Huawei Y9 purchase concerns

[davhend25]

Hello all,

 

I am seriously interested in purchasing this phone (Huawei Y9). Currently selling on "Lazada" for 5,800 baht (https://www.lazada.co.th/products/huawei-y9-2018-i210228346-s317168621.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.1.fcb64a3fAAc9M6&search=1). However, I am very concerned that some of the "Band/Connectivity" websites are showing this model with only 2G band connectivity here in Thailand. This one in particular (https://www.frequencycheck.com/compatibility/vqzk0/huawei-y9-2018-dual-sim-td-lte-fla-l22-fla-lx2/countries?utf8=✓&q[name_or_code_or_keywords_cont]=Thailand&commit=Search).

 

Also, that the sim2 slot only supports 2G connectivity see: (http://www.phonemore.com/huawei-y9-2018-lx2/specs/3925). The reason this may be a problem is that I currently am using AIS prepaid, and according to online sources, AIS does not have 4G service. So I wanted to add a TRUE sim in the second sim slot for faster Data connections.  Any thoughts on this information from current owners of this phone would be appreciated!  Also, how well, generally, does this phone work for you here in Thailand. 

 

Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

DH

 

 

 

[thedemon]

I can't comment on that Huawei phone but would suggest the following.

 

AIS definitely has 4G service so you would have no need for a TRUE SIM in the 2nd slot if only for data.

 

Bear in mind that this phone (like most dual SIM phones) is "dual standby" rather than "dual active". That means that there aren't 2 separate hardware radios so if using data on one SIM, the data will stop when receiving a 2G call on the other SIM.

[Jujijuji]

You will have no problems whatsoever.

 

AIS have 4G on 900/1800 and 2100 and 3G on 900 and 2100 as well.

[GordonP]

I collected my Y9 on release date 31 March. It worked fine in Thailand and is working fine in UK now. Very impressed with battery.

[grkt]

ALL phones with 2 sim cards give access to only 2g with the second sim card.

 

 

[franck1972]

Got a Y7 pro last week, works great with AIS, good internet connection speed.

[4evermaat]

Huawei y7 pro 2018 / y9 2018

2 independent nano-sim slot + microSD slot

According to the dual sim settings page, the non-data sim uses 2g/3g



So I'm not sure if standby sim can also use 3g while mobile internet is on.

But a tower which normally only gave 3g or higher signal now gives signal on this y7 2018 phone. A previous phone 2+ years ago from asus would say 2g only in dual sim settings for the non-internet sim. And I would not get a signal at all from that 2nd sim.

If the non-internet sim can still use both 2g and 3g, this is good news. Especially if 2g becomes depreciated later.

Sent from my LDN-LX2 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Cheops]

3 hours ago, grkt said:

ALL phones with 2 sim cards give access to only 2g with the second sim card.

 

 

Certainly not true. In my ss J7 pro BOTH sim cards support all bands up to 4G LTE..

I'm just back yesterday from a business trip to Taiwan where I used a pre paid 4G sim in the 2nd slot. Worked perfectly!

[Cheops]

I pre ordered the Y9 (with free Bluetooth Huawei smart scale) for 5k Thai baht for my daughter.

 

Very nice phone with 4G dual sim, face unlock which works very fast. 4 cameras (dual cam back and front) etc. 

Very good spec compared to the price!

[4evermaat]

23 hours ago, Cheops said:

Certainly not true. In my ss J7 pro BOTH sim cards support all bands up to 4G LTE..

I'm just back yesterday from a business trip to Taiwan where I used a pre paid 4G sim in the 2nd slot. Worked perfectly!

 

Both slots have all available radio access, but only one slot can use 4G/3G at a time.  The other slot is forced to 2g radio only.

 

But it seems that most recent modela the non-active slot may be able to use 2g + 3g (not 2g only). 

 

23 hours ago, Cheops said:

I pre ordered the Y9 (with free Bluetooth Huawei smart scale) for 5k Thai baht for my daughter.

 

Very nice phone with 4G dual sim, face unlock which works very fast. 4 cameras (dual cam back and front) etc. 

Very good spec compared to the price!

 

I feel like a sucker for buying y7 for 5k in the shop with no bonus.....but you do get it right away. The y9 was 7k.  

 

5k for y9 is very good.  Lazada? 

 

I think 6-7k would be the upper limit for a Huawei phone. We will see how they handle support over the coming months. 

 

There was a trades how in town earlier; finally got a case for it.  Went over 1 month and no one had a case.  The phone model and design was too "new". 

[mtls2005]

All three major providers here (AIS, DTAC and TrueMove H) are reselling this model, in some case for as little as 1,990 THB ( unlocked, but tied to a post-paid promotion) so it will work fine, on 3G and 4G/LTE.

 

AIS has deployed some 900 MHz 2G.

 

AFAIK, this models does not support VoLTE so you'll fall back to 3G for voice calls. This is not a problem.

 

I think the variant is FLA-LX2? http://phonedb.net/index.php?m=device&id=13125&c=huawei_y9_2018_dual_sim_td-lte_fla-l22__fla-lx2__huawei_florida

 

Some people dislike EMUI, others love the customization options (EMUI 8) and 3 GB of RAM may be an issue for some?

 

Seems like a winner in the budget/value category, on paper anyway. Local Thai reviews seem generally positive.

 

 

 

Edited May 20, 2018 by mtls2005

[Cheops]

15 hours ago, 4evermaat said:

 

Both slots have all available radio access, but only one slot can use 4G/3G at a time.  The other slot is forced to 2g radio only.

 

But it seems that most recent modela the non-active slot may be able to use 2g + 3g (not 2g only). 

 

 

I feel like a sucker for buying y7 for 5k in the shop with no bonus.....but you do get it right away. The y9 was 7k.  

 

5k for y9 is very good.  Lazada? 

 

I think 6-7k would be the upper limit for a Huawei phone. We will see how they handle support over the coming months. 

 

There was a trades how in town earlier; finally got a case for it.  Went over 1 month and no one had a case.  The phone model and design was too "new". 

The 5k was only at pre order with True.

 

About the sim slots. Both can support 4G but indeed not at the same time. The 2nd sim can however support 3G when the 1st is 4G.

[Cheops]

2 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

AFAIK, this models does not support VoLTE so you'll fall back to 3G for voice calls. This is not a problem.

If you don't have your facts straight, pls don't comment. 

 

The Y9 certainly supports VoLTE. Here is a screenshot from the Y9

[Chongalulu]

On 18/05/2018 at 2:24 PM, GordonP said:

I collected my Y9 on release date 31 March. It worked fine in Thailand and is working fine in UK now. Very impressed with battery.

Got a Y9 for missus,the AIS store did all the data transfer from her old phone,keeping existing AIS number but not sure how they adapted her old normal sim to fit the nano sim slot (would they have programmed a new sim with her old number?). Going to uk next month and have an old uk EE sim which is still live. How can I get it to fit/function in the nano slot on the Y9? 

 

[sumrit]

1 hour ago, nchuckle said:

Got a Y9 for missus,the AIS store did all the data transfer from her old phone,keeping existing AIS number but not sure how they adapted her old normal sim to fit the nano sim slot (would they have programmed a new sim with her old number?). Going to uk next month and have an old uk EE sim which is still live. How can I get it to fit/function in the nano slot on the Y9? 

 

Go to (almost) any stall in a shopping mall that sells phones/phone extras and take your EE sim with you. They'll have a purpose made sim cutting tool designed to cut standard sims to a nano/micro size.

[thedemon]

7 minutes ago, sumrit said:

Go to (almost) any stall in a shopping mall that sells phones/phone extras and take your EE sim with you. They'll have a purpose made sim cutting tool designed to cut standard sims to a nano/micro size.

 

That would be the best way but failing that you can cut them yourself with a sharp tool. I have done it before with a razor blade.

[mtls2005]

2 hours ago, Cheops said:

The Y9 certainly supports VoLTE. Here is a screenshot from the Y9

 

Yes, you are correct. It does support VoLTE. I was incorrect.

 

 

1 hour ago, nchuckle said:

(would they have programmed a new sim with her old number?). Going to uk next month and have an old uk EE sim which is still live. How can I get it to fit/function in the nano slot on the Y9? 

 

Yes, AIS simply remapped the existing number/account to the new SIM, this is a free service and takes 60 seconds for the reprovisioning. EE could do the same for you. 

 

 

[Chongalulu]

1 hour ago, sumrit said:

Go to (almost) any stall in a shopping mall that sells phones/phone extras and take your EE sim with you. They'll have a purpose made sim cutting tool designed to cut standard sims to a nano/micro size.

The instructions specifically say not to do this as it may not work/cause damage. That said,I have successfully had that done some time ago although they did warn me it might break and I’d have no sim.

[thedemon]

22 minutes ago, nchuckle said:

The instructions specifically say not to do this as it may not work/cause damage. That said,I have successfully had that done some time ago although they did warn me it might break and I’d have no sim.

 

Can't say I have ever seen a SIM card break. But if you are cutting a SIM card the most important thing to check is the thickness of the card. Nano SIMs are thinner than the original mini SIM and in some phones it is possible to jam the thicker (cut) Nano SIM in to the SIM card holder so that it is very difficult to get out again.

 

You can use sandpaper or a nail file to reduce the thickness but it is a tedious task.

 

 

[NanLaew]

8 hours ago, nchuckle said:

Got a Y9 for missus,the AIS store did all the data transfer from her old phone,keeping existing AIS number but not sure how they adapted her old normal sim to fit the nano sim slot (would they have programmed a new sim with her old number?). Going to uk next month and have an old uk EE sim which is still live. How can I get it to fit/function in the nano slot on the Y9? 

 

AIS would have reprogrammed a new nano SIM. If having a working UK number isn't imperative, why not wait till you hit an EE store in the UK where they too will issue a new nano SIM. There are some proper SIM cutters but I have also seen some local kiosks using pretty brutal looking vice grip type cutters that do leave very rough edges.

[NanLaew]

6 hours ago, nchuckle said:

The instructions specifically say not to do this as it may not work/cause damage. That said,I have successfully had that done some time ago although they did warn me it might break and I’d have no sim.

You should check out some YouTube videos where they strip the SIM contacts and chip away from the plastic backing and glue them onto SIM2 so that one can have dual SIM functionality and a micro SD card. Most dual-SIM phones are configured for either single SIM and micro SD or dual SIM and no micro SD. That baffles me as screens are getting bigger so it isn't like they are hard pressed for space inside the cases. Maybe there's a model that does dual SIM and micro SD, all 3 at the same time?

[Cheops]

1 hour ago, NanLaew said:

You should check out some YouTube videos where they strip the SIM contacts and chip away from the plastic backing and glue them onto SIM2 so that one can have dual SIM functionality and a micro SD card. Most dual-SIM phones are configured for either single SIM and micro SD or dual SIM and no micro SD. That baffles me as screens are getting bigger so it isn't like they are hard pressed for space inside the cases. Maybe there's a model that does dual SIM and micro SD, all 3 at the same time?

I have the Samsung J7 Pro which has 2 sim slots AND a micro-sd slot which supports cards up to 256GB (so 3 slots in total). A very good low budget model with a 4000mAh battery which lasts 2 days and has fast charging. Futhermore the camera is really good (f 1.7) and even has back AND front flash (if you like selfies). It also has a very fast fingerprint scanner and the alwys on display as well as Samsung Pay.

 

I will add a photo from my J7 pro

[4evermaat]

11 hours ago, Cheops said:

If you don't have your facts straight, pls don't comment. 

 

The Y9 certainly supports VoLTE. Here is a screenshot from the Y9

 

Y7 pro 2018 also has this.  The recent system update 8.0.0.130 apparently activated VoLTE.  

 

[4evermaat]

7 hours ago, thedemon said:

 

Can't say I have ever seen a SIM card break. But if you are cutting a SIM card the most important thing to check is the thickness of the card. Nano SIMs are thinner than the original mini SIM and in some phones it is possible to jam the thicker (cut) Nano SIM in to the SIM card holder so that it is very difficult to get out again.

 

You can use sandpaper or a nail file to reduce the thickness but it is a tedious task.

 

 

 

2 hours ago, NanLaew said:

AIS would have reprogrammed a new nano SIM. If having a working UK number isn't imperative, why not wait till you hit an EE store in the UK where they too will issue a new nano SIM. There are some proper SIM cutters but I have also seen some local kiosks using pretty brutal looking vice grip type cutters that do leave very rough edges.

 

You go to the sim card provider's shop and they re-issue you a new sim (same number) free of charge. (AIS shop, Telewiz, etc)  The new sim cards come from the factory pre-cut in triple size (nano, micro, regular).  This is recommended vs taking the old sim to 3rd party to manually cut.  It may or may not fit properly....especially if the surface area of the older sim metal is too large.

 

Edited May 20, 2018 by 4evermaat

[thedemon]

8 hours ago, 4evermaat said:

 

 

You go to the sim card provider's shop and they re-issue you a new sim (same number) free of charge. (AIS shop, Telewiz, etc)  The new sim cards come from the factory pre-cut in triple size (nano, micro, regular).  This is recommended vs taking the old sim to 3rd party to manually cut.  It may or may not fit properly....especially if the surface area of the older sim metal is too large.

 

 

Go to a shop? MacGyver would never do that. That's for pussies.

[sumrit]

15 hours ago, NanLaew said:

You should check out some YouTube videos where they strip the SIM contacts and chip away from the plastic backing and glue them onto SIM2 so that one can have dual SIM functionality and a micro SD card. Most dual-SIM phones are configured for either single SIM and micro SD or dual SIM and no micro SD. That baffles me as screens are getting bigger so it isn't like they are hard pressed for space inside the cases. Maybe there's a model that does dual SIM and micro SD, all 3 at the same time?

There is, I bought one for my nephew a few days ago.............Its the 2018 version of the HUAWEI Y9 (also available on their Y7 model).  :-)

[gotozero]

I had almost same concerns. Why you wont go to mobile shop and try?

There is shop in BKK that i found very nice for such issues https://goo.gl/maps/o2Y3aXF6Rqk (or https://javaphone.store their web site i guess) she speaks English, so there is no problem.

 

I am using 1Mbit unlimited from dtac for 300thb. And pretty happy about coverage and stability.

But i don't need unlim as much as speed. I would like to have 2-5GB with full speed.

[davhend25]

Thanks to all who kindly replied to my question (post). This is very helpful information on a confusing topic, at least for me. 

 

The only thing that concerns me with this model (Y9) is the 3gb of ram and only 32 gb of internal memory. 

 

Thanks, again for your helpful replies.

 

DH

 

[Cheops]

2 hours ago, davhend25 said:

Thanks to all who kindly replied to my question (post). This is very helpful information on a confusing topic, at least for me. 

 

The only thing that concerns me with this model (Y9) is the 3gb of ram and only 32 gb of internal memory. 

 

Thanks, again for your helpful replies.

 

DH

 

3GB RAM and 32GB ROM is more than enough for standard use and even for gaming. ROV runs smooth on my daughter's Y9. There is also a micro sd slot, so the 32 internal is more than enough. Please remember that this is a low budget phone, but with very decent specs.