Tengyu N9-00 Shanzhai phone, tri-band, yet no service with valid FIDO SIM

[JusticePain]

As per the title. I bought this one off FocalPrice and it was intended to be a gift. The phone's said to be 900/1800/1900 triband GSM (the box even lies further saying it is quadband). My brother has an active Rogers SIM, he gets no service. I also tried my gf's FIDO sim, and all I see is NO SERVICE. WTF??

[JusticePain]

I think I figured out the problem. I took a look at the preferred networks list, and Rogers is there, alright. My FIDO SIM still points to 302-370, and the N9-00 doesn't want to hop on the Rogers network because in it's mind, it's roaming.

I've also bought a fake 8800 and it has the same problem. Word of advice -- if you're looking to get a Shanzhai phone, better be on Rogers, because some will downright won't work with FIDO.

Funny thing is, I own another Shanzhai, the K66, which is inspired by either Lamborghini or Ferrari, and this one has no problem with my FIDO SIM.

[fonezfonz]

Old post but advice on Shanzai phones in general. They are hit and miss, even ones unlocked for all gsm networks.

[JusticePain]

Very much so. Out of three I ordered, only one worked properly, the brandless K66. It works superbly on Rogers/Fido, and calls were seriously awesomely good for a $46 buck phone. The fake 8800 I bought flat out doesn't pick the network up, even though it's supposed to support 1900MHz and doesn't have 850. Better, the slider mechanism no longer works, so it's stuck open with the keyboard exposed. This N9-00 is fine as a phone, but again, it's worthless as it doesn't pick up the network either.

Shanzhai phones are like taking a random draw, you will either end up with a very good shanzhai, or a piece of crap. The K66 is awesome, but I probably just got lucky. From hard experience, anyone interested in shanzhai phones should do some serious research before one.

[fonezfonz]

There are so many manufacturers and clones of clones, it 's near impossible to keep track of good and bad Shanzai. Stick with quadband only and buy from larger companies like CECT or whatever and that'll help the luck of the draw a little maybe.