BLU R1 HD

  • Released 2016, June
    142g, 8.7mm thickness
    Android 6.0
    8GB/16GB storage, microSD slot
  • N/A 559,115 hits
  • 25 Become a fan
  • 5.0"
    720x1280 pixels
  • 8MP
    1080p
  • 1/2GB RAM
    MT6735
  • 2500mAh
    Li-Ion

BLU R1 HD - Specs

Network Technology GSM / HSPA / LTE
2G bands GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2
3G bands HSDPA 850 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100
4G bands LTE band 2(1900), 4(1700/2100), 7(2600), 12(700), 17(700)
Speed HSPA 42.2/11.5 Mbps, LTE Cat4 150/50 Mbps
Launch Announced 2016, June
Status Available. Released 2016, June
Body Dimensions 143.5 x 72 x 8.7 mm (5.65 x 2.83 x 0.34 in)
Weight 142 g (5.01 oz)
SIM Dual SIM (Micro-SIM, dual stand-by)
Display Type IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size 5.0 inches, 68.9 cm2 (~66.7% screen-to-body ratio)
Resolution 720 x 1280 pixels, 16:9 ratio (~294 ppi density)
Protection Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Platform OS Android 6.0 (Marshmallow)
Chipset Mediatek MT6735 (28 nm)
CPU Quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A53
GPU Mali-T720
Memory Card slot microSD, up to 64 GB (dedicated slot)
Internal 8GB 1GB RAM, 16GB 2GB RAM
Main Camera Single 8 MP, f/2.0, 1/4", 1.12�m, AF
Features LED flash, panorama, HDR
Video 1080p@30fps
Selfie camera Single 5 MP
Features LED flash
Video
Sound Loudspeaker Yes
3.5mm jack Yes
Comms WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0, A2DP
GPS Yes, with A-GPS
Radio No
USB microUSB 2.0
Features Sensors Accelerometer, proximity
Battery   Non-removable Li-Ion 2500 mAh battery
Stand-by Up to 600 h (2G) / Up to 500 h (3G)
Talk time Up to 24 h (2G) / Up to 15 h (3G)
Misc Colors Midnight Black
Models R1 HD

BLU R1 HD - User Reviews

  • This is a pretty good phone for the 50.00 I paid for it, But, be aware that newer models of this phone are utter garbage, I bought the new model in 2018 and I was going to rotate the old one to my Mother, but it is NOT the same phone in any way, I think it is another model renamed the HDR1 because it is missing all the features that made the 2016 model so good, no dual sim, no memory expansion and SLOW, I ended up just letting my mother have the new one and stayed with the old model.

  • will the BlU R1 HD support OTG and an external endoscopy camera?

  • this phone does indeed have an fm radio. i installed a custom rom from xda and it comes with the option to install a radio app via adb. as for the battery, if u are comfortable enough with taking it apart slightly, u can change the battery ur self. the r1 hd will also support a 128gb micro sd card, but u have to create two partitions on the card not counting ur swap file partition. the card has to be above class 10. rooted, this phone is capable of a fully operational debian desktop with usb otg peripherals if u know linux.

  • My blu HD R1, the 8gb version doesn't support 4G but has 4g at the network mode column.... what do I do

  • It probably doesn't have the right data bands for that network.

  • I am overseas on holiday. My phone has kept cylcling. It's showing the start screen , cycling to the app saying that the micosd card cannot recognised. The it cycles back the start up screen and I can't it interrupt it. I can't even the settings app to do a system reboot.. Help!:

  • BLU is a simple but a very nice fone, for $50 its good to have one. * * * * * i used it here in LA then brought to Manila. its unlocked so its compatible with almost all service providers then brought it back again to LA after 2 yrs. and its still working good 👌👌👌 Thank u BLU

  • My R1 HD has been by my side for the past year and a half, however of late it's slowly started dying on me. However I've had basically no issues until now, and the one issue I had was with my battery. I contacted BLU's customer service and within a week I was able to send it out, and by the end of the month I had it back. I've recommended this phone to people who needed a new one, and I will continue to recommend it.

  • please my screen and touch spoilt and I need a new one please who have the website for that please?????

  • Move all yours apps from your phone memory to SD card and then try

  • - jio 4 g not supported in india Is there any solution that jio will work properly

  • BLU R1 HD mobile highly satisfactory...i have been using since june 2016..

  • Jio sim is not supposed

  • Just purchased this phone last week so I have not formed a complete opinion yet but so far I am very happy with the phone. I like it better than my Blu Studio. I got the 16 GB version and added a 64 GB SD card. I'm getting 4G LTE and download is close to 8 Mbps. It's a great phone for the small price of $60 via Amazon Prime. Too bad the battery is not removable but it does have great battery life. GPS is very good compared to Blue Studio C 5.0 HD. With location on I can clearly see what roads I took while Google location shows straight lines from location to location for the Blu Studio. R1 HD has no FM radio but I never used that anyway. I would say it is my favorite phone of all the phones I have had in the past 15 years. I hope it holds together. I always buy cases like otterbox defender for all my phones. Because of the cases my Moto V300, iPhone 3gs, Blackberry 8320, Blu Studio Hd and Blu R1 HD all are working great.

  • Hi Oldguy. I'm old too and my hearing is 40 db at the low range and 90 db after 2khz but I can still hear with this phone. I mostly use blue tooth and can crank that vol up.

  • Is there any solution that jio will work properly

  • Jio Sim not support

  • Does not supporting 4G

  • will the phone work in israel ?

  • The BLU R1 HD has a limited LTE Band support, you need to be sure that your SIM card provider has the correct LTE Band to match the phoes's. I had the same problem in Israel.

  • The phone is amazing for the price, for only $60 you aren't going to get anything better, not even a used phone will be cheaper or better than this, Blu may not be known for quality, but they do make some pretty quality phones for the price.

  • these blu r1 hd's do not work with straight talk

  • you are the problem my friend, 4GB micro SD is not worth nowadays. you shout have at least a 16GB one on the phone so it could work properly.

  • The internal memory of the phone must be full of pictures and videos from whatsapp and social medias. You'll need to delete all those files o transfer them to the micro sd card. You can do with a file manager. If you don't know how, I suggest you to search on youtube a tutorial.

  • I had same problem. Apparently your headphones/earphones' cable is damaged. You need to replace it. For me when I tried new cable put it worked perfectly fine

  • How can I have just a phone list on my BLU R1 HD? Right now, I have a list that contains my emails and my phone numbers. In my older BLU phone I could just click on phone list.

  • The volume is terribly low. Unless you have perfect hearing avoid this phone.,

  • No, but there is the factory data reset, also known as " hard key factory reset"

  • My daughter pressed something and locked the phone is there a factory pin ?

  • My phone is saying that the space is full.. but I have in 4gb SD card that nothing is on it and I set it as my default but I still can't update it download anything. What u thibk is the problem

  • Not working 4G

  • Make sure that you have the cord plugged firmly into the phone and into the headset. If the cord does not plug and unplug from the headset, this means that there is a connection wrong inside of the headphones themselves. There isnt much you can do. If the headset is very expensive and worth repairing, take it to someone to get it fixed, if it is inexpensive and wouldnt be worth repairing, buy yourself a new pair or use some other pair you have.

  • replace the headset, that happens when the audio jack for 3.5mm has 3.4mm that means factory defects over the audio jack and if is not tight to the audio jack hole, it will just make contact but the speaker wont deactivate at all since the phone wont recognize that a head set is being plug inside

  • Well, First check what's your country's 4g code (3,7,10,17...). At Blu R1 HD phone specifications (you can see online) check which code does it works. If they are the same it will properly.

  • when i listen to music using my earphone, why i still hear the sound from the speaker? how to resolve this one, since i haven't seen any option on the phone.

  • when i listen to music using my earphone, why i still hear the sound from the speaker? how to resolve this one, since i haven't seen any option on the phone.

  • I own a Xiaomi Redmi note 4, but I bought this for flashing ROMs and mess around with it. This phone sucks. It just has 2500 mAh battery and there is battery optimization in this. it keeps on dying when I'm flashing a ROM.

  • MT OTG worked fine in the car and office

  • Does not support USB OTG unfortunately.

  • Does this phone has OTG?

  • Same problem

  • I have a same problem.If you have know any solution let u know me.

  • AT&T will replace the sim for free.

  • All BLU phones are unlocked, they work internationally.

  • No. Not replaceable.

  • isthis phone batterie replaceable???

  • The phone will work in UK as long as you take in these parameters: Purchase it unlock. Check preferred network to ensure that it is compatible with the phone. Purchase a Micro-SIM.

  • Do you want to block callers that call you (like a spam caller) or do you want to block certain known numbers?

  • I have same problem. Post us steps to follow if this is resolved

  • Will this phone work in the UK? And will it be 4G Capable? Would appreciate any answers, thank you

  • USA ATT customer here. Why doesn't my SIM fit...? Seems my sim has three contacts across the top, this phone expects 4. I was pretty sure I use a mirco sim. I see other people swapping their iphones for this phone on tmobile which uses same sim size as ATT.... what am i missing.. I have tried sim1 and sim2 slots.... argh

  • if you want a crappy camera try the pixi glitz

  • Camera is awful, so if a decent camera is what you're looking for dont get this phone.

  • Band 12 is now available with the November update.

  • Yes, Jio uses 4G on 800 MHz and 1,800 MHz. As you can see in the specs here, this phone doesn't support these bands.

  • Same problem bro do you know any solution for this

  • no signal with JIO 4g sim this phone

  • Hi I buy BLU R1 HD mobile handset from USA but when i use it in India i put reliance jio 4g sim card in it but it not working there shows no singles . reply and shortout above problem. (Bands Problem)

  • Pls read this article before buying the product see this link

  • Not anymore, arash

  • Its not the phone

  • Are there any screen replacements on the market?

  • my screen broke.can it be replaced with another screen ?

  • How to block incoming calls

  • you should know that this phone secretly send your info to china servers.

  • No compass

  • Dimensions are wrong. It is: 143.5 x 72 x 8.1mm

  • Hi I buy BLU R1 HD mobile handset from USA but when i use it in India i put reliance jio 4g sim card in it but it not working there shows no singles . i will it woks on jio 4g .3g works 4g not showing any singles help me to get singles bars on it

  • My friend gave me blu r1 hd from u.s. i use it here in philippines my problem is according to specs its lte 4g capable but i already tried all network simcard but the signal is only 3g..but when i insert the sim in other phone it have 4g signal does anyone knows how can i fix this to have a 4g signal?

  • Yes. Go to settings. Under data usage, click on more ... and there you have it.

  • Reliable on a budget

  • Phone doesn't work good can't receive text messages.

  • Hi maria ! ....LOL. Your post did help yes as i bought one also yesterday but i haven't started using it as yet, Greetz kevin

  • Wauw nice improvement as most cheaper blus are stuck with their original roms. Where can the rom you mention be found ?

  • I could find any info on that any where online either.

  • Great phone for the price, especially the Prime subsidized price. This actually does have FM radio which can be activated by flashing a ROM ported to it that has an FM app built in.

  • What is the SAR value for Blu HD r1

  • any one now it this model have HOTSPOT ?

  • how much internal storage without ads?(16gb model)

  • overpriced ...

  • I have one and since I get this, I don't miss my iPhone

  • I got this phone because the screen cracked on my iPhone 6 Plus and I wanted to try a cheap Android phone while I waited for the repairs to be finished. I was totally blown away by how awesome this phone is. I put in a 64 GB SD card that I had on hand. The phone is fast, gets respectable battery life, and is all in all about 95% as nice as the $800 iPhone 6 Plus. In fact, I am seriously considering switching to Android and paying for a higher end Android phone after using this thing. The only thing that is the least bit lacking on this phone is a Magnetic Sensor (compass). Navigation works fine, but on my iPhone if you turn the phone the map turns with you, which makes it easy to orient yourself when walking. I really wish they'd added one to this phone. But, since the phone was so affordable, I hope they add a compass to the next generation of this phone and I'll just buy that one when it comes out. Thanks to Amazon and Blu for doing such a superb job of engineering and marketing to make this phone so affordable. I'm very much in awe.

  • Blu has inexpensive phones but their build quality are not reliable, and their warranty policy is bad. If the phone fail for what ever reasons, they will find ways to tell you, it is not cover under warranty. You will pretty much end up with a broken phone and a lighter wallet. Be ready for the phone to break in 3 or 4 months.

  • Bought from Amazon for $60 with lock-screen ads - really good phone for the money. Build is slick, screen is very vibrant and bright. Camera quality very high, (Full 1080P, at 8MP). Best value for money smartphone out there currently.

  • Thanks for the tip on the AMAZON stuff. Great phone for $60 :)

  • No

  • Bought an R1 HD (2gb ram, 16 gb storage + sd) through Amazon Prime a week ago. The phone is excellent for $60. Bright display, responsive, feels well built and looks great. Switching the loader to Google Now gets rid of most of the Amazon stuff though the Amazon apps are still available to move to one of your app screens. If you install a weather app or some other app that uses notifications a lot then you just see one notification ad from Amazon, small price to pay for such a great phone for such a small price. Oh and after I had the phone first powered up for a few hours I noticed an update for Android available in the about phone section of the settings app. It was dated Sept 6th and installed without issue. Not sure what it did as I only had the phone powered up for a few hours before applying the update so can't do a before and after compare.

  • So no updates for this phone still pretty good though

  • My own had the same problem and at the store they couldn't help either did my research online and fix it for myself can send n receive text now love my Blu r1 hd

  • BLU is famous for no updates on products, guess that's one of the reasons their cheap

  • Avoid it. Just arrived and it wont send or receive texts. Over 6 hrs at the store and they can't figure it out either. So, move on to something else, unless you like frustration in your life for days on end with no help from anyone. If you bought it already, return it now. NOT worth it, man. NOT worth it.

  • Does anyone know if the BLU R1 HD will get 7.0 Nougat becuase I bought this phone and was really hoping it would update

  • Does this phone not have a built in compass sensor?

  • how to fix my blu a270a freez on blu screen

  • So I purchased this phone hoping I could use it in Korea since its unlocked. Unfortunately, I can only get the data portion to work with my sim card. No calls. My cell company (LGU+) says they cannot help me out. I've tried everything to include inputting the correct APN settings for the company but no luck. FRUSTRATED!!!. I thought this was an unlocked GSM and could be used anywhere. Please HELP!!!!!

  • This phone es great but battery perfomance. Without wifi activated or data connections the battery drown 10% by hour. So please send updates to improve this issue.

  • I bought one too but cannot find the message app, so I cant receive verification codes from watsapp or Imo

  • i may geet dis fone

  • Works great went in my sim2 slot

  • I have Amazon prime and had a friend give me the $60 cash to pay for the 16GB storage 2GB RAM Prime version with lock screen ads for him to use. When you are setting the phone up it will ask you to sign in to a Amazon account, but you can skip that step entirely if you want and never sign in to any Amazon account. It worked just fine when he signed into his though and he dose not have Prime.

  • No you do not need a Prime account. But you save $50 for having one.

  • If you can root the device yes, otherwise android will only used sd cards for storing music and photos.

  • You only get the 50 or 60 dollar deal with prime. It's 100 or 110 otherwise. But you can still purchase on Amazon

  • Do you need a prime account to use the phone? or it can be used with a regular amazon account?

  • Hi! can I transfer the apps from internal memory to micro SD card (external)? I only have 8 GB internal. Thank you!

  • Thank you Mr.John your reply was very helpful.

  • Das, click the "all programs" icon at the bottom-center of the home page screen, then look for "Messenger", and either give that icon a long press to drag it back to your homepage, and/or just click the messenger icon; next click the plus + sign to start a text, and type a number, or click the initial for an icon from your address book. [if you want to text more than one person at the same time, then click the checkmark at bottom to add a 2nd,3rd, 4th name or number.] Then type your text in the white box that says "send Message", and then click the arrow (= a sideways Teepee shape) to send your text message.

  • It has gorilla glass 3, However, if you're talking about Invisishield glass, you're better off sticking with big brands and flagships

  • Hello, I have bought R1 HD. But problem is I could not find any Gorilla Glass on Market. So Please suggest me a Famous phone which Glass can be used on BLU R1 HD. I hope you understood what I said. (Don't want to buy Online). Thanks.

  • I got one r1 HD yesterday. There is one problem. The message icon is not seen on the screen so that I can not sent SMS or receive. Can anybody help me? Thank you.

  • I have confirmed with BLU That the BLU R1 HD does not have an FM radio.

  • I would like if you got the review of this phone. I love it and would like to see one of your great reviews!

  • Hello, I have cricket. Sorry lost my glasses typos. I was amazed. I walked into cricket and walked out in less than 10min with my new Blu phone. They seen impressed but ine guy made a mocking sound when heard about be adds. They just took the sim card out and swapped it. And entered their info. I understand that I could have done this at home by logging into my account and getting the info. The service seems just as clear as it was on the iPhone. Plus the stress of not breaking a $500 phone -- so far I am learning how to use the apps. The Amazon photo and Amazon drive and Amazon. Cloud. I am all confused. I couldn't find any of the photos to text and then I did add a photo by accident That I did Not want to share but I couldn't find the option to cancel or abort. So I am trying to learn it. But pretty much it's like ge iPhone. I do keep my phone locked because the Amazon is always open and ready to shop. So is Google. So I do keep it locked. One day I got a nice blue empty page with my name date time ..I love it. But it's gone and not sure how to get it. I open the phone and I usually have a products for sale. I swipe the screen and then enter my pin. I hope my ramblings helped someone. Maria

  • I purchased Blu R1 HD 16 GB from Amazon.com with my brother in law's Amazon Prime membership account which costed me R's.4000/ (59US$). The phone is amazing in all respect. It has very few minor shortcomings which also found in expensive phones. Overall I rate it with 5 Stars. R.Ramamurthy. Mysore.

  • Amazing... truly amazing... Any electronic devices now a days works for max 2 years. And for that you spend some $1000...! Waste waste of money don't go like a sheep in a herd .. think before you act... This mobile is good for daily use and what else can you expect from a $60 mobile. I have used iPhone6s Google Nexus5 and Samsung s6 as well they also do the same nothing big... Yeah I agree it may stuck once in a while.. so what let it go I love it I use it for 1 year and then give it to my kids to play games and again buy a new one ...

  • Did it work in India?

  • Yes. I had a friend with Prime order it for me.

  • Hello Clowie! Only Prime users can get the phone at $59.99 (2GB RAM/16GB ROM) and $49.99 (1GB RAM/8GB ROM). But for the price you get Lockscreen Ads. You can also buy the normal version (which is more expensive and you don't need Amazon Prime, plus this version hasn't lockscreen ads) for $109.99 (2GB RAM/16GB ROM) and $99.99 (1GB RAM/8GB ROM)

  • Click on the white circular button in the bottom row of the home page to see your apps.

  • Yes you need to be a Prime member to get the $50 or $60 price. The phone is available for $50 more for non-Prime members.

  • Your earbuds act as an FM am antenna.or headset.

  • I've yet to buy a sim card but have it connected to wifi - how do i get to a screen that shows apps? Thanks

  • Do I have to have prime for it to work with that price

  • No, it does not.

  • Anyone here that has cricket as there carrier? If so you don't mind if you tell me how it is thank you :)

  • No, it doesn't have a gyro

  • does it do AR (Augmented Reality)?

  • This is a great phone. I have the Blu r1 HD 16 gig. Great gameplay! Works on T-Mobile perfectly and it can have two Sims at once for a back up! I play Pokémon go and it's runs sooooo smooth. I'm very impressed especially at the low price of 59.99! I would say it's better than an iPhone so far even though I've only had it since Saturday lol :D

  • Second that. All their previous phones only had 1GB RAM, and that is what has kept me from buying a Blu phone. I got my R1 HD in this afternoon. It's lacking some things, but a quad core, 2GB RAM phone for $60, you can't beat that with a stick.

  • +2!

  • Is it coming to Canada?

  • BLU had a notice last fall about using Nextradio as their FM radio app ... however, it does not work in the BLU R1 HD, crashes.

  • Well it says Radio: FM Radio. Plus Blu was supposed to put NextRadio natively on their phones.

  • I bought this phone as a Gift to my friend in INDIA I Liked the design and its very light weight I could connect to wifi and use most of the common apps Only thing which i think is not Great is Camera,But considering the Cost its Ok Yet to insert SIM ...as it is Gift to friend so didnt try that I hope it works with 3G service with INDIAN Carriers

  • i see no FM radio setting or installed app.

  • Is the FM chip builtin and activated?

  • WLAN: Yes Wireless Local Area Network, which is what Wi-Fi should always have been called. In short though, WLAN and Wi-Fi is the same thing so yes the phone has Wi-Fi.

  • Raslibi: It's hard for me to imagine the phone *not* having the wifi radios. Like the others pointed out, though, it doesn't support Wifi calling.

  • Nope

  • No MTK chipset supports WiFi calling with T-Mobile on Marshmallow yet.

  • I am ordering BLU R1 HD16 GB phone reserved for Amazon Prime members. The specifications mentioned above never says about the phone's wifi capabilities. Pl clarify whether Blu R1 is wifi enabled. If it is not WiFi enabled I will cancel the Order.

  • you guys forgot to post the blu energy xl, I want to know more specs of that phone. either way this phone is perfect for targeting budget consumers.

  • +1!

  • they already had other phones with 2gb ram like 3 of them. blu is a good brand anyways theyt have good quality and cheap phones

  • Hey! You guys on GSMarena, don't know if you read this, and I know you don't give a fall about cheap phones, but this one I think I deserve a proper review, like the one you made, so please, can you? If you need Blu to send one to you, just say so, I'm sure there are plenty of people that are interested. :)

  • T-Mobile WiFi calling: Yes or No? Thanks

  • Thank you BLU for coming out with a phone that has more than 1 gig of RAM. 1.5 gigs at the very least 2 is better.