Exotic phones on Local carriers.

[JessicaP.]

I've been looking at the Xiaomi Mi3 and Mi4 these past few months, and I was trying to figure out if either of those two would be compatible with Verizon. I don't know much about phones, but I do know that certain carriers only use certain frequencies. And I'm confused about whether Verizon functions on GSM or CDMA. It's just all Greek to me sadly.

 

[carnageX]

Verizon is CDMA.

The Mi3 does not have CDMA radios in it - only GSM:
Xiaomi Mi 3 - Full phone specifications

The Mi4 however, looks like it has CDMA radios in it:
Xiaomi Mi 4 - Full phone specifications
However, getting Verizon to cooperate in putting it on their system may be another issue:
Xiaomi Mi4 with Verizon? - Android Forums at AndroidCentral.com

Though, the Mi4 also only has the following 4G bands:
TD-LTE 2570-2620 / 1880-1920 / 2300-2400 - 4G model

And Verizon's 4G operates on the 700MHz band... so you won't get 4G; looks like you'll probably only get 3G (if you can get the data working).

Generally, getting a phone running under another carrier that's a different band (GSM vs CDMA) can be difficult and requires custom settings (and possibly a custom ROM).

 

[Trotter]

Basic rule of thumb for this is... If you have Verizon or Sprint you are SOL.

Even with AT&T it looks like you would not be able to get 4G with either of those.