Best Carrier For Xiaomi Phones In The US?
If you’re looking to buy a Xiaomi phone, and you live in the US, what’re your best options when it comes to carriers? In this guide, we’ll detail the best carrier for Xiaomi phones, so you can access things like high-speed LTE data…
Xiaomi phones are great. They’re packed full of specs and amazing hardware and they retail for A LOT less than phones from Samsung and Apple.
Even Xiaomi’s ultra-flagship phones like Xiaomi Mi 11 which pack in similar specs to the Galaxy S21 Ultra are priced aggressively.
In this context, you’ll pay Galaxy S21 money for the Xiaomi Mi 11 even though it is similar to the vastly more expensive Galaxy S21 Ultra.
RELATED: Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra vs RedMi Note 10 Pro
But because Xiaomi phones, like handsets from OPPO and RealMe, are not designed with the US market in mind, you cannot just buy one and run it on your favorite carrier’s network.
You need to think about what bands your carrier uses and what bands your Xiaomi phone supports. And for the layman, this is where things get tricky.
All too often, people are blinded by the value presented by Xiaomi phones. They see the price and impulse buy the phone only to later realize that the phone doesn’t support their usual carrier’s bands.
This is why knowing which Xiaomi phones work in the USA is very important.
If you want the best possible deal, the best carrier for Xiaomi phones is Mint Mobile; and best of all, it has nationwide coverage and unlimited data and calls for just $30 a month.
Which Xiaomi Phones Work In The USA?
All Xiaomi phones will work in the USA. In that, you’ll be able to switch them on and connect them to your home’s WiFi network. Where things get a little more complicated is to do with carriers. Not all US carriers support Xiaomi.
If you want a quick answer about whether your Xiaomi phone will work in the USA, use this tool – it will tell you exactly which carrier works with your specific Xiaomi phone model.
The tool itself is a little clunky, but it gets the job done. If you cannot be bothered to do that, my advice would be to ALWAYS go with either Mint Mobile or T-Mobile for Xiaomi phones in the US – they both support four out of the six bands used by Xiaomi phones.
FYI – Mint Mobile is powered by T-Mobile’s network, so it basically works the same. Only with Mint, you get MUCH cheaper deals. Like unlimited data and calls for just $30 a month…
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However, it WILL depend on the model you’re buying. Therefore, you need to check the phone’s bands and then check whether these bands are supported by T-Mobile or Mint. Most new Xiaomi phones – those from the last couple of years – should run fine on Mint Mobile and T-Mobile.
And the reason is that Mint and T-Mobile support the bands that modern Xiaomi phones use for 3G and 4G LTE.
Can You Run Xiaomi Phone on Verizon?
Verizon’s network runs predominantly on Band 13 and this band is not supported on Xiaomi phones, so if you want to run a Xiaomi phone on Verizon Wireless you’re out of luck – it simply will not work.
And this means Xiaomi phones will not run on Xfinity Mobile either, as it is powered by Verizon’s network.
AT&T is slightly better; it supports two bands that Xiaomi phones use, though this isn’t ideal – more bands is always better.
For the best overall band-support, T-Mobile is your best bet for running Xiaomi phones in the USA. T-Mobile will deliver solid data support across bands 2, 4, and 12 and this should be more than enough to run your phone properly without any hitches.
T-Mobile’s main bands are 2 and 4 is what I noticed. Having 12 is nice for indoors I believe? The rest in my mind always felt like a bonus unless you find yourself in the middle of no where. My Mix 2 works very well, and in my family we have 2 others with a Mi 8. They all work very well on T-Mobile. Also my mix 2 had VoLTE out of the box, maybe due to all the bands. But enabled it on the other two with that dialer code posted. One thing I did notice is that I seem to get LTE+ on my Mix 2, or carrier aggregation unlike on the Mi 8.
REDDIT XIAOMI USER
Wrapping UP – What’s Best Carrier For Xiaomi Phones in USA?
If you want to run a Xiaomi phone in the USA, and you want access to things like LTE and LTE+, you’re going to have to limit yourself to the following carriers.
| Carrier | Bands Supported | Plans |
| T-Mobile | 4 | BEST DEALS |
| Mint Mobile | 4 | BEST DEALS |
I would almost certainly go with Mint, however – it has the best coverage and support for Xiaomi phones and the cheapest data plans and deals. You can get truly unlimited data and calls for just $30 a month.
RELATED: Clearing Cache on Xiaomi Phones – Here’s How You Do It…
