PSA: Real vs fake Xiaomi Redmi AirDots/Mi True Wireless Earbuds Basic

[Arandalo]

The purpose of this thread is to show you how to tell the difference between real and fake versions of the Xiaomi Redmi AirDots/Mi True Wireless Earbuds Basic.

I was one of the victims who bought 2 sets of fake and finally received an original on my 3rd purchase. There are hundreds to thousands who have bought and yet they have no clue that they received a fake, which is quite sad.

I went to scrutinise the differences and compile them here so that for those who bought or will be buying will be informed and hopefully not get cheated.

Now let get to it. Warning, it's quite lengthy.

Note, for all the photos the left 2 are fakes while the right 1 is real. For individual photos, the first 2 are fakes while the 3rd is real.

Example of order of photos:

Fake - Fake - Real

Or

Fake

Fake

Real


Part 1:Outer box

Notice how the colours of the boxes are slightly different from one another. Especially the blue and the orange. The dotted pattern is also different. The transparent plastic seal sticker is missing on one set while the size of the sticker differs between the 2 sets.

 

[Arandalo]

Part 2: Inner box and contents

Although all the white boxes looks very similar, the shade of white differs slightly from one another. The contents inside vary a lot. The plastic that goes over the case are all different. For the 2 that are printed in Chinese, the words are different towards the end. The extra earbuds comes in different types of packaging. The manuals are totally different from one another as well. At the back of the white boxes the one on the left most has a smaller cutting.

 

[Arandalo]

Part 3: Charging case

 

[Arandalo]

 

[Arandalo]

Notice that the plastic wrapping on the case is different. For the 2 that have chinese words, the one on the left has less chinese characters towards the end. At the bottom of the case the left plastic wrapping is totally misaligned. At the top of the case, the Mi logo engraved is different for the left and middle. The cutting for the ledge where the case opens is different as well. At the bottom of the case, the one on the left is too white and printing is tilted while the one in the middle has a few spelling errors (hard to capture and show on photo). For the top of the case, the lid is not able to be fully extended to 90 degrees for the one in the middle. Under the top part of the case, there is rectangular marking from the manufacturing process. The left and middle has 90 degree corners while the right one has curved corners.

 

[Arandalo]

Part 4: Earbuds

 

[Arandalo]

Notice that the rubber ear tips are black in colour for the left and middle while the one on the right is actually a dark shade of grey. The size of the rubber ear tips are also a bit different. The left one is the smallest (hard to tell from photos). When the rubber ear tips are removed from the earbuds, the left and middle one does not show any serial number engraving while on the right the serial number is engraved on both sides of the earbuds. Also, on the rim where the serial number is engraved, the left and middle ones are missing a small hole cut out that can be seen on the right one.

 

[Arandalo]

TLDR:

For the real/original version
1) Beneath the rubber ear tips there will be a serial number engraved for both sides
2) The engraved wordings at the bottom of the case should not be bright white. Instead it should be slightly faint. It should have no spelling errors as well.
3) When opening the case, at the top part of the case you will see this moulding rectangle shape on the underside of the upper part of the case. That rectangle should have curved corners instead of right angle corners.
4) The set should come with 2 manuals (1 thin about 19 pages and 1 thick about more than 50 pages) for Mi True Wireless Earbuds version and 1 manual (thin about 19 pages) for Redmi AirDots version.
5) The rubber ear tips provided should be slightly grey instead of black


Additional information:
I only managed to get hold of the original Xiaomi Redmi AirDots, but not Mi True Wireless Earbuds (which is the global export version). The same methods mentioned can be used as well to determine if the set is original with some key differences.
1) Mi True Wireless Earbuds will obviously have a different box compared to Redmi AirDots
2) Mi True Wireless Earbuds will have Mi logo on the top of the case instead of Redmi
3) Mi True Wireless Earbuds will have a different printing at the bottom of the case compared to Redmi AirDots. Nonetheless it should not be printed in bright white or have any spelling errors
4) Mi True Wireless Earbuds comes with 2 manuals instead of 1 that comes with Redmi AirDots. 1 manual is a thin one and 1 manual is a thick one (about 50 pages or more). The manual will be different as well with English as opposed to Chinese only on Redmi AirDots


To ensure that you're buying an original look at the photo reviews online to see if they match what I have mentioned. Also, get from authentic "mall" sellers if you're buying from lazada or shopee. Qoo10 also has a legit seller.

I will not post direct links to the legit sellers for now as I don't want to get points for advertising.

Leave a comment on this thread if you really need the links but can't find it yourself and I'll send you through PM. You will receive 3 links to 3 separate sellers on 3 different platforms. These are just a guide and does not mean that you have to follow strictly and only purchase from the 3 sellers. There will be other sellers who are also selling authentic version at cheaper price. As long as you do your homework and follow the guidelines that I've mentioned you should be safe.

I will not entertain those that try to PM directly without leaving a comment.

 

[Arandalo]

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[Arandalo]

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[Arandalo]

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[Arandalo]

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[JAson1980]

Quite obvious what.
Since when they are called ear buds

 

[Arandalo]

Quite obvious what.
Since when they are called ear buds

Well if it's obvious there won't be hundreds to thousands of ppl being clueless that they bought a fake. Maybe you're the smart one

What do you propose to call it then?

Edit: Seems like you're unaware that there's a global version called Mi True Wireless Earbuds. And yes they are original from Xiaomi (if you bought from a legit seller).

 

[kokfann]

Thanks for sharing.

For those smart Alec, do try to contribute something before making such reply.

 

[kaypohmeow]

Hi, pls pm me the link for authentic set, thanks!

 

[Arandalo]

Hi, pls pm me the link for authentic set, thanks!

Sent you check your PM

 

[carmelmore]

Great post. Can pm me the legit sellers links too? Thanks

 

[Arandalo]

Great post. Can pm me the legit sellers links too? Thanks

Done check your PM

 

[qyc_91]

I decided to check my redmi airdots and mostly fit into what you said as real version but mine is a MI logo instead of Redmi.. so I done some research I read online and found out that there are actually 2 version of Redmi airdots (one with MI logo and one with Redmi logo) and it got shipped out randomly