Do not buy Xiaomi phones from India! Here is why

It might be tempting to import a Xiaomi, Redmi, or POCO device from India due to the significantly lower prices compared to the Global market. However, this decision can turn into a technical nightmare.

If you are planning to use an Indian variant in Europe, Turkey, or the Americas, you should stop immediately. Here are the critical reasons why Indian units are often “crippled” for global users.

The NFC Dealbreaker: It’s Often Missing

The biggest shock for international users is the lack of NFC (Near Field Communication).

Why? In India, the payment ecosystem relies heavily on UPI (QR Code scanning) rather than contactless tap-to-pay. To cut manufacturing costs, Xiaomi often physically removes the NFC chip from Indian variants of Redmi and POCO phones.
The Consequence: If you buy an Indian unit, you likely cannot use Google Pay (Wallet), contactless public transit cards, or quick pairing with headphones. Since the chip is missing from the motherboard, no software update can fix this.

Network Band Nightmares (4G & 5G)

This is the most critical issue for daily usage. Indian smartphones are optimized strictly for Indian carriers (Jio, Airtel, Vi) and lack the wider frequency bands used globally.

Missing Band 20 (800MHz): This is the “Golden Band” for 4G in Europe and Turkey, essential for coverage in rural areas and inside buildings. Indian units almost always lack B20.
5G Incompatibility: While an Indian phone might support “5G,” it may not support the specific N78, N1, or N28 bands used by your local carrier.
The Result: You might find yourself stuck on 3G (H+) or Edge (E) speeds while everyone else has 5G, or suffering from constant signal drops in basements and elevators.

Carrier Aggregation (4G+) Issues

Global versions are designed to combine multiple frequencies (Carrier Aggregation) to boost speeds. Indian modems are often tuned differently or have fewer antennas for these specific global combinations, resulting in significantly slower mobile data speeds even when you do have a signal.

Verdict: Buy Global

The money you save importing a device from India is not worth the loss of basic functionalities like contactless payments and reliable high-speed internet. For a seamless experience, always choose the Global Version.