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Xiaomi Mi A1 5.5 inch 4G Smartphone 4GB+64GB 12MP Dual Camera GOLD US $201.86 (AU $263.87) @ LightInTheBox

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Xiaomi Mi A1 5.5 inch 4G Smartphone 4GB+64GB 12MP Dual Camera GOLD US $201.86 (AU $263.87) @ LightInTheBoxAffiliate
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batrarobin on 04/11/2017 - 17:11 lightinthebox.com (3536 clicks)
Last edited 08/12/2017 - 08:45 by 1 other user
This post contains affiliate links. OzBargain might earn commissions when you click through and make purchases. Please see this page for more information.

Update: New price US $201.86 (AU $263.87)

A great phone with clean Android, powered by Google. Cheapest yet on OzBargain!

  • Snapdragon 625 processor
  • 4GB RAM
  • Killer specs overall.

If you are keen, there is further 2.80% cashback through CashRewards

FAQ

It's showing me higher AUD price than mentioned in the title
* Choose USD as your currency from top left hand corner. Don't select AUD, always choose to pay in USD, it will work out cheaper even after your credit card conversion fees. Also read the below.

How do I ensure I get the cheapest AUD price possible
* To avoid higher currency conversion rates and to get cheapest price from these Chinese websites, always choose to pay in USD, (Choose "USD" from top left hand corner) and set your Paypal so it "bills you in the currency on Seller's Invoice". To set your PayPal account this way permanently, follow the steps shown in these snapshots [Highly recommended]

Enjoy your weekend!

Mobile Mobile Phone Phablet Snapdragon 625 Xiaomi Android

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closed Comments

  • philta on 04/11/2017 - 17:18

    thats 268AUD. got this phone from the bangood sale. highly rate it!

    • batrarobin on 04/11/2017 - 17:23
      +9

      You must be looking at Lightinthebox's website conversion rate which is always higher. Always pay in USD (preferably with credit card with no currency conversion fees) to get the cheapest AUD conversion.

      • philta on 04/11/2017 - 17:31

        humm…i must be a ozbargain newb, is his applicable for all the "chinese" stores?

        • batrarobin on 04/11/2017 - 17:48
          +9

          Yes pretty much. If you shop frequently from overseas websites, it's best to keep one of these credit cards and always choose to pay their native currency while making payment (funny that it's USD for Chinese websites) :

          https://www.ozbargain.com.au/wiki/cards_with_no_overseas_tra…

        • philta on 04/11/2017 - 18:13
          +4

          @batrarobin: Thanks, just link my card and not my savings acc in paypal now :) Awesome help fellow ozb!!

        • nugzta on 04/11/2017 - 22:29

          @batrarobin: Is this also applicable for Alliexpress? Because I tend to use AUD but if USD ends up cheaper then I'll have to change it back.

        • batrarobin on 04/11/2017 - 23:15

          @nugzta: yes, I shop a lot from AliExpress and always pay in USD using my Bankwest Zero Mastercard. It always works out cheaper.

        • memske on 05/11/2017 - 14:55

          @philta:

          be careful not to use paypal's conversion rates either!

  • bargain crazy on 04/11/2017 - 17:29
    +1

    What are the delivery times?

    • bob grob on 04/11/2017 - 17:51
      +1

      Says 'Express Expedited 4-5 business days', would love to know if that's true.

    • Store RepMiniInTheBox @ LightInTheBox on 04/11/2017 - 18:01
      +2

      free shipping is Postal Service - Tracking, normally take 3-5 weeks. if you pay some extra and choose express, normally take 1 week.

      • cantstanzya on 05/11/2017 - 07:41
        +1

        Didn't give me express option

  • FeckinBargain on 04/11/2017 - 17:30
    +1

    Is this the global version - also only in Gold from what I can see would love it in black. Good find otherwise.

    • batrarobin on 04/11/2017 - 17:49

      Yeah only the Gold colour is on promo.

    • Store RepMiniInTheBox @ LightInTheBox on 04/11/2017 - 18:02
      +5

      hi mate, just confirmed. it's global version

    • sathutu on 04/11/2017 - 23:15
      +5

      No Xiaomi Website shows A1 does not support LTE B28 (Telstra and Optus 700 MHz band) so are all other sites that advertise A1. In fact, Xiaomi website shows only FDD LTE supported bands as B1, B3, B4, B5, B7, B8, B20 bands with the disclaimer "Bands vary by region. Please check band availability for your specific device" (http://www.mi.com/en/mi-a1/specs/). The same set of supported bands are shown in gsmarena (https://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_mi_a1-8776.php). The Indian and Singapore models support only B1, B3 and B5. Lightinthebox is the only website that shows that A1 supports B28 - personally, I don't think so.

      • Hahuh on 05/11/2017 - 21:40

        Do we need to discuss band 28 with every Chinese phone?

        Its IMPOSSIBLE to get that band with this calibre of device

  • vineeth on 04/11/2017 - 17:31
    +3

    Bought this phone from gear
    best almost one month ago and still waiting …

    • sktzr on 04/11/2017 - 17:40
      +1

      lol it took exactly a month for gearbest to send me my note4x

    • Danthemanz on 04/11/2017 - 19:39
      +5

      If you don't pay the few bucks for the priority AU shipping you get what you asked for.
      Its so cheap and they fly it to Oz and drop it off with Aus Post, usually 2 weeks max!

      • philart on 05/11/2017 - 09:04
        +1

        I purchased a Xiaomi 4x in June and it arrived 6 weeks later. As Danthemanz says pay the extra couple of dollars and get it sent with tracking etc. The delivery times is normally 1-2 weeks.

  • madreece on 04/11/2017 - 17:32
    +5

    Surely it couldn't cost that for them to add NFC. These would sell so much better with it.
    I wonder if the Chinese market doesn't use it?

    • GreenGuava on 04/11/2017 - 18:40
      +8

      I think mobile based payments in China (eg Alipay) tend to use QR codes rather than NFC

    • garage sale on 04/11/2017 - 23:30

      Would cost even less to add band 28, but these phones are designed for the china market primarily, and onsold to other markets with global ROM, but doesn't mean designed for global market like iphone, samsung or LG.

      When they decide to tackle europrean market (EU has reserved band 28 for phone use and some countries already use it in Europe) more china droids will come with band 28. currently they see band 28 as for Taiwan market.

    • Astro551 on 04/11/2017 - 23:38

      Don't understand how people can be eager to purchase a device without NFC, given the popularity of mobile payments in this day and age.

      • Gomo on 05/11/2017 - 00:20

        I had no problem attaching commbanks tag to my phone to enable mobile payments 😂

        • Astro551 on 05/11/2017 - 10:07

          Haha that's not a bad alternative. Does it work with any cards / accounts or you need the bank issued one for them (actually does it work for cards that aren't bank issued as well?)

        • Gomo on 05/11/2017 - 21:36
          +1

          @Astro551: I just use commbank paytag works fine and my case hides it :)

      • virhlpool on 05/11/2017 - 10:32

        Normal payment methods such as by credit/debit cards isn't going away anytime in next several years, so a phone without NFC isn't a very big pain. I haven't seen a shop yet which accepts payment ONLY through mobile.

        I reckon mobile payments are still a very small % of total payments made at the shops that accept mobile payments anyway. It makes NFC a no big deal.

        • Astro551 on 05/11/2017 - 10:56

          I wasn't saying that those existing methods were being replaced, but if we look at this concept of "future proofing", I would take NFC technology over a faster processor / dual camera any day. As much as there are issues with solely relying on mobile methods (no internet connectivity/battery usage), its benefits for convenience have certainly outweighed those caveats for me (e.g. quick trips to shops, access to all your cards at any time, increased security with fingerprint ID).

          And there probably won't be a stage where merchants only select mobile payments in its current form, as to the best of my knowledge they're using a very similar technology to existing card payments (unless it's something like the Paypal app).

  • siiking on 04/11/2017 - 17:48

    Good phone. Using it now. This is not the black one?

    • batrarobin on 04/11/2017 - 17:50

      Yes, only the Gold colour on special atm.

      • Scaregdearimasu on 04/11/2017 - 19:03

        bummer need the black model. Great price if you can stand the gold though.

  • vee124 on 04/11/2017 - 17:51
    +7

    No B28.

    • Scaregdearimasu on 04/11/2017 - 19:04
      -2

      B28 is overrated. On Aldi network (telstra reseller) and I get a great connection pretty much all the time and I'm not in any major city or anything.

      • Nukkels on 04/11/2017 - 21:09
        +5

        B28 is essential for many, myself included. Particularly anywhere hilly, you won't get much signal at the higher frequencies.

        • garage sale on 04/11/2017 - 23:32
          +2

          There is a certain office buidling in Melbourne, only band 28 works in the washrooms … they are in the process of putting in an antenna in the rise so more bands will be available.

          Band 28 also good wall penetration.

        • b1ackmai1er on 04/11/2017 - 23:36
          +12

          @garage sale:

          Always good to have good wall penetration in the washrooms

        • philart on 05/11/2017 - 09:07

          Not just Internet over 4G I find 3G 850Mhz now that so many are using 4G to be great and plenty of wall penetration.

      • The Terratronie on 05/11/2017 - 14:45

        you'd be better off with OVO or Optus that use the TD-LTE Band 40 pretty much blankets all of Newcastle and the Hunter region

        sure its no Band 28 but the coverage on band 40 is nuts with optus

  • Mentem on 04/11/2017 - 18:06
    +17

    I just bought the mi6, very happy. Xiaomi make cracking phones for the money

    • robb6014 on 05/11/2017 - 07:24
      -2

      I knew these Chinese phones would crack easily

  • Gomo on 04/11/2017 - 18:32
    +1

    I got the Mi5X that way I can have both worlds :) Stock Andriod or back to MIUI :)

    • Pobman on 04/11/2017 - 18:53
      +3

      Same, I put Xiaomi.eu rom on it and its been very good replacement to my Note 3 Pro… actually quite like MIUI personally.

      Only warning is to check you don't have the hacked bootloader than many suppliers were using originally.

      • BadGiraffe on 04/11/2017 - 19:04
        +2

        MIUI 9 is rolling out. They're even rolling it out to their models from 5 years ago. I don't know any Android maker who does this. They really are the Apple of China.

        That being said, I don't think all MIUI 9's are running on Nougat, but they would have similar features across all their devices.

        • Pobman on 04/11/2017 - 19:06
          +1

          Im on MIUI 9 by xiaomi.eu - 7.10.26 Beta …not had any issues with it other than needing to turn off MIUI optimization in order for Amazon appstore to work.

        • PainToad on 04/11/2017 - 19:55
          +1

          They're even rolling it out to their models from 5 years ago

          Sure, they update the MIUI skin, but underneath they run the same original ancient version of Android.

          My Redmi Note 4G never made it off KitKat.

          Very deceptive of them to claim they are "updating" older phones.

        • garage sale on 04/11/2017 - 23:37
          +1

          yep, in versions of android most of these chinadroids are light on hoiw many new versions will be supported …..like their TV boxes …. buy a new one if you want an OS upgrade after 2 years. Moto are good for updates to old phones as are Samsung …..apple, well they supported ios updates for years and years on their phones.

        • BadGiraffe on 06/11/2017 - 08:48

          @garage sale: Moto did this recently: https://9to5google.com/2017/09/18/moto-g4-android-oreo-updat…

          They've now backpedaled and said they will honour their G4 update after loads of complaints. I've been burned by them before too. I bought a particular model because they promised an upgrade, then said they weren't going to. Never getting Moto ever again… unless it was a really good deal.

          Samsung are good with updates on their flagship models, not so much on their budget phones… but Samsung phones are one of the easiest to flash I find.

      • Gomo on 04/11/2017 - 21:27

        How do you check if the bootloader is hacked?

  • urbancartel on 04/11/2017 - 18:43

    showing as $201.86 USD for me

    • Scaregdearimasu on 04/11/2017 - 19:05

      Same.

      • batrarobin on 04/11/2017 - 19:06

        Price seems to have gone up a little bit but still the cheapest around.

        • philart on 05/11/2017 - 09:10
          +1

          Price moves around with A$ v US$ exchange rate. These merchants base price is in US$. Our currency has been slipping v US$ in past few days.

  • OzBLover on 04/11/2017 - 19:36

    How is the camera anyone can comment based on real life experiences

    • TRANCE on 04/11/2017 - 21:41

      See for yourself, check the actual photo's taken from this phone in the gsmarena review: https://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_mi_a1-review-1668p7.php

      Basically the camera is as good as it gets at this price point, one of the only dual cam setups for this cheap, just don't expect it to beat more expensive phones.

      • OzBLover on 04/11/2017 - 22:24

        Thank you. Low light is too soft for me. I give it a miss then

    • Pobman on 04/11/2017 - 22:05
      +2

      In good light it's pretty decent, in low light it struggles… But I doubt you will get much better for the price level.

    • Autonomic on 05/11/2017 - 04:02
      +1

      Can't you put the Google HDR app on there and get better photos?

  • axlfan on 04/11/2017 - 19:39
    +2

    Hows the Camera on this thing…Camera on my Mi Max (2016 model) is shit.

  • hhbb555 on 04/11/2017 - 19:55

    How’s the reliability on xiaomi devices? Do people expect xiaomi mobiles to be usable for 2-3 years?

    • rhabdoviridae on 04/11/2017 - 19:57
      +3

      i'm very impressed with my mi4c. one year into it and can't be happier. just purchased another xiaomi phone today.

      • TheOneWhoGotAway on 05/11/2017 - 08:51

        Mate I couldn't disagree more and very supprised someone else has a 4c as well. I got mine on launch and it was OK then.
        Sufice to say, the battery got really bad after year 1 so much so in recent times surfing Web for 30mins takes half the battery… Not to mention it always feels like it's a hot potato…
        No SD card as well so had to throw it away and went with a LG instead.

        I'd go for a redmi with big battery if I were hoping it to last for 2 years. Otherwise every one year of you like it fresh like your vegetables.

        • rhabdoviridae on 05/11/2017 - 09:24
          +1

          Completely different scenario for me. What ROM are you using? I'm on Lineage OS 14.1
          Battery is working great, and i monitor it's performance via Battery log.
          Mind you, i use my phone for the bare basics (ozbargain checks, email, phone, text and other very minor apps - no games, music or movies).
          My only reason for upgrading phones (I've gone for the Redmi Note 4X) was due to the fact that network operators have or are switching off 2G signals which makes the dual sim of the mi4c redundant and i hate carrying 2 phones around…

        • TheOneWhoGotAway on 06/11/2017 - 23:16

          @bullettime:
          I should have switched to custom ROM but after battery became issue I worry if custom rom could match battery efficiency.
          4c only had China Rom.

          I swear that the 4G drains faster than anything else (except games). Just broswing web, like ozbarg gets very hot. Not to mention using google maps, battery got to 50deg on a hot day. Not nice to have in the pocket.

          Anyways, after that experience I'm wary to buy new phones until tested for issues by community.

    • nk10025 on 04/11/2017 - 21:02
      +2

      I've used the Mi4 LTE for nearly 3 years. I did not get any issues the phone is still working fine and gives a day of battery use. I've upgraded to Mix2 now and very happy. Can surely tell that the high end flagships from Xiaomi have good build quality and supported for longer. For eg Mi4 is in the list of getting MIUI update. can't say if it will stay in Android Marshmallow or will be upgraded though.

    • Pobman on 04/11/2017 - 21:06
      +1

      Bought 3 Redmi Note 3 Pro in July-August 2016.

      Unit 1: broken after 13 months, it still worked if you put a charged battery in it but it refused to actually charge it or connect to a PC. I changed the USB board on it but that made no difference. Not sure what was wrong with it, just kept it for parts and got a Mi 5X to replace it.

      Unit 2: after 12 months the power button required a hard press to work, replaced with the button from the above unit.

      Unit 3: no issues yet

      • Pobman on 04/11/2017 - 21:12
        +1

        On a side note they are really easy to work with to replace parts, everything just unclips or unscrews. Even the battery has a special tab you pull that auto removes the glue from behind it so you can easily replace it.

        • amrdeus on 04/11/2017 - 22:51

          My usb slot is busting, any ideas how I can replace it?
          Would something like this work?

        • Pobman on 04/11/2017 - 22:58
          +1

          @amrdeus:

          Never owned a Samsung.

        • amrdeus on 05/11/2017 - 19:25

          Its not for a Samsung its for a redmi note 2. Like where would you get a replacement part for any phone? Ebay only had the Samsung ones.. So I guess you're saying that wouldn't work :P

        • Pobman on 05/11/2017 - 20:09
          +1

          @amrdeus:

          No you need to buy the one for your phone… just google "redmi note 2 usb port", plenty on ebay or aliexpress

      • cashless on 04/11/2017 - 23:12
        +2

        Still using my Redmi Note Pro 3 from couple of years back (bought through OzB of course). Never skips a beat

    • Edenshaw on 05/11/2017 - 05:24
      +1

      Bought the classic mi3 three long years ago, still kickin' butts. Xiaomi phones are built to last

  • 2be8 on 04/11/2017 - 20:08
    +2

    Just remember light in the box only offers. 3 month warranty on phones.

  • dan76n on 04/11/2017 - 20:21
    +1

    Would you choose this over the Moto g5 plus?

    • tragic on 05/11/2017 - 19:27

      Quite unimpressed with my wife's one. Not a terrible phone by any stretch, but using it I wish I hadn't spent the money and had bought another note 4x (such as I'm using right now).

  • smr23 on 04/11/2017 - 20:25

    does anyone know if this is an easy OS to operate for an old lady. I am thinking of getting one for my grandmother for xmas but she only uses phones with the number pads….

    • jimojr on 05/11/2017 - 07:39
      +2

      You can install Big Launcher for her, it is easy to use for the elderly

  • Maverick-au on 04/11/2017 - 20:34
    +4

    How about putting"GOLD ONLY" in the subject and description to save the time of those that are after the black one?

    • urbancartel on 04/11/2017 - 21:06
      +1

      Yeah agree - especially as the photo displays the black version

  • urbancartel on 04/11/2017 - 21:06
    +1

    If anyone's after a black Mi 5X - the Mi A1 is just this rebranded… current coupon 'BJxiaomi5x' on Gearbest brings it down to $258 delivered

    • Pobman on 04/11/2017 - 21:10

      Apparently slightly different internal memory partitions so you cant use the roms from one on the other without a few tweaks.

      • urbancartel on 04/11/2017 - 21:16

        ahhh OK - that's too complicated for me, hopefully someone will know what to do ;)

        • Pobman on 04/11/2017 - 21:23
          +1

          Oh its already been done at least for the A1 on to the Mi 5X, don't know if its 100% yet… I quite like MIUI so that will do for me.

    • [Deactivated] on 05/11/2017 - 13:03

      Mi A1 is an Android One device (essentially a replacement for the Nexus line. Pixel is Google's top of the line beast, Android One from other manufacturers will handle the low end market), it comes with stock Android and will receive significantly faster update straight from Google. You can of course flash an AOSP ROM onto the 5x (like LineageOS, or the Android One ROM port from the Mi A1), but its not stock, and update is dependent on the maintainer manually porting each update to the 5x.

  • x3n0n on 04/11/2017 - 21:52

    where can i get mi a1 black model ?

  • effgee on 04/11/2017 - 22:22
    +3

    Big +1 for the link of how to set conversion preferences in Paypal. Mind you, it wasn't trivial to follow since Paypal has changed their interface since that guide was written.

    • cornucopia on 05/11/2017 - 07:50

      Paypal deliberately make it difficult to switch to 'bill in transaction currency.' Last time I bought something OS on eBay the Paypal conversion was 4% HIGHER than using billing in transaction currency (USD in this case) on 28D.

    • drillvoice on 05/11/2017 - 08:55
      +5

      For anyone else wondering, the updated instructions are:
      1. Log in to paypal.
      2. Click the little cog symbol on the top right next to "log out". This takes you to your profile.
      3. Select "payments" from the new menu that appears near the top.
      4. Under "pre-approved payments", click "manage automatic payments".
      5. Select "set available funding sources". It's in the header row of the table.
      6. This will show your various cards. Click "Conversion options" where it is available.
      7. Then select "Bill me in the currency listed on the seller's invoice." and click "Submit".
      8. Once you are back on the screen from (6), click "save".

      Done.

      • urbancartel on 05/11/2017 - 09:54

        Great info - updated my Citibank account to the above….cheers!

      • Dobe on 05/11/2017 - 16:39

        In one word …… perfect

  • Shiny Mew on 04/11/2017 - 22:57

    Hmm, this or a OnePlus 2…

    • JoseEduardoRP on 05/11/2017 - 01:44
      +2

      Wouldn't even bother grabbing a OP2 at this point. Read some reviews on it and it will help you decide. It's a phone with a lot of issues and OP already dropped support.

  • SimpleRoger on 04/11/2017 - 23:02

    How does this compare against Mi6?

  • hhbb555 on 05/11/2017 - 07:36

    tempting on pulling the trigger on this one or Axon 7..
    very similar price point.
    specs tend to be better on Axon 7 with QHD and B28, but no dual camera at the back.
    :|
    I assume both has crap warranty from light in the box vs gearbest

  • shaybisc on 05/11/2017 - 11:27

    Is the Redmi Kate the only Xiaomi with B28?

    • Jonski on 05/11/2017 - 14:16
      +2

      The new mix 2 has that band. But its much pricier

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