Last year I switched away from apple for several reasons. My first android phone is a cheap base model phone (Oppo Reno 5) which I wanted to test the waters with. I got the phone on Mercari and it has been great so far.
By test the waters, I meant that if I could do everything I did with my iphone, I would stay with Android moving forward. I had to be able to use my phone as a wallet (which I can with google pay) through the osaifu ketai app that’s installed.
This phone is freely available in Japan. However, other higher tier flagship phones like the oppo find X5/Xiomi mi S12 pro and more, aren’t available here. You can however get them from Ali express at a reasonable price.
Looking into it, there seems to be 2 types of phones. Global ROM and Chinese ROM. This is where my confusion sets in.
Can we actually use either of these ROMs in Japan even though they aren’t available here officially? Is there a way to get either type and then modify them in Japan?
Or is it better to just wait for better phones to come to Japan in the future?
Im not in a hurry to get a new phone, but I am looking into it. The line up of Android phones and tablets in Japan is pitiful compared to China.
Does anyone happen to have a Find X5 or Xiomi S12 pro?
Im fairly tech savvy and am prepared to hack a phone to get it to work. Some of the shops selling these phones have messages like:
*The unlock bootloader has been unlocked and the ROOT permission has been turned on (this is the prerequisite for installing the global ROM). Certain banking applications and certain applications may not be available. (Applications for refunds and returns for this reason will be rejected. Please note)*
This is what worries me in terms of getting one then not being able to use important functions.
5 comments
As a rule, don’t buy Chinese smartphones. Unless you’re 120% percent of your ability to root out bloatware, just don’t do it. If you’re an Android fan, either Pixel or Galaxy unless you want to spend money on Black Phone or a Purism phone.
First of all, you’re gonna have to check if the bands your carrier requires – are supported.
Also you won’t have Osaifu Keitai on those phones, so no iD, QuicPay, mobile suica etc.
Android options are really limited over here, but at least Google has started to sell their pixel devices officially here.
I don’t think Android phones from other regions can use osaifu-keitai. It’s not a software limitation, but hardware one.
Just in case you are curious, Suruga-ya carries some of the higher end Android models used, some are SIM Free, others are locked to original carriers like Au.
I was looking at some of them. Some are good value, others like the centuries old Microsoft Lumia phone is insanely priced. But it gives you an idea of what Android models have released.
https://www.suruga-ya.jp/search?category=6500001&search_word=
Worth looking at. It can at least give you an idea of what’s available. Keep in mind most of these are used. But most of these that were originally released on a Japanese network will have the correct software for payments.
For xiaomi phones, worst case it is possible to restore the phone back to the original rom and bootloader so that it functions normally without root.
There are also tools to deny apps or prevent them from detecting root access so that they should function normally even if your phone is rooted.
The tricky part is that there are Japan region specific Xiaomi models whose ROM is not available on the xiaomi site for root access, and if you use a global incompatible ROM you could end up bricking the phone.