It’s been a while since we’ve had an open thread here at GizChina. The GizChina community is buzzing with info from all sides, and an open thread is a great way to concentrate (some of) the information in one place. This week’s open thread is about the Android version running on your Chinese phone.

What Android version is your Chinese phone running?

Most Chinese OEMs are usually very slow in pushing updates. It is even worse when you’re using an ‘export brand’ phone, although that scene is improving.

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Today we’d like to know from you, and interact with you about the Android version on your phone. How long have you been using your phone, and have you been happy with it?

Do let us know what you’re running (don’t forget to include your phone’s model), and if you’re satisfied with the software support provided by your OEM!

Disclaimer: We may be compensated by some of the companies whose products we talk about, but our articles and reviews are always our honest opinions. For more details, you can check out our editorial guidelines and learn about how we use affiliate links.

About the author
Yash Garg
Yash is a blogger by profession, builder of things by passion and foodie by birth. You'll usually find him talking about technology, music, travel and the game of cricket on the streets of Pune when not busy writing or speeding his way through the country! Read more on retro handheld gaming on RETRO91

You can learn more about Yash, add him to your Google+ circles or follow him on Twitter to stay connected!

Yash Garg
July 2, 2015
I’ll get the ball rolling. When I’m not using a review phone, its usually the Mi 4 that I rock. Running Android v4.4 KitKat. It might sound like a very outdated version of Android (sub-$100 phones have KitKat these days), but to be honest I’m happy with the Mi 4… probably because MIUI.
- While miui looks like a hybrid between android and iOS…
  No matter which version you run… U will always be out dated.
  Even my my kolina running my private version of Android 4.2.2 Lollibean looks better than any miui ROM
  Ahh, and lets not forget it: Fuck you 100+ for your missing KitKat updates!
  - Adam Irvine
    July 3, 2015

Marco Lancaster
July 2, 2015
I have a Jiayu S3 now running latest 4.4, was running Lollipop 5.1 a few days ago, but still in development so I’ve decided to go to the most stable KK. I’m pretty satisfied with the development made for the device 4 Updates for KK and LP already in the Beta 4 and the next should arrive next week.
- Scott Rennie
  July 3, 2015
  I have an S3a and am running the out if the box 4.4. As far as I can tell wireless updates are broken. Which 4.4 update would you recommend, and what was your flashing method? (if you don’t mind me asking)
  - Marco Lancaster
    July 3, 2015
    Mine is S3A too, yeah the OTA system is not the best, and theres a ness between updates, Jiayu updates the S3S Rom more often that Rom is the chinese one without Gapps, our phones from international resellers comes with the S3SW Rom the same Rom but with Gapps. The best way, and I did it for myself is to flash the S3S Rom from 05/07/2015 via SPFlash Tools and after that flash Gapps with TWRP, you can find the explaination of this method and other useful things in the XDA thread about Jiayu S3.

Zsolt Csaki
July 2, 2015
- Snelleboi
  July 2, 2015
  Blu Studio 5. running 4.1.2 and stuck there as blu never will update to kitkat. That sucks !
  - Luis Martinez
    July 2, 2015
    Vivo xplay 3s have no idea couldn’t care less. The phone runs beautiful with whatever fun touch version I’m using.
  - balcobomber25
    July 3, 2015
    Which Studio 5 is it? It has to be the older 5.0 from 2013. Because the 5.0II and 5.0e are running 4.2 Jelly Bean and the 5.0C, 5.0CE, 5.0 HD and 5.0 HD LTE are all running Kit Kat.
    - snelleboi
      July 3, 2015
      Hi, it is the original studio 5 blu. Yes i am aware that the newer phones run newer android versions and some were updated by blu but mine wasn’t so i am stuck with 4.1
    - snelleboi
      July 3, 2015
      Hi, it is the original studio 5 blu. Yes i am aware that the newer phones run newer android versions and some were updated by blu but mine wasn’t so i am stuck with 4.1
      - balcobomber25
        July 4, 2015
        To be fair that is a 2+ year old phone a lot of phones from 2013 were never updated to Kit Kat.
- Oz
  July 2, 2015
  The latest OPO Cyanogen is 5.02 ROM. Where did you get 5.1? As far as I know 5.1 is not out yet. 5.1 was promised “soon”, but still waiting.
  - CBpbxEcmecmBeH
    July 3, 2015
    That is Cyannogen OS you’re talking about and the author mentions CyannogenMod — two different things 😉
Arnst
July 2, 2015
ZTE Nubia Z5S running KitKat 4.4.2
Filipp
July 2, 2015
- Adam Irvine
  July 4, 2015
  How you finding it? I’ve not long ordered 2 for my siblings, they haven’t arrived yet but since ordering I’ve been reading terrible things about the battery life..?
  Got fed up of waiting for GizChinas full review of it and so I just went ahead and ordered as I needed one of them before the 16th of July…
  - July 4, 2015
    Hey Adam
    It’s my first china phone so its hard to compare to others. But I’m quite happy with the device. Unfortunately I can’t tell you much about the battery life. I have it since a few days and didn’t use it much. So most of the time its pluged. I think it has a better battery life then my nexus 5 I’ve had bevor.
- Adam Irvine
  July 4, 2015
  How you finding it? I’ve not long ordered 2 for my siblings, they haven’t arrived yet but since ordering I’ve been reading terrible things about the battery life..?
  Got fed up of waiting for GizChinas full review of it and so I just went ahead and ordered as I needed one of them before the 16th of July…

Kostas Pand
July 2, 2015
Zte blade s6 running Lollipop 5.0.2
pa5t1s
July 2, 2015
Oneplus One, CM12 (Lollipop 5.0.2)
saor
July 2, 2015
Zte Nubia z5s mini temasek rom android 5.0.2
thor2001
July 2, 2015
Coolpad9976A 4.4.2
Vodafone 890N 4.4.4
Galaxy Note 4.1.2
Tizz
July 2, 2015
Xiaomi Mi3 running Kitkat 4.4.4 MIUI.
Eddy Pinto
July 2, 2015
iOcean X8 MIUI V6 android 4.4.2
monkeytree
July 2, 2015
Xiaomi Redmi 1s MIUI Multilanguage v50 Android 4.3
ToMo73_CRO
July 2, 2015
MIUI V6 on XIAOMI Mi2s, very satisfied with phone and OS!

Tulio
July 2, 2015
-doogee dg800 4.4.2 (it has an oficial lollipop rom but i’m wating for bugfixes from comunity).
-old broken tablet u9gtv with 4.4.2 (battery died)
Chico Migraña
July 2, 2015
Mi3w Running KitKat 4.4.4 MIUI ROM V5, better than V6, if I could run Jelly Bean will be better but it’s not compatible with Mi Band
Oz
July 2, 2015
5.02 Cyanogen on One Plus and Ulefone Be Pro 5.0.
Vypros
July 2, 2015
Mlais m52 with Android 4.4.4
Pip_X
July 2, 2015
Elephone P6000 Android Lollipop v5.0.
I wish there’s an upgrade to v5.1 though.

Narciso Silva Lizarazo
July 2, 2015
Meizu MX4 4.4.2 still waiting for lollipop!!!!!
- Matt Wright
  July 3, 2015
  You can install the beta, if you have the A/I version of the device. It runs well.
My Lenovo A7000 runs on Android L 5.0 with vibe UI on the top.
Airyl
July 3, 2015
My Redmi Note 4G running on Kitkat with MIUI V5.
Demetrio
July 3, 2015
Jiayu s3 w 5.1, I’m really happy. Still a bit buggy but next update (sp flash tool but even OTA ) is very close

Danny Wang
July 3, 2015
Meizu m1 note on 4.5.3 Flyme (5.0 Lollipop)
Mihnea Perianu
July 3, 2015
Android 5.1 (Flyme 4.5.3A), Meizu m1 note. It’s kinda unstable ROM, problems with some apps, I hope they will fix the bugs very quick.
Yolanda
July 3, 2015
NUU Mobile – Z8 … Running on stock Android 5.0 .. I m loving the performance and the a really good camera … apparently it’s upgradeable via OTA to Android 5.1!

CBpbxEcmecmBeH
July 3, 2015
OnePlus 1 – YIOS (Lollipop 5.1.1) since yesterday, ColorOS 2.0.60 (KitKat 4.4.4) for a couple of weeks before that and SmartisanOS 1.5.1 (KitKat 4.4.2) as my “main”
Ronnie Katsie
July 3, 2015
JIayu G4 MIUI V6 android 4.4.2
Roger
July 3, 2015
My Cubot One-S only has Android 4.2.2, but I can’t afford a new phone.
kawamase
July 3, 2015
Meizu phone has horrible kitkat FlymeOS
trolleyfan
July 3, 2015
Lenovo K910 running CM12.1 (Android 5.1)
Pablo Ruiz
July 3, 2015
mine ONE PLUS runs on lolipop cm12, its awesome

Mrinal
July 3, 2015
I’m running stock 4.0.4 Ice cream sandwich on my trusty old Jiayu G3 (6577) ＼(＾O＾)／
zee-you-kaaayy!
- Steven Fox
  July 4, 2015
  My aunt`s got that, I installed 4.1.2 on it. You should check needrom.com, how to do so.
  - Mrinal
    July 4, 2015
    I’ve tried it all, custom ROMs official 4.2 different kernels. In the end 4.0.4 works best for me. 4.2 shortens the battery life a bit and messes with the proximity sensor( for me). I’m fine with 4.0.4 though. Just waiting on a new phone! 🙂
- Steven Fox
  July 4, 2015
  My aunt`s got that, I installed 4.1.2 on it. You should check needrom.com, how to do so.

careeste
July 3, 2015
My taiwanese Htc one m8 runs 5.0.1 with sense 6. I m very happy with the performance and the theme engine it is very nice.
balcobomber25
July 3, 2015
Xiaomi Mi4 Android 4.4 don’t need or want Lollipop, have used it on a few devices and it is not good. Also BQ Aquaris 4.5 running Ubuntu.
MaxPower
July 3, 2015
nubia z5s mini flashed with Cyanogenmod 12 (android 5.0.2)
tomikitwo
July 3, 2015
LeTV One on Android 5.0
- BenShenzhen
  July 4, 2015
  How do u find the LeTV One? Any bugs? The videos so far look really nice and I like their EUI skin over the top.
Nuno Dias
July 3, 2015
Asus zenfone 2 Lollipop 5.0

prashant dogra
July 3, 2015
i am using huawei honor 3x , which i purchased last year in india….i am still running android 4.2 jelly bean. its so sick move from this international co. …i am totally exhausted with this phone…..huawei is a worst co. when it comes to software update ….worst co.
CiroD
July 3, 2015
Jiayu S3 Advanced on stock 4.4.4 KitKat, Meizu M1 note on Flyme 4.2.0.5A (KitKat 4.4.4)

prashant dogra
July 3, 2015
also using alcatel one touch idol x plus…..android 4.4.2 ….but pretty much satisfied..
ozan6661
July 3, 2015
Lenovo A6000 Android 4.4.4
Rodier72
July 3, 2015
Ecoo E04 3gb with Spacerom 1.0.0 on lollipop 5.0.
Bit of an overheating issue though, think I’ll try out a Kitkat custom rom.

Adam Irvine
July 3, 2015
I’d like to use this opportunity to not talk about my OnePlus One but instead my wife’s crap Zopo ZP999…
So, here it goes… Zopo ZP999 running its stock version of 4.4.2 which is the very, very latest OTA which was released back in late January and there’s been absolutely nothing since.
In a nut shell, the phone is absolute pants. The ROM is so unoptimized that even scrolling through web pages is laggy, the camera speed is terrible and the battery life is absolute p1ss take! They announced a couple of months back that they would update all of their current line to Lollipop EXCEPT FOR THE ZP999 which I think is atrocious given that its their Flagship device. And to be honest, if they at least spent a little time on ironing the creases out of KitKat that’d be something!
I’ve owned a ZP998 and now a ZP999 and I can hand on my heart say that its definitely the last time I even consider Zopo. Absolute cr@p company and that’s all there is to it.
P.s. Just keeping my eyes open here every day for something really, really good to replace it with… (Bit of checklist to work through for her next phone since I cocked up so greatly with this one…)
- MaxPower
  July 3, 2015
  i keep my eyes open everyday.
  i have an addiction for Chinese phones but I’m done jumping to the better deal.
  I always wait for reviews and feedbacks and I’m OK paying an extra to get a brand with good software.
  thanks for sharing your experience with Zopo.
  - Adam Irvine
    July 3, 2015
    I have that very same addiction! I’ve only been visiting GizChina since Jan 2014 if I’m honest and before that I was going at it a bit blind, I had a couple of THLs back then, W100 and a W8s and to be honest they were both OK, they just seemed to get outdated really quick during that time… Thankfully Andi introduced me to this new upcoming ‘OnePlus One’ and when I eventually got my invite in June I couldn’t be happier! Its been spot on all the way through the last 12months as my daily driver but I do feel at some point this year I’ll want to change it… Anyway, through GizChina, I’ve ordered for Friends and Family a Kingzone K1 Turbo, UMI Zero, Mlais M52, 2x Mlais M7s, Elephone P6000 and a couple of other things… If I could justify it I’d order multiple phones for myself all the time, but I just can’t, plus the fact that I’d hate setting up a new phone all the time with the apps etc…
    Ye, anyway, getting back to Zopo, my advice is to steer well clear, because if they’re so happy to drop support for what was a 3month old flagship back then, then I’m sure they’ll keep on doing it. And if anyone starts saying that its Mediateks fault for not releasing the Lollipop source for the 6595 then they’re wrong, Lenovo released Lollipop for the Vibe X2 not too long ago and that’s the same SOC…
    - MaxPower
      July 3, 2015
      I’m staying away from Zopo for sure
    - MaxPower
      July 3, 2015
      I’m staying away from Zopo for sure
  - BenShenzhen
    July 4, 2015
    What Chinese phones have u had? I’ve had quite a few, original Huawei Honor, Xiaomi 3, IUNI U3 and recently I’ve been attracted to the almost 12-month old Smartisan t1. My Chinese friends are insistent I should stop buying anything Chinese unless its Xiaomi.
    - MaxPower
      July 4, 2015
      not many, i started not long time ago.
      I started with a Samsung clone(awful), a Cubot one, Xiaomi Redmi 1s and now Xiaomi MI4.
      i disagree with your friends.
      I recon that Xiaomi might have started the war of prices but there are many brands that have awesome build quality with competitive price.
      Meizu,Huawei,Iuni,Vivo,ZTE,Lenovo,Oppo,OnePlus,Gionee Jiayu and many other smaller or “newer” brands like Umi,LeTV.
      some of them have better prices, some better specs but i would totally recommend any of them to my friends.
      I’ve been an happy owner of Xiaomi but i would have no problem switching for any of those brands listed above.
      Meizu MX5 is the right candidate for being my next phone unless something more attractive comes out
      - BenShenzhen
        July 5, 2015
        I do also like the look of the new Meizu MX5 and as people like Andy has said, some Vivo phones are great. Even Marquess Brownlee loved the One Plus too. I’ve owned a ZTE too but that failed on me quite quickly.
        I’m looking to chane and am thinking MX5, Xiaomi 4 (because of pricing now) or Vivo X5 Pro. Smartisan seems a gamble as I can barley find anything on the phone after its release, but my addiction to trying different chinese brands still makes it attractive to me.

Florian H
July 3, 2015
Xiaomi Mi3 with MIUI 6, Android 4.4.4. Had Stock ROM 5.1.1 installed for one evening but was annoyed for it not being MIUI and went back.
My Coolpad 7295+ still runs an optimized version of the stock Android 4.1.2. Newer community builds were buggy.

Florian H
July 3, 2015
Xiaomi Mi3 with MIUI 6, Android 4.4.4. Had Stock ROM 5.1.1 installed for one evening but was annoyed for it not being MIUI and went back.
My Coolpad 7295+ still runs an optimized version of the stock Android 4.1.2. Newer community builds were buggy.
faquir
July 3, 2015
vivo X710L Funtouch OS 2.0 rev6.13.0 Android 4.4.2
faquir
July 3, 2015
vivo X710L Funtouch OS 2.0 rev6.13.0 Android 4.4.2
Munzir1989
July 3, 2015
Elephone p7000 run 5.0
Bluboo x550 run 5.1
Altek leo a16 run 2.3.5
- MexiDroid
  July 4, 2015
  its bluboo x550 a good phone? tell me if the battery last like thl5000 or so? 🙂 thanks dude
- MexiDroid
  July 4, 2015
  its bluboo x550 a good phone? tell me if the battery last like thl5000 or so? 🙂 thanks dude

Munzir1989
July 3, 2015
Elephone p7000 run 5.0
Bluboo x550 run 5.1
Altek leo a16 run 2.3.5
Ruby
July 4, 2015
OnePlus One: CM12
RedMi Note 4G: MIUI V6/KK
RedMi Note 3G: MIUI V5/KK
Yash, another interesting open-thread discussion would be: “Buyers regret? Explain Why?” I’m happy with my three China phones (thanks to Andi and this site for guidance) but I made a number of impulsive buying mistakes along the way.
- Adam Irvine
  July 4, 2015
  That’s a good idea, I’d be able to have yet another stab at how sh1t Zopo are then!
  - BenShenzhen
    July 4, 2015

Open Thread: What Android version does your Chinese phone run?

What Android version is your Chinese phone running?

Gizchina News of the week

Yash Garg

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