Xiaomi Phone - Borken Seal

Lraziel-1987 on 25/08/2016 - 10:33

Hi Guys,

I have recently bought a XIAOMI MI4 from EVERYBUYING, when it was advertised on OB.

After almost 4 weeks, it arrived in the post yesterday. Unfortunatelly I had to find out that the Seal was broken!

So I would just like to ask what could be the reason for this? And should I return the phone or keep it?

I have 3 explanations why the Seal is broken:

1) Customs opened it to check what's inside
2) It's a refurbished Phone
3) Everybuying put some Malware or Spyware or whatever on the phone to collect all my dertails, bank details etc (in case i would use and online banking app, which i don't though)

Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

Thank You very much !!!!

Kind regards,
philipp87

Mobile

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Comments

  • nocure on 25/08/2016 - 10:35
    +1

    Everybuying put some Malware or Spyware or whatever on the phone to collect all my dertails, bank details etc (in case i would use and online banking app, which i don't though)

    Yep, This one, I have an Xiaomi too and someone keeps paying off my mastercard before the due date :)
    /s

    • raziel-1987 on 25/08/2016 - 10:48

      thank you for your response. so what do you suggest should I do?

      is the phone still ok to use as long as i dont buy anything online and put my details in the phone?

      or shall I send it back? but then again what are the chances of me ever getting a refund?

      • nocure on 25/08/2016 - 10:50
        +1

        we do have a Everbuying rep in house so shoot him a PM and i'm sure he will look into it for you.

  • MattyAu on 25/08/2016 - 10:50
    +1

    PM the rep for starters: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/user/121684

  • Clear on 25/08/2016 - 10:56
    +1

    Some Chinese sellers get Chinese stock and load firmware with English. Other times they'll open the box and ensure the phone turns on so you don't get a DOA ;)

  • mckennal on 25/08/2016 - 11:19

    Option 3 most likely (although I'm not sure it's to collect bank details, more likely to bombard you with extra advertising on your phone).

    I would flash an official ROM from here:
    http://en.miui.com/download-240.html

    • raziel-1987 on 25/08/2016 - 11:24

      ok. thanks for the reply.

      how would that work then? would that over-write the existing ROM and get rid of all malware, spyware, addware etc ?

      • mckennal on 25/08/2016 - 11:59

        That's the aim. Overwrite the entire ROM that it comes with, and replace it with an official one from Xiaomi. If you want Google Play Store etc use the "Global" ROM.

        • raziel-1987 on 25/08/2016 - 12:09

          ok. thanks for the info.

          i will wait for a reply from the everbuying rep before I go ahead to replace the Rom.

          how exactly does that work? have u got a link for instructions?
          just have the phone plugged in my pc and then…..what? how do i delete the existing rom and how to i get the new rom on the phone!

          thanks for your help/advice! much appreciate it !

        • mckennal on 25/08/2016 - 13:08

          @philipp87:

          http://en.miui.com/a-232.html

          I used method 3 when I got my wife's Mi 4. I think it's the most thorough at replacing the ROM, although method 1 is much easier if it works for you.

          If you aren't too tech-savvy I would probably do option 1 then immediately do a "factory reset" once it boots the first time. If you get an error using this method (which happens quite often with "vendor ROMs"), then go to option 3.

        • raziel-1987 on 31/08/2016 - 20:15

          @mckennal: hey mate. im just about to do option one and under step 2 it says: "Connect your device to the Windows PC/laptop via a micro USB cable, and copy the ROM file downloaded in Step 1 into the folder ‘downloaded_rom’ in the internal storage of your device."
          Should I copy the zip file t the phone or the extracted file?

          thanks

        • mckennal on 31/08/2016 - 22:40

          @philipp87:
          Use the zip. Don't unzip it.

        • raziel-1987 on 31/08/2016 - 22:49

          @mckennal: already tried. won't work :(
          i have also tried method 2 (recovery update) and it also won't work :(

          i don't know what to do anymore. method 3 seems a bit complicated and i am worried that, if it does not not work properly or just boots the phone half way that i am left with a piece of junk…

        • mckennal on 31/08/2016 - 23:35

          @philipp87:
          Don't stress. What's the error message you get, and at what stage of the process? Feel free to move this to a private message conversation if you want.

  • Davo1111 on 25/08/2016 - 13:40
    +2

    My bet is that they'll say that they're checking its working, to reduce DOA.

    First thing to do is use this: http://en.miui.com/unlock/

    That way you can flash it down the track.

    I use an EU.rom

  • raziel-1987 on 25/08/2016 - 16:25

    Hey, so just got a response for from an everybuying rep (https://www.ozbargain.com.au/user/38084) giving me the following respsonse:

    "Hi

    Australian Customs have the Authority to open any pavhage from overseas."

    That might be true, but it certainly seems like the easiest excuse for them.

    And I just wonder, shouldn't they (Customs) leave a note in the parcel that they DID open it?

    Thanks for your help guys!

  • raziel-1987 on 31/08/2016 - 21:01

    Ok, I have just booted the phone for the first time.
    Downloaded Antutu to match benchmark test and they are similar to original one (about 51k) and also checked with Antutu Officer and that told me it's an authentic phone. So I am pretty convinced it is a genuine phone and not fake.

    Now, I tried verifying the phone with the IMEI sn S/N and I have double checked the numbers but it would always tell em 'Your IMEI does not exist'
    No idea why. Anyone got any ideas?

    And I am still waiting for an answer from our community member regarding the downloading and copying of the rom the phone.

    Anyone can tell me whether I should copy the zip file )whole folder?) to the phone or the extracted files or the whole extracted folder?

    The phone already had GOOGLE PLAY installed. I heard it's not supposed to have it when it get shipped. But then again, I have ordered the "International Version" of the phone…..so maybe it should have it then?

    sorry for all the questions and thanks a lot for your help! it is VERY much appreciated!

    • raziel-1987 on 31/08/2016 - 21:15

      I also can not find the a folder called "downloaded_rom" on my phone as instructed on the xiaomi website:

      "Connect your device to the Windows PC/laptop via a micro USB cable, and copy the ROM file downloaded in Step 1 into the folder ‘downloaded_rom’ in the internal storage of your device."

      • mckennal on 31/08/2016 - 23:32

        Create the directory, put the zip in it. Follow the rest of the instructions. I don't think it actually has to be in that directory (they are probably instructions for an older version of the recovery), but you may as well.

  • [Deactivated] on 01/09/2016 - 12:32

    Yeah, almost all Xiaomi sellers will open the box and have some evil clause at the bottom stating that the phone has already been rooted. In addition some extra text such as "May cause data loss if you factory restore".

    This is almost always guarantees you will get a third party rom.

    The rooted part would imply and unlocked bootloader. The unlocked bootloader usually means someone has gone in and changed the rom, otherwise why would the vendor need to unlock the bootloader?

    The other problem is if you want to buy a sealed version. You will most likely get a China version rom which means you have to unlock the bootloader and then flash the Global Rom anyway…

    So, it looks like either way one wants to go about it, you will need to use the fastboot method to flash and gain a proper functioning official rom. This is if you want the most security.

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