Xiaomi Redmi 2 - Dual SIM doesn't work (IMEI?)

[vw85]

Hi, I just got a Xiaomi Redmi 2 which supports dual SIM. Both my fido SIM cards (card-A, card-B), works fully in this phone individually, but not together.

1. card-A in phone: fully functional with data
2. card-B in phone: fully functional with data
3. card-A and card-B in phone: card-A fully functional, card-B no service

I have tried this with opposite SIM slots too, to make sure both SIM slots are functional. I have also replaced card-B with other friends' cards on fido. The exact same situation happens as above. Friends' card will work individually in any slot, but no service when both cards are inserted.

I understand that this is obviously not a Fido device. However, it fully supports fido frequencies for voice calls and HSPA+ as I've been using this phone on fido just fine when only one SIM card is inserted.

One issue might be because both SIM card slots originate from the same IMEI number (same phone). Are fido SIM cards assigned to specific IMEI numbers, and only one IMEI can be on the network? Is there a solution for this? Thanks!

***Edited to add labels***

[Miche007]

I was thinking of getting a redmi2 for international use and in Canada. When you booted it from the box, did you set the local for China or Taiwan? The frequencies for the countries are different so was wondering what the LTE works best with? Thanks!

[Cawtau]

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@Miche007 wrote:
I was thinking of getting a redmi2 for international use and in Canada. When you booted it from the box, did you set the local for China or Taiwan? The frequencies for the countries are different so was wondering what the LTE works best with? Thanks!

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Hello Miche007,

  Welcome to the forums!

  There are a couple of things to note. Firstly, the bands/frequencies would be dependent on the version of the phone purchased, not on the 'local area' the phone is set to. So a Chinese version might have different bands/frequencies than say, an European version. Setting the 'local area' as Canada would not affect the bands/frequencies of either version. The phone either has the compatible bands/frequencies or it doesn't. Now, I do not know if there is actually an European version, but I made it up for illustrative purposes.

  I'm not sure what (or how many) versions of that phone there are. So a word of caution. Make sure you know the exact specifications of the phone you intend on purchasing. Sometimes online stores list generic specifications for a particular model and ship whichever version they have in stock at the time. From what I was able to find online, there are varying specifications for the Redmi2 which suggests multiple versions, but they do not state which version those specifications refer to. Some listed specifications don't even have compatible 2G or '3G' bands/frequencies; others have no compatible LTE bands/frequencies. There was one site which did suggest a version of the Redmi2 which had some compatible 2G, '3G' and LTE bands. You can check here for the required bands/frequencies.

  Hope some of this helps 

Cheers

[snorlax]

I have a dual SIM phone (InFocus M2) and each SIM slot has its own IMEI number.  I use a fido card in the GSM slot and a Rogers card in the LTE slot.  Works fine.  I think most dual SIM phones are set up that way

[vw85]

Lucky that your phone has one IMEI number per slot. That would allow dual sim to work.

The Redmi2 doesn't. It only has one IMEI number for both slots. 

I couldn't get LTE to work from both local before too.

[FidoSamantha · Accepted solution]

Hi vw85!

That is correct; an IMEI can only be assigned to one SIM card at a time (and vice versa) . This is why you are unable to make both of them work at the same time. At the moment, we do not support/offer Dual SIM services. 

[vw85]

Does this restriction apply across all carriers? Or just within Fido?

What if I have:

1. card-a: Fido
2. card-b: not Fido nor Rogers?

[ronsat]

That does work - I have done it in SIngapore - with a Fido card in slot 2 and a SinTel card in slot 1.

[vw85]

Thanks. 

However, it seems like this doesn't work within Canada, and probably doesn't work within North America.

I've tried Fido + Bell, and Fido + Rogers. Both combinations do not work.