Xiaomi Mi 4i + Vodafone 4G in Maharashtra

sandeepk

Disciple
I am using Xiaomi Mi 4i and have got a new Vodafone 4G SIM in exchange in Maharashtra. They have recently launched 4G service in Pune city. Howerver, I am unable to connect to their 4G network. Can anybody point me to understand what could be wrong? Do I need to request for enabling 4G on the SIM? I am currently subscribed to their newly launched Rs. 348 plan which provides unlimited calling + 1 GB/day data. I get very good 3G speeds in my area (Kothrud) in the range of 8-10 mbps, so I am more than satisfied with the service. Only want to know why I am not able to connect to 4G network.

I understand that the 4G network deployed by Vodafone in Maharashtra in Band 3 (1800 MHz). Correct me if I am wrong. Mi 4i does support Band 3 as per the phone specifications.

Update: From google search, I found that if I send '4GCHECK' to 199, I can get information about mobile handset compatibility. I did that and it seems that Mi 4i is not compatible with Vodafone 4G frequency of 2100 MHz used in Pune. It looks like they are using Band 1 instead of Band 3 as I mentioned earlier.

Update 2: I did further testing with Redmi Note 3 which supports Band 1 and I can connect to Vodafone 4G network. So it confirms my earlier theory of Vodafone using Band 1 in Pune. One additional thing that I noticed when comparing different bands supported by Xiaomi Phones, is newly launched Redmi Note 4 does not support Band 1. It also drops some other bands as well when compared to Redmi Note 3 which has a more no. of LTE bands support.
 
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It is more and more strange that Xiaomi are releasing latest phones with less no. of LTE bands than their predecessors. Redmi 4A is following similar pattern. It only supports 3/5/40 bands. It is similar for Redmi 3S. Yes, those bands are used by Jio, but it is not the only mobile operator in India. Other phones released in this month like Moto G5+ have support for more bands.

Compare that to Redmi Note 3 released last year, it supports 1/3/5/7/8/38/39/40/41. Also to iPhone 5s which around 4 years old supports 1/3/5/7/8/20/38/39/40.
 
It is more and more strange that Xiaomi are releasing latest phones with less no. of LTE bands than their predecessors. Redmi 4A is following similar pattern. It only supports 3/5/40 bands. It is similar for Redmi 3S. Yes, those bands are used by Jio, but it is not the only mobile operator in India. Other phones released in this month like Moto G5+ have support for more bands.

Compare that to Redmi Note 3 released last year, it supports 1/3/5/7/8/38/39/40/41. Also to iPhone 5s which around 4 years old supports 1/3/5/7/8/20/38/39/40.

I dont think its strange, but more like ensuring that there is cost cutting and planned obsolescence. Airtel, Jio are going to stick with band 40. Most operators will stick to band 3 for LTE.

Also, Vodafone and Idea may go with Band 1 for reusing frequencies, as most are upgrading to 4G. This may also be done by Airtel and other operators running 3G, as they already have the spectrum. In that case, RN4 users will need to upgrade if they plan to switch to Vodafone?

Ideally, hasten the process to kill GSM/UMTS and move to VoLTE/ViLTE.
 
Mobile SOCs have multiple band support by default. So there is no much of cost saving involved except for the ones which are unusual in our region. Yes, they could be planning for customers to upgrade in timely manner.
 
As mentioned earlier by me Redmi 4A only supports 3/5/40. In Pune (and I guess it is same for whole Maharashtra except Mumbai) Vodafone is on 2100 MHz i.e. Band 1. So no support here. In Mumbai, I guess they are on 1800 MHz (Band 3) as per following articles:

http://www.business-standard.com/ar...4g-in-mumbai-on-1-800-mhz-116021000414_1.html
http://gadgets.ndtv.com/telecom/news/vodafone-launches-4g-services-in-mumbai-800589

Yup, I can confirm this, my brother is using Vodafaone 4G on Redmi Note 4 in Mumbai.
 
Damn. I only have Vodafone and Idea sims. So what band should I look for so that I can get 4G in both sims? 2100 & 2300 come under which fdd or tdd bands?

Edit: 1/3/40/41 I think.

I think Lenovo phab2 supports but it's too big.
 
@6pack, if you want some thing smaller, you can choose Redmi Note 3. Except camera (and may be speaker), it is better than Redmi Note 4 in almost all the departments. It has support for all the required bands.

Moto G4/G5 also have support for them. Lenovo P2 is also another choice.
 
RN3 is available on the mi indian site.
Where? Its showing oos for me on website and Notify me on the MI app.

Edit: Moto G5+ supports vodafone and idea 4g bands.
Code:
LTE band 1(2100), 3(1800), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 19(800), 20(800), 28(700), 38(2600), 40(2300), 41(2500) - XT1684, XT1685

Edit2: Seems in India different version XT1686 is selling with very limited bands
Code:
GSM: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz; UMTS: 850, 900, 2100 MHz; 4G LTE (B1, B3, B5, B8, B40)

So even this phone does not support 2300MHz band of Idea.
 
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