Hi guys,
I want to buy a K20/9T Pro from Aliexpress and have noticed that the sellers are offering them with Chinese ROM and, at a higher price, a Global ROM.
Now there Global ROM versions are in fact Chinese versions with some Global ROM flashed on it, resulting in Google Pay not working and what not.
Now my (quick) question.
For someone that has tinkered with custom ROMs in the past..
Can I just buy the (unlocked) Chinese ROM version and simply flash a good Global ROM on it so that everything works well or isn't is as simple like that?
Just want to know if it's worth to save a few ($25-ish) bucks and do it myself or (if it takes 4826 steps) just buy the CN version flashed with Global rom and be done with it..
Yes it's fairly easy if the bootloader is already unlocked you can flash global rom or eu rom easily. There are tons of instructions how to worst case scenario if the bootloader is locked there is a wait but then again if you buy a phone that already has unlocked bootloader and by accident if you lock the bootloader you would need to get the mi account details that was linked with the phone when the bootloader was unlocked which is impossible so get a phone with locked bootloader in my opinion. In my case I imported unlocked bootloader with a fake global rom installed I am extra careful tho when I use mi flash software incase I lock the bootloader by accident
Hey thanks for the heads up, I'll try and find one with a locked bootloader. :good:
To be honest I'm still trying to decide what to get. The 6/128 K20 or the 6/128 K20 Pro. I don't play games or use computing-heavy apps on my phone so
the faster CPU is not really important to me. I'm trying to find out if there are any other noticeable differences (display/camera) between the two models.
Sinner1970 said:
Hey thanks for the heads up, I'll try and find one with a locked bootloader. :good:
To be honest I'm still trying to decide what to get. The 6/128 K20 or the 6/128 K20 Pro. I don't play games or use computing-heavy apps on my phone so
the faster CPU is not really important to me. I'm trying to find out if there are any other noticeable differences (display/camera) between the two models.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They are more or less identical, other than the SoC.
As far as I'm aware there are 2 other differences between then.
First is the main camera sensor. Both have a Sony 48MP sensor that give identical performance, except that the K20 sensor can only record 4K video at 30fps, instead of the 60fps that the sensor in the Pro version can do. This slightly lesser sensor was used because the SD730 can only do 4K video at 30fps, so it was pointless putting in the slightly better sensor.
Second, the K20 only charges at 18W compared to 27W of the Pro version (provided you purchase a separate charger that can charge at that speed)
If you don't care about having the best just for the sake of it and you don't need the excess performance of the Pro, then the regular K20 probably makes more sense, though one thing to consider is that K20 Pro does seem to have more active custom Rom development, if you are someone that likes to put custom ROMs on your phones.
Robbo.5000 said:
one thing to consider is that K20 Pro does seem to have more active custom Rom development, if you are someone that likes to put custom ROMs on your phones.
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Click to collapse
Good point, I'm going for the K20 Pro then. Thanks for explaining!
Robbo.5000 said:
They are more or less identical, other than the SoC.
As far as I'm aware there are 2 other differences between then.
First is the main camera sensor. Both have a Sony 48MP sensor that give identical performance, except that the K20 sensor can only record 4K video at 30fps, instead of the 60fps that the sensor in the Pro version can do. This slightly lesser sensor was used because the SD730 can only do 4K video at 30fps, so it was pointless putting in the slightly better sensor.
Second, the K20 only charges at 18W compared to 27W of the Pro version (provided you purchase a separate charger that can charge at that speed)
If you don't care about having the best just for the sake of it and you don't need the excess performance of the Pro, then the regular K20 probably makes more sense, though one thing to consider is that K20 Pro does seem to have more active custom Rom development, if you are someone that likes to put custom ROMs on your phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
k20 pro has a separate qualcomm audio dac as well , k 20 doesnt ?
It's pretty easy, but, if you do want to stay with miui global you should consider to buy 9t pro, instead k20 pro, as you can live with it without touching bootloader. that's the price difference that you should analyze... If it is too much for you, buy a Chinese k20 pro with locked bootloader. There's no point to pay more to have same device with a side loaded rom with unknown source...
thiagodark said:
It's pretty easy, but, if you do want to stay with miui global you should consider to buy 9t pro, instead k20 pro
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Click to collapse
Waitwaitwait... 9T pro and K20 pro are not identical?
Sinner1970 said:
Waitwaitwait... 9T pro and K20 pro are not identical?
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Click to collapse
Hardware, yes... Software, no.
Since you can only lock your bootloader with original region rom, it makes some differences.
K20 pro is Chinese (or Indian) version and comes with Chinese miui OS. If you don't live china, or speak Chinese, certainly you will want to flash global rom (or European), and if you do so, as I said, you have to live with unlocked bootloader. Locking bootloader with rom from another region will brick your device.
In the other hand, if you buy a global VERSION (9T PRO). It will come with global rom AND a locked bootloader, as it design for global market.
Of course, if you have a global version (9t pro) and want to flash a chinese or a Indian rom, you have to unlock your bootloader and, after flashed, can't lock it either. But it is a really rare situation, the common is the other way.
The consequences of having an unlocked bootloader is that some apps can be problematics, usually financial ones (I don't have any, but some people here seems to have it. From my perspective, Indian dudes use to suffer with it most commonly...)
Anyway, you can fix it with magisk... But, at this point you have notice it is like a cat and mouse game (you have to solve potentials problems that it may cause) and many people really don't want to deal with this things. They wants to take it out the box and use it. That is not the case with k20 pro version...
If you look in AliExpress, you gonna see two types of "globals" devices.
There are "K20 Pro with global ROM" and "9t pro global version"...
For customs roms, forget everything I said
As it requires unlocked bootloader anyway, both devices will act identical...
Sinner1970 said:
Waitwaitwait... 9T pro and K20 pro are not identical?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nope , mi 9t pro is a official global set , it has more banding then k20 pro , personally mine country has the required band in k20 pro that why i got it , i cant even bother to unlock it since china rom has been ok so far, suggest you do more research first about your country bands first .
OK, so what I have found (all 6Gb/128Gb models) so far on aliexpress is:
K20 CN ROM: $269, unlocked bootloader
K20 GL ROM: $285, unlocked bootloader
K20 pro CN ROM: $340, unlocked bootloader
K20 pro GL ROM: $349, unlocked bootloader
9T Global: $309, unknown bootloader (seller didn't answer)
9T pro Global: $449, unknown bootloader (seller didn't answer)
I am not sure if every K20 (pro) with CN ROM has an unlocked bootloader but all sellers I asked said that theirs do.
Anyway.. I decided to go with the K20 Pro with Global ROM even tho that would mean the NFC/GPay not working,
the little price difference of $9 isn't worth (imho) the hassle/risk of installing a global rom myself. The price difference
between a K20 Pro and a 9T Pro (a cool $100) is too much for me as I really need NFC/Gpay thát badly.
Decision made, am ordering it next week (before the prices go up for 11/11). Thank you all for your explanations and help. :good:
Sinner1970 said:
OK, so what I have found (all 6Gb/128Gb models) so far on aliexpress is:
K20 CN ROM: $269, unlocked bootloader
K20 GL ROM: $285, unlocked bootloader
K20 pro CN ROM: $340, unlocked bootloader
K20 pro GL ROM: $349, unlocked bootloader
9T Global: $309, unknown bootloader (seller didn't answer)
9T pro Global: $449, unknown bootloader (seller didn't answer)
I am not sure if every K20 (pro) with CN ROM has an unlocked bootloader but all sellers I asked said that theirs do.
Anyway.. I decided to go with the K20 Pro with Global ROM even tho that would mean the NFC/GPay not working,
the little price difference of $9 isn't worth (imho) the hassle/risk of installing a global rom myself. The price difference
between a K20 Pro and a 9T Pro (a cool $100) is too much for me as I really need NFC/Gpay thát badly.
Decision made, am ordering it next week (before the prices go up for 11/11). Thank you all for your explanations and help. :good:
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Click to collapse
Chinese phones with a Chinese ROM will probably not come with an unlocked bootloader. Normally with the Xiaomi sellers on AliExpress, if you wanted it unlocked you would need to specifically request it.
Same with the EU phones they sell. They will normally come with the bootloader still locked and still on the original EU ROM.
I would recommend you get the Chinese phone with the Chinese ROM, and ask for it to be sent still factory sealed. Then unlock it yourself and install the global ROM. This way you know the quality of the ROM. Getting it with a global ROM already installed, it probably will be an official global ROM, but there's no guarantee that it will be unmodified. Personally I don't think it's worth the risk that it might have something dodgy injected into it.
Imho, Chinese k20 pro with unlocked bootloader and an
unknown globall rom installed had less value if compared with a chinese sealed and locked bootloader. The reason is: 1) if you unlock your bootloader by yourself, you will have the phone associated to YOUR mi account, what makes it easier to get support if something goes wrong. 2) you will install whatever rom you want, downloaded from xiaomi server (or any custom you want), it's really more safe than use a unknown rom that came with your device...
What people should understand is: unlock bootloader opens your phone to third party and not certificated softwares (and this is what you usually want) but, for the same reason, it makes the device more vulnerable to potentially dangerous softwares. When YOU are unlocking it, you can assure what you are flashing and loading through this way you opened.
When a third person gives you an unlocked device, you cannot be sure what was made before it gets in your hand...
So, it's really better get a locked device and do everything by yourself...
I never gave the unlocked/privacy/mi-account -part much thought to be honest. You guys have a very valid point there.
So what you all are saying is that it is better to buy a "untouched, sealed in box" K20 pro with Chinese ROM, unlock the bootloader (7 days wait) through the xiaomi site, and then flash a Global ROM on it?
Sinner1970 said:
I never gave the unlocked/privacy/mi-account -part much thought to be honest. You guys have a very valid point there.
So what you all are saying is that it is better to buy a "untouched, sealed in box" K20 pro with Chinese ROM, unlock the bootloader (7 days wait) through the xiaomi site, and then flash a Global ROM on it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, better and cheaper...
Sinner1970 said:
I never gave the unlocked/privacy/mi-account -part much thought to be honest. You guys have a very valid point there.
So what you all are saying is that it is better to buy a "untouched, sealed in box" K20 pro with Chinese ROM, unlock the bootloader (7 days wait) through the xiaomi site, and then flash a Global ROM on it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes thats exactly what I did, I flashed xiaomi.eu rom after I unlocked it and it works like a charm. One of the best purchases I have made this phone
Edit - Also if you buy a CN version with a "fake" global ROM and they somehow managed to lock the bootloader you will run into problems if you wish to flash another ROM that require many steps to fix as mentioned in the lengthy second post in this thread https://forum.xda-developers.com/k20-pro/how-to/redmi-k20-pro-firmware-10-3-8-0-9-6-13-t3939647
So imho stay away from those with a global rom on them.
I have a K20 PRO with bootloader unlocked, can I run a Mi9T PRO ROM on it? After all, they are the same devices.
Dionisiobsilva said:
I have a K20 PRO with bootloader unlocked, can I run a Mi9T PRO ROM on it? After all, they are the same devices.
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Yes. Flash a fastboot ROM in the Mi Flash Tool for the region you want (European or global).
Just remember. YOU MUST CHANGE THE DEFAULT FLASH OPTION IN THE MI FLASH TOOL.
If you flash a ROM for a different region to the phone you cannot lock the bootloader. If you use the 'clean all and lock' option you will hard brick the phone. You must change the flash option to 'clean all'.
I have a "noob" question: Will flashing a Mi9T Pro (or custom) ROM on a chinese K20 Pro unlock/reveal the B20 (800mhz) band or is that a hardware thing?
Sinner1970 said:
I have a "noob" question: Will flashing a Mi9T Pro (or custom) ROM on a chinese K20 Pro unlock/reveal the B20 (800mhz) band or is that a hardware thing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, flashing ROMs or firmware for different regions will neither enable or disable any bands.
Hello, i just bought Xioami mi pad 4 for 150eur in europe, i have been told that its from England.. I tried to verify authetification on xioami site, but it says
"Thank you for choosing Xiaomi!
However, the device you purchased is not an official global version and user experience may be affected. Next time, please purchase the official global version of the device through officially authorized channels."
Can anyone explain what this means? I heavily use tablet for 2 days, and everything is great. Just curious about message..
Also can someonw tell me if ita instaled last version of system?
Thanks in advance.
Mi Pad 4/Plus hasn't Global version. Only China version with xiaomi.eu like ROM.
Many China sellers use fake global MIUI as base system for sold devices. They unlock bootloader and install own rom. You can find some old posts about it and hints to replace this fake rom with any other custom rom or original MIUI. Maybe you have this rom in your tablet.
Xiaomi never offered this mi pad 4 official outside of China.
I live in Brazil and bought a Redmi Note 10 Pro 5G due to it's good price on Aliexpress, on the Mi Official Store. I will receive a open box, because they will reflash the ROM from Poco X3 GT Global Version to it.
I'm afraid about my security in buying a phone that it is previously handled by them. What can I do about it? Is that a legit concern? What is the difference between a reflashed rom and a global version?
ssouriss said:
I live in Brazil and bought a Redmi Note 10 Pro 5G due to it's good price on Aliexpress, on the Mi Official Store. I will receive a open box, because they will reflash the ROM from Poco X3 GT Global Version to it.
I'm afraid about my security in buying a phone that it is previously handled by them. What can I do about it? Is that a legit concern? What is the difference between a reflashed rom and a global version?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This phone only exists in Chinese version and it has flashed the global version of the poco so that you have for example a multi-language version because the original version is only in Chinese or English and without play store.
With the unlocked bootloader you can install custom roms.
There are two security, the bootloader and the Xiaomi account, you only have one left.
NOSS8 said:
This phone only exists in Chinese version and it has flashed the global version of the poco so that you have for example a multi-language version because the original version is only in Chinese or English and without play store.
With the unlocked bootloader you can install custom roms.
There are two security, the bootloader and the Xiaomi account, you only have one left.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you think I will have access to Google Services with the Poco Global ROM?
ssouriss said:
Do you think I will have access to Google Services with the Poco Global ROM?
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Click to collapse
yeap but some services(google pay) and apps will be unavailable due to the unlocked bootloader resulting in an uncertified play store.
So basically I accidentally upgraded from miui 13.0.2 to miui 13.0.4 and I want to downgrade back to 13.0.2. I know this sounds stupid how could someone accidentally upgrade It all happened because I created a new 2nd space on my 12t pro and dumbass me not noticing that it was downloading a whole package of update on that new 2nd space I finished up realizing that I have already upgraded. Anyway I have tried looking for miui 13.0.2 global rom for Xiaomi 12T Pro on the miui website but could only find Japanese and Turkish ones none for global. Anyone can help me out with this?
Which model (settings/my phone/detailed information/model)?
ex: 22081212UG
13.0.4(full name)?
ex: V13.0.4.0.SLFMIXM
I'm trying to get the one the phone came with which is V13.0.2.0.SLFMIXM
JayOni-Sama said:
I'm trying to get the one the phone came with which is V13.0.2.0.SLFMIXM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To downgrade you must first unlock the bootloader.
Unlock bootloader
Xiaomi Community
new.c.mi.com
Apply for unlocking Mi devices
en.miui.com
After research, I find no V13.0.2.0.SLFMIXM but only V13.0.3.0.SLFMIXM.
I have a new Redmi Note 12Pro+ which has the Chinese MIUI ROM (14.0.3) installed. Is it possible to replace this ROM with the international version? If the answer is yes is an instruction post available?
Also for those who might know is this the correct ROM as refers only to Redmi Note 12?
To switch from Chinese rom to global one you have to unlock the bootloader first , the wait time for unlocking bootloader should be 7-14 days .
Also your phone is note 12 pro + and the note 12 is definitely different both hardware and software wise
Hope it helps.
Thanks for your reply. Just to better my understanding, unlocking the bootloader is the same as what used be called rooting the phone? Why 7-14 days?
Updated my search and I think this is the right one.
unlocking the bootloader need a tool called MITOOL,this tool do not work util the phone login a account and keep 7-14 days.
it is a rule set by the XiaoMi LTD