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

Mediapad x2

I've falling in love with the mediapad x2.
But before I buy anything, I have some questions that I hope you guys can help me with.
Which version should I buy GEM-702L or GEM-703L, and do you know where I can get them in EU ?.
Is it possible to remove the factory installed apps on the GEM-703L ?, and lastly What's your experience using the mediapad x2 ? Is it possible to install apps on the SD-card ? is the picture taken with the camera stored internally or is it possible to store them in the external SD-card? Will the homescreen rotate vertically and horizontally like other tablets, or will it stay vertially like a phone ?
Thanks alot.

I have bought x2 a couple of weeks ago. I love it, it's perfect. The size has not been an issue a single time. And everything else is also very good - thought the camera might be better.
1. 702 or 703, or even 701 - make sure you purchase the right model for the radios in your region. Search this forum for more info - you will find it. There are endless list of distributors where you can buy them, and even more shops on the internet. And remember - there is no actual support for software for 701 and 702 - it is still on B003 firmware, though 703 had many updates, and is even announced to have update to android 6
2. No, mostly you can not remove preinstalled apps without root, but there are not many - so don't bother about it
3. My experience is a joy
4. Installing apps on sd card is not related to X2. It is related to the certain app. For example, google has forbidden installing it's apps to sd card since android 4.something. So, unless the author of the app allows you to, you can not install/move an app to sd card.
Read more here - good explained article:
http://phonetipz.com/android-why-is-the-move-to-sd-card-option-grayed-out-on-some-apps/
Though you can do it if you root your device and put some effort. You will find info how to do it if you google
4. Homescreen does not rotate, but the menus and certain apps do rotate - depends on the app I guess

I have the 702L. I didn't root mine... It came with Google Play Store and most of the Google suite pre-installed. I have no bloat ware as far as Chinese apps go... My Home screen doesn't rotate... I am definitely not a techie but will try to answer any questions you have about the 702L. I am not sure what the story is on the software updates. I am bummed that I haven't gotten any software updates...
Sent from my GEM-702L using Tapatalk

703 is the only model which has updates - other two don't
Sorry for misleading you about rotating home screen - I use nova launcher and there is an option for enabling home screen rotation. I tried, It works, I now use it. And there are more reasons for using nova, I say you give it a try

Thanks every1 for your feedback, I'm waiting for my Gem-702L from spain. It cost me 260euro which is pretty good.

[Q] Comparison between Chinese, International and Euro versions

Hi. Like many others, I'm quite interested in the Chinese version of the Mate 9 because of the option of 6GB ram and 128GB memory. As I would set language to English on phone I was wondering if Chinese characters still appear on various screens, like in settings or apps, even though the English language is selected? Is that the case with the International or Euro versions as well? If possible, could folks, with language set to English, show some screen shots to compare what appears on the screen using different models?
The other thing I was wondering is how does having 6GB of ram help improve performance. Is it noticeably better than the 4GB versions? Is the multitasking better? Maybe folks can compare how many apps can be run without the OS killing them off.
Appreciate you comments as it will help me decide which model to buy. Thanks!

If you set the language to English, things showing in Chinese characters will not be a big problem. There are some Chinese language apps included with the Chinese version, but you probably won't use them, except one time to set up Google.
I only have the Chinese version, but there are a couple of people on this forum that have both. Hopefully they can answer your other questions.

duraaraa said:
If you set the language to English, things showing in Chinese characters will not be a big problem. There are some Chinese language apps included with the Chinese version, but you probably won't use them, except one time to set up Google.
I only have the Chinese version, but there are a couple of people on this forum that have both. Hopefully they can answer your other questions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your comments and your efforts here! I guess it would provide an opportunity to learn some Chinese! Do you notice any improvement with multitasking due to having 6GB ram? For example, I have a Note Edge and it has 3GB RAM. Once I start running about 5 or 6 apps the OS will kill some to make room for the next I run. About how many apps can you run in background without the OS killing an app. How Android handles multitasking has always been an issue for me. Although I hear it's better with MM or N as it does a better job of saving changes/settings when it does kill an app now. One more thing. Has the Chinese version received the recent update? Be nice to know how noticeable the camera improvements are. Thanks again!

I'm not able to answer the multitasking part as I only have the 4GB Ram versions of both the international one and the chinese one, although I've never had any slow down nor do I notice any issues swapping between apps but I dare say I don't pay as much attention to it as you do.
The chinese version has received B136 recently, this included the notification updates like the international B126 but also enables the Google Framwork to be re-installed. I do notice some differences, the chinese phone dialer is annoying with it's Yellow Pages lookup - if you start entering numbers you get loads of suggestions appear in chinese. The other big difference is contacts, by default you cannot sync your Google contacts with the phone. I'm not sure if an app on the Huawei app store fixes this though as I've not looked yet. The other difference that I notice is the keyboard, when you enter a password, a different (password only?) keyboard is used which is not part of any keyboard you install (Swype, Swiftkey etc). I think that keyboard is part of their additional security suite installed on the chinese one.
With that said, I'm keeping the chinese one as it's in Mocha gold and I'm going to sell the international one as it's in champagne gold and I prefer Mocha

gnasher666 said:
I'm not able to answer the multitasking part as I only have the 4GB Ram versions of both the international one and the chinese one, although I've never had any slow down nor do I notice any issues swapping between apps but I dare say I don't pay as much attention to it as you do.
The chinese version has received B136 recently, this included the notification updates like the international B126 but also enables the Google Framwork to be re-installed. I do notice some differences, the chinese phone dialer is annoying with it's Yellow Pages lookup - if you start entering numbers you get loads of suggestions appear in chinese. The other big difference is contacts, by default you cannot sync your Google contacts with the phone. I'm not sure if an app on the Huawei app store fixes this though as I've not looked yet. The other difference that I notice is the keyboard, when you enter a password, a different (password only?) keyboard is used which is not part of any keyboard you install (Swype, Swiftkey etc). I think that keyboard is part of their additional security suite installed on the chinese one.
With that said, I'm keeping the chinese one as it's in Mocha gold and I'm going to sell the international one as it's in champagne gold and I prefer Mocha
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your input! From what I can see the GMS installer fixes the contacts issue and presumably the phone dialler issue. Perhaps someone else can confirm.
In regards to multitasking, my experience was that if I put a file editor like Office Suite in background and run several apps and then return to the editor I found that my edits were not always saved. But I think android does a better better job of this in newer versions.
Wondering why you like the champagne gold more than the mocha gold. Is the champagne too glitzy? Just asking as I've never seen either up close. Thanks again!

Well, call me crazy. I bought the Chinese one!

Just got the Chinese version MHA-L00 4/64 in mocha gold. Upgraded to B135 and installed GMS installer. Now be able to use google apps without issues except Google Now, which despite multiple downloading attempts cannot replace the default HUAWEI HOME launcher. Quite frustrating... Contacts and dialer fine.

Seventhwave said:
Just got the Chinese version MHA-L00 4/64 in mocha gold. Upgraded to B135 and installed GMS installer. Now be able to use google apps without issues except Google Now, which despite multiple downloading attempts cannot replace the default HUAWEI HOME launcher. Quite frustrating... Contacts and dialer fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi. Sorry to hear you can't replace launcher. I've been using Total Launcher on my Note Edge for quite awhile. Takes a little work but I like how I can customize screen with it. Hope it will work. I've also ordered mocha gold. If you are in US can you comment which carrier you are on and data speeds? I'm on T-mobile and it appears that the phone has correct bands. But you never know!

If certain launchers aren't working for you, use Nova Launcher. It has a lot of Google's Nougat style implementations.

mscion said:
Hi. Sorry to hear you can't replace launcher. I've been using Total Launcher on my Note Edge for quite awhile. Takes a little work but I like how I can customize screen with it. Hope it will work. I've also ordered mocha gold. If you are in US can you comment which carrier you are on and data speeds? I'm on T-mobile and it appears that the phone has correct bands. But you never know!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I am in the States and I use H2O service which is a MVNO of ATT. The signal and speed are very satisfactory. Will post a speed test result later.
---------- Post added at 07:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:06 PM ----------
opasha said:
If certain launchers aren't working for you, use Nova Launcher. It has a lot of Google's Nougat style implementations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the advice. Just downloaded Nova launcher and trying it. Somehow I found the phone tends to automatically switche default launcher back to HUAWEI HOME for some reason. Do not it is just mine or generally so...

Seventhwave said:
Yes I am in the States and I use H2O service which is a MVNO of ATT. The signal and speed are very satisfactory. Will post a speed test result later.
---------- Post added at 07:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:06 PM ----------
Thanks for the advice. Just downloaded Nova launcher and trying it. Somehow I found the phone tends to automatically switche default launcher back to HUAWEI HOME for some reason. Do not it is just mine or generally so...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! Very encouraging. Looking forward to the speed test. I can switch to at&t if speeds aren't that great on tmobile.
In regards to the launcher, did you check in settings whether you can set what the default launcher is?

mscion said:
Thanks! Very encouraging. Looking forward to the speed test. I can switch to at&t if speeds aren't that great on tmobile.
In regards to the launcher, did you check in settings whether you can set what the default launcher is?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tested at two different locations and the results were relatively consistent.
Yes I can see my default launcher options in the setting but somehow it automatically switches back after I chose Nova... really weird.

mscion said:
Thanks! Very encouraging. Looking forward to the speed test. I can switch to at&t if speeds aren't that great on tmobile.
In regards to the launcher, did you check in settings whether you can set what the default launcher is?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now I can stably use Nova as my default launcher, but seems that I do not have something like the Now cards from Google Now, which is exactly the reason why I want to use Google Now launcher... need to play with the Nova launcher a little more.

Seventhwave said:
Now I can stably use Nova as my default launcher, but seems that I do not have something like the Now cards from Google Now, which is exactly the reason why I want to use Google Now launcher... need to play with the Nova launcher a little more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go into Gestures - Swipe Up - GOOGLE NOW - works like a charm and much faster. Also, if you hold the home button on any screen you or on, it will google search the most significant thing on the screen. It's highly customizable. That's why many of us have been using it for some time.
Also, thanks for the AT&T speed results. That is really comforting to see!

opasha said:
Go into Gestures - Swipe Up - GOOGLE NOW - works like a charm and much faster. Also, if you hold the home button on any screen you or on, it will google search the most significant thing on the screen. It's highly customizable. That's why many of us have been using it for some time.
Also, thanks for the AT&T speed results. That is really comforting to see!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks. Worked for me to get Google now cards afte upgrading to premium. Will try the search trick.

Seventhwave said:
thanks. Worked for me to get Google now cards afte upgrading to premium. Will try the search trick.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are most welcome. Glad to hear it.

Seventhwave said:
Tested at two different locations and the results were relatively consistent.
Yes I can see my default launcher options in the setting but somehow it automatically switches back after I chose Nova... really weird.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! This result is quite encouraging! Wonder if folks can do better around the US. I live just north of DC and can get a little more than 40mbps download speeds on tmobile using a Note Edge. Of course depends on location. Once I get my Mate 9 I'll post speeds.

Hi I just ordered Chinese version MHA-L00 6GB/128GB is there anyway you can test and let me know if you are getting an LTE connection in US, since based on my research Chinese version is not compatible with us LTE bands.
thank you in advance.

I have both US and Chinese mate 9. There are some differences.
1. US version has perfect google play service. All the google apps work fine. Chinese version requires the GMS to be installed by GMS installer. But google play store doesn't download sometimes until reboot. The google now launcher can't be set as default launcher, but after install the google now launcher, my google now app started to work. I believe system updates will fix everything.
2. Chinese version only allows Wechat and QQ to have 2 accounts, but international version allows facebook I believe.
3. Chinese version has more bloatware installed, US version is cleaner.
4. Chinese version has some super useful app like buddy help (remote control other huawei device), skytone (connect to 4G internationally without local sim card, etc). This is the main reason I use chinese model since I travel a lot.
In terms of color, Chinese has more choices. I am using gold chinese phone. My US model is black. I prefer black way more than gold.
In terms of connectivity, they are exactly the same.

Awesome, thanks!

[Q] Replace Chinese apps with ones from International?

Hi. My Mate 9 finally arrived yesterday! I bought the Chinese version. Even though I have chosen English as the devices language, there are several apps that still use Chinese characters, regardless of the set language, like the one for internet and the Dialler. While my long term plan is to use an International rom I probably won't try that till I get the bootloader unlocked, which may be a few weeks. Can any of the apps that use Chinese characters be set to use English? If not is it possible to replace, for example, the internet app with one from the international phone. Perhaps it would default to the language the device is set to. Of course the obvious thing to do is get an app from play store but I thought it interesting to try to get as much of the phone working in English. Thanks!

Advantages of EU/Global over Chinese ROM

tldr:
What are the advantages of installing the EU ROM over just keeping the Chinese ROM and customizing it? Are there any functions that stop working and/or change for the worse?
Hi everyone. Hopefully this post will be a helpful resource if someone else wonders this same question.
For a while I had my eye on the Mi Mix 3 and after reading all the reviews I just had to get it. I wanted one with 8 gigs of ram and 256 gigs of memory so I got the Chinese variant. After reading post after post on how to change the ROM to EU or Global I finally asked why? I mean, I got the phone and promptly loaded the Google Play Store and downloaded a bunch of apps. I changed the launcher to "Poco Launcer" from the GP Store since it's basically the same as MIUI but with an app drawer, so I'm cool with that. That beings said...
What are the advantages and drawbacks of installing the EU ROM (the one I kinda decided on between the two alternates)? The only two things that bother me about the Chinese ROM are
1) The default assistant is in Chinese and you can't change the AI button to open a different one, even though you can still install the others and use them by opening the app.
2) Some of the Apps in the "App vault" (Their little slide right home screen) and the tools when you open the slider are Chinese apps that I have no interest in using, but you can't change them. My solution to this was to turn off the app vault and to make the slider do nothing, which is okay I guess.
So basically, what would I gain by switching ROMs, and what pitfalls exist in those alternate ROMs which might make a person think twice about changing?

Why run MIUI at all?

Don't waste anymore time and just flash it already. it's better and I'm not wasting my time explaining why.
https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=1395089523397928049

invisiblewave said:
Why run MIUI at all?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because MIUI works. In your signature the top one is for the "Pixel Experience" and it's 90 pages of people complaining about features that don't work or are partially broken. The culmination is on the last page where it's revealed that it's not under development anymore followed by people complaining about functions that STILL DON'T WORK.
954wrecker said:
Don't waste anymore time and just flash it already. it's better and I'm not wasting my time explaining why.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't mean to waste anyones time, and especially not my own. All I need to know is, will any of the features of my phone be problematic after I flash?
Also, does that link you provided require this "twrp" thing I've read about or is it fastboot? Is it the EU version?

Cheesaw said:
Because MIUI works. In your signature the top one is for the "Pixel Experience" and it's 90 pages of people complaining about features that don't work or are partially broken. The culmination is on the last page where it's revealed that it's not under development anymore followed by people complaining about functions that STILL DON'T WORK.
I don't mean to waste anyones time, and especially not my own. All I need to know is, will any of the features of my phone be problematic after I flash?
Also, does that link you provided require this "twrp" thing I've read about or is it fastboot? Is it the EU version?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will work fine, it's just a tweaked version of Chinese Dev stock rom with less bloat. Their website explains the features over global
You need twrp to install it

Alright, let's do this!

Cheesaw said:
tldr:
What are the advantages of installing the EU ROM over just keeping the Chinese ROM and customizing it? Are there any functions that stop working and/or change for the worse?
Hi everyone. Hopefully this post will be a helpful resource if someone else wonders this same question.
For a while I had my eye on the Mi Mix 3 and after reading all the reviews I just had to get it. I wanted one with 8 gigs of ram and 256 gigs of memory so I got the Chinese variant. After reading post after post on how to change the ROM to EU or Global I finally asked why? I mean, I got the phone and promptly loaded the Google Play Store and downloaded a bunch of apps. I changed the launcher to "Poco Launcer" from the GP Store since it's basically the same as MIUI but with an app drawer, so I'm cool with that. That beings said...
What are the advantages and drawbacks of installing the EU ROM (the one I kinda decided on between the two alternates)? The only two things that bother me about the Chinese ROM are
1) The default assistant is in Chinese and you can't change the AI button to open a different one, even though you can still install the others and use them by opening the app.
2) Some of the Apps in the "App vault" (Their little slide right home screen) and the tools when you open the slider are Chinese apps that I have no interest in using, but you can't change them. My solution to this was to turn off the app vault and to make the slider do nothing, which is okay I guess.
So basically, what would I gain by switching ROMs, and what pitfalls exist in those alternate ROMs which might make a person think twice about changing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, #1 is no longer valid. The ai button can be remapped in the chinese ROM if you are ROOTED because I have done it, so, if you are ROOTED, scoot on over to:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=79251626&postcount=47
and get that ai button remapped.

Cheesaw said:
Because MIUI works. In your signature the top one is for the "Pixel Experience" and it's 90 pages of people complaining about features that don't work or are partially broken. The culmination is on the last page where it's revealed that it's not under development anymore followed by people complaining about functions that STILL DON'T WORK.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Everything works on the Chinese devices, other than being able to link an action to the slider. Most of the problems are to do with initial installation, but this is the way every rom thread ends up, people only post when they have problems.

Cheesaw said:
tldr:
1) The default assistant is in Chinese
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=79251626&postcount=47
Did the American sweetheart assistant come up for you, now? or is she still talking chinese to you?
Cool??

Rooting
Do i need to root my Mi Mix 3 (cn version) in order to flash to a global rom version??
Currently runningon MIUI 10.2 Stable 10.2.2.0 (PEECNXM)

TheArchangel123 said:
Do i need to root my Mi Mix 3 (cn version) in order to flash to a global rom version??
Currently runningon MIUI 10.2 Stable 10.2.2.0 (PEECNXM)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, you just need to install twrp and install the global zip. Then format data and reboot