Android 6.0.1 in China (Mainland)

[abcdefg]

Are any of you running Android "Marshmallow" in China at this time?

 

The back story:

 

I updated to Android 6.0.1 without thinking a few days ago while on a short trip to Beijing after receiving a system prompt to do so. Immediately after that, several problems appeared, the most serious of which was an inability to connect to the internet. (Error message: "Connected, No Internet.")

 

Have spent most of the last three days trying to troubleshoot it, to no avail. Have tried dozens of tips and suggestions from international internet forums without success. Have burned incense; have joined two cargo cults.

 

Yesterday took it to a phone repair place where one of the technicians played with it for almost 4 hours before giving up and telling me that Android 6 just would not work in China at the present time.

 

I'm not confident that he really knew what he was talking about and was wondering if what he said is true. Have not found a definitive answer after an hour on Baidu search. If so, I'll need to figure out how to roll the phone back to Android 5x. The previously-installed Android 5 was working fine and I would not mind returning to it. 

 

Seems like I never learn not to just blindly comply with these "update now" messages even though they often bring me grief.

 

The phone: Sony Xperia Z3 (D6653)

[abcdefg]

Answer to my own question: Stopped by a couple of phone stores this afternoon and looked at new Android phones. Saw several running Android 6. So I guess the technician was just saving face.

[889]

Most manufacturers don't use a stock Android build; they fiddle with it. So it's possible, I suppose, that you can't connect with one phone running a particular modification of an Android version but can with another using a different modification of the same version.

[abcdefg]

OK, thanks @889. I understand. Just because the "Xiaomi flavor" or the "Samsung flavor" of Android 6 runs here, doesn't mean the Sony edition of it does as well.

[LinZhenPu]

Perhaps now you might consider Cyanogenmod, if for no other reason than to get your phone working again.

[skylee]

Backup then revert to factory settings?

[889]

" . . . if for no other reason than to get your phone working again."

 

Or to brick it.

[LinZhenPu]

Factory reset is probably the best option. But you will lose the updates between factory settings and the latest update.

[889]

If you rooted your phone beforehand, then applying updates can also be problematic.

[abcdefg]

Bought a new phone today: Xiaomi 5. It runs Android 6 and has 64 GB of memory, 3 GB of RAM. Two SIM cards: I use one from China Mobile for phone calls and messages and a different one from China Telecom for browsing the internet.

 

http://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_mi_5-6948.php

 

Will investigate rooting the Sony and installing Cyanogen Mod. That project should keep me off the streets and out of trouble for a while.

[LinZhenPu]

Good choice, Xiaomis are grat phones especially for the price.

[889]

I tried to do something similar while on the Mainland once, and came to a dead end because some of the download sites for the tools I needed were blocked. So make sure you can download everything you need before starting.

[abcdefg]

Good point @889.

 

LinZhenPu -- ￥2,599. Plus they threw in free a screen protector, a case, and a selfie stick. (Doubt I will get much use from the latter.)

[LinZhenPu]

That's really not too bad at all considering what you get in the phone.

I'm planning to get the Xiaomi Mi 4S. 1699 RMB from 天猫 (tmall) on Taobao.

64gb and very good performance specs.

It should more than suit my needs, and I much prefer the location of the fingerprint sensor which is on the back of the phone which should make for quick and easy unlocking and answering phone calls.

[skylee]

Nobody cares about the settings of Chinese brands (eg privacy and non-existence of Google (which could be a good thing))?

PS - I am considering a Huawei flagship model, but because it is a Huawei I am almost certain that I will not buy it.