[Device Reviews and Information] 4EverMaAT:
Approximately 3 weeks ago I got a Huawei Y7 Pro 2018 ( Model: LDN-LX2 ; no English page yet)

Looks like the other similar phones in neighboring markets are the

Huawei Nova 2 (Nova 2 Plus would probably = Y9)

Huawei Y7 Prime

Overall for appx $170 USD it performs well. Coming from Zenfone 2 Max (5000 mAh battery) I have to be more mindful of charging the phone more often.

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Some user interface issues I've noticed so far:

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1) screen lock internet usage notification is persistent. I turned off all notifications for "phone manager" app but it ignore my request.

2) Some apps will not continue to run in the background even though i give them full permission to run in the background. Google Translate and 1Password are 2 good examples and some music apps seem to also have some issues (see below). Huawei UI/optimization software seems to close background process anyway or otherwise mess with them without user consent.

3) music apps would stop playing music after screen lock + screen off after 7-10 seconds. When you wake the screen back up, the audio will immediately resume. Tried with VLC player and MX Player. Then when I switched to huawei stock music player, no problems. I spend over an hour in MX Player/VLC Player settings menus trying to see why this was happening. Somehow the problem seemed to resolve itself but I don't remember exactly what I did (Google Play update, closeAll open apps, etc). That never happened to me before so it stuck out.

4) Tried to enter recovery mode (hold Vol Up and Vol Down and power button simultaneously from cold start until the Huawei logo flashes with slight vibration). You see the EMUI logo for 2-3 seconds followed by "Software update failed" message. The only option available is "Reboot phone now".

Phone is NOT rooted. I don't know why recovery mode is broken. And why/how recovery mode was broken so easily!?! [you go to recovery mode when regular mode is not working properly :rolleyes:]

5) I cannot permanently disable the Touch-Disable mode. This maybe an issue with XMUI 8.0.0 which took this option away with oreo update. Sometimes I would start my unlock swipe from the top of the phone and then it breaks the swipe with the touch-disable message, forcing me to restart the swipe.

6) I reported some of this to huawei support (via their hiCare app). Their copy and paste reply was

a) clear cache in recovery mode, or

b) factory reset.

If one of these didn't work, then copy the IMEI # and they will assist further. I have sent in the IMEI #s, so we'll see what they say.

q: Does huawei have a forum for its users?

q: Anyone else have similar problems with Huawei device or other android phones?

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Verdict (after 2+ weeks of daily use):

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This is my first huawei device. I didn't really consider things like update cycles and how reliable the user interface is. It was a budget phone, I needed something quickly as the old phone broke and I was on the move. I was actually looking at the Zenfone 4 Max Pro or Max Plus M1 as I gotten used to Asus and they seem to be decreasing the bloatware over the years.

- It does perform well in that app opening and switching is pretty fast. (no gaming, mostly web surf with multiple tabs, translation software, occasional music or ideo, banking apps). I usually have about 1.5GB ram available at any given time.

- I cannot customize the lock screen apps. The quick setting tiles are lacking, but there is supposed to be a paid app that allows customization.

- Camera is pretty decent. I'm not a camera enthusiast, but for a budget phone the back camera is acceptable. Haven't really tested the front camera too much. I wish the stock camera app had camera/camcorder modes combined so that it only takes one tap to choose which one to begin (you have to switch between camera/camcorder; it's not combined with 1 tap access to either. I've tapped camcorder app thinking it would start recording...but it is just initializing camcorder. You have to tap it again to begin recording.)

- Charging is slower than I would expect from 2018 phone; it takes over 2.5 hours to charge from 3% to almost 100% (1A charger).

- dedicated dual nano-sim slots w/separate microSD card slot :good::good:. Some phones advertise dual-sim but share 2nd sim slot with micro-sd card :confused: (note to manufacturers: spend the extra $0.30 USD and keep all the slots separate, eh?).

- startup and shutdown are acceptable 20-25 seconds to home screen and 8-12 seconds to power off.

- scrollshot (scrolling screenshot to capture off-screen stuff in a single image) is built-into the stock screenshot program :good::good:. They also have screen recording which is a nice touch.

- Unboxing: Did NOT come with any case. But it did come with a plastic (not glass) screen protector. Thailand major shops still do not stock the cases for this as it is still a very new variant. Neither did Malaysia. I did find a case that fits 85% and I didn't "have to" cut anything out....but I forgot the model it was intended for. I had to go to 8 shops and I was just glad I found some protection against drops.

The Y9 had fingerprint reader, 4000mAh battery vs 3000mAh, dual front camera (with flash??) and a slightly bigger screen (or better resolution). Plus it came with bonuses (selfie stick, etc). Perhaps the extra $70 USD was worth it? At that price point though, I would look to other brands (e.g. Asus) if the Huawei UI / recovery mode/etc are unreliable.

For most locals the Y7 pro 2018 is very functional. Maybe some of these problems are simple update issues or can be fixed in some obscure settings menu.

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Edit 08 May 2018:

Huawei email support left something to be desired :rolleyes: But I did go back to the phone shop that I bought the phone and I was able to prove to them that there is some type of defect with the recovery mode. I did this by using another staff member's Huawei and booting it into recovery. Then to prove it further, we took the floor models of the Y9 2018, Y7 Pro 2018, and Y7 2017 and we saw that only the Y7 Pro 2018 model had the error. This was further proof that I am not crazy.

View attachment 4497426

As a final check, a new Y7 2018 was provided out of the box and we checked recovery. No problems with menu (it was in Mandarin initially, but after going through phone 1st launch setup and changing system language to English US, then restarting phone and activating recovery mode, it was in English as shown in photo).

View attachment 4497427

But here is the thing. The phone's system info menu had the exact same specs as the problem models. The only thing different was the IEMI #s.......WTF?

purchased phone

View attachment 4497429

unbox test

View attachment 4497428

A possible fix

You must do a factory reset within the setting > reset menu. Backup your phone (contacts, settings, etc) and do a factory reset from within the settings > system settings > reset. You can reset without wiping all the internal memory (photos can be retained), but I wouldn't trust that.

Reset took maybe 10 minutes or so, maybe less. The restoring of your files is what takes longer, depending on how many apps and such you had. Then I tested recovery mode (before and after the 1st time startup setup) and it seemed to be repaired.

I still conclude it is a manufacturer defect for recovery mode to be shipped broken or to break so easily. The other problems where I suspect programs are being killed in the background even though they are exempt still exist. The phone overall is still usable, which is a good thing.

note

: Huawei recovery boot was reached by holding Volume Up button when phone is restarted or [from power off] Power on phone and press/hold Volume Up button. Hold it until the EMUI recovery menu appears. Phone was NOT plugged in.