Anyone with any experience with Chinese Vivo phones in New Zealand - specifically the 100X Ultra and 200X Ultra?

Forums › Android › Anyone with any experience with Chinese Vivo phones in New Zealand - specifically the 100X Ultra and 200X Ultra?

Dave2ic

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#319861 9-Jun-2025 10:34

I'm really keen on the Vivo 200X Ultra with its camera system. It has a large ultra-wide sensor, and the main camera is a more normal 35mm focal length - both of which appeal to me and are rare to find on any phone, even other flagships.

Vivo only have the 200X Pro as a global variant, so if I want the Ultra I'll have to import it. It doesn't look like there are any grey market importers offering the 200X Ultra in New Zealand, so it looks like I'd have to resort to Ali Express to purchase.

It looks like this is possible, with certain caveats listed on the sellers stores that don't look like they are deal-breakers to me. It doesn't support:

Esim
Android Auto
Google assistant

It does support:

OTA Update
Google Play Store

It also states there are some Chinese apps related to system that you can't delete - I don't know if they a obtrusive in any way or can be safely ignore without bothering you?

The main 4G/5G bands seem to be covered, so I don't think coverage should be a problem.

Of course there will be GST to pay at the border - I'm not sure how much of a hassle that is.

I'd appreciate feedback from anyone who has imported Chinese phones in New Zealand.

freitasm

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#3382000 9-Jun-2025 10:48

In addition to 4G/5G connectivity, make sure the phone supports VoLTE, otherwise there will be no voice calls over the mobile network once 3G is shutdown.

Asteros

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#3382077 9-Jun-2025 12:14

I don’t think it’s worth the risk. Let someone else confirm that Volte works in NZ first otherwise you can’t make calls from 2026 onwards. 5g probably doesn’t work, Voice over wifi probably won’t work either. It’s not like the old days where you could look up the network frequencies and assume compatibility.

mrgsm021

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#3382108 9-Jun-2025 13:25

Personally, I wouldn't buy any Chinese phones that have China only version and have no separate global version available.

Dave2ic

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#3382112 9-Jun-2025 13:55

Thanks for the warnings about VoLTE. I couldn't find anything definitive online, so I asked ChatGTP, and AI seems to echo your cautionary responses so not really worth taking the risk:

Yes, the Vivo X200 Ultra does support VoLTE, including dual‑SIM VoLTE functionality.

The phone supports LTE bands 3 (1800 MHz) and 28 (700 MHz), which are commonly used by NZ carriers such as Spark, Vodafone, and 2degrees.
It also supports VoLTE on those bands, so in theory it should work seamlessly on NZ 4G networks with voice over LTE.

However, there are some real-world caveats for Chinese models:

One user reported calling/text/data issues when using a Chinese‑ROM Vivo X200 outside China. They “suffer a problem of losing signal to cell towers so that I can't receive calls, texts and use mobile data occasionally” in New Zealand.
That same user mentioned manually switching to 3G made the phone stable, but VoLTE and full 4G reliability were hit or miss.

Asteros

250 posts

Master Geek

#3382128 9-Jun-2025 15:23

VoLTE requires the manufacturer to program in the VoLTE profile for each individual network. Once 3G is shut down at the end of 25 then this issue will come to the fore for people with parallel imported handsets sold in NZ or foreign phones brought to NZ.

Dave2ic

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#3383092 12-Jun-2025 10:43

Asteros:

VoLTE requires the manufacturer to program in the VoLTE profile for each individual network. Once 3G is shut down at the end of 25 then this issue will come to the fore for people with parallel imported handsets sold in NZ or foreign phones brought to NZ.

Interesting. Do you think this could be an issue with my current Pixel 8 Pro then?

nztim

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#3383094 12-Jun-2025 10:51

Dave2ic:

Asteros:

VoLTE requires the manufacturer to program in the VoLTE profile for each individual network. Once 3G is shut down at the end of 25 then this issue will come to the fore for people with parallel imported handsets sold in NZ or foreign phones brought to NZ.

Interesting. Do you think this could be an issue with my current Pixel 8 Pro then?

Option 1 - Text 3G to 550, this is a horribly inaccurate as all it does it test your registered SIM card against a list of known supported phones
Option 2 - Hotspot your phone to your laptop, get a constant ping running to 8.8.8.8 (ping -t 8.8.8.8) while doing this Make a voice call (or call your phone) and see if the ping drops for 2 or so pings, if it does then your phone is dropping to 3G
Option 3 - download an app called itest which is in the apple/play store (costs about $2) this will test VoLTE with your current Carrier

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