Chinese Xiaomi Mi5 LTE bands confirmed as 1/3/7 only

After rumours this morning that the Xiaomi Mi5 could support all LTE networks across the EU and US, Xiaomi have updated their Chinese website to show that the real supported bands aren’t as impressive.

Earlier today there was a rumour, fuelled by the MIUI forums, that the Xiaomi Mi5 could offer support of 18 LTE networks, but this has since been proven as false.

Since the rumour the official specifications page of the Xiaomi Mi5 has been updated on the Chinese website to include only FDD-LTE bands 1/3/7.

This is not to say that their won’t be other LTE support once the Indian version of the Xiaomi Mi5 launches, plus Hugo Barra also mentioned that other ‘global markets’ will get the flagship Mi5 later in the year too.

Gizchina News of the week

Join GizChina on Telegram

However, if you are ordering the Xiaomi Mi5 from China when it launches on 1st March make sure that the bands work with your carrier in your country.

Chinese Xiaomi Mi5 supported bands

FDD-LTE (band B1, B3, B7)
TD-LTE (band B38, B39, B40, B41)
TD-SCDMA (band B34, B39)
WCDMA (bands B1, B2, B5, B8)
GSM (band B2, B3 , B5, B8)
CDMA1X / EVDO? (band BC0)

The rest of the Xiaomi Mi5 specs can be seen over on the official Xiaomi website here.

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

Andi

balcobomber25
February 26, 2016
I had a feeling this was coming which is why I didn’t want to believe any of the hype. There could be global models coming with more support so we will have to wait and see. I would like to hear Hugo say something about it either way.
- MaxPower
  February 26, 2016
  - balcobomber25
    February 26, 2016
    I highly doubt we will but you never know. The international markets they will sell in (besides the usual) are: Indonesia, Brazil, Philippines and Thailand. All of those use 1, 3 or 7. Unless they have some surprise announcement to sell in North/Central America (Mexico perhaps) or Europe we won’t see any additional bands.
    - tauerman
      February 26, 2016
      But why in general is there no modem that supports all possible bands that exist world wide?
      - balcobomber25
        February 26, 2016
        Most modem’s do support every band. They need separate antennae for different network frequencies though. Reasons they don’t include everyone usually has to do with costs to operate on certain networks. If they aren’t selling officially in that country or sales aren’t strong in that country, often times the costs aren’t justified.

patstar5
February 26, 2016
Well you have blu, huawei, ZTE, Mottola, freetel, oneplus, and other companies fighting it out for the mid-high end phone market. It might be too late when xiaomi comes
- balcobomber25
  February 26, 2016
  If and when Xiaomi enters the US/Europe market they will be one of the top phones sold.
  - patstar5
    February 26, 2016
    Huawei is being pretty ambitious. If Google’s project Ara ever comes to market I think it would really disrupt the smartphone industry.
    Doesn’t blu just buy Chinese phones and rebrand them? Got my sister the Vivo 5 XL and it’s actually pretty impressive for the $100 Sale price. Usb type c, display is good even if it’s only 720p,I love how you can draw different shapes to launch different apps. It’s got some other nice software additions. The camera is absolutely terrible but besides that it’s a good phone. It replaced her idol 3 which got water damaged.
    But some of their phones make no sense to buy, they have the Vivo 5 with a more premium design but it’s still 720p yet has usb type c.
    - balcobomber25
      February 26, 2016
      Most of Blu’s phones are rebranded Gionee’s. But they also use other OEM’s from China. Alcatel is rebranded TCL’s.
      Project Ara begins testing this year. It’s viability in the smartphone market is limited unless it is widely adopted by smartphone component makers.
  - David Košič
    February 26, 2016
    I disagree the high end already belongs to Samsung and Apple. And once the general consumer sees their phones and software which are heavily inspired by Apple and their CEO dressing the same as Steve jobs they will never take their products seriously. Just having high end phones for cheap online doesn’t guarantee sales just ask Asus and oneplus. People like going to their carrier where they see phones on display, they can play with them a little and then choose.
    - TheOracle
      February 26, 2016
      Asus and One Plus have done very well for themselves with the Zenfone 2 and OPO. Bad example.
      - David Košič
        February 26, 2016
        They didn’t even make a dent in the US market they are prefect example since they are the most known
        TheOracle
        February 26, 2016
        They didn’t make a dent in the US market because consumers are just getting weaned off the Carrier subsidy plans as Balco says. In the next 24 months that will change drastically with Asus, OPO, Huawei and ZTE leading the way. Xiaomi will be a welcome addition if only to destroy Apple’s extortionate pricing structure.
    - balcobomber25
      February 26, 2016
      The only one that really cares so much about the Apple inspiration is Apple fans and the pro Apple Media, the rest just want good phones for good prices. People are already excited by the Mi5 that isn’t available in the US. Long time tech journalists that completely ignore Chinese phones are blushing over it. Once people realize that they don’t have to pay $6-700 for a flagship phone, especially now that subsidization has ended, they will be lining up to buy phones like this. Look at Huawei and the success it is having with the Honor 5X. Look at the success Nexus and Moto have had.
      Who says Xiaomi’s won’t be sold in carrier stores? They are in other countries. When they do enter the US they will most likely team up with Tmobile, who will have all their US models on full display and in commercials. Best Buy will be lining up to get ahold of them for their stores.
      - David Košič
        February 26, 2016
        The reason why Xiaomi is so cheap is because they don’t pay for the patents, they avoid the carrier markup and almost no marketing. Not to mention Apple would bury them in lawsuits. If consumers would only care for the “bang for the buck” then Asus and oneplus would actually be among the 5 selling OEMs in the States or Europe.
        TheOracle
        February 26, 2016
        And why do the US and Europe have to be the litmus test? China has 1.2 billion mobile handsets in use, India has 1 billion.The US has a whopping 300 million. The Zenfone2 and OP2 are number 5 and 10 respectively on GSMArena’s (Indian site) popularity chart. Right now I’d rather be popular in the second largest phone market in the world than the saturated western markets. Marketing and the Carrier nanny system has brainwashed the US consumer into believing Crapple and Samdung are the best phones. We know better and the US consumer will soon realize that their $700 phone is no better than the multiple sub $400 phones that will flood the market.
        
        highwind
        February 27, 2016
        Well, their “700$ phone” atleast has their LTE bands and language support…
        TheOracle
        February 27, 2016
        My $300 Zenfone 2 has worldwide lte and dual-sim, dual-active and is just as fast and smoother than most $700 phones.
        balcobomber25
        February 26, 2016
        If Apple “would burry them in lawsuits” why haven’t they already? Apple and Xioami coexist and compete in several markets already, why has Apple never filed suit against them? Apple has sued plenty of other companies in foreign markets, why are the ignoring Xiaomi? The reason that hasn’t happened? Xiaomi either doesn’t use any of Apple’s patents or they use them with permission.
        Asus and Oneplus are sold in the US but neither has done any real marketing in the US. If OnePlus partnered with an American carrier like Tmobile or ATT and was offered in stores like Best Buy their sales would be 10x what they are now.

Mi-fan
February 26, 2016
Well, No problem for me, In Switzerland I can get my LTE with the Mi supported bands. But you will see a rage-wave from great-germany coming up..
- balcobomber25
  February 26, 2016
  It’s not a huge problem for me as I still use 3G on my MX5 and the speeds are pretty good for what I do. It’s more convenience than anything else and I travel internationally for work so having bands 1,3 and 7 is actually a plus for me.
  - SnowyCat
    February 26, 2016
    i get such huge download speeds on 3g here in germany on my mi4 with low latency and websits + videos open really quick..well i guess if there is only like 4g a no 3g in your region you would prefer that but i dont see the need for 4g if you got good 3g speeds. atleast ina few years that problem will be solved as most companys do everything right now to build up the 5g network for the future. atleast in germany as well

balcobomber25
February 26, 2016
A sales rep at Gionee told me during MWC the S8 would have full LTE support for US and Europe (including the all important Band 20’s and 17).
- SnowyCat
  February 26, 2016
  maybe if there will be a cheaper version it could be the phone for me because except for the processor it really covers all my needs . and i think it will be fluent enough in day to day use ^^ but wont buy it untill the price drops in a few months ^^
  - balcobomber25
    February 26, 2016
    - SnowyCat
      February 26, 2016
      but dont they also put different software on it like mroe stock? not sure tho … i think i’ve seen that in the past, but when i saw their rom it looked kinda nice..gionee’s that is.
      - balcobomber25
        February 27, 2016
        Sometime Blu will change the ROM up, there is no method to it. Sometimes they use Gionee’s Amigo (they call it something different), other times they use Stock android with their own launcher or menus.
    - SnowyCat
      February 26, 2016
      nvm about my previous comment it seems like it is not the case. sorry ^^ yeah just gonna wait :3

xi7
February 26, 2016
limited camera and network, Probably the Best of 2016 ? sd810 vs sd820 what difference does in the hand of Xiaomi? only games fps ? but old 810 play any game too…
- balcobomber25
  February 26, 2016
  Camera should be one of the best on the market and support for the three most popular lte bands in the world.
  - Simon
    February 26, 2016
    - balcobomber25
      February 26, 2016
      My favorite camera app these days is Open Camera, I like the level of control it gives with zero advertisements and nothing hidden behind a paywall.
      - Simon
        February 26, 2016
        Thanks for the tip. If I get the Mi 5 I’ll be sure to check it out.
  - xi7
    February 26, 2016
    hardware with latest technology but with noob software camera. shame no 1080p @ 60/120/240 fps. Camera is not only photo.
    - balcobomber25
      February 26, 2016
      - xi7
        February 26, 2016
        lg g2 up 60fps what the problem with xiaomi high-end series ? 150k antutu and bla bla… so let’s separate the men from the boys.
        balcobomber25
        February 26, 2016
        For you 60fps is important, for me it is a useless feature. 60fps bla bla.
        
        xi7
        February 27, 2016
        would this small way of thinking that a Xiaomi mi5 will be compared only lg g2, with significant defeat.
        -what you with a mi5 that would not do with g2?
        balcobomber25
        February 27, 2016
        Take full advantage of 64 bit Android.
        xi7
        February 27, 2016
        You asked for one thing I have you one thing.
        highwind
        February 27, 2016
        He is taking full advantage of 64 bit Android 5.1
        
        highwind
        February 27, 2016
        Well, lets face it:
        No matter what Xiaomi is missing/lacking, it is without a questions unimportant/unrelevant for you…
        On the other side everything they got (no matter how useless) is absolutely essential is for you…
        It is like the blind Apple-fanboys who said small screen sizes are the very best in existance for years and bought an iPhone 6+ the next day Apple released it xD
        balcobomber25
        February 27, 2016
        And Let’s face it no matter what Xiaomi does you are going to be here talking crap about them.
        highwind
        February 27, 2016
        Whatever you say Mi-Sheep
balcobomber25
February 26, 2016
I had a feeling this was coming which is why I didn’t want to believe any of the hype. There could be global models coming with more support so we will have to wait and see. I would like to hear Hugo say something about it either way.
- MaxPower
  February 26, 2016
  Honestly I don’t think we’ll see a different phone with more bands.
- balcobomber25
  February 26, 2016
  I highly doubt we will but you never know. The international markets they will sell in (besides the usual) are: Indonesia, Brazil, Philippines and Thailand. All of those use 1, 3 or 7. Unless they have some surprise announcement to sell in North/Central America (Mexico perhaps) or Europe we won’t see any additional bands.
- tauerman
  February 27, 2016
  But why in general is there no modem that supports all possible bands that exist world wide?
- balcobomber25
  February 27, 2016
  Most modem’s do support every band. They need separate antennae for different network frequencies though. Reasons they don’t include everyone usually has to do with costs to operate on certain networks. If they aren’t selling officially in that country or sales aren’t strong in that country, often times the costs aren’t justified.

patstar5
February 26, 2016
Well you have blu, huawei, ZTE, Mottola, freetel, oneplus, and other companies fighting it out for the mid-high end phone market. It might be too late when xiaomi comes
- balcobomber25
  February 26, 2016
  If and when Xiaomi enters the US/Europe market they will be one of the top phones sold.
  I am big fan of what Blu is doing but they aren’t even close to being a competitor.
- patstar5
  February 26, 2016
  Huawei is being pretty ambitious. If Google’s project Ara ever comes to market I think it would really disrupt the smartphone industry.
  Doesn’t blu just buy Chinese phones and rebrand them? Got my sister the Vivo 5 XL and it’s actually pretty impressive for the $100 Sale price. Usb type c, display is good even if it’s only 720p,I love how you can draw different shapes to launch different apps. It’s got some other nice software additions. The camera is absolutely terrible but besides that it’s a good phone. It replaced her idol 3 which got water damaged.
  But some of their phones make no sense to buy, they have the Vivo 5 with a more premium design but it’s still 720p yet has usb type c.
- balcobomber25
  February 26, 2016
  Most of Blu’s phones are rebranded Gionee’s. But they also use other OEM’s from China. Alcatel is rebranded TCL’s.
  Project Ara begins testing this year. It’s viability in the smartphone market is limited unless it is widely adopted by smartphone component makers. Which I have a feeling it won’t be. They would rather you be forced to upgrade your entire phone every year, everyone makes more money that way.
- TheOracle
  February 26, 2016
  Asus and One Plus have done very well for themselves with the Zenfone 2 and OPO. Bad example.
- balcobomber25
  February 26, 2016
  The only one that really cares so much about the Apple inspiration is Apple fans and the pro Apple Media, the rest just want good phones for good prices. People are already excited by the Mi5 that isn’t available in the US. Long time tech journalists that completely ignore Chinese phones are blushing over it. Once people realize that they don’t have to pay $6-700 for a flagship phone, especially now that subsidization has ended, they will be lining up to buy phones like this. Look at Huawei and the success it is having with the Honor 5X. Look at the success Nexus and Moto have had.
  Who says Xiaomi’s won’t be sold in carrier stores? They are in other countries. When they do enter the US they will most likely team up with Tmobile, who will have all their US models on full display and in commercials. Best Buy will be lining up to get ahold of them for their stores.
- TheOracle
  February 26, 2016
  They didn’t make a dent in the US market because consumers are just getting weaned off the Carrier subsidy plans as Balco says. In the next 24 months that will change drastically with Asus, OPO, Huawei and ZTE leading the way. Xiaomi will be a welcome addition if only to destroy Apple’s extortionate pricing structure.
- TheOracle
  February 26, 2016
  And why do the US and Europe have to be the litmus test? China has 1.2 billion mobile handsets in use, India has 1 billion.The US has a whopping 300 million. The Zenfone2 and OP2 are number 5 and 10 respectively on GSMArena’s (Indian site) popularity chart. Right now I’d rather be popular in the second largest phone market in the world than the saturated western markets. Marketing and the Carrier nanny system has brainwashed the US consumer into believing Crapple and Samdung are the best phones. We know better and the US consumer will soon realize that their $700 phone is no better than the multiple sub $400 phones that will flood the market.
- balcobomber25
  February 26, 2016
  If Apple “would burry them in lawsuits” why haven’t they already? Apple and Xioami coexist and compete in several markets already, why has Apple never filed suit against them? Apple has sued plenty of other companies in foreign markets, why are the ignoring Xiaomi? The reason that hasn’t happened? Xiaomi either doesn’t use any of Apple’s patents or they use them with permission.
  Asus and Oneplus are sold in the US but neither has done any real marketing in the US. If OnePlus partnered with an American carrier like Tmobile or ATT and was offered in stores like Best Buy their sales would be 10x what they are now.
- provokanter Tabellenführer
  February 27, 2016
  Well, their “700$ phone” atleast has their LTE bands and language support…
- TheOracle
  February 27, 2016
  My $300 Zenfone 2 has worldwide lte and dual-sim, dual-active and is just as fast and smoother than most $700 phones.
Beloved Chairman Lei Jun
February 26, 2016
Well, No problem for me, In Switzerland I can get my LTE with the Mi supported bands. But you will see a rage-wave from great-germany coming up..
- balcobomber25
  February 26, 2016
  It’s not a huge problem for me as I still use 3G on my MX5 and the speeds are pretty good for what I do. It’s more convenience than anything else and I travel internationally for work so having bands 1,3 and 7 is actually a plus for me.
- SnowyCat
  February 26, 2016
  i get such huge download speeds on 3g here in germany on my mi4 with low latency and websits + videos open really quick..well i guess if there is only like 4g a no 3g in your region you would prefer that but i dont see the need for 4g if you got good 3g speeds. atleast ina few years that problem will be solved as most companys do everything right now to build up the 5g network for the future. atleast in germany as well

balcobomber25
February 26, 2016
A sales rep at Gionee told me during MWC the S8 would have full LTE support for US and Europe (including the all important Band 20’s and 17). Nothing official from Gionee themselves yet though.
- SnowyCat
  February 26, 2016
  maybe if there will be a cheaper version it could be the phone for me because except for the processor it really covers all my needs . and i think it will be fluent enough in day to day use ^^ but wont buy it untill the price drops in a few months ^^
- balcobomber25
  February 27, 2016
  Wait until Blu rebrands it, they usually sell the Gionee S models for around $199.
- SnowyCat
  February 27, 2016
  but dont they also put different software on it like mroe stock? not sure tho … i think i’ve seen that in the past, but when i saw their rom it looked kinda nice..gionee’s that is.
- SnowyCat
  February 27, 2016
  nvm about my previous comment it seems like it is not the case. sorry ^^ yeah just gonna wait :3
- balcobomber25
  February 27, 2016
  Sometime Blu will change the ROM up, there is no method to it. Sometimes they use Gionee’s Amigo (they call it something different), other times they use Stock android with their own launcher or menus.
xi7
February 26, 2016
limited camera and network, Probably the Best of 2016 ? sd810 vs sd820 what difference does in the hand of Xiaomi? only games fps ? but old 810 play any game too…
- balcobomber25
  February 26, 2016
  Camera should be one of the best on the market and support for the three most popular lte bands in the world.
- Guest
  February 26, 2016
  Any particular camera app you recommend for it ?
- balcobomber25
  February 26, 2016
  My favorite camera app these days is Open Camera, I like the level of control it gives with zero advertisements and nothing hidden behind a paywall.
- Guest
  February 26, 2016
  Thanks for the tip. If I get the Mi 5 I’ll be sure to check it out.
- xi7
  February 26, 2016
  hardware with latest technology but with noob software camera. shame no 1080p @ 60/120/240 fps. Camera is not only photo.
- balcobomber25
  February 26, 2016
  Camera is not only for video either. Depends on your needs.
- xi7
  February 26, 2016
  lg g2 up 60fps what the problem with xiaomi high-end series ? 150k antutu and bla bla… so let’s separate the men from the boys.
- balcobomber25
  February 27, 2016
  For you 60fps is important, for me it is a useless feature. 60fps bla bla.
- xi7
  February 27, 2016
  would this small way of thinking that a Xiaomi mi5 will be compared only lg g2, with significant defeat.
  -what you with a mi5 that would not do with g2?
- provokanter Tabellenführer
  February 27, 2016
  Well, lets face it:
  No matter what Xiaomi is missing/lacking, it is without a questions unimportant/unrelevant for you…
  On the other side everything they got (no matter how useless/trivial) is absolutely essential and perfect for you…
  It is like the blind Apple-fanboys who said small screen sizes are the very best in existance for years and bought an iPhone 6+ the next day Apple released it xD
- balcobomber25
  February 27, 2016
  And Let’s face it no matter what Xiaomi does you are going to be here talking crap about them.
- provokanter Tabellenführer
  February 27, 2016

Gizchina News of the week

Chinese Xiaomi Mi5 supported bands

Andi

Today in Home