Moondrop MIAD 01 Smartphone

[mt877]

I just jumped on the bandwagon and ordered the MIAD01 through hifigo, looks like it will arrive within 2 weeks. Moondrop has a 3D phone case file in 'step' format that can be downloaded and printed.

MOONDROP MIAD01 Case Step File : https://download.moondroplab.com/6632f93333e84.zip

I opened the file in FreeCAD to see what it looks like. I uploaded the step file to a 3D print service and am having the case printed in flexible TPU material. I think the case will arrive about the same time the phone does.

MIAD01 phone case LT/RT rotational views

MIAD01 phone case tilted back and forward views

 

[mt877]

Cross post of: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/look-moondrops-first-hifi-smartphone-miad01.972582/post-18278890

Here's pictures of the TPU case I had made from the Moondrop 3D Step file. The 3D print service cost $21.00, so about 4x higher cost than if purchasing the clear case from Shenzhen Audio. The case is very thin and fits the phone like a glove. It prevents the sharp corners and back edges of the phone from digging into my hand and improves the grip on the phone.

 

[pawdiophile]

Cross post of: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/look-moondrops-first-hifi-smartphone-miad01.972582/post-18278890

Here's pictures of the TPU case I had made from the Moondrop 3D Step file. The 3D print service cost $21.00, so about 4x higher cost than if purchasing the clear case from Shenzhen Audio. The case is very thin and fits the phone like a glove. It prevents the sharp corners and back edges of the phone from digging into my hand and improves the grip on the phone.

How's your experience with it so far? The lockscreen surely looks amazing.

 

[mt877]

How's your experience with it so far? The lockscreen surely looks amazing.

I've only had the phone for 4 days, so still setting it up. I followed @Vamp898's excellent MIAD 01 review / Android open source guide to use F-Droid for open source applications like KISS Launcher and also Aurora Store to access Google play store instead of using the Google Play app. One of the first apps I installed was Musicolet which is an offline music player. Musicolet has the feature set that works for me, bit perfect, album to album play-through (in Artist view), individual song or complete album tag editor, selection of Musicolet or system audio decoder. I also subscribe to Amazon Music, but have found that Ultra HD (96k) streaming music tracks are limited to play at a lower bitrate by Android SRC (sample rate conversion). I've read (in this review) if the Amazon Ultra HD music track is downloaded to the phone, then Amazon Music app plays the track at 96k instead of converted by Android SRC. I wonder if Moondrop will address this in a future update or not.

So for the short time I've had the phone, music playback through the 3.5mSE and 4.4mmBal outputs has been very good. Some people had experienced some noise issues or don't like how it sounds with their IEMs / headphones, but I think those are specific cases, so YMMV is all I can say. As far as phone service goes, in the US it seems like T-Mobile or smaller providers that use a T-Mobile backbone would be compatible service. I just activated T-Mobile and I verified that Verizon is not compatible, I'm not sure about AT&T or other cellular providers. If you're in EU or Asia, then there will certainly be compatible cellular providers.

 

[treqwe123]

Is there anyone that got GPS to work? I tried clearing the GPS cache like some suggested but nothing. Very few conversations I could find on that front.

For many, no GPS means this simply cannot work as a daily driver.

 

[mt877]

Is there anyone that got GPS to work? I tried clearing the GPS cache like some suggested but nothing. Very few conversations I could find on that front.

For many, no GPS means this simply cannot work as a daily driver.

Read my post about working GPS.

 

[treqwe123]

Read my post about working GPS.

Sadly my phone isn't capturing GPS at all, according to GPS test.

Your profile shows that you're in the US, so am I. Mind if I ask what network you use? I use AT&T.

 

[mt877]

Sadly my phone isn't capturing GPS at all, according to GPS test.

Your profile shows that you're in the US, so am I. Mind if I ask what network you use? I use AT&T.

I'm on T-Mobile. The cell network shouldn't be a factor for true GPS functionality. The GPS Test is testing for global navigation satellite communication, not cell tower comm. I know location service may use a combination of cell towers and GPS, but you want to test the GPS.

You can run another GPS test. Use the MediaTek Engineering Mode util.

1. Enable Developer mode, then open the phone app and key in *#*#3646633#*#* the MediaTek Engineering Mode util will open.
2. Scroll at the very top of the "EngineeringMode" until "Location" is centered on the screen. You should see "Location Based Service" and "YGPS".
3. Tap "Location Based Service" > "GPS" > "GPS (OFF)" button. "GPS (OFF)" switches to "GPS (ON)" and should start picking up satellites.

Below the test buttons is a bunch of text with location info, satellite status and a bunch of other stuff. If you see this stuff your GPS is working.

4. Tap "VIEW", you see a bullseye with a bunch of little colored dots. The dots are the satellites that the GPS is picking up.
5. Navigate back to the screen where you see "Location Based Service" and "YGPS", tap "YGPS".
6. The first column is "SATELLITES CNR", shows a list of satellites.
7. The second column is "SATELLITES POS", shows a bullseye with a bunch of colored circles (satellites).
8. The third column is "INFORMATION". On the "INFORMATION" page tap "HOT", let it run, then tap "FULL", let it run, then tap "AGPS RESTART", let it run.

This should really confirm if the GPS is working in your phone. Maybe this sequence of steps will help to wake up the GPS functionality of the phone. Give it a try. If the GPS has failures here, then you might have a hardware problem, like maybe the internal GPS antenna is disconnected or something. It would be time for a warranty repair or replacement.

Let us know if this fixes your GPS problem.

 

[treqwe123]

I'm on T-Mobile. The cell network shouldn't be a factor for true GPS functionality. The GPS Test is testing for global navigation satellite communication, not cell tower comm. I know location service may use a combination of cell towers and GPS, but you want to test the GPS.

You can run another GPS test. Use the MediaTek Engineering Mode util.

1. Enable Developer mode, then open the phone app and key in *#*#3646633#*#* the MediaTek Engineering Mode util will open.
2. Scroll at the very top of the "EngineeringMode" until "Location" is centered on the screen. You should see "Location Based Service" and "YGPS".
3. Tap "Location Based Service" > "GPS" > "GPS (OFF)" button. "GPS (OFF)" switches to "GPS (ON)" and should start picking up satellites.

Below the test buttons is a bunch of text with location info, satellite status and a bunch of other stuff. If you see this stuff your GPS is working.

4. Tap "VIEW", you see a bullseye with a bunch of little colored dots. The dots are the satellites that the GPS is picking up.
5. Navigate back to the screen where you see "Location Based Service" and "YGPS", tap "YGPS".
6. The first column is "SATELLITES CNR", shows a list of satellites.
7. The second column is "SATELLITES POS", shows a bullseye with a bunch of colored circles (satellites).
8. The third column is "INFORMATION". On the "INFORMATION" page tap "HOT", let it run, then tap "FULL", let it run, then tap "AGPS RESTART", let it run.

This should really confirm if the GPS is working in your phone. Maybe this sequence of steps will help to wake up the GPS functionality of the phone. Give it a try. If the GPS has failures here, then you might have a hardware problem, like maybe the internal GPS antenna is disconnected or something. It would be time for a warranty repair or replacement.

Let us know if this fixes your GPS problem.

Hey, thanks so much for the walkthrough. Was really lost here on what to do.

I was about to go through these steps but turns out that my physical location was just bad. I had assumed since Maps on my other phone was working I should be getting a good signal. The map app that I downloaded through F-Droid (OsmAnd) works perfectly.

I did Google Play apps to recognize GPS ... kind of. Maps shows a gray dot where I am, so it is recognizing me, but it's not moving and it's refusing to make any routes etc.
Other apps like Citibike (bike share app. Needs GPS signal to unlock bikes) are just wonky in other ways.

My hopes of using this as a daily driver are rapidly diminishing ... thought it would solve so many problems for me.

Appreciate the help regardless! I'm not going to quit trying to get this to work but for now, being DACless, DAPless outside still remains a pipedream for me.

 

[mt877]

Hey, thanks so much for the walkthrough. Was really lost here on what to do.

I was about to go through these steps but turns out that my physical location was just bad. I had assumed since Maps on my other phone was working I should be getting a good signal. The map app that I downloaded through F-Droid (OsmAnd) works perfectly.

I did Google Play apps to recognize GPS ... kind of. Maps shows a gray dot where I am, so it is recognizing me, but it's not moving and it's refusing to make any routes etc.
Other apps like Citibike (bike share app. Needs GPS signal to unlock bikes) are just wonky in other ways.

My hopes of using this as a daily driver are rapidly diminishing ... thought it would solve so many problems for me.

Appreciate the help regardless! I'm not going to quit trying to get this to work but for now, being DACless, DAPless outside still remains a pipedream for me.

Cool. You're welcome.

Did you update Google Play Services to the latest version? It was talked about in the other MIAD01 thread I linked to earlier. The other guy I helped updated Google Play Services and afterwards the GPS was working in mapping apps for him. I had also updated the Google Play Services. I can't be sure it has any correlation to actually fixing GPS in various mapping apps, but my GPS functionality is working and very stable in Google Maps, MapQuest and OsmAnd.

 

[treqwe123]

Cool. You're welcome.

Did you update Google Play Services to the latest version? It was talked about in the other MIAD01 thread I linked to earlier. The other guy I helped updated Google Play Services and afterwards the GPS was working in mapping apps for him. I had also updated the Google Play Services. I can't be sure it has any correlation to actually fixing GPS in various mapping apps, but my GPS functionality is working and very stable in Google Maps, MapQuest and OsmAnd.

Yep, updated through Aurora. Thinking of factory resetting the whole device and trying again. Maybe I'll have better luck.

 

[sansho]

I have a some questions for any MIAD01 users.

Has anyone gotten microg working on these? Does that fix the issues with google services?

I’m trying to find a replacement for my iPhone6s+ I get warnings from certain apps that the version won’t be supported anymore. Jumping ship to Android is a bit daunting… but I really don’t want to spend any money on a phone that doesn’t have a headphone jack. It’s basically the reason I’m still using 8 year old phone.

So I’ve read a few reviews and beyond the excellent audio quality, how compromised is the rest your daily driver experience several months into ownership? Is the MIAD 01 a good place to start or should I stick with a mainstream phone because banking apps?

Interested in reading about your thoughts/experience with this interesting phone.

 

[mt877]

I have a some questions for any MIAD01 users.

Has anyone gotten microg working on these? Does that fix the issues with google services?

I’m trying to find a replacement for my iPhone6s+ I get warnings from certain apps that the version won’t be supported anymore. Jumping ship to Android is a bit daunting… but I really don’t want to spend any money on a phone that doesn’t have a headphone jack. It’s basically the reason I’m still using 8 year old phone.

So I’ve read a few reviews and beyond the excellent audio quality, how compromised is the rest your daily driver experience several months into ownership? Is the MIAD 01 a good place to start or should I stick with a mainstream phone because banking apps?

Interested in reading about your thoughts/experience with this interesting phone.

Moondrop just released an update from Android 13 to 14, but safetynet (for banking apps) was not included as a fix. I'm not sure if anyone has managed to install, patch or create a ROM with microg.

Here's a post by @maskofsin that includes a link on how to root the MIAD01. You'll need to use Google translate to read it in English.
I guess rooting would be the first step toward getting microg installed or patched. I don't have any knowledge about rooting or hacking Android devices.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/look-moondrops-first-hifi-smartphone-miad01.972582/post-18331130

 

[andyshedd]

Just as an addendum, this unit fully supports tiktok after the ban, if you use a VPN. I was able to download tiktok AFTER the ban was put in place and I assume it will get the available updates as well. Plus tiktok has never sounded better!

 

[JimiMack]

Just as an addendum, this unit fully supports tiktok after the ban, if you use a VPN. I was able to download tiktok AFTER the ban was put in place and I assume it will get the available updates as well. Plus tiktok has never sounded better!

I don't mean this as a kick, but it made me laugh. It has me think " Oh good just what almost every Audiophile wants... to make sure TikTok sounds good." Again thank you for the chuckle.