cell. Anyone know how to do this (without creating a second japan based google account).

Hi, I just ordered Wena 3 too. Did you find any solution in the meantime?
Ok, I have figured out this myself. You need to download Wena3 apkx from apkpure using google search first. Then install apkpure itself and use it to install the downloaded ApkX. I was not able to find wena3 apk directly in the ApkPure.
Now waiting for my Wena3 to arrive.

I received mine and have the apk installed through apkpure. It runs fine. The issue I am having is the date displayed on the device is forward about 10 days or so. Today is 2/24 (Tues). The displayed date is 3/7 (Sun). The device appears to be running Japanese time also.
I have tried setting it up with a us based account and facebook.
Appreciate any insight yu might have.
Thanks,
scott w.

wright.coyote said:
I received mine and have the apk installed through apkpure. It runs fine. The issue I am having is the date displayed on the device is forward about 10 days or so. Today is 2/24 (Tues). The displayed date is 3/7 (Sun). The device appears to be running Japanese time also.
I have tried setting it up with a us based account and facebook.
Appreciate any insight yu might have.
Thanks,
scott w.
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It appears the device is strongly tied to the region setting of the phone. I can change the region of my phone (samsung s10e) to japan and the date is correct on the device, however the time of the appointments currently on my phone are then off several hours. I played with setting the UTC offset with no luck either.
So, fixed one, messed up another. I need the appointment times correct on the phone, so I will need to live with the date/time being incorrect on the device. Should not be a huge issue except for knowing when the day breaks for counting steps and such.
Funny think is the app on the phone is fine. The date is all good there no matter the region. Hopefully a firmware upgrade to the device will take care of it in the future.
Please advise if you have found different results.

It's been over a year now, how is the Wena 3 working out? Have their been any improvements?
Thanks

nbhadusia said:
It's been over a year now, how is the Wena 3 working out? Have their been any improvements?
Thanks
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Nothing that I have found. No adjustments can be made to the unit without the app and the app offers only Japan as a region to select. Sony UK are no help at all and yet the company is happy to take money for sales of the unit around the world. Seems Sony are living in a pre Amazon/eBay world