# ZTE ZMAX (T-Mobile/MetroPCS USA)



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


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## nikkdotcom (Sep 30, 2014)

Planterz said:


> I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.
> 
> 5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
> Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
> ...

Click to collapse



I am receiving mine in the mail tomorrow. My main concern is how to root the darn thing. Ive heard that all ZTE phones ship with an unlocked bootloader, and i've hear they ship locked. Theres almost nothing development wise for this phone and i obviously understand it just came out, but it seems ZTE is not a developer friendly company. Can't even find anything developer related on ANY of their sites. I wonder if any of those 1 click root apks or scripts can root the damn thing. Only problem is, if it bricks, how do you fix?


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## JFigure (Sep 30, 2014)

Im curious is framaroot will work.


edit: nope.


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## Planterz (Sep 30, 2014)

JFigure said:


> Im curious is framaroot will work.
> 
> 
> edit: nope.

Click to collapse



So, you have this phone? What do you think of it?


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## JFigure (Sep 30, 2014)

Planterz said:


> So, you have this phone? What do you think of it?

Click to collapse



for $250, you can't beat it. 
It's about as fast as my nexus 5. Battery is *easy* 2 days. Build plastics are better than samsungs. 
Zero bloat. 2 or 3 useful added apps, pretty much stock AOSP. 

Screen is only 720p, but that's fine for most stuff.


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## Planterz (Sep 30, 2014)

JFigure said:


> for $250, you can't beat it.
> It's about as fast as my nexus 5. Battery is *easy* 2 days. Build plastics are better than samsungs.
> Zero bloat. 2 or 3 useful added apps, pretty much stock AOSP.
> 
> Screen is only 720p, but that's fine for most stuff.

Click to collapse



Sorry to pester you with questions, but how about an Antutu test? The only review I've found is on CNET and they only did a Quadrant test.


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## nikkdotcom (Sep 30, 2014)

Planterz said:


> Sorry to pester you with questions, but how about an Antutu test? The only review I've found is on CNET and they only did a Quadrant test.

Click to collapse



I can do it by end of day tomorrow if nobody gets back to you sooner with results. Can you post a link to that review?


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## Planterz (Sep 30, 2014)

nikkdotcom said:


> I can do it by end of day tomorrow if nobody gets back to you sooner with results. Can you post a link to that review?

Click to collapse



http://www.cnet.com/products/zte-zmax/

They give it 3/5 stars. CNET doesn't really weigh their review scores though, at least with the actual rating - you have to read the article to see if they say anything about good value for the money. On another site, for example, phonearena, they'd probably give it a higher score because they take into account the cost and the intended market (they give the Moto E and G 2013 a 9/10, higher than the Moto X's, because despite being lesser phones, they present better value).

So far, this is the only actual review (apart from "hands-on") from a proper website that I've found. There's a bunch of customer reviews already on T-Mobile's website, and it seems to be liked by all that have purchased it.


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## stinkbud (Oct 1, 2014)

Has anyone managed to root this beast> I have had mine for a few days and I have tried several methods unsuccessfully. I am not anywhere near as good as some of the people on developing for android on XDA but I can follow directions when they are presented clearly. The one click route doesn't seem to work with this phone and the universal guide doesn't work either. ANyone have advice?


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## nikkdotcom (Oct 1, 2014)

Planterz said:


> http://www.cnet.com/products/zte-zmax/
> 
> They give it 3/5 stars. CNET doesn't really weigh their review scores though, at least with the actual rating - you have to read the article to see if they say anything about good value for the money. On another site, for example, phonearena, they'd probably give it a higher score because they take into account the cost and the intended market (they give the Moto E and G 2013 a 9/10, higher than the Moto X's, because despite being lesser phones, they present better value).
> 
> So far, this is the only actual review (apart from "hands-on") from a proper website that I've found. There's a bunch of customer reviews already on T-Mobile's website, and it seems to be liked by all that have purchased it.

Click to collapse



AnTuTu Benchmark V5.1 Results are in the pictures attached to this post. It did not score as well as i hoped, but for the price I paid i am still impressed.


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## nikkdotcom (Oct 1, 2014)

stinkbud said:


> Has anyone managed to root this beast> I have had mine for a few days and I have tried several methods unsuccessfully. I am not anywhere near as good as some of the people on developing for android on XDA but I can follow directions when they are presented clearly. The one click route doesn't seem to work with this phone and the universal guide doesn't work either. ANyone have advice?

Click to collapse



I have also tried several different root methods such as FramaRoot and TowelRoot. Neither has worked. I doubt anything is going to work but ill try a few more things and see where I get.


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## abelcustoms (Oct 1, 2014)

*OK phone*

Its an OK phone by far fat, fast and heavy. Charge cord that comes out of the box is way to short easy fix. Picky with cords if male cable is to long the tip won't sit in and come off.
When in bed due to connection location is hard to use, bottom left corner iterating spot.
Phone gets heavy after a while. Crashes here and there unexplained reasons.

However, its insanely fast. Never lagged apps just crash but phone keeps running.
Has 16 gb internal and 32 GB SD = actual memory shown. 40 GB total 11 internal and 29 SD (memory is not always actual). No battery change slot but this thing lasts all day through torture of games, watching movies and surf the web. Due to big size it does need more care. Since its so new its hard to find online cases or screen protectors for it. Had to go to the mall to get a customs made screen protector. Sound is good but not the best quality speaker around. Good phone just don't drop it or sit on it looks durable but since plastic feels like I can break it with my own hands in half. Definitely don't try the iPhone 6 bend test on this.

We need to find a adb root exploit since no apks out there yet that are compatible with this phone, unless geohot updates his good luck.


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## nikkdotcom (Oct 1, 2014)

abelcustoms said:


> We need to find a adb root exploit since no apks out there yet that are compatible with this phone, unless geohot updates his good luck.

Click to collapse



Yeah I tried geohot's towelroot. If he doesn't update it, the only luck we will have with that root tool is to edit the modstrings ourselves. Not going to lie, thats a little over my head/pay grade. 

https://towelroot.com/modstrings.html


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## kevyreil (Oct 2, 2014)

*Rooted!*



nikkdotcom said:


> Yeah I tried geohot's towelroot. If he doesn't update it, the only luck we will have with that root tool is to edit the modstrings ourselves. Not going to lie, thats a little over my head/pay grade.
> 
> https://towelroot.com/modstrings.html

Click to collapse



Hi all, I like burritos

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1410223

---------- Post added at 04:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:39 AM ----------




kevyreil said:


> Hi all, I like burritos
> 
> http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1410223

Click to collapse



OK, it *appears* that I have root but I'm not sure I actually do. It installed ChainsDD superuser and ask if I wanted to flash recovery (don't do that for sure...)  But titanium and chainfire super su both say no root. Sorry!


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## MasterBrick (Oct 2, 2014)

Try looking up philz unified recovery.  It has loki tool kit included if boot loader not unlocked. I believe he had for almost all devices already. With that you should be able to do more customization. I believe safestrap recovery another Option. If his bootloader is unlocked then he should be able to user any custom recovery he wants. Root exploit by hiikezoe,open1your1eyes0 ,DooMlorD,PWM978.. is a great Orion to gain root access for most devices. 

SCH-I545 Galaxy S4 VRUAME7, XdA mobile app...


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## nikkdotcom (Oct 2, 2014)

kevyreil said:


> Hi all, I like burritos
> 
> http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1410223

Click to collapse



Im having a problem actually obtaining root. It tells me im rooted and superuser has been installed but i have no real root access and all my root checker app is telling me im not rooted. Can you verify your root status and also just give a brief run down of how you obtained it.

---------- Post added at 01:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:04 AM ----------

Some root exploit utilities are calling this the ZTE (Draconis). Google search yields nothing for that.

I have tried so many rooting methods and exhausted Google. I don't know where to go from here.


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## hoodred (Oct 2, 2014)

kevyreil said:


> Hi all, I like burritos
> 
> http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1410223
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Its false Positive
ZTE Zmax runs Kitkat 4.4.2 you need su runs as daemon
burritos is for kindle fire ginger


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## kevyreil (Oct 2, 2014)

*Not rooted*



nikkdotcom said:


> Im having a problem actually obtaining root. It tells me im rooted and superuser has been installed but i have no real root access and all my root checker app is telling me im not rooted. Can you verify your root status and also just give a brief run down of how you obtained it.
> 
> ---------- Post added at 01:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:04 AM ----------
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Sorry all. As hoodred mentions it was a false positive. It did appear that things were working (and I got excited). You will definitely *not* get root with burrito3.

---------- Post added at 04:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:25 PM ----------




kevyreil said:


> Hi all, I like burritos
> 
> http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1410223
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



For future thread readers do *not* bother trying this it does *not* work.


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## itsdmun (Oct 2, 2014)

How do we get a Forum set up for the ZTE ZMAX?


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## stinkbud (Oct 2, 2014)

itsdmun said:


> How do we get a Forum set up for the ZTE ZMAX?

Click to collapse



Make your voice heard in the new device forum requests thread. With enough need, the admins will get it done.


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## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


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## fretinator (Oct 3, 2014)

*I have the ZMax*



Planterz said:


> Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?

Click to collapse



I have, and I am impressed. The battery life truly is great. I have been using the phone all day, mostly listening to Pandora streaming over LTE connection.  After 8+ hours, I still have 61% battery. Everything is plenty snappy for me, and I love the screen. The only negatives I have experienced are minor. The capacitive-touch buttons take getting used to. You have to really tap them instead of just touching them. Also, having the power button about 1/3 of the way down the right side makes sense for one-handed use, but it means it is a little more difficult to turn on device when it's laying on the desk. These are no big deal  to me, and just require getting used to. This is a whole lot of device for the money. I also thing the camera is better than most, and takes decent low-light pictures. Love it!


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## Planterz (Oct 3, 2014)

Phonearena review: 8/10

http://www.phonearena.com/reviews/ZTE-ZMAX-Review_id3811

PA, and especially the reviewer John V, are typically very fair to low-mid end devices, taking in to account the price/value and intended customers. As I said above, PA doesn't poo-poo a device simply because it's cheap and not the latest flagship, but review it on its own merits.

His Antutu scores closely match @nikkdotcom's. Honestly, I thought it'd do a bit better, considering the 2GB RAM, but perhaps the additional memory doesn't make a difference in this particular benchmark's scores. It _will_ however make a difference in real-life use, especially running practically stock Android. Your apps/games/videos won't close due to OOM , so switching/reloading apps will be much quicker than on a device with less RAM or a bloated ROM with too much garbage running in the background.


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## rsuthers08 (Oct 4, 2014)

Picked this phone up today and so far I'm enjoying it. No lag no bloat, needs a better keyboard with a dedicated number row. Camera is good and so far battery rocks. I did notice pretty slow LTE speeds compared to my HTC One M7 but that could be many different things I suppose. Paid the outright asking price and was about $268 out the door. Lets get a dedicated XDA section for it now.


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## alexriio (Oct 4, 2014)

---------- Post added at 09:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:10 PM ----------

[/COLOR]





rsuthers08 said:


> Picked this phone up today and so far I'm enjoying it. No lag no bloat, needs a better keyboard with a dedicated number row. Camera is good and so far battery rocks. I did notice pretty slow LTE speeds compared to my HTC One M7 but that could be many different things I suppose. Paid the outright asking price and was about $268 out the door. Lets get a dedicated XDA section for it now.

Click to collapse



+1

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


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## rsuthers08 (Oct 5, 2014)

Here are some pictures I took with the Zmax today, the haunted house ones were all shot in low light mode and it was pretty dark inside, the tractor was in HDR I believe and the flowers were in Macro.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/yfu1r0z5xyxfdgi/AAAYTRx2Vn7m4JuYbvHvnI5Ma?dl=0


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## nikkdotcom (Oct 5, 2014)

My 4G speeds are fairly impressive for my area in New England. I think it was $252 well spent. 

I will literally go insane though if I can't root this. It's an awesome device but it could be improved with root access.


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## rumitg2 (Oct 6, 2014)

*Glorious*

I just got the device a few days ago as a backup/ I wanted to get a phablet and I am astonished at the value i'm getting from it. My main device, which the ZTE is dangerously close to replacing , is a Nexus 5 which I love but the battery on it is garbage. 

Battery life on this phone is the best I have ever used, I can easily get 1.5 days out of it with 65% brightness and lots of twitch and Bluetooth music streaming.  I really hope someone here finds a way to get root on this as well as getting Android L onto it because that would be perfect. I think the lack of knowledge of whether or not it will receive an update is the only thing holding me back from keeping the device. 

Cheers,


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## rsuthers08 (Oct 6, 2014)

Ya after letting the phone sit after getting it this is my 4g LTE test. Pretty damn decent. 

Note onto root, I've tried towel like everybody else. I wonder is universal root would work or if there is an adb setup we could use. I see the ZTE Max from Boost Mobile has root and they are very similar devices minus the radio!!!

ZTE Max specs.
http://www.phonearena.com/phones/ZTE-Max_id8356

ZTE Max Root.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2661408

Edit: I see the Max runs 4.1.2. Darn.


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## nikkdotcom (Oct 6, 2014)

rsuthers08 said:


> Ya after letting the phone sit after getting it this is my 4g LTE test. Pretty damn decent.
> 
> Note onto root, I've tried towel like everybody else. I wonder is universal root would work or if there is an adb setup we could use. I see the ZTE Max from Boost Mobile has root and they are very similar devices minus the radio!!!
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Every root method available that was compatible with the Zmax's 4.4.2 system, I tried, and not a single one worked. I have literally tried every *NON-PHONE SPECIFIC* root method. Meaning Universal root methods have all failed me. We need a forum for this to spur development.


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## rsuthers08 (Oct 6, 2014)

nikkdotcom said:


> Every root method available that was compatible with the Zmax's 4.4.2 system, I tried, and not a single one worked. I have literally tried every *NON-PHONE SPECIFIC* root method. Meaning Universal root methods have all failed me. We need a forum for this to spur development.

Click to collapse



Have you tried the Kingo app? Not near a pc or else I would.


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## stinkbud (Oct 6, 2014)

rsuthers08 said:


> Have you tried the Kingo app? Not near a pc or else I would.

Click to collapse



 Kingo doesn't work.


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## rsuthers08 (Oct 6, 2014)

Damn, I'm not a Dev so I dunno what it would take to get it going.


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## nikkdotcom (Oct 6, 2014)

rsuthers08 said:


> Have you tried the Kingo app? Not near a pc or else I would.

Click to collapse



I did download that on my pc, but still no luck. I have literally downloaded every single universal root app, Linux Script, Windows programs, etc. There is just no rooting this damn thing.


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## stinkbud (Oct 6, 2014)

Not just rooting, we also need bootloader unlock and recovery. 

Despite the lack of root and all that, this is rapidly becoming my favorite android so far...Evo, Sam G2, G3, Xperia Z and now Zmax.


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## Planterz (Oct 6, 2014)

rumitg2 said:


> I just got the device a few days ago as a backup/ I wanted to get a phablet and I am astonished at the value i'm getting from it. My main device, which the ZTE is dangerously close to replacing , is a Nexus 5 which I love but the battery on it is garbage.
> 
> Battery life on this phone is the best I have ever used, I can easily get 1.5 days out of it with 65% brightness and lots of twitch and Bluetooth music streaming.  I really hope someone here finds a way to get root on this as well as getting Android L onto it because that would be perfect. I think the lack of knowledge of whether or not it will receive an update is the only thing holding me back from keeping the device.
> 
> Cheers,

Click to collapse





stinkbud said:


> Not just rooting, we also need bootloader unlock and recovery.
> 
> Despite the lack of root and all that, this is rapidly becoming my favorite android so far...Evo, Sam G2, G3, Xperia Z and now Zmax.

Click to collapse



It's only been out 2 weeks. Give it some time.


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## rsuthers08 (Oct 6, 2014)

Don't get me wrong I love this phone so far, I got rid of the lock screen for the lg one on play store, much better. Used navigation today and it worked without a hiccup and I was in the sticks. Plays the only game I play which is brave frontier just fine so I'm happy about that. Battery life rocks I cannot stress that enough lol. Feeling hopeful about this phone I've since put my lg g flex down and getting used to a flat screen again lol


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## stinkbud (Oct 7, 2014)

I have a 64gb micro sdxc card in my phone. I am able to copy files to it via file manager but torrent apps only give me read only access. They work fine with internal memory. Anyone using >32gb cards out there care to help confirm? I know I saw 32gb micro SD maximum expansion capability but I have seen that before and the cards always worked in the past with other services that were advertised as max 32gb.


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## hoodred (Oct 7, 2014)

stinkbud said:


> I have a 64gb micro sdxc card in my phone. I am able to copy files to it via file manager but torrent apps only give me read only access. They work fine with internal memory. Anyone using >32gb cards out there care to help confirm? I know I saw 32gb micro SD maximum expansion capability but I have seen that before and the cards always worked in the past with other services that were advertised as max 32gb.

Click to collapse



The Zmax still has the kitkat sd card restrictions problem.
Only apps that built for kitkat with the work around able to write directly to the sd card. There is SD card hack apps for kitkat  on the play store, however it requires root access..


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## nikkdotcom (Oct 7, 2014)

hoodred said:


> The Zmax still has the kitkat sd card restrictions problem.
> Only apps that built for kitkat with the work around able to write directly to the sd card. There is SD card hack apps for kitkat  on the play store, however it requires root access..

Click to collapse



Root access we don't have yet :'(


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## HD2FORNICK (Oct 7, 2014)

Another ZTE ZMAX satisfied user here. It's been 8 days with the phone and I am still waiting for the phone to slow down, crash but NADA!  The battery life is frikking amazing to boot! My LG G Pro sucked compared to this in terms of speed, etc.


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## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


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## supernugget (Oct 7, 2014)

*me too*

I got this phone four or five days ago. The battery life.....wow! Most bloat can be turned off. My only MINOR complaint is the capacitive buttons. So far , very impressed. $252 well spent at this point.


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## rsuthers08 (Oct 7, 2014)

Ya the capacitive buttons are my only complaint so far, and its just a minor one.

---------- Post added at 03:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:19 PM ----------

I also noticed this phone doesn't like the Facebook app to much, get some good lagging after it being opened and put in the background. I've frozen all the bloat....which is like 3 or 4 apps haha. The lock screen sucks, easy fix. Overall I'm happy and am glad I paid the outright price.


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## JFigure (Oct 8, 2014)

yeah, phone is going strong. got 4 days of life without really trying. it's my backup, so not too much usage... but even for standby that's damn good. 

still waiting on root. some xposed mods would really make me love this phone.


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## nikkdotcom (Oct 8, 2014)

I'll put up $50 if someone can find a root method. This phone has so much untapped potential.


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## ctrevino83 (Oct 8, 2014)

*Zte zmax lock screen image*

Someone thought it would be funny to create my lock screen photo to something not so funny and I have absolutely no idea how to change it.... 

Anyone know how to change the lock screen image?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! I am stumped, I tried so many things..... It's driving me bat **** crazy!

Thanks in Advance!


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## benlee337 (Oct 9, 2014)

Pick a picture in gallery.   Hit set as..  Then lock screen and voila... . Any advancement on root? 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


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## nikkdotcom (Oct 9, 2014)

benlee337 said:


> Pick a picture in gallery. Hit set as.. Then lock screen and voila... . Any advancement on root?
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Sadly no advancements on root. I'm still google searching daily pretty hard core to try and figure out how to root it myself.


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## buckeyeguy337 (Oct 9, 2014)

*zte zmax root*

I picked up this phone last Sunday because my Verizon contract was up. I love the speed and battery life... I didn't realize that it would be a nightmare trying to achieve root access... Hopefully some development can be done soon because I miss a lot of apps :/


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## rsuthers08 (Oct 9, 2014)

Ya I'm in the same boat with root, constantly googling lol


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## stinkbud (Oct 9, 2014)

+ 1 googling for a root method, I am also googling for a decent case for this phone. The plastic on the back is starting to pick up scratches.


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## rsuthers08 (Oct 9, 2014)

I picked up a case from the T-Mobile store and a screen protector, case fits great doesn't make it any more bulky and it has power and volume buttons built into the case. Not sure of the brand as it's not marked with one but it's a great case.

---------- Post added at 09:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:16 PM ----------

I think the nicest thing so far is the fact it shipped with KitKat instead of jellybean.


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## alexriio (Oct 9, 2014)

rsuthers08 said:


> I picked up a case from the T-Mobile store and a screen protector, case fits great doesn't make it any more bulky and it has power and volume buttons built into the case. Not sure of the brand as it's not marked with one but it's a great case.
> 
> ---------- Post added at 09:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:16 PM ----------
> 
> I think the nicest thing so far is the fact it shipped with KitKat instead of jellybean.

Click to collapse



Yea i picked the case and screen protector too. But i think with the case when you make a call it makes an echo sound . Does urs make an echo sound with the case?

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## nikkdotcom (Oct 10, 2014)

stinkbud said:


> + 1 googling for a root method, I am also googling for a decent case for this phone. The plastic on the back is starting to pick up scratches.

Click to collapse



All the cases on Amazon don't ship until November 28th and December 12th. Both cases are made by E-Time and one is TPU and one is rugged. Can't remember which ships on which date. My local T-Mobile store had a black TPU case for $20 but its not even listed on the T-Mobile website, only stumbled upon it in store.


----------



## rsuthers08 (Oct 10, 2014)

Ya the store just got a black case in when I bought the phone, no echoing sounds on my end with or without the case. Not sure if it does it on Wi-Fi calling dunno if this phone supports it lol. Loving the phone so far, brave frontier was a little sluggish at first but after a few days the game runs flawless without lag. Dunno if this clean master app is worth using or not.


----------



## alexriio (Oct 10, 2014)

I got an update . It was like 13 mb.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## lkchrono (Oct 10, 2014)

alexriio said:


> I got an update . It was like 13 mb.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Me too. No idea what changed.

---------- Post added at 02:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:25 PM ----------

Scratch that. According to T-Mo's website the updated added free inflight texting.


----------



## nikkdotcom (Oct 11, 2014)

How about an upgrade to 4.4.4 that includes in flight texting versus getting me excited over an update of 13mb for no reason...:silly:


----------



## recepo1 (Oct 11, 2014)

Just picked up one from Tmobile today didnt even know about this phone until today. Im pleased for the price nice screen size decent specs for the price root will take it to another level.


----------



## rsuthers08 (Oct 11, 2014)

Yes I'd advise taking any updates other than that 13mb one until we get root and recovery. Recepo1 why don't you hop on the new device request forum and post up the ZTE Zmax.


----------



## recepo1 (Oct 11, 2014)

rsuthers08 said:


> Yes I'd advise taking any updates other than that 13mb one until we get root and recovery. Recepo1 why don't you hop on the new device request forum and post up the ZTE Zmax.

Click to collapse



Can you link me to it


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## rsuthers08 (Oct 11, 2014)

Go to settings, about phone, system updates, check for update.

---------- Post added at 05:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:50 PM ----------

Nice to see this thread has hit 3k views!!! We def need a sub forum for this phone.


----------



## recepo1 (Oct 11, 2014)

rsuthers08 said:


> Go to settings, about phone, system updates, check for update.
> 
> ---------- Post added at 05:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:50 PM ----------
> 
> Nice to see this thread has hit 3k views!!! We def need a sub forum for this phone.

Click to collapse



No i mean the new device forum for the Zte max


----------



## rsuthers08 (Oct 12, 2014)

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1660354


----------



## rsuthers08 (Oct 13, 2014)

If/when we get root first thing I'm doing is disabling these capacitive buttons and finding a set of on screen replacements!


----------



## recepo1 (Oct 13, 2014)

rsuthers08 said:


> If/when we get root first thing I'm doing is disabling these capacitive buttons and finding a set of on screen replacements!

Click to collapse



Yeah their not that responsive as i would like


----------



## Planterz (Oct 13, 2014)

rsuthers08 said:


> If/when we get root first thing I'm doing is disabling these capacitive buttons and finding a set of on screen replacements!

Click to collapse



I'm not a fan of the button arrangement. I don't know why manufacturers can't agree on where to place the back button and the recent/menu button. Google puts the back button on the left, but Samsung, the largest Android manufacturer, puts it on the right. Motorola used to put the back button on the right, but now they put it on the left. LG lets you choose, which all manufacturers should. I don't like the back button on the left, especially on a large device, because it's such a long way to reach with my thumb. But mainly, I just want consistency. I've got 2 phones and a tablet, with plans to get 1 or 2 more phones in the near future. Different button arrangements would frustrate the living crap out of me. As good a phone as this ZMAX appears to be, I'll most likely never get one, if only because of where the buttons are (although on-screen buttons might change that).


----------



## RaiderWill (Oct 14, 2014)

I can not believe I bought this device.


----------



## rsuthers08 (Oct 14, 2014)

I agree Raider, impulse buy for me and I'm completely happy with it minus root and they keys, both of which can be fixed. I'd be willing to chip in $10 toward getting a Dev a phone.


----------



## jbyers5355 (Oct 14, 2014)

Just to let everyone know I tried towel root with every combination in the mod string minus the limit offset and the temp root settings and I still don't have root but it was worth a try


----------



## recepo1 (Oct 14, 2014)

RaiderWill said:


> I dropped in to check Note 4 status ( returned my dim - cloudy looking, warm running G3 last week ) and ran across this puppy..  It checked a lot of the boxes.. with screen size and price being the main 2 over the Note 4.. The almost Nexus clean UI coupled with a very nice looking ( 1080 / 1440 is a little overhyped using a device at normal viewing distances ) 720P screen made me do an "Impulse Buy" on the spot.. Got the in house rubber case & overpriced screen protectors to just *Get It Done*.. I figured it's worth the restocking fee if this does not prove to be a diamond in the rough device.. It's a diamond alright.. very fast with Nova Prime without even adjusting Animations & Rendering.. and just needs root and something equivalent to LG-G3's Tweakbox and we would have one hell of a device for one hell of a price..
> 
> If need be.. 25 of us needs to chip in $10.00 a piece (or 50 of us $5.00 )  and buy the right developer this device so he or she can obtain root and get us all to the next level.

Click to collapse



Wow almost in the same boat sold my G3 and saw the ZTE max in the Tmo store and also made an impulse buy. Very pleased with this device reminds me of a phone i wanted the sony xperia z ultra. I believe this will get root the phone hasnt been out really long and once it gets more attention.. developers will be making custom roms


----------



## rumitg2 (Oct 14, 2014)

Aside from ROM support do you think we will get an official update to android L from ZTE?

Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## rsuthers08 (Oct 14, 2014)

All depends on if ZTE is going to put development into android L


----------



## JoePUNK (Oct 15, 2014)

*lucky me*

I am soooo lucky my impulsive buy today was the zmax.    The dolby sound thingie boosts my headphone volume so nicely. I am Not sure if that is just a kit kat thing or not, but it is cool feature nonetheless. Never thought I would get a phablet, but this thing is the bomb. I didn't know about the root issue until after I bought it, but I know one will come. Probably through framaroot. I am a previous Nexus 5 user, and I just posted it for sale on Craigslist. I cannot wait to read it so that I can unlock the potential of this beast.I have had it for about 10 hours now and I can't put it down. I will be tuned in to this thread watching for root and the custom roms.


----------



## RaiderWill (Oct 15, 2014)

I can't believe I bought this.


----------



## angort14 (Oct 15, 2014)

*Root*

Try geohots towel root it worked for my lg l90 and its kitkat .I want to buy the phone im just waiting for any development to happen.


----------



## disco_dan (Oct 15, 2014)

angort14 said:


> Try geohots towel root it worked for my lg l90 and its kitkat .I want to buy the phone im just waiting for any development to happen.

Click to collapse



Most of us have tried Towel Root.  It just says device unsupported for me.


----------



## kevyreil (Oct 16, 2014)

*No root*



disco_dan said:


> Most of us have tried Towel Root.  It just says device unsupported for me.

Click to collapse



Yes, we've tried framaroot, towelroot, towelroot + modstrings, etc.


----------



## stinkbud (Oct 16, 2014)

angort14 said:


> Try geohots towel root it worked for my lg l90 and its kitkat .I want to buy the phone im just waiting for any development to happen.

Click to collapse



If there is an easy root method out there, I am fairly certain someone has tried it. Keep up requesting a device specific forum and hopefully with enough demand, developers will join in the fray.


----------



## RaiderWill (Oct 16, 2014)

What was I thinking.


----------



## rsuthers08 (Oct 16, 2014)

Ya I'm really missing my Vipersound mod.....lol and I really wanna do away with these hard keys and replace em with the on screen keys.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## stinkbud (Oct 16, 2014)

Noticing some scratches on my gorilla glass. My last phone with gg remained scratch free for well over a year. Anyone else noticing scratches? One of the things I liked about this phone was the assumed no-need for screen protection. Gonna suck to have to get a screen protector now.


----------



## recepo1 (Oct 16, 2014)

My impatience is bad i really think this is a great phone for the price but if root isnt achieved before my 14 day return period i will return for the Note 4


----------



## hoodred (Oct 17, 2014)

stinkbud said:


> If there is an easy root method out there, I am fairly certain someone has tried it. Keep up requesting a device specific forum and hopefully with enough demand, developers will join in the fray.

Click to collapse



Sharp Aquos Crystal has the same processor with the Zte Zmax.
and it has its own forum on XDA.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/aquos-crystal
perhaps once root achieved on the Sharp device you can try it on the Zmax.
As long as it doesnt require fastboot.


----------



## nikkdotcom (Oct 17, 2014)

I'll pitch in $30 for a Dev phone.


----------



## stinkbud (Oct 17, 2014)

hoodred said:


> Sharp Aquos Crystal has the same processor with the Zte Zmax.
> and it has its own forum on XDA.

Click to collapse



I'm not sure if that phone has even been officially released in the States. Hopefully we get a forum soon


----------



## hoodred (Oct 17, 2014)

stinkbud said:


> I'm not sure if that phone has even been officially released in the States. Hopefully we get a forum soon

Click to collapse



yes it has.
I saw it at best buy today for $149 run on boost mobile and sprint.
Its simply beautiful.
Another phone you can also look for root is huawei ascend mate 2 run on ATT or Consumer Cellular. Its $ 250 6.1"screen. It has almost the same hardware and chipset.
I was trying to build a flashable root zip for the Zmax, unfortunately i dropped the phone from office balcony and broke it.
Just make sure the root for sharp or huawei are not flashable zip or using fastboot.
And i dont think I will buy another one since nexus 6 now already out, better saving money for that one 

On another note Z max also has VPN bug (all kitkat device does) especially Open VPN.
It will connect to VPN but it wont transfer data. It has tunneling issues. 
You need busybox for the work around and of course it requires root.


----------



## RaiderWill (Oct 17, 2014)

14 day return window.


----------



## T3mpr1x (Oct 17, 2014)

*I Won?!*

I won this phone in a Twitter contest, of all places!  After reading about it on phonescoops and here, I am really liking what I read! Really looking forward to that amazing battery life as my Nexus 4's battery is on its last leg - it should be here Monday. I don't use root too much, but I would like to have it to remove bloatware (though there's apparently not much), maybe force some apps to install to SD card, etc...I put in another vote for a device forum. :good:


----------



## Planterz (Oct 17, 2014)

T3mpr1x said:


> I won this phone in a Twitter contest, of all places!

Click to collapse



Sweet!

Yeah, so in my original post I said that mainly it was a co-worker that was interested in this phone, but I wasn't as much since I was planning on getting the Nexus 6. Well, suddenly, I have a lot more interest in this phone again after reading about the Nexus 6's supposed pricing. I'll put in a vote for a forum for this device. With root, this phone could be great, and with recovery, it could become like a Nexus 6 "Lite".


----------



## recepo1 (Oct 17, 2014)

RaiderWill said:


> RECEPO.. I'm trying REALLY hard to put thoughts of the Note 4 and especially the Nexus 6 out of my head..
> But my sub-conscious is telling me otherwise.. without Root,  It's like having a new car with no gas money to take it out of the garage.. :crying:
> Then today.. to make things worse I downloaded several pedometer apps to try and one of them has done a number on my batterylife  and left something behind that has destroyed my battery's duration today.. I mean drained it dry in about 9 1/2 hours.. and has the device running warm by the camera.. going to do a factory reset and have to set every damn thing up again.. and with the Nexus 6 about the same size and about 3 weeks away I'm not sure if I can hang in to be honest..
> 
> We'll See.

Click to collapse



Exactly...i never realized how much i depended on root access for alot of my apps. I love this phone but too many apps i used everyday need root access ...I dont want to shell out so much for the Note but its looking like i will have to do that in the end. I also hate that Tmobile charges a $50 restocking fee but i guess its because ppl would abuse the process of keep returning and trying out new phones.


----------



## RaiderWill (Oct 17, 2014)

No.. Way.


----------



## bryanizmir (Oct 17, 2014)

I don't have one of these, but I'm watching the thread closely as I may be switching to T-Mobile soon....  Has anyone tried this: http://www.shuame.com/en/root/ ?  I saw it in another forum and thought of this phone.  searched the thread and didn't see anyone mention it.  Good luck and hope y'all get root soon


----------



## nikkdotcom (Oct 17, 2014)

bryanizmir said:


> I dont have one of these, but Im watching the thread closely as I may be switching to T-Mobile soon.... Has anyone tried this: http://www.shuame.com/en/root/ ? I saw it in another forum and thought of this phone. searched the thread and didnt see anyone mention it. Good luck and hope yall get root soon

Click to collapse



Tried and failed. Like all the other methods that have been tried.


----------



## hoodred (Oct 17, 2014)

bryanizmir said:


> I don't have one of these, but I'm watching the thread closely as I may be switching to T-Mobile soon....  Has anyone tried this: http://www.shuame.com/en/root/ ?  I saw it in another forum and thought of this phone.  searched the thread and didn't see anyone mention it.  Good luck and hope y'all get root soon

Click to collapse



shuame aka root genius is not working for the zmax.


----------



## recepo1 (Oct 17, 2014)

RaiderWill said:


> I've already given them $100.00..
> But in the end.. it's cheap insurance. It's like paying for a date and trying the sex out.. If you love it.. put a ring on it and keep it!
> If you end up not getting your "Freak" out of the date then hey... you spent $50.00 to see if she was worth it before marrying her..
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Loll true...nexus 6 is interesting too great specs price tag is higher then expected but its a high end device. I always had WiFi issues with my past nexus devices so i probably go with the Note if it comes down to it


----------



## angort14 (Oct 18, 2014)

*Root*

Anyone not afraid of a brick should try this root made for a recent zte device http://theunlockr.com/2014/03/18/root-zte-mustang-att/ http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-x/themes-apps/root-towelpieroot-motorola-devices-t2825059 the last root method i can think of is creating a custom recovery and flashing it through adb while in fastboot or just regular adb debugging .I dont believe the bootloader is locked because,zte is not known to lock its bootloaders


----------



## RaiderWill (Oct 18, 2014)

Don't Do It.


----------



## nikkdotcom (Oct 18, 2014)

RaiderWill said:


> *NOTICE:*
> Do Not Attempt This Method !
> Z998 images WILL NOT work on the Z970.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Patience is so hard. Once rooted I think i will try to create a lollipop *themed* ROM, not built from 5.0 source. Just something to hold me over. Wonder if this will get the upgrade to 4.4.4, i highly doubt 5.0 though.


----------



## RaiderWill (Oct 18, 2014)

I should have known.


----------



## hoodred (Oct 18, 2014)

angort14 said:


> Anyone not afraid of a brick should try this root made for a recent zte device http://theunlockr.com/2014/03/18/root-zte-mustang-att/ http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-x/themes-apps/root-towelpieroot-motorola-devices-t2825059 the last root method i can think of is creating a custom recovery and flashing it through adb while in fastboot or just regular adb debugging .I dont believe the bootloader is locked because,zte is not known to lock its bootloaders

Click to collapse



Zte Zmax and its brother the Grand X Max bootloader are LOCKED
adb reboot bootloader will not get you anywhere.
Towelpieroot will not work on both devices

Anyone who can continue creating and signing update zip or root please do
below are what I gathered before i broke the phone into pieces.

Busybox pre-installed under system/bin
Pem files located on /etc
Tmo CA certificate under /etc

*PARTITIONS INFO*
major minor  #blocks  name

 253        0     196608 zram0
 179        0   15388672 mmcblk0
 179        1       8192 mmcblk0p1
 179        2       8192 mmcblk0p2
 179        3       8192 mmcblk0p3
 179        4       8192 mmcblk0p4
 179        5       8192 mmcblk0p5
 179        6       8192 mmcblk0p6
 179        7       8192 mmcblk0p7
 179        8       8192 mmcblk0p8
 179        9       8192 mmcblk0p9
 179       10       8192 mmcblk0p10
 179       11      40960 mmcblk0p11
 179       12       8192 mmcblk0p12
 179       13       8192 mmcblk0p13
 179       14       8192 mmcblk0p14
 179       15       8192 mmcblk0p15
 179       16       8192 mmcblk0p16
 179       17       8192 mmcblk0p17
 179       18       8192 mmcblk0p18
 179       19       8192 mmcblk0p19
 179       20     131072 mmcblk0p20
 179       21      16384 mmcblk0p21
 179       22      16384 mmcblk0p22
 179       23      16384 mmcblk0p23
 179       24       8192 mmcblk0p24
 179       25     819200 mmcblk0p25
 179       26    1572864 mmcblk0p26
 179       27   12435456 mmcblk0p27
 179       32        512 mmcblk0rpmb

*MOUNTS INFO
*
rootfs / rootfs ro,relatime 0 0
tmpfs /dev tmpfs rw,seclabel,nosuid,relatime,size=952548k,nr_inodes=181107,mode=
755 0 0

devpts /dev/pts devpts rw,seclabel,relatime,mode=600 0 0
proc /proc proc rw,relatime 0 0

sysfs /sys sysfs rw,seclabel,relatime 0 0

selinuxfs /sys/fs/selinux selinuxfs rw,relatime 0 0

debugfs /sys/kernel/debug debugfs rw,relatime 0 0

none /acct cgroup rw,relatime,cpuacct 0 0

none /sys/fs/cgroup tmpfs rw,seclabel,relatime,size=952548k,nr_inodes=181107,mod
e=750,gid=1000 0 0

tmpfs /mnt/asec tmpfs rw,seclabel,relatime,size=952548k,nr_inodes=181107,mode=75
5,gid=1000 0 0

tmpfs /mnt/obb tmpfs rw,seclabel,relatime,size=952548k,nr_inodes=181107,mode=755
,gid=1000 0 0

none /dev/cpuctl cgroup rw,relatime,cpu 0 0

/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/system /system ext4 ro,seclabel,relatime,
data=ordered 0 0

/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/userdata /data ext4 rw,seclabel,nosuid,no
dev,relatime,noauto_da_alloc,resuid=1000,resgid=9997,data=ordered 0 0

/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/cache /cache ext4 rw,seclabel,nosuid,node
v,relatime,data=ordered 0 0

/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/persist /persist ext4 rw,seclabel,nosuid,
nodev,relatime,data=ordered 0 0

/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/modem /firmware vfat ro,relatime,uid=1000
,gid=1000,fmask=0337,dmask=0227,codepage=cp437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=low
er,errors=remount-ro 0 0

/dev/fuse /mnt/shell/emulated fuse rw,nosuid,nodev,relatime,user_id=1023,group_i
d=1023,default_permissions,allow_other 0 0

/dev/fuse /storage/emulated/legacy fuse rw,nosuid,nodev,relatime,user_id=1023,gr
oup_id=1023,default_permissions,allow_other 0 0



*BUILD PROP*
Build.prop attached here


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## nikkdotcom (Oct 19, 2014)

hoodred said:


> Zte Zmax and its brother the Grand X Max bootloader are LOCKED
> adb reboot bootloader will not get you anywhere.
> Towelpieroot will not work on both devices
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Does any of this information help us find the right mod string for our device in TowelRoot? The bootloader being locked is no good.

I'm starting to think this phone purchase might have been a mistake. Although, if the phone lands on MetroPCS like it has been rumored then you will definitely see some sort of development. In my experience MetroPCS devices have a great developer community.


----------



## RaiderWill (Oct 19, 2014)

A Mistake.


----------



## hoodred (Oct 19, 2014)

nikkdotcom said:


> Does any of this information help us find the right mod string for our device in TowelRoot? The bootloader being locked is no good.
> 
> I'm starting to think this phone purchase might have been a mistake. Although, if the phone lands on MetroPCS like it has been rumored then you will definitely see some sort of development. In my experience MetroPCS devices have a great developer community.

Click to collapse



Its to find the backdoor since busybox already pre-installed to either flash the root/supersu zip or resigned the zip for the stock recovery
Unless the bootlader is unlock, you can only use stock recovery
the kernel has been patched most likely you wont be able to use towelroot, even with changing the mod-string
I was only able to dump the rom halfway before it broke


----------



## RaiderWill (Oct 19, 2014)

It's Over.


----------



## RaiderWill (Oct 19, 2014)

I can't believe the T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 ALREADY has Root from Chainfire..
Damn !
This is getting really tough to stay away from the T-Mobile Store...


----------



## Planterz (Oct 19, 2014)

RaiderWill said:


> I can't believe the T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 ALREADY has Root from Chainfire..

Click to collapse



Yeah, well Chainfire is...he's Chainfire.

I just bought a Note 3 off Swappa. If I don't like it enough, I'll resell it and maybe pick up the ZMAX instead if it gets rooted.


----------



## nikkdotcom (Oct 19, 2014)

Does anyone here besides me have a small amount of knowledge about rooting? Anybody willing to share their brain with me, Skype maybe, and root this mother.


----------



## recepo1 (Oct 20, 2014)

Root or not im sticking with the phone played with the Note 4 not impressed after having all Notes and the G3 this will be my phone until the Nexus 6 drops...


----------



## Vyrus69 (Oct 20, 2014)

Anyone try to use the same root used for the Nubia 5s?

I don't have the phone yet as I'm on MetroPcs, but I'm hoping and praying root is achieved before then.

http://hexamob.com/devices/how-to-root-zte-nubia-z5s-z5sn/


----------



## disco_dan (Oct 20, 2014)

Vyrus69 said:


> Anyone try to use the same root used for the Nubia 5s?
> 
> I don't have the phone yet as I'm on MetroPcs, but I'm hoping and praying root is achieved before then.
> ....

Click to collapse



I'm scared to try it. I don't want to brick my phone.


----------



## jbyers5355 (Oct 20, 2014)

Vyrus69 said:


> Anyone try to use the same root used for the Nubia 5s?
> 
> I don't have the phone yet as I'm on MetroPcs, but I'm hoping and praying root is achieved before then.
> 
> http://hexamob.com/devices/how-to-root-zte-nubia-z5s-z5sn/

Click to collapse



Just tried it and it didn't work


----------



## HD2FORNICK (Oct 21, 2014)

recepo1 said:


> Root or not im sticking with the phone played with the Note 4 not impressed after having all Notes and the G3 this will be my phone until the Nexus 6 drops...

Click to collapse



Co-Sign! I used to own the G-Pro as well as the Note 3 and don't know why but I love this more than those 2. Just so smooth and the battery life is great.


----------



## stinkbud (Oct 21, 2014)

I'm past the 2 week return period without regret. I really love this phone and root access will make it even better. It is still so much better than my rooted Xperia Z ever was. Sometimes I think adding ROMs and messing around with the stock configuration of the phone is the cause of everything annoying.


----------



## nikkdotcom (Oct 21, 2014)

Root has to go through FTM mode. I've been studying a lot of root method for ZTE devices. Everything seems to focus on FTM Mode (Power + Vol Down).

I'm going to try and see what I can do tonight. Been busy working off some open source code for an RSS Reader. Going to make a ZTE Zmax app for us.


----------



## recepo1 (Oct 21, 2014)

HD2FORNICK said:


> Co-Sign! I used to own the G-Pro as well as the Note 3 and don't know why but I love this more than those 2. Just so smooth and the battery life is great.

Click to collapse



Honestly if we get root i will stick with this phone it puts alot of things in perspective. Showing me i dont really need 3GB of ram a more powerful processor and 4k display. This phone like you said is smooth and battery life is great


----------



## Vyrus69 (Oct 21, 2014)

Another big screened ZTE phone root method if anyone is willing to try:

ZTE Grand S 2 root
http://theunlockr.com/2014/07/15/how-to-root-the-zte-grand-s-ii/


----------



## HD2FORNICK (Oct 21, 2014)

nikkdotcom said:


> Root has to go through FTM mode. I've been studying a lot of root method for ZTE devices. Everything seems to focus on FTM Mode (Power + Vol Down).
> 
> I'm going to try and see what I can do tonight. Been busy working off some open source code for an RSS Reader. Going to make a ZTE Zmax app for us.

Click to collapse



Thanks bro! That will be epic. :good:


----------



## RaiderWill (Oct 21, 2014)

Not Coming.


----------



## Genaugmen (Oct 21, 2014)

*But what's up with tethering?*

I convinced my girlfriend to get this phone after checking the specks, and a few minutes actually fiddling with one. No issues with the phone performance-wise. I've had one issue though, tethering stopped working after 5GB of use, even using  user agent overrider plugin with firefox. I have no issues with my phone. I can tether to my hearts content. I've tethered with a droid bionic, a LG f3, and most recently an unlocked s4 active. But my girlfriends zmax won't allow her to tether anymore, it goes to the tmobile upsell page. I'm sure there's a workaround (been looking into a few), but anyone else have this issue? Is tmobile able to monitor actual tethering use with this new tmobile exclusive phone, or... well, your guess may be better than mines. Also, any options for video output with the zmax?

And I know this is of topic, but the s4 active (an at&t exclusive) runs on tmobile's lte with nothing more than sim unlocking and adding the fast.tmobile apn. Worth mentioning if for no other reason than that has become my daily driver on the grandfathered $70/mo truly unlimited data plan.


----------



## Planterz (Oct 21, 2014)

Genaugmen said:


> I convinced my girlfriend to get this phone after checking the specks, and a few minutes actually fiddling with one. No issues with the phone performance-wise. I've had one issue though, tethering stopped working after 5GB of use, even using  user agent overrider plugin with firefox. I have no issues with my phone. I can tether to my hearts content. I've tethered with a droid bionic, a LG f3, and most recently an unlocked s4 active. But my girlfriends zmax won't allow her to tether anymore, it goes to the tmobile upsell page. I'm sure there's a workaround (been looking into a few), but anyone else have this issue? Is tmobile able to monitor actual tethering use with this new tmobile exclusive phone, or... well, your guess may be better than mines.

Click to collapse



I can't speak for the Zmax, but on my Galaxy Light, it has a built-in T-Mobile tethering provision app. The S4 Active and Droid Bionic obviously don't, since they're from other carriers...I don't know where your F3 is from.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## jsteal55 (Oct 21, 2014)

I had the same problem 2 nights ago I used tethering for about 30 mins and stopped I called tmobile I had a 3gb plan for it it turned out for some reason I had to factory reset my phone ? for it to work again I had no more problems


----------



## nikkdotcom (Oct 21, 2014)

Do you guys have the T-Mobile My Account application installed? It could have an internal usage counter for tethering.


----------



## T3mpr1x (Oct 22, 2014)

RaiderWill said:


> Can a phone have a mind?
> I think my Max is well aware that I'm on the fence.. And it's doing everything in it's power to convince me that keeping it is the thing to do..
> 
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



It's great, isn't it? I am in the middle of my first full day with this phone after it was delivered yesterday. I won this thing on a Twitter contest, of all places! https://twitter.com/ZTE_USA is trying to make their name known in the US...

I've had my ZMAX off its charger since 7 this morning, 9.5 hours ago. I've had it paired to my Pebble all day. Went on a 30 minute walk, while it tracked my every movement on both Charity Miles and Runkeeper. Oh, I also played Ingress along the way. Texted a couple of times. Rejected some calls (I'm at work, after all). Installed some apps. The battery is at *82%*. I've been keeping my Nexus 4 around for reference. That phone has all radios but Wifi turned off, and was only turned on to use my Google Authenticator app. It's currently sitting at 80%! Crazy.


----------



## RaiderWill (Oct 22, 2014)

T3mpr1x said:


> It's great, isn't it? I am in the middle of my first full day with this phone after it was delivered yesterday. I won this thing on a Twitter contest, of all places! https://twitter.com/ZTE_USA is trying to make their name known in the US...
> 
> I've had my ZMAX off its charger since 7 this morning, 9.5 hours ago. It's currently sitting at 80%! Crazy.

Click to collapse



Crazy good..
The Note 4 brings Root (which brings xposed modules ) and a million things to play with..
And the Zmax brings battery and value.... tough choice..for me.


----------



## jsteal55 (Oct 22, 2014)

Has anyone tried rootmasterto root zte zmax on tmo


----------



## nikkdotcom (Oct 22, 2014)

jsteal55 said:


> Has anyone tried rootmasterto root zte zmax on tmo

Click to collapse



Just tried now. Failed after a second or two.


----------



## lkchrono (Oct 22, 2014)

I had a dream last night that someone figured out how to root the zmax and that xda had added a development page for us in response. So disappointed when I woke up...


----------



## RaiderWill (Oct 22, 2014)

Watching some Utubes of Android L.. it looks so cool..
Knowing we will never get updated to Lollipop 5.0 along with the Root issue sucks.
I went through this with a Asus Memo Pad FHD 10 it never got off the ground.. and Asus never updated it on time like they promised.


----------



## Vyrus69 (Oct 22, 2014)

lkchrono said:


> I had a dream last night that someone figured out how to root the zmax and that xda had added a development page for us in response. So disappointed when I woke up...

Click to collapse



Kinda scary I had the same dream last night..no joke...that I read someone on here achieved root


----------



## stinkbud (Oct 22, 2014)

Vyrus69 said:


> Kinda scary I had the same dream last night..no joke...that I read someone on here achieved root

Click to collapse



I dreamed about Kate Upton doing things to me. Geeks! [emoji13]


----------



## nikkdotcom (Oct 23, 2014)

Can we try to stay on topic guys. This forum is about the zmax, not Kate Upton or wet dreams about root achievement. We need root access in reality.


----------



## stinkbud (Oct 23, 2014)

Sorry, couldn't help it. 

On topic, today I saw my first Zmax besides mine being used. The woman with it said she loved it and couldn't believe how amazing the battery is. The more of these phones out there, the more likely it will be given the developer attention it deserves.


----------



## RaiderWill (Oct 23, 2014)

nikkdotcom said:


> Can we try to stay on topic guys. This forum is about the zmax, not Kate Upton or wet dreams about root achievement. We need root access in reality.

Click to collapse



Stay on topic about what ??? 
This device has not gotten a forum.
This device has not gotten root.
It's not like a development thread is being clogged.

This may be as far as this device _ever_ gets... which is nowhere.. 

Until anything Actually happens... It's nothing more than Hope and Conversation about a device that some of us own.. nothing more.

Censorship is NOT needed.


----------



## lkchrono (Oct 23, 2014)

Nikk, I have hope that the site mods will see our activity here and give give us a dev forum. I know my stats label me as a noob but I've been using android since the beginning. My G1 is still in it's box like a memorial and I've followed and lurked on XDA since it's infancy. Through the many androids I've owned none made me truly happy since my G1. Until this phone came out I considered converting too the dark side. I'm immensely pleased I resisted.

Like Raider said this is just a discussion forum, we're not a choking development forum with crap. We know the rules. I've already posted in the official request thread. You want to help crack this phone get everyone over there are and scream loudly and proudly about your zmax. I'm sadly limited in skill to help with rooting, this is the best I can do. So I'll help keep our little corner of XDA alive with activity. In the meantime won't you have some fun with us?


----------



## raythereceptionist95 (Oct 23, 2014)

lkchrono said:


> Nikk, I have hope that the site mods will see our activity here and give give us a dev forum. I know my stats label me as a noob but I've been using android since the beginning. My G1 is still in it's box like a memorial and I've followed and lurked on XDA since it's infancy. Through the many androids I've owned none made me truly happy since my G1. Until this phone came out I considered converting too the dark side. I'm immensely pleased I resisted.
> 
> Like Raider said this is just a discussion forum, we're not a choking development forum with crap. We know the rules. I've already posted in the official request thread. You want to help crack this phone get everyone over there are and scream loudly and proudly about your zmax. I'm sadly limited in skill to help with rooting, this is the best I can do. So I'll help keep our little corner of XDA alive with activity. In the meantime won't you have some fun with us?

Click to collapse



+1 imright behind u with keeping this thread alive. i want root. i went from my rooted galaxy s3 to this.. and its tough need my root apps.. lul


----------



## JoePUNK (Oct 23, 2014)

In reality. Kate Upton rooted my phone for me. 

As a dream.  Is it me or does the battery life thing seem to be fading sfter using it for a week. I seem yo be back to fighting for power again. Better than before. But not as good as it was out of the box. And its not an app thing  i did a factory restore on it (for the 5th time after trying a bunch of rooting mechanisms)


----------



## seven5suited (Oct 23, 2014)

Hey Guys,

I still have my OTA update pending. I am afraid that if there is a chance of root, installing the update will ruin it. Have any of you installed the update? Should I?

Thanks!


----------



## recepo1 (Oct 23, 2014)

RaiderWill said:


> Stay on topic about what ???
> This device has not gotten a forum.
> This device has not gotten root.
> It's not like a development thread is being clogged.
> ...

Click to collapse



+1...


----------



## RaiderWill (Oct 23, 2014)

seven5suited said:


> Hey Guys,
> 
> I still have my OTA update pending. I am afraid that if there is a chance of root, installing the update will ruin it. Have any of you installed the update? Should I?
> 
> Thanks!

Click to collapse



You're Safe.. 
There are no guarantees that we will ever see root at this point... ( I'm sure one day it will be blessed.. but,  that could be a month or two off ) so take your update and enjoy your device..

Don't wait on root.


----------



## nikkdotcom (Oct 23, 2014)

If we are all having fun, awesome.

I did not mean to step out of line here guys. Just frustrated. I want this thread to be taken seriously too.

On another note, I'm getting an NFC chip from a company called "Dangerous Things" and I'm going to inject it into my hand. Its $100 and comes preloaded in a syringe ready for injection into your hand.

Oh the possibilities! I'm going to be a #cyborg :laugh:


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## T3mpr1x (Oct 23, 2014)

RaiderWill said:


> You're Safe..
> There are no guarantees that we will ever see root at this point... ( I'm sure one day it will be blessed.. but,  that could be a month or two off ) so take your update and enjoy your device..
> 
> Don't wait on root.

Click to collapse



Yeah since there is no publicly-available root method for this phone yet, the update is likely a bug fix or something else not related to root exploits.


----------



## stinkbud (Oct 23, 2014)

nikkdotcom said:


> If we are all having fun, awesome.
> 
> On another note, I'm getting an NFC chip from a company called "Dangerous Things" and I'm going to inject it into my hand. Its $100 and comes preloaded in a syringe ready for injection into your hand.
> 
> Oh the possibilities! I'm going to be a #cyborg :laugh:

Click to collapse



Gonna need a new phone to enjoy that NFC. I've had NFC since my GS3 and never used it once. Now that I get a phone without it I am sure all kinds of cool NFC stuff will become available.


----------



## nikkdotcom (Oct 23, 2014)

My goal is to use a few different guides as reference and create an ignition system for my car with NFC tech using a RaspberryPi. 

There are many many many uses for NFC that have nothing to do with a cell phone. NFC is a nifty technology.

You can program it to do virtually anything with the right hardware. NFC just activates a function. That's all it really does. So the NFC chip in my hand can be used for anything really.

I just want to walk into a store and pay with my hand using NFC and scare the crap out of people.

Gotta have dreams right lol


----------



## T3mpr1x (Oct 23, 2014)

JoePUNK said:


> In reality. Kate Upton rooted my phone for me.
> 
> As a dream.  Is it me or does the battery life thing seem to be fading sfter using it for a week. I seem yo be back to fighting for power again. Better than before. But not as good as it was out of the box. And its not an app thing  i did a factory restore on it (for the 5th time after trying a bunch of rooting mechanisms)

Click to collapse



What's battery usage say? My phone recently had some drain, but it was because I had enabled SMS over IMS via the phone hidden menu...Flipped that back off and the battery calmed down. Currently sitting pretty with *87% battery remaining after over 8 hours off the charger*! It's only day two though, haha.


----------



## gottago (Oct 24, 2014)

I am looking to move back to Android from WP8 so I can run Uber and Lyft at the same time.  Is anybody successfully doing this on the ZMax? Does it lag or stutter when doing so? I am asking because the RAM and processor seem light when compared to other phablets.  Yet, the price and the above comments are drawing me closer and closer to the ZMax.  TIA


----------



## T3mpr1x (Oct 24, 2014)

gottago said:


> I am looking to move back to Android from WP8 so I can run Uber and Lyft at the same time.  Is anybody successfully doing this on the ZMax? Does it lag or stutter when doing so? I am asking because the RAM and processor seem light when compared to other phablets.  Yet, the price and the above comments are drawing me closer and closer to the ZMax.  TIA

Click to collapse



2 GB is plenty, it should run both of those just fine. I have never used either app, but all the applications that I had on my old phone have been loaded onto this, and it's smooth.


----------



## michael_ta315 (Oct 24, 2014)

literally just did a blinded purchased on this phone today. Probably one of the best blinded purchased I've ever made. The phone is AMAZING for what it is. Big screen, big battery, decently solid performance (thanks Google).

But discovering lack of root just turned me off SOOOO much. Ughh. Wish someone would look at the potential of this


----------



## Planterz (Oct 24, 2014)

michael_ta315 said:


> literally just did a blinded purchased on this phone today. Probably one of the best blinded purchased I've ever made. The phone is AMAZING for what it is. Big screen, big battery, decently solid performance (thanks Google).

Click to collapse



How's the  LTE coverage in Mordor?


----------



## SuperSeanic (Oct 24, 2014)

I just got the zmax a few days ago. First phone on T-mobile, decided to switch after doing a test drive and loving the fact that I can get LTE almost anywhere (formerly on Sprint).

But anyways, I really like this phone. For some reason it feels even faster than my HTC One M7 that I had on Sprint.

Did anybody figure out how to turn off the screen-on for new messages?.. It's really annoying because it'll turn on inside my pocket and start activating stuff.

can't wait for root.


----------



## ubigred (Oct 24, 2014)

Any one tried Baidu root?


----------



## T3mpr1x (Oct 25, 2014)

SuperSeanic said:


> I just got the zmax a few days ago. First phone on T-mobile, decided to switch after doing a test drive and loving the fact that I can get LTE almost anywhere (formerly on Sprint).
> 
> But anyways, I really like this phone. For some reason it feels even faster than my HTC One M7 that I had on Sprint.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Welcome! Regarding messages, use a different app. My current favorite is Textra. You can tell it to keep the screen off if a new text comes in.


----------



## michael_ta315 (Oct 25, 2014)

Planterz said:


> How's the  LTE coverage in Mordor?

Click to collapse



It's not so good now some midget just threw a ring down our power generator. Now the tower isn't transmitting anything.


----------



## nikkdotcom (Oct 25, 2014)

ubigred said:


> Any one tried Baidu root?

Click to collapse



Trying now, what the hell, right? Lol


----------



## ubigred (Oct 25, 2014)

nikkdotcom said:


> Trying now, what the hell, right? Lol

Click to collapse



Right lol 

Sent from my SGNote 3


----------



## nikkdotcom (Oct 25, 2014)

Didn't work 

We aren't going to be able to one click root. Other ZTE root methods I've seen involve .IMG files etc.


----------



## hoodred (Oct 25, 2014)

Both Best Buy and Walmart selling it for $199.99 and T mobile store i went into said they will price match.
Here are the links 
Best Buy and Walmart
Both Walmart and Best Buy run on T-mobile network.


----------



## bryanizmir (Oct 25, 2014)

Both are out of stock online already  Maybe all the xda devs specializing in bootloaders and root exploits bought one.


----------



## nikkdotcom (Oct 25, 2014)

bryanizmir said:


> Both are out of stock online already  Maybe all the xda devs specializing in bootloaders and root exploits bought one.

Click to collapse



One can only hope


----------



## RaiderWill (Oct 26, 2014)

*Time To Say Farewell...*



recepo1 said:


> My impatience is bad i really think this is a great phone for the price but if root isnt achieved before my 14 day return period i will return for the Note 4

Click to collapse



Well Recepo... I'm somewhat sorry to say your statement applies to me.. 

In my 11th Hour.. I decided to return my ZTE Zmax.  

It's not that I do not have faith that root access will someday be achieved.. But I've fallen in love with the Galaxy Note 4.
After watching all the videos on it's hidden features ( Gadget Portal on Youtube and Ricky the android guy are the best ) I had no idea the Note 4 has reached this level of technology.. The 50+ Tips & Tricks Gadget Portal shows pushed me over the top.. It's 2015 technology personified. 

It's been nice reading everyone's post and I truly hope you all get your forum, root and roms 

The Zmax is one hell of a device.. Good Luck to you all !  :good:


----------



## radfreak (Oct 26, 2014)

stinkbud said:


> Kingo doesn't work.

Click to collapse



Are you sure? The ZTE ZMax has the same internals as the ZTE Max on Boost Mobile and Kingo works on that device.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## recepo1 (Oct 26, 2014)

RaiderWill said:


> Well Recepo... I'm somewhat sorry to say your statement applies to me..
> 
> In my 11th Hour.. I decided to return my ZTE Zmax.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Nooooooooooooo...lol cant say i dont blame you root is important for my day to day use but i still have hope. If not i will be getting the Nexus 6 by Christmas.


----------



## jsteal55 (Oct 26, 2014)

That would be nice if they did lol


----------



## RaiderWill (Oct 26, 2014)

recepo1 said:


> Nooooooooooooo...lol cant say i dont blame you root is important for my day to day use but i still have hope. If not i will be getting the Nexus 6 by Christmas.

Click to collapse



LOL.. 
Interesting since it's going to drop within the next week or so.. but, 32Gb's of storage is not enough for me. and the 64Gb Nexus 6 is $700.00+ Tax.. at that price point for me, The Note 4 for $49 more is the better option.. with it 's removable battery and external storage on top of it's incredible software and S-Pen.. and of course it will get Android L later this year as well. Too bad Nexus had to go main stream to get into retail stores and Double the price of their device.. They had a good thing going with the Nexus 4/5 giving us a High-End phone that was stripped for speed along with being Developer-Friendly and priced to sell.. Now, you have to pay Flagship prices for a stripped down phone.. don't know how well that is going to go over with the community..

We Shall See.


----------



## recepo1 (Oct 26, 2014)

RaiderWill said:


> LOL..
> Interesting since it's going to drop within the next week or so.. but, 32Gb's of storage is not enough for me. and the 64Gb Nexus 6 is $700.00+ Tax.. at that price point for me, The Note 4 for $49 more is the better option.. with it 's removable battery and external storage on top of it's incredible software and S-Pen.. and of course it will get Android L later this year as well. Too bad Nexus had to go main stream to get into retail stores and Double the price of their device.. They had a good thing going with the Nexus 4/5 giving us a High-End phone that was stripped for speed along with being Developer-Friendly and priced to sell.. Now, you have to pay Flagship prices for a stripped down phone.. don't know how well that is going to go over with the community..
> 
> We Shall See.

Click to collapse



Yea well pm and let me know how u like the Note 4 it may sway me later on to get one


----------



## RaiderWill (Oct 27, 2014)

recepo1 said:


> Yea well pm and let me know how u like the Note 4 it may sway me later on to get one

Click to collapse



Can't find one... 
My region actually have them sold before they get unpacked.. people are calling constantly ( happened 4 times while I was in the store ).. even showing up at delivery time.. and generally are bugging them non-stop for the device.. it's unreal demand for an $800.00 phone 

I'm going to wait a week or so and let this INSANE demand for the N4 hopefully die down just a little.. 
I actually picked up a Univision Zmax @ walmart for $199.00 to play with until I can get a N4.. Trying like hell to root it but, even the command line functions are not responding as they should.. I don't know what ZTE did to this thing but it's locked tighter than fort knox.. 

The Note 4 is a slam dunk ( The Screen is so beautiful ..)  you just have to decide if you want to pay $700.00 for a stripped N6 or $750.00 for a fully-featured N4.. 

I'll keep you posted.


----------



## ubigred (Oct 27, 2014)

STILL no root? 

Sent from my SGNote 3


----------



## lkchrono (Oct 27, 2014)

Sadly no.


----------



## nikkdotcom (Oct 27, 2014)

RaiderWill said:


> Cant find one...
> My region actually have them sold before they get unpacked.. people are calling constantly ( happened 4 times while I was in the store ).. even showing up at delivery time.. and generally are bugging them non-stop for the device.. its unreal demand for an $800.00 phone
> 
> Im going to wait a week or so and let this INSANE demand for the N4 hopefully die down just a little..
> ...

Click to collapse



Did you try fastboot via FTM (Power + Vol Down). I'm no expert but other ZTE phones have been rooted through FTM.


----------



## RaiderWill (Oct 27, 2014)

*Cursed...*



nikkdotcom said:


> Did you try fastboot via FTM (Power + Vol Down). I'm no expert but other ZTE phones have been rooted through FTM.

Click to collapse



Sure did.... 
Thought maybe Motochopper could plow through.. No Go.  
This has to be one of the SADDEST lockdowns in XDA history.
A great 5.7" device with 2 gigs of Ram that runs soooo smooth for only $199.00 bucks.

And we can do NOTHING with it.

It's doesn't get much worse than this.. and that's the only reason I can't stick with it.


----------



## Planterz (Oct 27, 2014)

RaiderWill said:


> And we can do NOTHING with it.

Click to collapse



Well, at least nobody's bricked theirs with all these attempts.


----------



## RaiderWill (Oct 27, 2014)

*Cursed..*



Planterz said:


> Well, at least nobody's bricked theirs with all these attempts.

Click to collapse



You can't get deep enough into this Steel Fortress to even see what's inside.. much less brick it... 

Until someone with GREAT skill can figure out a way to crack this Force Field..  the merchandise inside is ABSOLUTLY safe..  


The other thing I've noticed ( Since this my 2nd time snatching a Zmax ) is, the color calibration and overall brightness are much better on this 2nd unit.. Webpage White's are much Whiter.. and the colors are definitely more vibrant.. I kept checking auto-brightness to see if I accidently turned it off.. because the screen was so bright.. but no.. it's just much brighter overall than the 1st unit I bought & returned.


----------



## Planterz (Oct 27, 2014)

RaiderWill said:


> The other thing I've noticed ( Since this my 2nd time snatching a Zmax ) is, the color calibration and overall brightness are much better on this 2nd unit.. Webpage White's are much Whiter.. and the colors are definitely more vibrant.. I kept checking auto-brightness to see if I accidently turned it off.. because the screen was so bright.. but no.. it's just much brighter overall than the 1st unit I bought & returned.

Click to collapse



Interesting. On the couple reviews I read, one complain was with the dullish TFT screen. Maybe they changed from TFT to IPS LCD, or the units came from different factories.


----------



## RaiderWill (Oct 27, 2014)

Planterz said:


> Interesting. On the couple reviews I read, one complain was with the dullish TFT screen..

Click to collapse



Maybe those reviewers got a batch of the same bad units that I did on my first one.. 
Compared to Samsung's Note / Galaxy series and HTC's M8 you still could consider this not as vibrant.. but even @ 720P - TFT it's much brighter than the LG-G3.. that thing is a piece of junk.. even the $126.00 Alcatel One Touch Fierce 2 parked right next to the G3 @ T-Mo had a brighter screen when I put them both on a blank chrome page...

That's sad..


----------



## angort14 (Oct 28, 2014)

*root*

purpledrake  anyone ?


----------



## RaiderWill (Oct 28, 2014)

*Cursed..*



angort14 said:


> purpledrake  anyone ?

Click to collapse



Did your Drake bust through the IMPENETRABLE bootloader to attempt a root exploit..


----------



## michael_ta315 (Oct 28, 2014)

why.. no one is seeing the potential of this? I want android L on this. It would be the best christmas present id ever have. No need nexus 6..

---------- Post added at 10:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:29 PM ----------




michael_ta315 said:


> why.. no one is seeing the potential of this? I want android L on this. It would be the best christmas present id ever have. No need nexus 6..

Click to collapse



 Ok i lied nexus 6 would be a better present


----------



## Vyrus69 (Oct 28, 2014)

Possible solution, and it sounds pretty familiar to our phone:

http://androidforums.com/concord-2-all-things-root/872326-root-cwm-recovery-zte-concord-2-a.html



> ROOT AND CWM RECOVERY FOR ZTE CONCORD 2
> 
> This would not be possible with out the ASEC exploit by jcase, if it was not for people like him, developers like ShabbyPenguin and myself would not be able to do any work on these phones, so we are grateful to him and you should be as well, please show your gratitude to him in some way, even if it just a post in this thread saying thank you.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Sounds like we just to get a custom recovery created for our phone and we might be in business.

Anyone wanna try??

http://xda-university.com/as-a-developer/porting-clockworkmod-recovery-to-a-new-device


----------



## stinkbud (Oct 28, 2014)

I wouldn't do it, installing root is one thing, putting a recovery in that was designed for another phone, even a ZTE,  is just asking for a brick. To get root installed with this method, you need to do it through recovery.


----------



## Vyrus69 (Oct 28, 2014)

stinkbud said:


> I wouldn't do it, installing root is one thing, putting a recovery in that was designed for another phone, even a ZTE,  is just asking for a brick. To get root installed with this method, you need to do it through recovery.

Click to collapse



I'm saying its looking like the ONLY way to gain root is we need to make a custom recovery, but using that method to install it.  I would never use a recovery made for another phone.


----------



## Vyrus69 (Oct 28, 2014)

And even further, it also looks like you're able to achieve root with that method, but you still don't get read/write access.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## KCoATX (Oct 29, 2014)

I've had a lot of phones this is honestly the best purchase I've made. Wallet friendly and pretty stock android. This phone has a sh*t load of potential. I've had it a week now and its run smooth. Even when I was tricked into buying the garmon phone back in the day we got root. Everyone chill if no one returns this thing and jumps ship we will get it

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## rumitg2 (Oct 30, 2014)

*Sd card bug*

Is anyone having a bug where trying to create a new folder on the SDcard of the phone from windows 8.1 causes the entire explorer to freeze up?


----------



## nikkdotcom (Oct 30, 2014)

Vyrus69 said:


> Possible solution, and it sounds pretty familiar to our phone:
> 
> http://androidforums.com/concord-2-all-things-root/872326-root-cwm-recovery-zte-concord-2-a.html
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



I might be able to try it this weekend. I know that's far off, I just got a busy schedule.

I think root will come soon enough. I never realized how much I relied on root access...until now....


----------



## mezkal24 (Oct 30, 2014)

rumitg2 said:


> Is anyone having a bug where trying to create a new folder on the SDcard of the phone from windows 8.1 causes the entire explorer to freeze up?

Click to collapse



I have seen this before on multiple devices and not just Windows 8.  You just need to be patient and wait for it to respond again.


----------



## Vyrus69 (Oct 30, 2014)

Someone just leaked they saw the phone on MetroPCS will be offered at $199.  So there are about to be A LOT more people jumping on the bandwagon with this phone, and metro community has quite a few respectable devs.  Hopefully we get root fast.


----------



## rumitg2 (Oct 30, 2014)

I figured, I end up just unplugging and plugging it back in and renaming it later

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Cheezenub (Oct 30, 2014)

I have been using this phone for about three weeks. I come from a Note 2. This phone is awesome. I find not having root not top big a deal for me. This was very close to stock android. My big concern is updates. Afraid they may be nonexistent for this device.


----------



## stinkbud (Oct 30, 2014)

Cheezenub said:


> I have been using this phone for about three weeks. I come from a Note 2. This phone is awesome. I find not having root not top big a deal for me. This was very close to stock android. My big concern is updates. Afraid they may be nonexistent for this device.

Click to collapse



FWIW, there was an OTA update a week after it came out on the market so there is hope for some support.


----------



## RaiderWill (Oct 31, 2014)

*Beyond Stock..*



Cheezenub said:


> This phone is awesome. My big concern is updates. Afraid they may be nonexistent for this device.

Click to collapse





stinkbud said:


> FWIW, there was an OTA update a week after it came out on the market so there is hope for some support.

Click to collapse



I think what we are talking about here is at least a bump to 4.4.4.. 
I fear Android L / 5.0 being applied by ZTE as an OTA is out of the question on this mid-level device.
Remember, this device's target is average folks looking for a gigantic screen at an affordable price.. thus, T-Mobile & Metro PCS are were ZTE hopes to hit a home run of sorts..

Maybe one day our little community will see at least root-access.. even if ROM development never takes off for the T-Mobile variant.


----------



## Cheezenub (Oct 31, 2014)

stinkbud said:


> FWIW, there was an OTA update a week after it came out on the market so there is hope for some support.

Click to collapse



Yeah. It was a simple update from T-Mobile to enable their just announced ability to text while on airlines.


----------



## mezkal24 (Oct 31, 2014)

*Static in calls*

Is anyone else experiencing static/echoing with this phone?  I notice it mainly when calling other cell phones.  Sometimes people cant hear me.  Just wondering if anyone else has noticed this.  Thanks!


----------



## KCoATX (Oct 31, 2014)

My call quality has been great.


----------



## alexriio (Oct 31, 2014)

Yes . When i talk to people they hear a echo but not me . I think the problem is wifi calling. When i talk without wifi calling people say they dont hear the echo. But im not sure if that is the problem . Do you use wifi calling?

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mezkal24 (Oct 31, 2014)

alexriio said:


> Yes . When i talk to people they hear a echo but not me . I think the problem is wifi calling. When i talk without wifi calling people say they dont hear the echo. But im not sure if that is the problem . Do you use wifi calling?
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Yes, I do use wifi calling, but I hear it even when I am out and about.  It kinda sounds like a light rattle.   Other than that, this is an amazing phone.  Best bang for your buck!


----------



## voidcomp (Oct 31, 2014)

Cheezenub said:


> Yeah. It was a simple update from T-Mobile to enable their just announced ability to text while on airlines.

Click to collapse



http://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-15634


----------



## michael_ta315 (Nov 1, 2014)

have any of you guys purchased the nexus 6? I currently have the nexus 5 and this zte. i don't know if it's a good idea to replace both with nexus 6. Just afraid it's too big.. what you guys think?


----------



## recepo1 (Nov 1, 2014)

michael_ta315 said:


> have any of you guys purchased the nexus 6? I currently have the nexus 5 and this zte. i don't know if it's a good idea to replace both with nexus 6. Just afraid it's too big.. what you guys think?

Click to collapse



Nexus 6 not out yet but im getting one


----------



## badd99 (Nov 2, 2014)

michael_ta315 said:


> have any of you guys purchased the nexus 6? I currently have the nexus 5 and this zte. i don't know if it's a good idea to replace both with nexus 6. Just afraid it's too big.. what you guys think?

Click to collapse



The nexus 6 has a bigger screen but the overall phone is a hair smaller. Go to phonearena and go to their phone comparison page. After you calibrated your screen to size you can see the two next two each other accuralty to size.


----------



## michael_ta315 (Nov 2, 2014)

badd99 said:


> The nexus 6 has a bigger screen but the overall phone is a hair smaller. Go to phonearena and go to their phone comparison page. After you calibrated your screen to size you can see the two next two each other accuralty to size.

Click to collapse



I know that's why i'm asking. Currently i'm not using ZTE as a daily due to its size. I know nexus 6 is almost identical in size. Just wondering if any of you guys using the ZTE as a daily. Are you guys having any troubles fitting it in places? lol


----------



## Everymanalion (Nov 2, 2014)

*ZTE ZMax  Button Light too dim?*

The touch buttons on the bottom of the phone for Menu/Options/Back etc are extremely dim, I cant tell if I just got a bad phone or if this is supposed to be like this, any other ZTE ZMax owners help with your opinion please?


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## Cheezenub (Nov 2, 2014)

michael_ta315 said:


> I know that's why i'm asking. Currently i'm not using ZTE as a daily due to its size. I know nexus 6 is almost identical in size. Just wondering if any of you guys using the ZTE as a daily. Are you guys having any troubles fitting it in places? lol

Click to collapse



I use it every day. I usually carry it in my front pocket. I have never left any phone in my pocket when I sit. Even the old flip phones from years ago. I fell in love with larger phones when I bought a Note 2 when it came out. The size is perfect. Fits pocket when walking or standing. In the car it sits on a mount. When I sit I usually am using it for something.

---------- Post added at 10:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:49 PM ----------




Everymanalion said:


> The touch buttons on the bottom of the phone for Menu/Options/Back etc are extremely dim, I cant tell if I just got a bad phone or if this is supposed to be like this, any other ZTE ZMax owners help with your opinion please?

Click to collapse



I have no problems with the backlighting on my ZMax buttons. Plus the more I use the phone the less I need to look for the buttons


----------



## Everymanalion (Nov 2, 2014)

Cheezenub said:


> I use it every day. I usually carry it in my front pocket. I have never left any phone in my pocket when I sit. Even the old flip phones from years ago. I fell in love with larger phones when I bought a Note 2 when it came out. The size is perfect. Fits pocket when walking or standing. In the car it sits on a mount. When I sit I usually am using it for something.
> 
> ---------- Post added at 10:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:49 PM ----------
> 
> ...

Click to collapse




But is the backlight for it more on the dimmer side to you? I am used to menu buttons that are bright as hell when turned on.


----------



## lkchrono (Nov 2, 2014)

The backlight is dimmer than other phones I've used but it's very nice in the dark. Less obnoxious overall. And I too keep our stashed in my front pocket. Fits perfectly in my work pants.


----------



## jsteal55 (Nov 2, 2014)

Everymanalion said:


> The touch buttons on the bottom of the phone for Menu/Options/Back etc are extremely dim, I cant tell if I just got a bad phone or if this is supposed to be like this, any other ZTE ZMax owners help with your opinion please?

Click to collapse



I believe everyones phone ? have dim menu bottoms


----------



## crewdawg (Nov 2, 2014)

OK so how well do most games run on this phone and how is the reception? I work on a Navy base and my N4 gets horrible reception.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Cheezenub (Nov 2, 2014)

crewdawg said:


> OK so how well do most games run on this phone and how is the reception? I work on a Navy base and my N4 gets horrible reception.
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



My Note 2 got 1-2 bars LTE in my house. This phone gives me 3-4. Realize this is not a top spec phone. I would say it plays casual games fine. But 3D graphics intensive ones may be suspect.


----------



## jsteal55 (Nov 2, 2014)

Cheezenub said:


> My Note 2 got 1-2 bars LTE in my house. This phone gives me 3-4. Realize this is not a top spec phone. I would say it plays casual games fine. But 3D graphics intensive ones may be suspect.

Click to collapse



I have really good signal and LTE service I play games a lot games on this phone ? and had no problems  with it so far


----------



## bryanizmir (Nov 2, 2014)

michael_ta315 said:


> I know that's why i'm asking. Currently i'm not using ZTE as a daily due to its size. I know nexus 6 is almost identical in size. Just wondering if any of you guys using the ZTE as a daily. Are you guys having any troubles fitting it in places? lol

Click to collapse



The LG Flex is my daily driver,  it is pretty much the same size as the zmax.  I have it in my pocket all day, sitting included.  I have no problems carrying it around.


----------



## crewdawg (Nov 2, 2014)

Cheezenub said:


> My Note 2 got 1-2 bars LTE in my house. This phone gives me 3-4. Realize this is not a top spec phone. I would say it plays casual games fine. But 3D graphics intensive ones may be suspect.

Click to collapse



I understand that it's not a top spec phone and I don't play any crazy top games. I do alot of web surfing and light game playing. My N4 barely gets through my work day, I have 2 boys playing football, and I have class two nights a week. So the ZMAX sounds like it can give me what I need. Does anyone know of any rugged case's for it?

Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## asrr62 (Nov 2, 2014)

crewdawg said:


> I understand that it's not a top spec phone and I don't play any crazy top games. I do alot of web surfing and light game playing. My N4 barely gets through my work day, I have 2 boys playing football, and I have class two nights a week. So the ZMAX sounds like it can give me what I need. Does anyone know of any rugged case's for it?
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



I can get like two days or 8 hours screen on time so the battery life is great. I just ordered the case in the link below yesterday. I thought the case looked substantial enough.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00ON...165_QL70&qid=1414963562&sr=8-7#ref=mp_s_a_1_7


----------



## Th3_Engineer (Nov 2, 2014)

Issam Bayan good luck


----------



## disco_dan (Nov 3, 2014)

*Android Wear?*

Since this device doesn't have NFC, is it possible to use Android Wear with it?


----------



## Everymanalion (Nov 3, 2014)

Does anyone know if there is anyway to make the menu/back/home buttons vibrate when you press them? I cant find an option anywhere


----------



## mezkal24 (Nov 3, 2014)

Everymanalion said:


> Does anyone know if there is anyway to make the menu/back/home buttons vibrate when you press them? I cant find an option anywhere

Click to collapse



Settings> Sounds> Vibrate on Touch


----------



## Everymanalion (Nov 3, 2014)

ThankThank you so much!

---------- Post added at 09:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:49 PM ----------

By the way if you are on the fence about this, don't be. I am sitting on 17 hours of usage with 55 percent battery left. That is texting, youtube, facebook and brightness all the way up. Great phone for $200.


----------



## Everymanalion (Nov 4, 2014)

Does anyone else hear crackling/popping when they record a video on this sometimes?

Also do you hear a weird clicking noise when you open the camera and close the camera app? Weird internal sounds


----------



## lkchrono (Nov 4, 2014)

Everymanalion said:


> Does anyone else hear crackling/popping when they record a video on this sometimes?
> 
> Also do you hear a weird clicking noise when you open the camera and close the camera app? Weird internal sounds

Click to collapse



Yes a little but it's not very obvious. And no. Nothing weird with my camera when it powers on and off.


----------



## RaiderWill (Nov 4, 2014)

*The Time Has Come...*



recepo1 said:


> Nexus 6 not out yet but im getting one

Click to collapse



Recepo.. You asked me to update you on the Note 4.. 
My advice.. GET IT over the N6. If you like to tweak without even getting into rooting this is the one to get.. even though rooting the T-Mobile version and installing TWRP is certainly an option.. and the screen man.. the screen.. 

Ladies? & Gentleman,
It has truly been a pleasure.. My Zmax ( especially the 2nd one ) was a WONDERFUL device. 
But I've had "Note 4 Fever" ever since I started watching all the Tips and Tricks it's capable of on youtube and I was finally able to rush to a store and get one ( They sellout within 2 hours in my locale ) so I wanted to say goodbye and good luck with your Zmax's.. I know root will come to you !  :good:


----------



## recepo1 (Nov 4, 2014)

RaiderWill said:


> Recepo.. You asked me to update you on the Note 4..
> My advice.. GET IT over the N6. If you like to tweak without even getting into rooting this is the one to get.. even though rooting the T-Mobile version and installing TWRP is certainly an option.. and the screen man.. the screen..
> 
> Ladies? & Gentleman,
> ...

Click to collapse




Well enjoy good buddy with the soon upcoming release of the Note Edge and Nexus 6 im holding on as long as i can to the ZTE Zmax but i dont know how long that will be


----------



## RaiderWill (Nov 5, 2014)

recepo1 said:


> Well enjoy good buddy with the soon upcoming release of the Note Edge and Nexus 6 im holding on as long as i can to the ZTE Zmax but i dont know how long that will be

Click to collapse



Thanks Man.. 
Whether you go with the N6, Note Edge, or Note 4.. stick with T-Mobile to ensure that Bootloader is Unlocked or Un-lockable. 
If you are going with the N6, Wednesday's are the "Auction Day" @ Google.. But, you have to be on drugs to stay up and alert so you can keep refreshing the website's page and be prepared to make INSTANT purchase because they are gone within a few minutes..  

This is the only way to get an N6 without the *Carrier Bloat* that you KNOW is going to be on every Nexus 6 released by Carrier's..

Even T-Mobile...

So, you are going to have to be on your toes to snag an N6 on Wednesdays... or just wait a month or so until demand dies down a little..

That's how I got my Note 4..   But as you know.. it's HARD AS HELL to wait for a killer device when you have the means but can't get your hands on it.. 

Let me know which device you end up getting.. They are all GREAT choices.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## disco_dan (Nov 5, 2014)

*frameroot*

I'm sure someone's tried Frameroot, right?


----------



## mezkal24 (Nov 5, 2014)

disco_dan said:


> I'm sure someone's tried Frameroot, right?

Click to collapse



Yes, no go.


----------



## michael_ta315 (Nov 5, 2014)

alright, how much for root? IM PAYING.


----------



## KCoATX (Nov 6, 2014)

I'd also be willing to assist with payment. I wouldn't want the entire burden on you.


----------



## ubigred (Nov 6, 2014)

I don't think root is ever coming to this device. 

Sent from my SGNote 3


----------



## nikkdotcom (Nov 6, 2014)

I'm all for paying. I can contribute $50.


----------



## Vyrus69 (Nov 7, 2014)

Keep requesting for our own thread, that will help get more Devs on this device:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1660354&page=1622


----------



## supernugget (Nov 7, 2014)

I'm in for 20


----------



## buckeyeguy337 (Nov 8, 2014)

*zte zmax*

T mobiles Zte zmax has huge potential. Also coming to metro pcs. Would pay for root!


----------



## QuickNET Tech (Nov 8, 2014)

*Try these one click methods*

I want root for this device but am not getting it for ≈ 1 month.
I found a list of one click roots that may not have been tried yet and I haven't heard of most of them but they might work (most, if not, all require a pc (I think)).
I hope that at one works or at least this phone gets root within a month.
http : // www . itsaboutmobile . com / 2013 /10/ android-rooting-software . html ?m=1
GOOD LUCK!
(new mem. = no links, sorry just remove spaces)


----------



## domo325 (Nov 8, 2014)

Any good looking cases out there for this phone? Tried ebay, amazon and even alibaba, but no luck. =(


----------



## stinkbud (Nov 8, 2014)

domo325 said:


> Any good looking cases out there for this phone? Tried ebay, amazon and even alibaba, but no luck. =(

Click to collapse



There is a hybrid case in amazon for about $6, it is available already. I received it Thursday, works and feels like any other hybrid.

 http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00O...15452702&qid=1415452702&sr=8-1&sr=8-1&sr=8-1


----------



## QuickNET Tech (Nov 8, 2014)

*Question from a soon to be owner*

This phone has been out for about 1.5 months and I am curious if the battery life has decreased after about that long.
I always get a phone with a removable back so battery deterioration is no issue and this is the best I have found for the money, but the non-removable back worries me.
Any and all help is appreciated.

Quickdraw996


----------



## Planterz (Nov 8, 2014)

Quickdraw996 said:


> This phone has been out for about 1.5 months and I am curious if the battery life has decreased after about that long.
> I always get a phone with a removable back so battery deterioration is no issue and this is the best I have found for the money, but the non-removable back worries me.
> Any and all help is appreciated.
> 
> Quickdraw996

Click to collapse



A lithium ion battery can lose upwards of 20% of its original capacity after ~500 cycles, the number most consider to be a battery's "life span". A large battery and slower drain mean not only will the battery last longer in a day-to-day sense, but will last longer in terms of overall lifetime/durability. With how long the battery seems to be lasting on the ZMAX, you should easily get 1.5 years of heavy use, or even 2 years of moderate use before you get to that up-to-20%-less point.


----------



## QuickNET Tech (Nov 8, 2014)

*I'm starting to question quality...*



Planterz said:


> A lithium ion battery can lose upwards of 20% of its original capacity after ~500 cycles, the number most consider to be a battery's "life span". A large battery and slower drain mean not only will the battery last longer in a day-to-day sense, but will last longer in terms of overall lifetime/durability. With how long the battery seems to be lasting on the ZMAX, you should easily get 1.5 years of heavy use, or even 2 years of moderate use before you get to that up-to-20%-less point.

Click to collapse



Such a GREAT PHONE for such a LOW PRICE make me question the build quality. As I've said this will probably be my next phone but with ZTE's track record (I've heard they've gotten better) I fear that they have cut corners somewhere.
Thenn again I had similar worries when I bought my sero 7 pro  (really cheap tablet, great specs and feature set).
Maybe I'm worrying too much.
Thanks for the speedy reply.
Quickdraw996


----------



## asrr62 (Nov 8, 2014)

Build quality is pretty good. I've had some problems with Motorola phones and this is way better quality than that of my droid x2 and droid razr I've bought in the past. electronics are usually hit or miss. its just a fact of life that they are using slaves in china to make the phones, and thats most brands.


----------



## michael_ta315 (Nov 10, 2014)

lol talking about built quality, yesterday got into a big fight with the honey boo boo, threw my zte across the room like a frisbee, hit the wall, left a half an inch deep mark. Landed on the carpet. Phone showed ZERO mark.

This thing is pretty solid.

either that or my wall is really soft.. hmm


----------



## jsteal55 (Nov 10, 2014)

michael_ta315 said:


> lol talking about built quality, yesterday got into a big fight with the honey boo boo, threw my zte across the room like a frisbee, hit the wall, left a half an inch deep mark. Landed on the carpet. Phone showed ZERO mark.
> 
> This thing is pretty solid.
> 
> either that or my wall is really soft.. hmm

Click to collapse



Your wall is not soft I dropped my zmax 3x out my lap in a FedEx van hit the ground and it only has a very small mark you can hardly see on the side of it this thing is strong


----------



## Christopherlh84 (Nov 10, 2014)

I bought a case off ebay really liking it so far. Also the batter on this phone is awsome. Hope to find a root for it soon.


----------



## QuickNET Tech (Nov 11, 2014)

I know it's a little far out there but could a senior member contact chainfire (me being new I doubt he'll ever recieve a message or respond) to see what files we would have to send him to get this phone rooted. The thread (they also dont have a forum yet) for the new samsung galaxy avant was where we are at now and they sent him a few device specific files (honestly can't remember which ones) and he got the avant rooted in no time.
I don't have this phone YET so I can't do it but whoever can will be much appreciated.

Sent from my LGL34C (a.k.a. complete $h!t) using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## Planterz (Nov 11, 2014)

Quickdraw996 said:


> I know it's a little far out there but could a senior member contact chainfire (me being new I doubt he'll ever recieve a message or respond) to see what files we would have to send him to get this phone rooted. The thread (they also dont have a forum yet) for the new samsung galaxy avant was where we are at now and they sent him a few device specific files (honestly can't remember which ones) and he got the avant rooted in no time.
> I don't have this phone YET so I can't do it but whoever can will be much appreciated.

Click to collapse



Chainfire is a wizard with Samsung devices, but his Autoroot method only works on them because it works an exploit through Odin (a proprietary Samsung tool). It works with Nexuses too, but that's because a Nexus is a Nexus. But the ZTE ZMAX is neither a Samsung nor works with Odin. I'm not saying the man couldn't do the job, but he'd need the device in hand, and a lot of time he'd probably rather spend doing something else.


----------



## QuickNET Tech (Nov 11, 2014)

Well some one has to know someone

(also thanks for the info, didn't know that about chainfire, all I knew was he was one of the best)

Sent from my LGL34C using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## loner6996 (Nov 11, 2014)

Planterz said:


> Chainfire is a wizard with Samsung devices, but his Autoroot method only works on them because it works an exploit through Odin (a proprietary Samsung tool). It works with Nexuses too, but that's because a Nexus is a Nexus. But the ZTE ZMAX is neither a Samsung nor works with Odin. I'm not saying the man couldn't do the job, but he'd need the device in hand, and a lot of time he'd probably rather spend doing something else.

Click to collapse



Well money is a great motivator.


----------



## asrr62 (Nov 11, 2014)

There's also the legendary hashcode. That guy is awesome. He works around the bootloaders for anything. He did the kindle fire and does a lot of Verizon phones that are really locked down as much as possible.


----------



## IBeMe (Nov 11, 2014)

just got metro pcs
has 4.4.4
everything great!


----------



## michael_ta315 (Nov 11, 2014)

IBeMe said:


> just got metro pcs
> has 4.4.4
> everything great!

Click to collapse



you mean 4.4.2?


----------



## IBeMe (Nov 11, 2014)

michael_ta315 said:


> you mean 4.4.2?

Click to collapse



4.4.4


----------



## epeets (Nov 11, 2014)

IBeMe said:


> 4.4.4

Click to collapse



There is currently only 4.4.2 on the ZMAX so unless you have another device that's the version of kit kat you're rocking. Screenshot please if you're indeed on 4.4.4.


----------



## IBeMe (Nov 11, 2014)

it's 4.4.4 metro PCS build
don't know how to do a screenshot


----------



## IBeMe (Nov 11, 2014)

if this works, screenshot


----------



## JoePUNK (Nov 12, 2014)

Ok. Ive been trying to figure this out for too darn long now. The dolby digital plus doesnt seem to work when using any bluetooth device. 

Anyone know how to get this to work?


----------



## nikkdotcom (Nov 12, 2014)

How the bloody hell did that happen?!? 4.4.4 on Metro, but not T-Mobile. The Metro community will eventually get it rooted.


----------



## Planterz (Nov 12, 2014)

nikkdotcom said:


> How the bloody hell did that happen?!? 4.4.4 on Metro, but not T-Mobile. The Metro community will eventually get it rooted.

Click to collapse



No kidding. The Galaxy Light on MetroPCS has 4.4.2, while us with the T-Mobile version are still stuck on 4.2.2. I've thought about switching from T-Mo to Metro and saving a few bucks since it's all the same (and I'm not on any payment plan). But maybe a better reason to switch would be to get software updates...


----------



## michael_ta315 (Nov 12, 2014)

ya if this metropcs gets lollipop imma flip..


----------



## jvs60 (Nov 12, 2014)

Are there any good apps that will wake the phone without pressing the power button?


----------



## T3mpr1x (Nov 12, 2014)

Planterz said:


> No kidding. The Galaxy Light on MetroPCS has 4.4.2, while us with the T-Mobile version are still stuck on 4.2.2. I've thought about switching from T-Mo to Metro and saving a few bucks since it's all the same (and I'm not on any payment plan). But maybe a better reason to switch would be to get software updates...

Click to collapse



Is it really that big of a deal though? I mean, I understand if we never got an update to Lollipop, which would suck...But what're the differences between 4.4.2 and 4.4.4?


----------



## michael_ta315 (Nov 12, 2014)

jvs60 said:


> Are there any good apps that will wake the phone without pressing the power button?

Click to collapse



as far as my knowledge goes it would require root.


----------



## Vyrus69 (Nov 12, 2014)

T3mpr1x said:


> Is it really that big of a deal though? I mean, I understand if we never got an update to Lollipop, which would suck...But what're the differences between 4.4.2 and 4.4.4?

Click to collapse



Mainly background and system stuff, nothing too different on the front end.

Over on the Android forums there are quite a few dedicated Metro devs, so hopefully one of them gets root for us soon, I expect within a few weeks.  This phone is too good to NOT have root.


----------



## Qiangong2 (Nov 13, 2014)

What about 360 root? I haven't seen anyone try it yet.

Link: shuaji. 360. cn/root/


----------



## mezkal24 (Nov 13, 2014)

Qiangong2 said:


> What about 360 root? I haven't seen anyone try it yet.
> 
> Link: shuaji. 360. cn/root/

Click to collapse



Just tried and it did not work.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## shabbypenguin (Nov 13, 2014)

Planterz said:


> Chainfire is a wizard with Samsung devices, but his Autoroot method only works on them because it works an exploit through Odin (a proprietary Samsung tool). It works with Nexuses too, but that's because a Nexus is a Nexus. But the ZTE ZMAX is neither a Samsung nor works with Odin. I'm not saying the man couldn't do the job, but he'd need the device in hand, and a lot of time he'd probably rather spend doing something else.

Click to collapse



Cf-Root works by flashing a modded recovery partition via a low level bootloader mode. cf-root can work on any device that has an unlocked bootloader and can have images flashed to it via a tool, odin/fastboot are examples.


----------



## KCoATX (Nov 13, 2014)

Nvmd


----------



## Vyrus69 (Nov 13, 2014)

One Dev told me that our best chance at root would be using the ASEC exploit, otherwise it may be by January or February before root is obtained for our device.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2783750

Also it looks like the Moto G is locked down pretty similar to this device, so maybe the same root method works as well:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-x/orig-development/root-4-4-x-pie-motorola-devices-t2771623/


----------



## Qiangong2 (Nov 13, 2014)

mezkal24 said:


> Just tried and it did not work.

Click to collapse



Darn. I thought that might work since shendu, shuame, dashi, and baidu root all don't work. 

---------- Post added at 03:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:44 PM ----------

Just found out through handy google translate that the ZTE ZMAX was never released in China, which probably means that no Chinese root software or rom will appear anytime soon.  I also found out that it was codenamed Olympia when it was first in development.

Source: http://www.qqpaopao.com/qq/1742.html


----------



## ubigred (Nov 14, 2014)

^more bad news 

Sent from my SGNote 3


----------



## [email protected] (Nov 14, 2014)

*did you ever figure it out?*



stinkbud said:


> Has anyone managed to root this beast> I have had mine for a few days and I have tried several methods unsuccessfully. I am not anywhere near as good as some of the people on developing for android on XDA but I can follow directions when they are presented clearly. The one click route doesn't seem to work with this phone and the universal guide doesn't work either. ANyone have advice?

Click to collapse



  Did you ever figure it out???


----------



## stinkbud (Nov 14, 2014)

[email protected] said:


> Did you ever figure it out???

Click to collapse



I basically gave up. I am no dev and I am sure that people with better skills than I are out there and hopefully they want Zmax root as much as we all do.


----------



## RaiderWill (Nov 14, 2014)

shabbypenguin said:


> Cf-Root works by flashing a modded recovery partition via a low level bootloader mode. cf-root can work on any device that has an unlocked bootloader

Click to collapse



Hey Guys & Gals.. 
I thought I would look in to see if you obtained root yet..
When I had the Zmax, I even tried E-Mailing ZTE and requested whatever was needed to unlock the bootloader.. I explained that I Owned The Device Outright.. And I wanted Admin Access to have total control over my device's software..

They ducked and dodged my request.

Answering my question with questions..  

The bootloader has to get unlocked to have any success.. Maybe one of you will have better luck with ZTE than I did..

Good Luck All.  :good:


----------



## shabbypenguin (Nov 14, 2014)

RaiderWill said:


> Hey Guys & Gals..
> I thought I would look in to see if you obtained root yet..
> When I had the Zmax, I even tried E-Mailing ZTE and requested whatever was needed to unlock the bootloader.. I explained that I Owned The Device Outright.. And I wanted Admin Access to have total control over my device's software..
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Why do you think the bootloader is locked? Ive never heard of a locked ZTE devices.

the asec exploit i mentioned needs to be tailored per model, you cant just use any  random phones root. add to that this will probably have the low level system read write protection zte has been enabling and i think many people are going to be disappointed even if you guys do get root.


----------



## RaiderWill (Nov 14, 2014)

shabbypenguin said:


> Why do you think the bootloader is locked? Ive never heard of a locked ZTE devices.

Click to collapse



I certainly don't have anywhere near your level of expertise sir.. 
My assumption was based off of the Qualcomm MSM8926 being pretty "Standard Faire" as far as the SoC was concerned.

So I just assumed it was ZTE inflicting the damage via the bootloader.

I was just as desperate as everyone else is / was to get the thing rooted to at least use Xposed Mods ( The ZTE software is damn near stock Android which is nice ) so, I thought I would hit ZTE up and see what they said concerning the Zmax..

I could very well have been WAY off base... but I wanted to exhaust every option before I returned it and purchased the Note 4.


----------



## Vyrus69 (Nov 14, 2014)

I had no luck with ZTE myself.  They are pretty stubborn, let alone releasing any source info either.

It's just something that we may have to wait out and see what happens.


----------



## voidcomp (Nov 14, 2014)

I sent an inquiry to ZTE USA through twitter the other day.  So far no answer.  I also sent a pm to one of the dev's here asking if he might tackle rooting and what type of financial support he might require (he no doubt would have to purchase it first).  We've had a few posts expressing their willingness to contribute, anyone else?


----------



## hoodred (Nov 15, 2014)

shabbypenguin said:


> Why do you think the bootloader is locked? Ive never heard of a locked ZTE devices.
> 
> the asec exploit i mentioned needs to be tailored per model, you cant just use any  random phones root. add to that this will probably have the low level system read write protection zte has been enabling and i think many people are going to be disappointed even if you guys do get root.

Click to collapse



Adb reboot-bootloader or fastboot will only reboot back normally


----------



## shabbypenguin (Nov 15, 2014)

RaiderWill said:


> I certainly don't have anywhere near your level of expertise sir..
> My assumption was based off of the Qualcomm MSM8926 being pretty "Standard Faire" as far as the SoC was concerned.
> 
> So I just assumed it was ZTE inflicting the damage via the bootloader.
> ...

Click to collapse



I love my note 4 its awesome .

anyways the only way to know if it has a locked bootloader is if you were to decompile the aboot or flash a custom image and it gave a security warning etc. the reason cf-root can work is because the phones he builds it for can boot into a mode that allows unsigned images to be flashed via a computer. since zte doesnt have that you cant flash anything outside of booting up in the rom, which would require root to write an image.



hoodred said:


> Adb reboot-bootloader or fastboot will only reboot back normally

Click to collapse



afaik zte uses FTM mode and doesnt use fastboot.


----------



## RaiderWill (Nov 15, 2014)

shabbypenguin said:


> I love my note 4 its awesome .
> 
> anyways the zte cant flash anything outside of booting up in the rom.

Click to collapse



I'm with you Shabby.. 
I returned my Zmax last weekend and purchased the Note 4 as well.. Samsung's Flagship has no equal.. 
I hope the code for the Zmax gets cracked.. it just makes no sense for ZTE, T-Mobile, MetroPCS to not allow admin access.

This is NOT by accident.. One of them is doing this on purpose. 

The Wal-Mart Univision version of the Zmax (Still on T-Mo) is only $199.00.. 10 of you chip in $20 and get a developer the phone.

That's going to be your only way of getting Experienced Assistance and obtaining Root ( Admin ) Access.

Good Luck..


----------



## shabbypenguin (Nov 15, 2014)

RaiderWill said:


> I'm with you Shabby..
> I returned my Zmax last weekend and purchased the Note 4 as well.. Samsung's Flagship has no equal..
> I hope the code for the Zmax gets cracked.. it just makes no sense for ZTE, T-Mobile, MetroPCS to not allow admin access.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



They update the security on the devices to prevent malware, no one is actively blocking root. you just need an exploit, all teh current ones have been patched. what is good about that is someone cant take towelroot and repackage it as a root installing malware (like droiddream did with gingerbreak and rageagainstthecage) costing phone owners money.

it sucks that people have to wait for a new exploit its not the end of the world and if root is truly that important i would suggets holding off on buying a device until root has been achieved.


----------



## recepo1 (Nov 15, 2014)

So i still have my ZTE max and yesterday got the Galaxy Note Edge. I will be returning the Note Edge within the 14 day period. Coming fron the ZTE max i really cant see myself spending so much money for a phone anymore thr Note Edge is 870 plus tax. I now see that a phone doesnt need the top tier specs to be my daily driver. Im over Samsung basically a bunch of gimmicks that i dont end up using.


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Nov 15, 2014)

shabbypenguin said:


> They update the security on the devices to prevent malware, no one is actively blocking root. you just need an exploit, all teh current ones have been patched. what is good about that is someone cant take towelroot and repackage it as a root installing malware (like droiddream did with gingerbreak and rageagainstthecage) costing phone owners money.
> 
> it sucks that people have to wait for a new exploit its not the end of the world and if root is truly that important i would suggets holding off on buying a device until root has been achieved.

Click to collapse



Are you sure that the security updates are meant also for blocking root?  I own an lg g3 at&t. They just released a software update and the normal way of rooting using STUMP no longer works for people who has updated. 

Sent from my rockin' LG G3 D850 sailing wonderfully with @timmytim's CM11


----------



## shabbypenguin (Nov 15, 2014)

coletague said:


> Are you sure that the security updates are meant also for blocking root?  I own an lg g3 at&t. They just released a software update and the normal way of rooting using STUMP no longer works for people who has updated.
> 
> Sent from my rockin' LG G3 D850 sailing wonderfully with @timmytim's CM11

Click to collapse



What i mean is they dont just roll out updates to break root, they push updates for bug fixes, security concerns and general phone enhancements/improvements. part of that is patching exploits.


----------



## RaiderWill (Nov 16, 2014)

recepo1 said:


> So i still have my ZTE max and yesterday got the Galaxy Note Edge. I will be returning the Note Edge within the 14 day period. Coming fron the ZTE max i really cant see myself spending so much money for a phone anymore thr Note Edge is 870 plus tax. I now see that a phone doesnt need the top tier specs to be my daily driver. Im over Samsung basically a bunch of gimmicks that i dont end up using.

Click to collapse



Good for you recepo.. 
If the Note series has too much going on for you.. the Zmax is your $199.00 ticket to happiness..:good:
I fortunately.. don't have a problem paying for the Note 4 and I want what displaymate calls "The Best Screen Ever Put On A Smartphone" I want the 2,700 mHz  Snapdragon 805 CPu..which for today,  is the best processor on the planet.. and we have a kernel that cranks it up to 3,000 mHz of killer power.. I want the 2560 x 1600 Quad-HD display.. I want the Adreno 420 gaming GPu designed for the Quad-HD display.. I want the Deep Blacks that SuperAmoled  gives you.. I want the S-Pen, Note Apps and overall functionality that makes the Note not only the Strongest Entertainment device on the market.. but also the most Productive.. 

And finally I want Root & Roms  with O/C kernels along with a touch of Xposed Modules to customize my investment.. 

Someone a long time ago told me NEVER be afraid to pay for the best.. because you get what you pay for.

I'm  Enjoying MUCH, MUCH more than I could have ever imagined with my Samsung Galaxy Note 4.   

I'm glad the Zmax gives you the same thrill. :good:


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## recepo1 (Nov 16, 2014)

RaiderWill said:


> Good for you recepo..
> If the Note series has too much going on for you.. the Zmax is your $199.00 ticket to happiness..:good:
> I fortunately.. don't have a problem paying for the Note 4 and I want what displaymate calls "The Best Screen Ever Put On A Smartphone" I want the 2,700 mHz  Snapdragon 805 CPu..which for today,  is the best processor on the planet.. and we have a kernel that cranks it up to 3,000 mHz of killer power.. I want the 2560 x 1600 Quad-HD display.. I want the Adreno 420 gaming GPu designed for the Quad-HD display.. I want the Deep Blacks that SuperAmoled  gives you.. I want the S-Pen, Note Apps and overall functionality that makes the Note not only the Strongest Entertainment device on the market.. but also the most Productive..
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Yea likewise i realize end of the day a phone is a phone the Note 4 will be outdated in practically 6-8 months with a newer phone with all better specs never ending process. Coming from all the Notes to LG G3 which screen is still better then the Note 4 i choose not to spend hundreds on a phone that wont even excite me in a few months span.


----------



## hoodred (Nov 16, 2014)

shabbypenguin said:


> I love my note 4 its awesome .
> 
> anyways the only way to know if it has a locked bootloader is if you were to decompile the aboot or flash a custom image and it gave a security warning etc. the reason cf-root can work is because the phones he builds it for can boot into a mode that allows unsigned images to be flashed via a computer. since zte doesnt have that you cant flash anything outside of booting up in the rom, which would require root to write an image.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



FTM mode or QPST inaccessible


----------



## recepo1 (Nov 16, 2014)

jvs60 said:


> Are there any good apps that will wake the phone without pressing the power button?

Click to collapse



I use Awesome On Off Ultimate


----------



## thomasmbl (Nov 18, 2014)

*Let's get back on track for routing*

Try this from zte max  CVhttp://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2661408


----------



## justmpm (Nov 18, 2014)

Hi Everyone,
I did a little thread cleaning to remove some of the arguments about different devices.  The moderators typically remove any device comparison threads because they quickly turn into arguments about which device is better and it can quickly turn sour.  This thread was going in that direction and that is why I cleaned it up.  Please remember that every person is unique and they value some features more than others and some people value the status of having a flagship phone, while other people may prefer to have a phone that they can let their 4 year old play with.  So please, can we try not to argue about phones, because it really comes down to personal opinions and nothing more.

Thanks!


----------



## voidcomp (Nov 18, 2014)

ZTE smartphone shipments surges 42% worldwide in Q3 - http://www.telecomtiger.com/Corporate_fullstory.aspx?storyid=20826&section=S162

It's pwning


----------



## Vyrus69 (Nov 18, 2014)

justmpm said:


> Hi Everyone,
> I did a little thread cleaning to remove some of the arguments about different devices.  The moderators typically remove any device comparison threads because they quickly turn into arguments about which device is better and it can quickly turn sour.  This thread was going in that direction and that is why I cleaned it up.  Please remember that every person is unique and they value some features more than others and some people value the status of having a flagship phone, while other people may prefer to have a phone that they can let their 4 year old play with.  So please, can we try not to argue about phones, because it really comes down to personal opinions and nothing more.
> 
> Thanks!

Click to collapse



Thanks for that, appreciate it...any way to get a dedicated forum for the phone?


----------



## mingolianbeef (Nov 18, 2014)

Vyrus69 said:


> Thanks for that, appreciate it...any way to get a dedicated forum for the phone?

Click to collapse



From my experience with XDA, the phone has to sort of have some possibility for development before they dedicate resources (server space, moderators, etc.) To a device. On the simplest levels, ZTE doesn't even comply with GPL by releasing source as requested, they flat out ignore you. Hopefully it changes though!

However, if someone can get me a system dump and a copy of the stock recovery we can make moves happen. Though I'm sure it won't be a cakewalk, I'm sure a dirty port of a stock lollipop or a cm11 ROM would be fairly easy, especially since I have been reading claims that the boot loader is unlocked out of the box! I did it back in my golden day with the Evo 3D before getting into source builds (which I can't do because WiFi is off and I'm sure TMo wouldn't be too happy about me using 15+ gigs for that purpose).

Needless to say, while I haven't dabbled in development in a year or so, I hate stock ROMs with no mods as much as the next guy, so I offer my assistance and knowledge to the ZMAX community!

Side note: this phone is quite enjoyable. I do have issues with multitasking at times, but the screen is very nice (coming from a 1080p One M7) and for most none super resource hungry tasks, its a great phone!


----------



## recepo1 (Nov 18, 2014)

mingolianbeef said:


> From my experience with XDA, the phone has to sort of have some possibility for development before they dedicate resources (server space, moderators, etc.) To a device. On the simplest levels, ZTE doesn't even comply with GPL by releasing source as requested, they flat out ignore you. Hopefully it changes though!
> 
> However, if someone can get me a system dump and a copy of the stock recovery we can make moves happen. Though I'm sure it won't be a cakewalk, I'm sure a dirty port of a stock lollipop or a cm11 ROM would be fairly easy, especially since I have been reading claims that the boot loader is unlocked out of the box! I did it back in my golden day with the Evo 3D before getting into source builds (which I can't do because WiFi is off and I'm sure TMo wouldn't be too happy about me using 15+ gigs for that purpose).
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



How would one go about getting a system dump and copy of the stock recovery?


----------



## mingolianbeef (Nov 18, 2014)

recepo1 said:


> How would one go about getting a system dump and copy of the stock recovery?

Click to collapse



Like I said i haven't dabbled in a year or so, so if there is a newer faster way let me know! But if there is a chance in hell your device isnt on 4.4.2, download the update and remove it from your SD card.  Otherwise, you would have to use "dd" commands in adb to backup every one of your phones partitions, and extract from there.


----------



## recepo1 (Nov 18, 2014)

mingolianbeef said:


> Like I said i haven't dabbled in a year or so, so if there is a newer faster way let me know! But if there is a chance in hell your device isnt on 4.4.2, download the update and remove it from your SD card.  Otherwise, you would have to use "dd" commands in adb to backup every one of your phones partitions, and extract from there.

Click to collapse



Yea my phone is on 4.4.2 it updated fresh out the box


----------



## jsteal55 (Nov 19, 2014)

Will this info help

---------- Post added at 02:32 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:30 AM ----------




nikkdotcom said:


> Does any of this information help us find the right mod string for our device in TowelRoot? The bootloader being locked is no good.
> 
> I'm starting to think this phone purchase might have been a mistake. Although, if the phone lands on MetroPCS like it has been rumored then you will definitely see some sort of development. In my experience MetroPCS devices have a great developer community.

Click to collapse



Is the info the system dump

---------- Post added at 02:36 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:32 AM ----------

The link in trying to show is on page 11 of this app

---------- Post added at 02:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:36 AM ----------

Does anyone know how to boot the zte zmax into recovery


----------



## asrr62 (Nov 19, 2014)

Power+ Volume Up= Recovery mode. Power+ Vol down= FTM screen


----------



## iadroiddude (Nov 19, 2014)

Has anyone seen this webpage....
upgrade-lollipop.org


----------



## jsteal55 (Nov 19, 2014)

No

---------- Post added at 04:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:52 AM ----------

￼ suppose to be free but not when you click on it


----------



## iadroiddude (Nov 19, 2014)

I found it interesting myself....i dare not try it


----------



## jsteal55 (Nov 19, 2014)

Smh


----------



## iadroiddude (Nov 19, 2014)

I kind of thought for the # of people who would like to see this puppy get rooted, and yet only 3 comments on that, sounds fishy to me....we could hope it was real though, right?


----------



## asrr62 (Nov 19, 2014)

leave it alone. run, run far far away from that site, its just a scam of some sort. i saw it too when i typed zmax lollipop to google. and i knew it was fake without clicking on it. its sad stuff like that is on the internet really.


----------



## gottago (Nov 19, 2014)

> Side note: this phone is quite enjoyable. I do have issues with multitasking at times, but the screen is very nice (coming from a 1080p One M7) and for most none super resource hungry tasks, its a great phone!

Click to collapse



Speaking of multitasking, does anybody know of an app that will allow screen split on the ZMax without root?


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## QuickNET Tech (Nov 19, 2014)

The only way I know is through the app "floating apps free multitask" that is free on the play store. You can also snap windows.

Sent from my LGL34C using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## gottago (Nov 19, 2014)

Quickdraw996 said:


> The only way I know is through the app "floating apps free multitask" that is free on the play store. You can also snap windows.
> 
> Sent from my LGL34C using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Thanks Quickdraw. I'll try this and hopefully it'll work for me.


----------



## QuickNET Tech (Nov 19, 2014)

Free version is ok but paid (or lucky patch-ed) version is better.

Sent from my LGL34C using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## jsteal55 (Nov 20, 2014)

I use split view multi screen app


----------



## perrisiam (Nov 21, 2014)

Have my zmax for a few days now, would like to post my review;

Metro version, paid 250 but got a 50 buck rebate

First, I came off of the samsung mega, which I loved until the kitkat update, which is absolutely the worst update I have ever tried on an android, really bogged down the low end hardware of the mega, which only has a dual core

 now the boot loader is locked and I cannot find a sound and safe root 

Then I broke the screen, and replacing the screen was only a couple less then trying the zmax so zmax I got.

The zmax has a smaller screen then the mega, and it's almost the same size overall, I can't gloss over that, if I could get an even bigger screen I would so that's one complaint in comparison to the mega, the bigger screen on the mega was the only reason i did not get the note

The zmax also has kitkat and there is no root for the kat on this phone yet either, however the zmax is such a  trimmed down bare bones version of android that there isn't much more I would do with root privilege, this phone has a quadcore, the mega is dual, zmax is MUCH faster then the mega running kitkat, and even a little faster then mega was on the bean, programs snap to, close fast, the phone comes right up, on the mega the phone lagged for what seemed like seconds once I "upgraded" to kitkat.

In addition, disabling a program in settings keeps it from loading at boot too so I don't really need root to get rid of what little bloat is on this phone.

The speaker seems the same quality and volume, I know on the web they say it's small for a big phone but I don't notice a difference over the mega, that might be me though, don't trust me on that cuz I am not doing side by side db tests

A few things to get used to, the screen buttons need to be pushed harder then any other phone I've had.

*IMPORTANT...the "recent apps" which is usually on the home button long hold is on the menu button on the zmax.
* This is important to know, I thought I lost the recent apps button on this phone and it took bummed me out, was great finding I still have that function
It might be my imagination but I think the 4g antennae handles more bandwidth as I seem to get 5 mgs more with the zmax then I did with the mega.

This phone has sharper edges then the mega, feels much smaller in the hand and is easier to hold for me, I have medium sized hands and holding either phone is not an issue for me

Battery life on all big phones is not an issue as the battery is commensurately larger then smaller phones

Another thing

I was dissapointed I did not have the option to move apps to the sd card and wanted root just for that, but just found out by installing the app called "move app to sd card", on this phone it seems the sd card is shared by the hardrive  so there is no need to move apps to the card!, to me that is a great solution and one I would prefer if given a choice

Am looking forward to root but I really do not know what I am going to do with it since the phone  has a stripped down os already, and is set up close to what I did on the mega when I had root

After thought, wanted to double check os version for this review, this is preloaded with 4.4.4


----------



## QuickNET Tech (Nov 21, 2014)

gottago said:


> Thanks Quickdraw. I'll try this and hopefully it'll work for me.

Click to collapse



How is it working gottago.
Also if you haven't figured it out yet, (it took me awhile) you can snap windows via the menu in the top left of some windows. 

Sent from my LGL34C using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## revwillie (Nov 21, 2014)

I was at the Tmobile store today and looked at one of these.  It's too damn big for me, but to each his own.  

Walmart is selling it for $180  http://www.walmart.com/ip/Wal-Mart-Family-Mobile-ZTE-Zmax-Pre-Paid-Smartphone/39150756


----------



## that-one-GEEKuBANGED (Nov 21, 2014)

*Hm yes,*

I'VE OWNED this phone for about 4 months now and couldn't be happier. j totally worth every dime and then some.  the HD quality is superb, the processor holds it down no problemo, and the RAM assures a speedy, efficient workstation.  I highly recommend getting your favorite keyboard with it, making sure to utilize its beaufiul dissplay for any HD wallpapers or for viewing some of my personal favorites from the archives; The Tainted Trail, A Spoke now Broken, and finally but certainly not the least, Spreaddimus Maximus.  Adult films that brought tears to my eyes and eye.  hah. anywho, yea, the phone is wayyyyy better (in price to performance comparison)  to any other phone on the market, just get a case!!! ebay. hybrid impact case.  phone is just barely too big to get ur thumb safely catty-corner on the phone screen.  **heres a holding hint, keep your pinky underneath like a book holder would a book.**


----------



## gottago (Nov 21, 2014)

Quickdraw996 said:


> How is it working gottago.
> Also if you haven't figured it out yet, (it took me awhile) you can snap windows via the menu in the top left of some windows.
> 
> Sent from my LGL34C using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Once downloaded, I quickly realized that only certain apps can have separate windows, mainly those that are  programmed into the app. So, I continued to play with it and ultimately uninstalled. While the app worked well, it just didn't do what I wanted it to do.  Good recommendation, just didn't fit my needs.


----------



## mingolianbeef (Nov 21, 2014)

Trying to get root is harder than getting an immigration bill through congress!!! Ive been going at this for two days!!


----------



## QuickNET Tech (Nov 21, 2014)

gottago said:


> Once downloaded, I quickly realized that only certain apps can have separate windows, mainly those that are  programmed into the app. So, I continued to play with it and ultimately uninstalled. While the app worked well, it just didn't do what I wanted it to do.  Good recommendation, just didn't fit my needs.

Click to collapse



yeah, that's the downside. its limited but works well. its small in size so I keep it around for when I may need it. then again the xposed module xmultiwindow never worked right for me on other devices. It might be blasphemy but google should incorporate Samsung's multi-window into stock android. 

Sent from my LGL34C using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## michael_ta315 (Nov 23, 2014)

so far no root. buttt! I can enjoy my gba pokemon on the nice big screen running wayyyy longer than my nexus 5. ?


----------



## Raider1911 (Nov 23, 2014)

My Galaxy s2 died tragically, I saw this phone and snagged it from work (Walmart). Absolutely love it, but with my S2 I became a rom junky.  I'm yet another ZTE zmax owner that would chip in $$ for a developer to create a root for this device. I need my hacks/root! Someone please take pitty on us, hack root for us.

Thanks for reading.


----------



## domo325 (Nov 26, 2014)

Is it just me, or is the pre-installed Chrome browser very limited on this phone? I tried updating it, but the star and the 3 dots icons are still missing. Hope that makes sense. Any way to get the proper Chrome browser on this phone? Cannot seem to delete it.


----------



## jbatacan (Nov 26, 2014)

After having phones like the htc M8, this phone really blew me away. The build quality was great, no creaky plastics and it just felt good, albeit a little big in the hand. The screen even being 720p is sharp as heck, and i really dont notice seeing any pixels. But the biggest boon like others have said is the phenomenal battery life. Running with auto brightness, and wifi on the whole time including network, im on day 3 with 31 percent left, and 5 hours of screen on time. I used to be a rom addict, from my G1 all the way to my M8, and i just dont feel the need for root these days like i used to so i could overclock and smoothen the android experience. It just works now and is smooth as hell, and for 252, i would really give this phone a shot. Just needs more cases from bigger names like trident and whatnot!


----------



## Raider1911 (Nov 26, 2014)

jbatacan said:


> After having phones like the htc M8, this phone really blew me away. The build quality was great, no creaky plastics and it just felt good, albeit a little big in the hand. The screen even being 720p is sharp as heck, and i really dont notice seeing any pixels. But the biggest boon like others have said is the phenomenal battery life. Running with auto brightness, and wifi on the whole time including network, im on day 3 with 31 percent left, and 5 hours of screen on time. I used to be a rom addict, from my G1 all the way to my M8, and i just dont feel the need for root these days like i used to so i could overclock and smoothen the android experience. It just works now and is smooth as hell, and for 252, i would really give this phone a shot. Just needs more cases from bigger names like trident and whatnot!

Click to collapse



I'm extremely happy with the phone myself, I just need root access.    Not even worried about roms yet.


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Nov 26, 2014)

Raider1911 said:


> I'm extremely happy with the phone myself, I just need root access.    Not even worried about roms yet.

Click to collapse



Do you think that this phone will actually get root? I have a gut feeling that it won't. Kinda reminds me of the Verizon moto g. Every other variant of the moto g has an easily unlockable boot loader method but nope no love for the Verizon prepaid variant. No root either really. Well there is now 9 months later but you have to be on an older firmware and you have to pay 25 bucks to someone to unlock it. I wish you guys the best of luck. I hoped for so long that the Verizon moto g would get development but it's the worse one. I picked it up for $70 new.  I ended up getting a g3 and then months after that they came out with the boot loader unlock for $25 and no development for it. Better luck guys. 

Sent from my "sweet" LG G3 running @AndroidUser00110001's CM12


----------



## perrisiam (Nov 26, 2014)

coletague said:


> Do you think that this phone will actually get root? I have a gut feeling that it won't. Kinda reminds me of the Verizon moto g. Every other variant of the moto g has an easily unlockable boot loader method but nope no love for the Verizon prepaid variant. No root either really. Well there is now 9 months later but you have to be on an older firmware and you have to pay 25 bucks to someone to unlock it. I wish you guys the best of luck. I hoped for so long that the Verizon moto g would get development but it's the worse one. I picked it up for $70 new.  I ended up getting a g3 and then months after that they came out with the boot loader unlock for $25 and no development for it. Better luck guys.
> 
> Sent from my rockin' LG G3 D850 sailing wonderfully with @timmytim's CM11

Click to collapse



Frankly, this phone is so much faster without root then my samsung mega with root, I am at least satisfied as it stands, not thrilled as there are a few more things I would like to do, but quite satisfied.

I think this phone is becoming so popular a bounty might be posted


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Nov 26, 2014)

Yeah. It's crazy that you guys have literally tried every single one click root lol and Nada. But the zte max on boost is rootable right and you guys already tried that method. Im willing to be .01¢ that that phone will never get permanent root along with unlocking the boot loader lol. One cent is the funny part not the other stuff. 

Sent from my rockin' LG G3 D850 sailing wonderfully with @timmytim's CM11


----------



## brite977 (Nov 26, 2014)

Pulled the trigger and bought this phone. Coming from the Lg L9, this phone is immensely better/bigger. Really hope though for a root to come out soon!


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## ubigred (Nov 27, 2014)

Is there anyone even attempting root on this phone? 

Sent from my SGNote 3


----------



## Raider1911 (Nov 27, 2014)

For the T-Mobile network this phone is the best bang for the $$.  It's a really nice, fast, and stable phone. Battery life is insane!!.  I can't get myself to return it for another phone. I use Family Mobile, so I dont need the tmobile apps, and there's a few other items I'd like to remove. There's also a few apps I like to run, that require root access .

There's many people in this thread already willing to pay for a legit root, and I would be one of them.:good:


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Nov 27, 2014)

Do you guys wish it had software keys instead?

"Hmm, I like the candy
I like the chocolate
The ice-cream is very good
But...I just love my lollipop"
Alexandra Stan


----------



## melcali (Nov 27, 2014)

Just got the phone

Was worried about the capacitive buttons. Some comments claim that they require a harder than usual press. Mine are pretty sensitive. Date on box is october. Not sure if that means anything but maybe those who think their buttons require a good amount of pressure can check their date.

I am coming from a Z Ultra and Note 4. Compared to those two devices, this zmax holds its own its crazy. Almost like a nexus device. What really sold me was the 2gb of ram you get for $180-$252 and battery life that everyone claimed to be getting. 

The camera quality is okay for me but what is more important is the speed. This thing takes pics pretty quick and launches quick too.

The size does not bother me. I had the note 1, note 3 and 4 and z ultra so almost any large phone feels normal (except the z ultra)

Speakers are loud.
Screen is sharp and clear.
Apps launch quick and going in and out from other apps is smooth.
Battery life is crazy.



Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mingolianbeef (Nov 28, 2014)

I will say that this phone is great. Now coming from a SD600 HTC One M7 OC'd to god knows what with custom kernels and CM, the performance difference is very noticeable, but not unbearable. I love the phone though. Like others, no root is driving me up the wall lmao. But the phone is phenomenal, build is solid, battery is superb, screen is superb, and price is unbeatable!!


----------



## Shlickwilly (Nov 28, 2014)

Would love to see the inside of this unit.  Anyone taken the back off of this phone and willing to share some pics.?


----------



## melcali (Nov 28, 2014)

Pretty crazy battery life

First full charge battery life test. I never do any power saving stuff or care to turn off WiFi GPS on my phones. Auto brightness on, only lookout, gplay music, books, magazine,movies disabled.



Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## cbrjames (Nov 29, 2014)

Just picked mine up last night, and coming from a Note 3, i love this phone! Seems to be the general consensus on here. That, and wanting root. Can't imagine being able to tweak this phone.


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Nov 29, 2014)

Shouldn't screen on time have been over 12 hours?? Or it took 53 percent of the battery?

Sent from my LG-D850

---------- Post added at 03:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:32 PM ----------

That's absolutely amazing though man. Too bad it won't ever have root for the longest time if ever and even if it does getting a developer or two might be hard as well. Would love it if it had software buttons. 

Sent from my LG-D850


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Nov 29, 2014)

Sent from my LG-D850


----------



## melcali (Nov 30, 2014)

Got 10 hours of screen on time.

My previous usage posted above involved a lot of app downloading and downloading YouTube vids.

Also removed that proximity actions app which took 5% last time

Again...no attempt at conserving battery. This is a travellers dream phone. Especially those who travel a lot for business

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## john16v (Nov 30, 2014)

cbrjames said:


> Just picked mine up last night, and coming from a Note 3, i love this phone! Seems to be the general consensus on here. That, and wanting root. Can't imagine being able to tweak this phone.

Click to collapse



Hi,  I'm coming from a Note3 too.  (I 've been using samsung brand phones for quite somtime now)  Can you tell me (or anybody else?) if the zmax have anything similar to screen mirroring,  s beam, s voice  or smart stay? 

 I need a new phone  and the zmax seem to fit me just well.


----------



## Justsomeguywithaphone (Nov 30, 2014)

Fantastic phone at an amazing price. Just wish it had more in the department of development (ie Root). Once root access is acheived, this will be my favorite phone. SOooo much untapped potential!!!


----------



## KCoATX (Dec 1, 2014)

I've got a 100$ I will throw in for root

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## cbrjames (Dec 1, 2014)

john16v said:


> Hi,  I'm coming from a Note3 too.  (I 've been using samsung brand phones for quite somtime now)  Can you tell me (or anybody else?) if the zmax have anything similar to screen mirroring,  s beam, s voice  or smart stay?
> 
> I need a new phone  and the zmax seem to fit me just well.

Click to collapse



This phone doesn't have any of those options.  That I think is the only downfall of this phone.  It doesn't have the infared either to use any remote control apps.


----------



## shinkinrui (Dec 1, 2014)

Does anyone know what this "cast screen" option is? Is it Miracast? I'd prefer the Chromecast screen mirroring...


----------



## allen956 (Dec 2, 2014)

*coming from a Lg g2, Note 3, & Lg Flex.....*

I'll tell you, I love this phone. Nice snappy quad core, 2gb ram! For only 179.99 at Walmart right now. Even thou I got it for 129.99 after discount, I gotta say wow! I don't understand why there isn't any support for this phone? Maybe because its new and ZTE's best phone yet.  I would donate for a root... Omg the possibilities.. This phone would be a keeper for a long while with me.


----------



## brite977 (Dec 2, 2014)

I've encountered 2 bugs:
  1: The launcher crashes when I reach a certain page on the widgets drawer
  2: The messenger app crashes when I tap change bubble and background in settings
Has anyone else gotten these bugs? Numerous restarts and no luck. Hopefully Zte comes out with updates soon.

EDIT:
Clearing the data and force stopping both fixed the problem.
EDIT2: Still best phone.


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 2, 2014)

Everybody tweet @ZTE_USA and ask them for an ETA on lollipop!!! Lol


----------



## asrr62 (Dec 2, 2014)

Excellent idea. I don't think they are ever gonna let us know any plans otherwise.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Dec 2, 2014)

Never get root and in three months you'll have it. 

Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## perrisiam (Dec 2, 2014)

shinkinrui said:


> Does anyone know what this "cast screen" option is? Is it Miracast? I'd prefer the Chromecast screen mirroring...
> 
> View attachment 3042507
> View attachment 3042504

Click to collapse



I believe the cast screen is to mirror your phone screen to a compatible device' like tee vee

---------- Post added at 12:40 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:34 AM ----------

was looking for this a while ago and gave up, now, my new zte it did not support home screen in landscape mode, so off to the app store to find something that would do the trick.

Not only does "Set oriientation" allow for home screen landscape, it also allows for automatic 360 degree rotation, it works fast and so far without a glitch.

great stuff from this developer


----------



## lkchrono (Dec 3, 2014)

I use Nova Launcher as a replacement. I also like to put my home screen in landscape mode.


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 3, 2014)

I removed a lot of stuff. Whatever ZTE DID do to the software, makes the phone a horrible task manager. As much as i loathe the archaic "Jellybean" launcher, ill take that over lag anyday. But nonetheless...

I contacted ZTE China (not ZTE USA, they have sucky attitudes and bad customer service when it comes to developer inquiries). I saw in a thread way back when that i guy contacted them and they did in fact give an "ok" that thy were releasing kernel source for his phone, which gives me much hope. I also stated that i wanted to unlock the BL as well, and i inquired about Android Lollipop as well . Ive pestered another company like this in the past when i used to write for Androidspin.com, and the company (Hisense) did in fact release kernel source. Im sure the mobile world will get annoyed with my pestering and comply with GPL on the forefront one day. Until then... Lol


----------



## pipandales79 (Dec 3, 2014)

I bought this phone a couple of days ago, gave my wife my nexus 5 and she bought this for me. This is one beast of a phone, size and performance wise.  I bought a sim unlock code for 15 bucks and put a net10 att sim in it and for the most part it works flawlessly but when i'm away from home my mobile network signal will totally drop out and in the battery stats the mobile line will look like the awake line, the bar is choppy from the dropouts. I would take a screenshot of it but i just did a factory reset to see if it would help any.It doesn't seem to affect the battery much but it just don't seem right it. Would the Att sim have a weird reaction since it is a tmobile exclusive? And am i the only one that thinks its weird the settings icon in the app drawer is the old jelly bean one?


----------



## IBeMe (Dec 3, 2014)

mingolianbeef said:


> Ive pestered another company like this in the past...

Click to collapse



Squeaking wheel gets the oil.


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Dec 3, 2014)

Wow 15 bucks for an unlock code? I spent $1.60 on eBay for my lg g3

Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## theillone (Dec 3, 2014)

*Battery % indicator*

Does anyone know how to re-enable the battery percentage indicator. Mine is no longer being shown & I found it quite helpful.


----------



## ubigred (Dec 3, 2014)

Does this phone have NFC? 

Sent from my SGNote 3


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Dec 3, 2014)

I don't believe it does. I don't own the phone but don't hold your breath hoping it does just Cuz I don't own one. 

Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## melcali (Dec 3, 2014)

ubigred said:


> Does this phone have NFC?
> 
> Sent from my SGNote 3

Click to collapse



No NFC on the zmax

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## john16v (Dec 3, 2014)

theillone said:


> Does anyone know how to re-enable the battery percentage indicator. Mine is no longer being shown & I found it quite helpful.

Click to collapse



I could not find the % so I installed Power Toggles. Hope this help.


----------



## melcali (Dec 3, 2014)

theillone said:


> Does anyone know how to re-enable the battery percentage indicator. Mine is no longer being shown & I found it quite helpful.

Click to collapse



Didn't know it was possible for battery percentage in stock Rom without root or third party app. 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## john16v (Dec 3, 2014)

Is this the where the proximity sensor at? There is three dots there, is that right? 

Installed a Xtreme Shield Guard on the Zmax and notice the sensor isn't responding. Going peel it up and use a exacto knife to cut out a slot.

(Opps, I can't post a link...... post count too low! :silly


----------



## KCoATX (Dec 3, 2014)

It doesnt

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## melcali (Dec 3, 2014)

shinkinrui said:


> Does anyone know what this "cast screen" option is? Is it Miracast? I'd prefer the Chromecast screen mirroring...
> 
> View attachment 3042507
> View attachment 3042504

Click to collapse




screen mirroring through chromecast


----------



## pipandales79 (Dec 4, 2014)

coletague said:


> Wow 15 bucks for an unlock code? I spent $1.60 on eBay for my lg g3
> 
> Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



 I've seen some for free and some cost as much as $200


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Dec 4, 2014)

Insane so insane I don't believe. Show me some proof please

Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## clockcycle (Dec 4, 2014)

*ZTE HSUSB Device Drivers*

Does anyone have working drivers for this phone? I enabled developer mode and plugged it in. It shows an option to "install driver" but doesn't prompt me on the PC. Running Windows 7 64bit.

BTW Great phone, nothing wrong with the capacitive buttons at all and are comparable to any other phone with same/similar buttons in touch sensitivity IMO.

EDIT: which unlock provider(s) have you guys used, if any, and would recommend? I see then under $9 currently.

EDIT2: I used one of the UK unlockers claiming with in 10 mins delivery. Took much longer, but code supplied worked like a charm. For $9.52 #wurf!


----------



## clockcycle (Dec 4, 2014)

john16v said:


> Is this the where the proximity sensor at? There is three dots there, is that right?
> 
> Installed a Xtreme Shield Guard on the Zmax and notice the sensor isn't responding. Going peel it up and use a exacto knife to cut out a slot.
> 
> (Opps, I can't post a link...... post count too low! :silly

Click to collapse



TIP Make sure the screen protector has dried at least 24hrs before determining something doesn't work.

*COUPON CODE* for use on XtremeGuard: *CM90OFF* 90% sitewide (* I have nothing to do with them, I just use their stuff and usually find coupons*)


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## Raider1911 (Dec 5, 2014)

*Since we don't have a forum, couple quick reviews with nice alternative accessories from Ebay vs big box stores. I bought my phone from Walmart, and they dont have any accessories for this phone yet.*

*Screen Protectors*
I bought these screen protectors, they fit nicely with no issues. Nice quality, I have noticed some finger prints. I honestly cant complain at all. Definitely feel safe using these. I've used EZGuards for several of my phones, I find their quality on par with many of the brands for a lot less $$.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/231353474257?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

*I bought two different cases:*
     This one in blue. This case is huge, makes it that much harder to put in your pocket   Nice though, definitely will protect the phone. Just gaudy on our large phone already. It's a two piece unit, that snaps together with the rubber material that overlaps it all.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/281489581693?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&var=580525362677&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT















     This one also in blue. This case is nice, fits nice,  but its on the thinner side. I'm not sure how much it will actually protect the phone, but it's the one I'm using. Standard two piece hybrid. Silicone case, hard reinforcement piece.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/371188484687?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&var=640332174202&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT





The bottom is just twisted up from being pushed into my pocket, it straightens out and fits flush like it should.









Some side by side comparisons. 










Just some recommendations from a fellow Zmax user. Love this phone, just wish we had root..


----------



## john16v (Dec 5, 2014)

clockcycle said:


> TIP Make sure the screen protector has dried at least 24hrs before determining something doesn't work.
> 
> *COUPON CODE* for use on XtremeGuard: *CM90OFF* 90% sitewide (* I have nothing to do with them, I just use their stuff and usually find coupons*)

Click to collapse



Thanks for the reply! 

Yup, I waited 24hrs. before turning on the phone. Anyway, at first I didn't know where the proximity sensor was at but then realized the xtremeguard (wet app) was obstructing the sensor. 

I peel off little bit of protector and cut off a small piece around the sensor..... needless to say the gravity screen app work perfectly! 



Raider1911 said:


> *Since we don't have a forum, couple quick reviews with nice alternative accessories from Ebay vs big box stores. I bought my phone from Walmart, and they dont have any accessories for this phone yet.*
> 
> *Screen Protectors*
> I bought these screen protectors, they fit nicely with no issues. Nice quality, I have noticed some finger prints. I honestly cant complain at all. Definitely feel safe using these. I've used EZGuards for several of my phones, I find their quality on par with many of the brands for a lot less $$.

Click to collapse



How's the protector working out? Did your protector have a open slot around the proximity sensor? Did it anyway interfere with the sensor?


----------



## QuickNET Tech (Dec 5, 2014)

theillone said:


> Does anyone know how to re-enable the battery percentage indicator. Mine is no longer being shown & I found it quite helpful.

Click to collapse



I'm not sure if the supplies for your phone but for my phone it is under the "battery" settings as shown.

Sent from my LGL34C using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## melcali (Dec 5, 2014)

Anyone have trouble pairing with their car through Bluetooth? I have a 2014 Honda Odyssey. My zmax and the Odyssey cant find each other.

Both made discoverable. Works okay with my portable Bluetooth speaker though. 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## melcali (Dec 5, 2014)

Quickdraw996 said:


> I'm not sure if the supplies for your phone but for my phone it is under the "battery" settings as shown.View attachment 3048789
> 
> Sent from my LGL34C using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



The zmax battery setting screen is pretty much bare. Hitting the menu doesn't do anything either

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## QuickNET Tech (Dec 5, 2014)

melcali said:


> The zmax battery setting screen is pretty much bare. Hitting the menu doesn't do anything either
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



That sucks, I can't possibly imagine not having a battery percentage on my devices status bar.

Sent from my LGL34C using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 5, 2014)

melcali said:


> Anyone have trouble pairing with their car through Bluetooth? I have a 2014 Honda Odyssey. My zmax and the Odyssey cant find each other.
> 
> Both made discoverable. Works okay with my portable Bluetooth speaker though.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



My Bluetooth headphones don't work with it, really effects my workout because my HTC One did. However, I realized that while CM11 on my One connected, Sense 6 didnt. I think its the Bluetooth profiles that come with the ROM, get some custom firmware on this damn thing and we'll be cooking with grease lol

---------- Post added at 01:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:17 AM ----------

Oh and BTW. Don't hold your breath on Android 5.0 any time soon people. I'm not saying it won't happen... But this is ZTE after all. Maybe they'll go mediatek on us and become developer friendly out of the blue one day


----------



## disco_dan (Dec 5, 2014)

My car and my bluetooth headphones both work great with it.  So does my Android Wear watch, which is paired via bluetooth.



mingolianbeef said:


> My Bluetooth headphones don't work with it, really effects my workout because my HTC One did. However, I realized that while CM11 on my One connected, Sense 6 didnt. I think its the Bluetooth profiles that come with the ROM, get some custom firmware on this damn thing and we'll be cooking with grease lol
> 
> ---------- Post added at 01:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:17 AM ----------
> 
> Oh and BTW. Don't hold your breath on Android 5.0 any time soon people. I'm not saying it won't happen... But this is ZTE after all. Maybe they'll go mediatek on us and become developer friendly out of the blue one day

Click to collapse




---------- Post added at 05:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:13 PM ----------

Also, I contacted ZTE USA over twitter and asked if they would be providing a Lollipop build.  They said to check with T-Mobile because they are the ones that request build updates.


----------



## clockcycle (Dec 5, 2014)

Raider1911 said:


> *Since we don't have a forum, couple quick reviews with nice alternative accessories from Ebay vs big box stores. I bought my phone from Walmart, and they dont have any accessories for this phone yet.*
> 
> *Screen Protectors*
> I bought these screen protectors, they fit nicely with no issues. Nice quality, I have noticed some finger prints. I honestly cant complain at all. Definitely feel safe using these. I've used EZGuards for several of my phones, I find their quality on par with many of the brands for a lot less $$.
> ...

Click to collapse



Mind posting pictures of your phone in the cases for angles to compare? Thanks


----------



## Raider1911 (Dec 5, 2014)

john16v said:


> Thanks for the reply!
> How's the protector working out? Did your protector have a open slot around the proximity sensor? Did it anyway interfere with the sensor?

Click to collapse



Just a cutout for the camera, and absolutely no issues with the proximity sensor.  I use my phone daily, nothing strange with proximity at all.

---------- Post added at 01:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:31 PM ----------




clockcycle said:


> Mind posting pictures of your phone in the cases for angles to compare? Thanks

Click to collapse



Sure thing, just have to get my hands on a camera. I have one somewhere, ironically that's what I use my phone for these days.


----------



## jsteal55 (Dec 5, 2014)

Ordered from Amazon


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 5, 2014)

Just got off the phone with ZTE tech support. He said that because it is a new phone, the update is being created and the phone will be updated to 5.0, but there are no ETAs. He did say "wait a couple months" soooo we can run with that, take it with plenty of grains of salt tho lol. Like I said, it may not b a press release, but that's word from tech support! Someone can confirm by calling and asking

Number is (1) 222-444-0502


----------



## clockcycle (Dec 5, 2014)

*Other rooted devices using same chipset?*

Just a thought on trying / using root methods from other devices that use the same chipset? 

http://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-e3

http://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-m2


----------



## jackvugemini1988 (Dec 5, 2014)

*Re:All depends on if ZTE is going to put development into android L*



rsuthers08 said:


> All depends on if ZTE is going to put development into android L

Click to collapse



I also wanted to get android lollipop on my zte zmax. There's anyone or anywhere can flash the rom on the zte zmax?


----------



## clockcycle (Dec 6, 2014)

Welp, I was assuming the ZTE Zmax came with an unlocked bootloader. Since it does not, forget talking about ROOT without first getting the bootloader unlocked.

That said, unti AS IS, is great IMO. I got mine off craigslist and it's been the best device I've had comparatively at at crazy savings.


----------



## lkchrono (Dec 6, 2014)

clockcycle said:


> Welp, I was assuming the ZTE Zmax came with an unlocked bootloader. Since it does not, forget talking about ROOT without first getting the bootloader unlocked.
> 
> That said, unti AS IS, is great IMO. I got mine off craigslist and it's been the best device I've had comparatively at at crazy savings.

Click to collapse



That's not necessarily true. Depending on the exploit used you can root without unlocking the boot loader. My LG L9 for example had separate processes for both and since it was prone to have hardware issues I preferred to only root as it was easier to undue if I wanted to warranty it. That being said I could live with root alone on this device as it has such a clean Rom already.


----------



## clockcycle (Dec 6, 2014)

lkchrono said:


> That's not necessarily true. Depending on the exploit used you can root without unlocking the boot loader. My LG L9 for example had separate processes for both and since it was prone to have hardware issues I preferred to only root as it was easier to undue if I wanted to warranty it. That being said I could live with root alone on this device as it has such a clean Rom already.

Click to collapse



LG L9, sigh Bootstrap.. My backwards boot screen, proximity sensor, cant hang up.. Poor phone, it was nice.


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 8, 2014)

Okay so i was sitting around and ended up making a rom wishlist. This is using the stock rom and kernel, so here goes:

1. Root (duh)
2. ART enabled
3. Build prop tweaks
4. Kernel reclocked to 1.5GHz (i dont consider it OC'd because most SD400 devices run at this speed) 
4. DPI change to get more on such a large screen (made a difference on the N6 when they did it)
5. Removal of the little bloatware that ZTE put on here like their launcher and music app
6. Better media scanning (build prop tweak)
7. Unlocked hotspot!!!!
8. Gpu value increase
9. Various root apps
10. Stock locksreen
11. Tweaks to improve multitasking
12. Unlocked bootloader

The following are wishful thinking and would likely require actually porting roms

13. OmniRom like multitasking
14. PARecents (to look like Lollipop)

There are a multitude of other things that can likely be achieved with Xposed modules, but thats my list! Whats you guys'?


----------



## michael_ta315 (Dec 8, 2014)

mingolianbeef said:


> Okay so i was sitting around and ended up making a rom wishlist. This is using the stock rom and kernel, so here goes:
> 
> 1. Root (duh)
> 2. ART enabled
> ...

Click to collapse



1. Root
2. Root
3. Root
4. Root
.
.
.
.
99^99. Root

?


----------



## shinkinrui (Dec 8, 2014)

My greatest wish for this phone wish is an official update to Lollipop. 

Seems unlikely so root is a close second.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Dec 8, 2014)

You can't have xposed with art



        ???CAUTION???
     May ruin other ROMS after this
        because nothing compares


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 8, 2014)

coletague said:


> You can't have xposed with art
> 
> 
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Oh dang, I thought he'd fixed that by now, I know he said he was waiting until official lollipop to get it running with ART. Thanks for that (^_^)


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Dec 8, 2014)

Yeah he doesn't even know if it's possible. He doesn't have time to work on it and doesn't have any desire to. 



        ???CAUTION???
     May ruin other ROMS after this
        because nothing compares


----------



## clockcycle (Dec 8, 2014)

Unlock bootloader,  custom revovery.. Ill root from there..


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 8, 2014)

coletague said:


> Yeah he doesn't even know if it's possible. He doesn't have time to work on it and doesn't have any desire to.
> 
> 
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Yikes. Oh well. Pacman ROM port it is then lol


----------



## Furik (Dec 9, 2014)

I agree.  This phone pretty much comes pretty much stock except for a few annoying T-Mobile apps.  The bloat is pretty much the lightest i've come across on any phone that I ever had. If we had just Lollipop, i'd be pretty content.


----------



## KCoATX (Dec 9, 2014)

How do I get the boot loader unlocked. If someone can point me in the direction of how to do this. How to use the a SDK tools or whatever. I will risk messing up the phone if that's the case

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Dec 9, 2014)

KCoATX said:


> How do I get the boot loader unlocked. If someone can point me in the direction of how to do this. How to use the a SDK tools or whatever. I will risk messing up the phone if that's the case
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



No one currently knows along with root sorry



        ???CAUTION???
     May ruin other ROMS after this
        because nothing compares


----------



## clockcycle (Dec 9, 2014)

Furik said:


> I agree.  This phone pretty much comes pretty much stock except for a few annoying T-Mobile apps.  The bloat is pretty much the lightest i've come across on any phone that I ever had. If we had just Lollipop, i'd be pretty content.

Click to collapse



Personally im happy it came with kitkat albeit 4.4.2, better than jellybean or icecream sandwich.

Can you guys post pictures of your cases?

I wish we had barethere, featherlight ultra thin snapon, mercury gel tpu, driztronic cases.


----------



## trineomorph (Dec 9, 2014)

Is anyone's phone starting to lag?   After a week of owning it I started to notice it between flipping through apps,  quick view and SwiftKey. I thought the phone has 2 gigs of ram?  I do have Stuff like Nova launcher,  swiftkey and clean master installed.


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Dec 9, 2014)

Try wiping cache in recovery



        ???CAUTION???
     May ruin other ROMS after this
        because nothing compares


----------



## trineomorph (Dec 9, 2014)

Thanks. I uninstalled Swiftkey, that seems to be the culprit.


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Dec 9, 2014)

Why say thanks lol when there's a thanks button lol 



        ???CAUTION???
     May ruin other ROMS after this
        because nothing compares


----------



## Planterz (Dec 9, 2014)

trineomorph said:


> Is anyone's phone starting to lag?   After a week of owning it I started to notice it between flipping through apps,  quick view and SwiftKey. I thought the phone has 2 gigs of ram?  I do have Stuff like Nova launcher,  swiftkey and clean master installed.

Click to collapse



Clean Master has some good uses, but needs to be reigned in. Turn off all the notifications. And most importantly, don't get overzealous with clearing your RAM. 2GB is *plenty* of RAM on so minimal a ROM. Task killers like Clean Master tend to do more harm than good. Realize that RAM exists so you can have a bunch of apps running in the background. Apps running in the background means that they don't have to load up from physical storage each time you want to use them (which takes time, processing power, and battery), and are quickly accessible. If you constantly kill your tasks to free up RAM, it means each time you want to load Facebook or your browser or even Swiftkey, it has to load them from scratch. Android does a pretty good job of managing its own RAM usage. You can use Clean Master's white list to prevent apps of your choice to not be killed, but on this phone, with 2GB RAM, it's probably not necessary to kill anything. Maybe if you've been streaming Netflix, or playing Asphalt 8, and you've finished for a while, you can go ahead and use the Android task manager to kill it, but otherwise, just let it do what it does.


----------



## smallyetzon (Dec 9, 2014)

Anyone know how to get into the hidden menu of this phone? I need to lock lte/wcdma so it dont switch to 2g 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Dec 9, 2014)

I believe it's *#*#4636#*#*
Sent from my LG-D850


----------



## smallyetzon (Dec 9, 2014)

Anyone please comfirm if this is legit? http://www.upgrade-lollipop.org/mp3-0/zte-zmax-6697.html

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## john16v (Dec 9, 2014)

clockcycle said:


> Personally im happy it came with kitkat albeit 4.4.2, better than jellybean or icecream sandwich.
> 
> Can you guys post pictures of your cases?
> 
> I wish we had barethere, featherlight ultra thin snapon, mercury gel tpu, driztronic cases.

Click to collapse



This is the case I have right now.  I wanted to take pic. but my post count is too low!! :crying:

(I can't even post a link???!!!!!) 

Go to ebay and search "BLUE HARD TPU REAR MATTE GEL SKIN CASE COVER FOR ZTE ZMAX Z970 TMOBILE PHONE"

I really like the case, thin and (not bulky) the gel silicone on the side grip really well in my hand. I might get a black one (which is not see through) too later.


----------



## Planterz (Dec 9, 2014)

smallyetzon said:


> Anyone please comfirm if this is legit? http://www.upgrade-lollipop.org/mp3-0/zte-zmax-6697.html
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



That "article" says the guide was re-written from a tutorial on xda, yet no such tutorial exists. It also mentions CWM recovery and "delvik" cache. "Screenshots" also show on-screen navigation buttons.

Draw your own conclusions.


----------



## john16v (Dec 9, 2014)

smallyetzon said:


> Anyone please comfirm if this is legit? http://www.upgrade-lollipop.org/mp3-0/zte-zmax-6697.html
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



No is not, I heard is a virus or malware some sort.... If you click the link, it doesn't go anywhere....


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## djsolo13 (Dec 10, 2014)

*taco root*

Has anyone tried tacoroot?. I don't have this device but I thought I throw that in there.


----------



## clockcycle (Dec 10, 2014)

smallyetzon said:


> Anyone please comfirm if this is legit? http://www.upgrade-lollipop.org/mp3-0/zte-zmax-6697.html
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Mobo something virus. If you dl the file, you cant delete or manipulate it unless you take over permissions,  I think its a generic fake guide with insert phone search here, to lure people.  Using xda as credentials..


----------



## Porky munoz (Dec 10, 2014)

This phone really rocks. Just love the battery life on it. Wish we could find a way to root it. I miss all my rooted apps I'm starting to feel like a Fein for them lol

Wish I had root
Custom recovery
Bliss ROM. 
That was the last ROM I had be for my S4 broke 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Dec 10, 2014)

I wanna apologize for causing drama. Sorry guys. Hope you get root soon. Best of luck. Sorry again. 



        ???CAUTION???
     May ruin other ROMS after this
        because nothing compares


----------



## Raider1911 (Dec 11, 2014)

clockcycle said:


> Mind posting pictures of your phone in the cases for angles to compare? Thanks

Click to collapse



I added pictures to my original post, just to keep things clean.  Sorry for the delay, took me a few days to find a camera I could use.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=57263750&postcount=361


----------



## Shlickwilly (Dec 12, 2014)

With those cases ..... in the cold do you find any problems with the action of the power button?


----------



## Raider1911 (Dec 12, 2014)

Shlickwilly said:


> With those cases ..... in the cold do you find any problems with the action of the power button?

Click to collapse



     I live in Arizona, it's doesn't really get extremely cold here. I couldn't imagine an issue with either case though. With the thinner case, the button are really easy to press. On the thicker case, the volume buttons are easy to press but the power button takes some practice. With this case the button is protected and small. Easy to press, just awkward until you get used to it.  Again, I doubt you'd have an issue unless the phone was frozen. If I was wearing gloves, I'd recommend the thinner case.

Hope I answered your question.. 

---------- Post added at 06:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:55 PM ----------




coletague said:


> I wanna apologize for causing drama. Sorry guys. Hope you get root soon. Best of luck. Sorry again.
> 
> 
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



I wouldn't really worry about it, lol. You said what you wanted too, and it's not like it was stretched out drama. Some people just need to read the thread they post in.  Relax, didn't look like anyone was really truly bothered. Stick around, the more activity the better!  This phone should already have it's own forum by now.  It's kind of sad, I wonder if the admins even pay attention. I've found online articles referring people to this thread even, adding to the traffic. This phone does have a following.


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Dec 12, 2014)

I got a message from the moderator someone told on me lol

Sent from my LG-D850

---------- Post added at 06:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:07 PM ----------

Where in Arizona. I live in phoenix

Sent from my LG-D850


----------



## Raider1911 (Dec 12, 2014)

coletague said:


> I got a message from the moderator someone told on me lol
> 
> Sent from my LG-D850
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Lol wow...some people worry me and I'm down south, Tucson.


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Dec 12, 2014)

I was apparently bragging that my lg g3 rocked and your phone sucks. 

Sent from my LG-D850


----------



## Raider1911 (Dec 12, 2014)

coletague said:


> I was apparently bragging that my lg g3 rocked and your phone sucks.
> 
> Sent from my LG-D850

Click to collapse



Well for the price you paid, or are paying for I could only hope the phone is better.  For the money, I couldn't be happier with this ZTE.  Best bang for the buck, and it was an impulse buy.


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Dec 12, 2014)

Got it for free no contract and have unlimited data from T-Mobile. Literally unlimited. Currently at 68 GB since Dec 2nd. And I don't pay for service either. 

Sent from my LG-D850


----------



## Raider1911 (Dec 12, 2014)

coletague said:


> Got it for free no contract and have unlimited data from T-Mobile. Literally unlimited. Currently at 68 GB since Dec 2nd. And I don't pay for service either.
> 
> Sent from my LG-D850

Click to collapse



Well, that's a very special situation .  That alone is worth bragging about. I have my ZTE on Family Mobile (Tmobile) through wally's world. I got the phone for $179 minus employee discount. I'm an assistant manager for a walmart down here. How did you manage to get your phone with that situation? I'm very curious, work related phone?


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Dec 12, 2014)

...

Sent from my LG-D850


----------



## QuickNET Tech (Dec 12, 2014)

Raider1911 said:


> Well, that's a very special situation .  That alone is worth bragging about. I have my ZTE on Family Mobile (Tmobile) through wally's world. I got the phone for $179 minus employee discount. I'm an assistant manager for a walmart down here. How did you manage to get your phone with that situation? I'm very curious, work related phone?

Click to collapse



T Mobile offers well qualified customers phones for $0 and then they pay it off over 2 years. The total price paid over two years actually equals the exact full price of the phone so if a phone was $240 you would be paying $10 a month for 24 months which equals exactly $240. However if you have lesser credit or no credit you will be paying a little bit up front and then paying off the rest over 24 months. For example if you were to buy the note 4 with absolutely no credit you'd be paying close to 450 and then the remainder would be paid off over 2 years. However you can pay it off sooner so if you want to pay off that $240 phone in 6 months you can pay $40 a month instead of $10 . The only other little snag is if you cancel service the remainder of the phone becomes due.

Sent from my LGL34C using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Planterz (Dec 12, 2014)

Raider1911 said:


> Lol wow...some people worry me and I'm down south, Tucson.

Click to collapse



Grant/Alvernon area here.


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 12, 2014)

Here we are ladies and gents, some cooperation! Long story short, I said to hell with ZTE USA and went straight to ZTE China (main HQ) instead and explained that USA was being difficult and said they needed permission from ZTE China to release source, unlock bootloadet, etc.

I explained to them that there are multiple people who want to unlock the boot loader and everything, so they asked for my serial # and IMEI, and said they forwarded that email to the appropriate branches and would get back with me when they have relevant info.

While it isn't the meat and potatoes, its the appetizer! We are one step closer everyone!!

---------- Post added at 09:14 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:58 AM ----------

And ZTE said I would have a response in 7 business days


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Dec 12, 2014)

Hope for the best but I can almost guarantee it comes back with an answer you're going to hate and you'll end up being disappointed. So don't get your hopes up. 

Sent from my LG-D850

---------- Post added at 10:15 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:14 AM ----------

Lol ladies and gents. What ladies lol

Sent from my LG-D850


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 12, 2014)

coletague said:


> Hope for the best but I can almost guarantee it comes back with an answer you're going to hate and you'll end up being disappointed. So don't get your hopes up.
> 
> Sent from my LG-D850
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Lol if that happens I'll call AndroidSPIN for some temp credibility in getting this fixed. I don't play about my freedom. If I wanted to be locked down, I would have bought an iPhone lol.

And to the ladies... Formality lol


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Dec 12, 2014)

Lol

Sent from my LG-D850


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## Raider1911 (Dec 12, 2014)

Planterz said:


> Grant/Alvernon area here.

Click to collapse



Ajo and Mission area :laugh:


----------



## smallyetzon (Dec 12, 2014)

Would praying help? Fingerscrossed!! 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## smallyetzon (Dec 12, 2014)

Meanwhile lets upload some sweet homescreens! 
Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Dec 12, 2014)

Sent from my LG-D850


----------



## mezkal24 (Dec 13, 2014)

What launcher/theme is that? 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Furik (Dec 13, 2014)

Here is my screen. Plain and simple. As much as I used to customize over the years, i've grown apathetic about it so.. that's all I have on my homescreen.


----------



## smallyetzon (Dec 13, 2014)

mezkal24 said:


> What launcher/theme is that?
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Nova/moonshine theme /ez weather widget

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## stinkbud (Dec 13, 2014)

I can't figure out how to screen cap on this phone. Is it a native ability or is it done with an app?


----------



## mjsell2 (Dec 13, 2014)

Power + volume down

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## stinkbud (Dec 13, 2014)

Thanks


----------



## shinkinrui (Dec 13, 2014)

Stock launcher. I used to dabble in more customization, but with how good Android Jellybean and higher is, I just don't have a need for any tweaks. 

This phone is awesome, I think I actually like it a bit better than my Note 2.


----------



## barrygeorge001001 (Dec 13, 2014)

Love this phone but soooo frustrated that we don't have root yet. Driving me crazy!!! Also here is my home screen.


----------



## vons01 (Dec 13, 2014)

here's mine. Nova Launcher with moonshine icons and CM-11 cLock widget

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## smallyetzon (Dec 13, 2014)

Here is a christmas present!! I found this great nexus 6 hd wallpapers 
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3xYKEBavwxrNnhsNkxGY0pjZUk/edit?usp=docslist_api

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Dec 13, 2014)

This is my favorite wallpaper pack. It's essence of lollipop. Give it try they're amazing high detailed

https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=95832962473394926

PS
Gonna love it. It's kinda big. Around 100MB

Sent from my LG-D850


----------



## smallyetzon (Dec 13, 2014)

coletague said:


> This is my favorite wallpaper pack. It's essence of lollipop. Give it try they're amazing high detailed
> 
> https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=95832962473394926
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Hahahhaa u gave the same present i did!! They are the same walls haha 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Dec 13, 2014)

Lol

Sent from my LG-D850


----------



## smallyetzon (Dec 14, 2014)

Anyone having an emergency? 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## barrygeorge001001 (Dec 14, 2014)

New version


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 14, 2014)

Hey just throwing this out there for anyone who maaaay experience some serious performance issues with the phone, factory reset it. For whatever the reason, using it out the box was hell, to put it lightly. Now note that it is an SD400, so it won't perform like a Note 4 lol, but the performance is night and day after the factory reset!


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## domo325 (Dec 14, 2014)

Here is my simple home screen, with Nova Launcher and Axis icon pack.


----------



## smallyetzon (Dec 14, 2014)

domo325 said:


> Here is my simple home screen, with Nova Launcher and Axis icon pack.

Click to collapse



How did u put the porcentage on battery icon ?

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## domo325 (Dec 14, 2014)

smallyetzon said:


> How did u put the porcentage on battery icon ?
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



http://forum.xda-developers.com/goo...-enable-battery-percentage-android-4-t2516913

Had it on my Nexus 5 and seems to work perfectly on the zte zmax phone. Doesn't require a root. Enjoy!


----------



## smallyetzon (Dec 14, 2014)

domo325 said:


> http://forum.xda-developers.com/goo...-enable-battery-percentage-android-4-t2516913
> 
> Had it on my Nexus 5 and seems to work perfectly on the zte zmax phone. Doesn't require a root. Enjoy!

Click to collapse



Intalled it reboot nothing happend ?

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Dec 14, 2014)

Only shows up when battery is lower

Sent from my LG-D850


----------



## Porky munoz (Dec 14, 2014)

I MIGHT trade my phone in... I really love this phone but not having root is killing me. I'm not in full control of my device this sucks :/ 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Dec 14, 2014)

I feel you bud. Same way with me in the past. Bought a Verizon moto g and it is crap compared to every other variant

Sent from my LG-D850


----------



## smallyetzon (Dec 14, 2014)

Yess im starting to see the porcentage lol thanks

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Dec 14, 2014)

Lol there's also a button for that lol cough cough

Sent from my LG-D850


----------



## michael_ta315 (Dec 14, 2014)

coletague said:


> Lol there's also a button for that lol cough cough
> 
> Sent from my LG-D850

Click to collapse



Oh just shut up you "thanks" wh**e that **** doesn't mean anything. He showed appreciation which is more than adequate than a ****ty "like bar".


----------



## voidcomp (Dec 14, 2014)

Porky munoz said:


> I MIGHT trade my phone in... I really love this phone but not having root is killing me. I'm not in full control of my device this sucks :/
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Look at the bright side, they still haven't unlocked the bootloader for the N6.


----------



## QuickNET Tech (Dec 14, 2014)

voidcomp said:


> Look at the bright side, they still haven't unlocked the bootloader for the N6.

Click to collapse



Wait WHAT, I thought the Nexus devices always had an unlocked/ easily unlockable bootloader considering Google has always been developer friendly. They never seem to care if someone has a rooted device or is running a custom ROM.

Or, was this imposed by Motorola and/or the four major carriers in the US?

Quickdraw996

Sent from my LGL34C using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## voidcomp (Dec 15, 2014)

'So it's a good thing that the Nexus 6 still has an unlockable bootloader, because in just about every other aspect it's not looking very much like a Nexus at all.'

http://www.howardforums.com/content.php/2114-When-is-a-Nexus-No-Longer-a-Nexus


----------



## smallyetzon (Dec 16, 2014)

Are we there yet??? Lol

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Furik (Dec 16, 2014)

More mediocre information regarding a Lollipop update.


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 16, 2014)

Furik said:


> More mediocre information regarding a Lollipop update.

Click to collapse



ZTE USA licks monkey hair, don't talk to them. You are going to have to be a bit more persistent, but try your luck with emailing ZTE China ([email protected]) because they are HQ and more willing to assist if you ask the right questions. I've gotten further with them than I ever did with ZTE USA


----------



## QuickNET Tech (Dec 16, 2014)

voidcomp said:


> Look at the bright side, they still haven't unlocked the bootloader for the N6.

Click to collapse







voidcomp said:


> 'So it's a good thing that the Nexus 6 still has an unlockable bootloader, because in just about every other aspect it's not looking very much like a Nexus at all.'
> 
> http://www.howardforums.com/content.php/2114-When-is-a-Nexus-No-Longer-a-Nexus

Click to collapse



So could you please explain this a little further? They're saying that the bootloader is unlockable, however you said they still haven't gotten the N6's bootloader unlocked.

Is it just through "illegitimate" means that they have not been able to unlock the bootloader?

And by illegitimate I mean done not through the carrier officially.

Quickdraw996

Sent from my P.O.S. LG L34C using XDA mobile app

(Also, please forgive any errors. I use voice typing because I have big hands and a tiny phone)


----------



## lkchrono (Dec 16, 2014)

Does anyone know how to activate the developer options? I did it on accident once but now I can't recreate the accident.

---------- Post added at 04:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:23 AM ----------

And I need to learn to be more patient. Got it.


----------



## stinkbud (Dec 16, 2014)

lkchrono said:


> Does anyone know how to activate the developer options? I did it on accident once but now I can't recreate the accident.
> 
> ---------- Post added at 04:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:23 AM ----------
> 
> And I need to learn to be more patient. Got it.

Click to collapse



Go into settings, select "about phone", tap "build number" repeatedly until you are told you have opened developer options, I think it takes five taps or so, I never count.


----------



## smallyetzon (Dec 16, 2014)

lkchrono said:


> Does anyone know how to activate the developer options? I did it on accident once but now I can't recreate the accident.
> 
> ---------- Post added at 04:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:23 AM ----------
> 
> And I need to learn to be more patient. Got it.

Click to collapse



Setting/about phone/ tap build number a few times until it shows! 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## michael_ta315 (Dec 16, 2014)

Quickdraw996 said:


> So could you please explain this a little further? They're saying that the bootloader is unlockable, however you said they still haven't gotten the N6's bootloader unlocked.
> 
> Is it just through "illegitimate" means that they have not been able to unlock the bootloader?
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



idk where voidcom gets his info but my nexus 6 is unlocked and rooted.  It's the best nexus ever made idk why you guys are complaining. It's on a pricey side but it has better specs than 99% of the phones out there right now.


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 16, 2014)

michael_ta315 said:


> idk where voidcom gets his info but my nexus 6 is unlocked and rooted.  It's the best nexus ever made idk why you guys are complaining. It's on a pricey side but it has better specs than 99% of the phones out there right now.

Click to collapse



I'm not gonna make this a huge conversation but I would have preferred the N6 be 64bit like the N9 to be a bit more futureproof. They pulled an HTC: release a beast that's gonna be outbeasted not even 6 months after its release date. It has a 32bit SD805, which is a beast, don't get me wrong, but I'm willing to bet that by February 64bit 810 will be what the flagships are running and they are going to inevitably outperform.

Now this is an opinion lol and I am fully aware of how fast the market evolves. It doesn't make the n6 badbad in any way. I really want one!


----------



## john16v (Dec 16, 2014)

Anybody try out the Tempered Glass Screen Protector? What are your thoughts about them? 

Does it have the cut out for proximity sensor? If so, where/ whom did you get it from? The only place I see right now are on Ebay and Amazon.


----------



## crewdawg (Dec 17, 2014)

OK so after having my Nexus 4 for almost two years I have to move on. I needed something with better battery life that wouldn't break the bank and with some feed back from you all in now the content owner of a Zmax. 

I still have to get a case and screen protector. How or what are you using to to kill apps? Holding the menu button is driving me nuts and most the time pops up the wall paper/widgets menu.



Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## clockcycle (Dec 17, 2014)

*Walmart $30 T-mobile 100m 5gb high speed data*

Anyone use this phone on the Walmart $30 T-mobile 100m 5gb high speed data plan?

Does WiFi calling work and does it count towards the 100 minutes?

[answered] https://support.t-mobile.com/thread/44261

edit: so what WiFi/data VoIP calling app do you guys use or recommend, that wouldn't use minutes?


----------



## john16v (Dec 17, 2014)

crewdawg said:


> I still have to get a case and screen protector. How or what are you using to to kill apps? Holding the menu button is driving me nuts and most the time pops up the wall paper/widgets menu.
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



For killing apps, I used clean master one touch widget and advanced task killer. As far as the case goes is all on your preference but SP, make sure you get the one that does NOT cover the proximity sensor. Even tho. the sp is clear it will still interfere with the sensor, especially using gravity screen. 

Don't bother with Extreme Guard (wet or dry) none of their sp have a cut out for it.... they know about the issue but careless to update sp. 

Good Luck!


----------



## trineomorph (Dec 17, 2014)

So Band 12 has been popping up slowly in various cities but it seems only Samsung owners are mentioning this. I know ZTE doesn't have the market share here but has anyone here experienced band 12 service with the ZMax?


----------



## clockcycle (Dec 17, 2014)

john16v said:


> For killing apps, I used clean master one touch widget and advanced task killer. As far as the case goes is all on your preference but SP, make sure you get the one that does NOT cover the proximity sensor. Even tho. the sp is clear it will still interfere with the sensor, especially using gravity screen.
> 
> Don't bother with Extreme Guard (wet or dry) none of their sp have a cut out for it.... they know about the issue but careless to update sp.
> 
> Good Luck!

Click to collapse



I use extreme guard full body wet install on my zmax and have NO issues with buttons, nor proximity sensor. Careful what solution you use, some cause clouding or rainbow effect. I use 1 drop of Dawn and dip the protector in the solution. I do not spray the phone. ymmv


----------



## john16v (Dec 17, 2014)

clockcycle said:


> I use extreme guard full body wet install on my zmax and have NO issues with buttons, nor proximity sensor. Careful what solution you use, some cause clouding or rainbow effect. I use 1 drop of Dawn and dip the protector in the solution. I do not spray the phone. ymmv

Click to collapse



I try two protector, one wet and one dry. I notice after installation gravity screen would not wake up no matter what. But after cutting a slot it works just fine. 

For the wet install, I use one drop baby shampoo, could that be the problem? But that's all I have been using on all mine sp. 
I dunno is that a issue? And yes, I spray (lite mist) only on the sp and not on the screen.


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 17, 2014)

Pretty impressed with this phone. Adding a different launcher(L launcher) and customizing it makes this phone a lot better. I own a nexus 6 and use this phone from time to time. Its grown on me. I'm sure when root and xposed comes it'll be 10 times better. 

Sent from my Z970 using xda app-developers app


----------



## smallyetzon (Dec 19, 2014)

moosiemooses said:


> Pretty impressed with this phone. Adding a different launcher(L launcher) and customizing it makes this phone a lot better. I own a nexus 6 and use this phone from time to time. Its grown on me. I'm sure when root and xposed comes it'll be 10 times better.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using xda app-developers app

Click to collapse



Thanks for the L launcher advice bye bye Nova

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 19, 2014)

smallyetzon said:


> Thanks for the L launcher advice bye bye Nova
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Any time:thumbup: I ditched Nova too lol

Sent from my Z970 using xda app-developers app

---------- Post added at 03:56 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:53 AM ----------

Is this phone a mediatek phone? Anyone tried any of the mediatek root methods?

Sent from my Z970 using xda app-developers app


----------



## TrevorPhilips (Dec 19, 2014)

Has anybody tested out WiFi tethering ?


----------



## crewdawg (Dec 19, 2014)

Anyone have issues connecting BT? Phone can't find my jabra hands free.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## lkchrono (Dec 19, 2014)

crewdawg said:


> Anyone have issues connecting BT? Phone can't find my jabra hands free.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



No, it's worked well with my my headphones, file sharing to other androids and with Ford Sync.

---------- Post added at 07:59 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:55 AM ----------




TrevorPhilips said:


> Has anybody tested out WiFi tethering ?

Click to collapse



I have done mobile hotspoting. My phone functioned well with it. I was able to stream netflix on my device and on my friend's simultaneously without any quality problems and still in hd.


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 19, 2014)

TrevorPhilips said:


> Has anybody tested out WiFi tethering ?

Click to collapse



Im sure you mean regular not unlocked "unlimited" tethering. But my whole house (five other people) was on my five gigs of hotspot streaming internet, and I was still getting a good 1-2 Megabytes (not Megabits) with my DL speeds. Tethering works great over here!

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## john16v (Dec 19, 2014)

moosiemooses said:


> Pretty impressed with this phone. Adding a different launcher(L launcher) and customizing it makes this phone a lot better. I own a nexus 6 and use this phone from time to time. Its grown on me. I'm sure when root and xposed comes it'll be 10 times better.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using xda app-developers app

Click to collapse



Have you try Solo launcher before? Does that L launcher have landscape mode like Nova does?

Well there be problem/ issue with  installing two launcher? 

TIA


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 19, 2014)

I have tried Solo as well. I've tried just about every launcher made lol
As far as rotation on L I don't see it even as prime

Sent from my Z970 using xda app-developers app


----------



## melcali (Dec 19, 2014)

crewdawg said:


> Anyone have issues connecting BT? Phone can't find my jabra hands free.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Pairs with my Bluetooth speaker but the zmax and my Honda Odyssey don't see each other at all.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## TrevorPhilips (Dec 20, 2014)

mingolianbeef said:


> Im sure you mean regular not unlocked "unlimited" tethering. But my whole house (five other people) was on my five gigs of hotspot streaming internet, and I was still getting a good 1-2 Megabytes (not Megabits) with my DL speeds. Tethering works great over here!
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



On what devices exactly?


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 20, 2014)

TrevorPhilips said:


> On what devices exactly?

Click to collapse



My 2012 macbook pro, my parents Toshiba laptop, my siblings iPads and Samsung Galaxy Tab 8s, my little brothers evo shift 4g (aka mp3 player), our Xbox 360, and my Chromecast. (Not all at once obviously lol, but that's everything that has been connected to it at some point)


----------



## Planterz (Dec 20, 2014)

mingolianbeef said:


> Im sure you mean regular not unlocked "unlimited" tethering. But my whole house (five other people) was on my five gigs of hotspot streaming internet, and I was still getting a good 1-2 Megabytes (not Megabits) with my DL speeds. Tethering works great over here!
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Have you ever tried Fabio Grasso's Wifi Tether Router? I _finally_ got it to work on my Galaxy Light the other day. It's a bit temperamental and glitchy as hell, and I have to reboot every time I turn it off if I want it to work again. But when it works, it works great. The way I have it set up is that my phone is USB tethered via PdaNet to my laptop computer (which is plugged in with HDMI to my 42" TV), and then connect my tablet to the wifi (yes, both connections work simultaneously). That way the heavier use on my computer doesn't tax my phone as badly (I'm sure you noticed how hot the phone can get with the wifi hotspot). Best of all, neither gets detected by T-Mobile so it doesn't count against my 5gb allotment. 

Root is required, of course. If root ever gets figured out for the ZMAX, it'd make a great portable hotspot with its big battery and efficient power use.


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 20, 2014)

Planterz said:


> Have you ever tried Fabio Grasso's Wifi Tether Router? I _finally_ got it to work on my Galaxy Light the other day. It's a bit temperamental and glitchy as hell, and I have to reboot every time I turn it off if I want it to work again. But when it works, it works great. The way I have it set up is that my phone is USB tethered via PdaNet to my laptop computer (which is plugged in with HDMI to my 42" TV), and then connect my tablet to the wifi (yes, both connections work simultaneously). That way the heavier use on my computer doesn't tax my phone as badly (I'm sure you noticed how hot the phone can get with the wifi hotspot). Best of all, neither gets detected by T-Mobile so it doesn't count against my 5gb allotment.
> 
> Root is required, of course. If root ever gets figured out for the ZMAX, it'd make a great portable hotspot with its big battery and efficient power use.

Click to collapse



Lol I haven't but I will! Definitely gonna try it tho. I already have the android 4.4 source code downloaded. Once I squeeze kernel source out of them, we are cooking with grease people!!!! Unlocked everything is around the corner


----------



## Porky munoz (Dec 20, 2014)

I can't wait

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## vons01 (Dec 20, 2014)

Can't wait to finally have root on this device!

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Raider1911 (Dec 20, 2014)

mingolianbeef said:


> Lol I haven't but I will! Definitely gonna try it tho. I already have the android 4.4 source code downloaded. Once I squeeze kernel source out of them, we are cooking with grease people!!!! Unlocked everything is around the corner

Click to collapse



I just want to thank you for your efforts, and yes I hit the thanks button. :good:


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Dec 20, 2014)

Can't wait. I'm one of those people that need to see something to believe it like ghosts

Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## luigi90210 (Dec 20, 2014)

mingolianbeef said:


> Lol I haven't but I will! Definitely gonna try it tho. I already have the android 4.4 source code downloaded. Once I squeeze kernel source out of them, we are cooking with grease people!!!! Unlocked everything is around the corner

Click to collapse



thank you for attempting to root the ZTE Zmax


----------



## lmarisy (Dec 20, 2014)

Can't wait for root,   Thank you so much.. 


Luis


----------



## sammatt3y (Dec 20, 2014)

Yes i seen your screen shot as you know ZTE Zmax dosen't have the weather with the clock widget i wanted to ask which one you have i like to put it on my phone.


----------



## vons01 (Dec 21, 2014)

sammatt3y said:


> Yes i seen your screen shot as you know ZTE Zmax dosen't have the weather with the clock widget i wanted to ask which one you have i like to put it on my phone.

Click to collapse



Who exactly are you asking?


----------



## sammatt3y (Dec 21, 2014)

vons01 said:


> Who exactly are you asking?

Click to collapse



Witch clock & weather widget app are you useing.


----------



## stinkbud (Dec 21, 2014)

That was me... I use Beautiful Widgets


----------



## sammatt3y (Dec 21, 2014)

stinkbud said:


> That was me... I use Beautiful Widgets

Click to collapse



Thank you


----------



## stinkbud (Dec 21, 2014)

sammatt3y said:


> Thank you

Click to collapse



Gimme some thanks button love then


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Dec 21, 2014)

michael_ta315 said:


> Oh just shut up you "thanks" wh**e that **** doesn't mean anything. He showed appreciation which is more than adequate than a ****ty "like bar".

Click to collapse





Sent from my XT1028 using XDA Free mobile app




stinkbud said:


> Gimme some thanks button love then

Click to collapse



Funny same thing I say and get opposite reaction. Lpl

Sent from my XT1028 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## sammatt3y (Dec 21, 2014)

BB6H22LUDE said:


> Sent from my XT1028 using XDA Free mobile app
> 
> 
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



:highfive:


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Dec 21, 2014)

sammatt3y said:


> :highfive:

Click to collapse



Down low... Too slow mwuhaha 

Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 21, 2014)

I'm no dev. Don't really get boot loaders. With that being said... I've tried some one click boot loader unlock tools. One said it worked and I was unlocked. My question is would that be a false unlock? Thanks for your (gentle) answers. 

Sent from my Z970 using xda app-developers app


----------



## Planterz (Dec 21, 2014)

moosiemooses said:


> I'm no dev. Don't really get boot loaders. With that being said... I've tried some one click boot loader unlock tools. One said it worked and I was unlocked. My question is would that be a false unlock? Thanks for your (gentle) answers.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using xda app-developers app

Click to collapse



Dude, at least tell you what you used that said that it unlocked your bootloader. As well as what it told you to do and what you did.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 21, 2014)

Planterz said:


> Dude, at least tell you what you used that said that it unlocked your bootloader. As well as what it told you to do and what you did.

Click to collapse



It acted the same way with my one max and worked. But I have no idea how to tell. 


Sent from my Z970 using xda app-developers app


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 21, 2014)

moosiemooses said:


> It acted the same way with my one max and worked. But I have no idea how to tell.
> 
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using xda app-developers app

Click to collapse



Lol you are a hell of a daredevil. I saw that tool and was like "heeeeelll no" lmao. Hooowever, if it worked, you have just made things a lot easier.

Okay first, if the boot loader is unlocked, check to see if any of the one click roots (both PC and apks) work. One of them is likely to if the BL is open. Next, try different combinations with The volume and power buttons to see if it boots into the boot loader. 

Note: "FTM" is "field test mode" which is like a debugger for ZTE phones. Its not the BL. If you stumble across it, just hold the power button until your phone goes off

Thanks for trying this man!

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

---------- Post added at 08:34 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:32 AM ----------

Oh and to everyone that told me thanks earlier, no probs 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 21, 2014)

mingolianbeef said:


> Lol you are a hell of a daredevil. I saw that tool and was like "heeeeelll no" lmao. Hooowever, if it worked, you have just made things a lot easier.
> 
> Okay first, if the boot loader is unlocked, check to see if any of the one click roots (both PC and apks) work. One of them is likely to if the BL is open. Next, try different combinations with The volume and power buttons to see if it boots into the boot loader.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



I just bought this phone to try all and everything for everyone If it bricks I'll buy another one lol! I've tried every know way to root this puppy. From one clicks for mtk phones to reg one clicks. Ftm mode when it reboots hold volume button each reboot till exploit done. Also manually rooting through adb but stops at psneuter or whatever name I add I at that step. Stumped...

Sent from my Z970 using xda app-developers app


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 21, 2014)

moosiemooses said:


> I just bought this phone to try all and everything for everyone If it bricks I'll buy another one lol! I've tried every know way to root this puppy. From one clicks for mtk phones to reg one clicks. Ftm mode when it reboots hold volume button each reboot till exploit done. Also manually rooting through adb but stops at psneuter or whatever name I add I at that step. Stumped...
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using xda app-developers app

Click to collapse



Lol... Damn... Does the One Max have a root method? Maybe it will work too


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 21, 2014)

mingolianbeef said:


> Lol... Damn... Does the One Max have a root method? Maybe it will work too

Click to collapse



I've tried two of the methods but...I just saw a different one and it has unlock as well. Let you know the outcome asap

Sent from my Z970 using xda app-developers app


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 21, 2014)

moosiemooses said:


> I've tried two of the methods but...I just saw a different one and it has unlock as well. Let you know the outcome asap
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using xda app-developers app

Click to collapse



Thanks a million bro!


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 21, 2014)

mingolianbeef said:


> Thanks a million bro!

Click to collapse



Any time. Its a no go on it. If there's a method out there that people are scared of trying let me know I'll be a test dummy. Stepping out to the mall. Gonna grab 2 more of these phones and wait on ideas. Sorry guys. I'm trying as much as I know. 

Sent from my Z970 using xda app-developers app


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Dec 21, 2014)

Got a feeling this phone is doomed glad someone is being ballzy

Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 21, 2014)

moosiemooses said:


> Any time. Its a no go on it. If there's a method out there that people are scared of trying let me know I'll be a test dummy. Stepping out to the mall. Gonna grab 2 more of these phones and wait on ideas. Sorry guys. I'm trying as much as I know.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using xda app-developers app

Click to collapse



Lol I wish I could say "going to buy two more phones". thanks again. I'll email ZTE again while I'm looking for other methods


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 21, 2014)

mingolianbeef said:


> Lol I wish I could say "going to buy two more phones". thanks again. I'll email ZTE again while I'm looking for other methods

Click to collapse



I have sooo many phones lol its a habit. OK and thank you for helping us as well

Sent from my Z970 using xda app-developers app


----------



## QuickNET Tech (Dec 21, 2014)

moosiemooses said:


> I have sooo many phones lol its a habit. OK and thank you for helping us as well
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using xda app-developers app

Click to collapse



Could you mail me one?
Gives puppy dog eyes

( I'm joking, but if you can that'd be pretty freaking cool )

Quickdraw996

Sent from my P.O.S. LG L34C using XDA mobile app

(Also, please forgive any errors. I use voice typing because I have big hands and a tiny phone)


----------



## anandnitin25 (Dec 21, 2014)

*Samsung*

is this phone is available in india?


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 21, 2014)

Quickdraw996 said:


> Could you mail me one?
> Gives puppy dog eyes
> 
> ( I'm joking, but if you can that'd be pretty freaking cool )
> ...

Click to collapse



Lol the only one I have that I really can't do anything with is an Alcatel one touch evolve2 and it saaaawwwks!

Well tmo metro and Walmart are out of stock on with Zmax. Like a N6 lol

Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## QuickNET Tech (Dec 21, 2014)

moosiemooses said:


> Lol the only one I have that I really can't do anything with is an Alcatel one touch evolve2 and it saaaawwwks!
> 
> Well tmo metro and Walmart are out of stock on with Zmax. Like a N6 lol
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



True but it's probably better than the lg optimus fuel. ( aka the POS I own right now )

Quickdraw996

Sent from my P.O.S. LG L34C using XDA mobile app

(Also, please forgive any errors. I use voice typing because I have big hands and a tiny phone)


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 21, 2014)

While we wait for better days in terms of Android Lollipop, this could help some. Apex Launcher did an update today that added lollipop animations and looks to their launcher. Pair it up with moonshine icon pack (both free) and you have the home of an Android lollipop device  see below:











Now i tried to screenshot the transition animation, this is just proof that it does work!






Hopefully your device will be a bit more pleasing with this, and its very smooth too


----------



## zalmann (Dec 21, 2014)

crewdawg said:


> Anyone have issues connecting BT? Phone can't find my jabra hands free.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



I have no problems pairing with my Jabra Play bluetooth headphone/headset thingy. And it works fine right after pairing. However after turning it off for a while and then turning it back on either it will not connect or it will be extremely laggy and staticky... Until I unpair and re-pair it, at which point it works fine.


I have no problem with my cheap no-name emerson bluetooth headset, however.


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 22, 2014)

Anyone know what mode its in when red led is on and screen black no response from buttons? I pressed all buttons on reboot and noticed it

Sent from my Z970 using xda app-developers app


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 22, 2014)

moosiemooses said:


> Anyone know what mode its in when red led is on and screen black no response from buttons? I pressed all buttons on reboot and noticed it
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using xda app-developers app

Click to collapse



Lol I stumbled across it as well, it didn't respond to fastboot when I tried it


----------



## clockcycle (Dec 22, 2014)

moosiemooses said:


> It acted the same way with my one max and worked. But I have no idea how to tell.
> 
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using xda app-developers app

Click to collapse



You don't have any of the needed pre-requisites. Also it's the wrong device. You risked burning the wrong fuse or writing to the wrong location.

Even with that, how did you get into fastboot mode?


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 22, 2014)

clockcycle said:


> You don't have any of the needed pre-requisites. Also it's the wrong device. You risked burning the wrong fuse or writing to the wrong location.
> 
> Even with that, how did you get into fastboot mode?

Click to collapse



That's what I was worried about. Here again tho, the guy isn't hurting for replacement money, he was going to buy two more earlier.

Hey bro if you see this, do whatever you did to get into fastboot and use "fastboot OEM unlock" to see if anything comes up.

I just spoke with ZTE CN today and they said that they are still awaiting word from the tech department. I think I'm getting on their nerves though. There is nothing like a pest to keep GPL compliance in effect


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 22, 2014)

mingolianbeef said:


> That's what I was worried about. Here again tho, the guy isn't hurting for replacement money, he was going to buy two more earlier.
> 
> Hey bro if you see this, do whatever you did to get into fastboot and use "fastboot OEM unlock" to see if anything comes up.
> 
> I just spoke with ZTE CN today and they said that they are still awaiting word from the tech department. I think I'm getting on their nerves though. There is nothing like a pest to keep GPL compliance in effect

Click to collapse



Give me like 10 mins de-encrypting my nexus 6

Sent from my Z970 using xda app-developers app


----------



## clockcycle (Dec 22, 2014)

adb root replies "adbd cannot run as root in production builds"

If I reboot into recovery, it allows me to chose to sideload via adb.

Reading other ZTE device unlock / root methods, this is interesting. As with one, they exploited writing to system via recovery, since it mounts it writable, but locks it when booted normally because of having a locked bootloader..

When trying this mode, my windows7 can not find z970 drivers, for that mode.


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 22, 2014)

moosiemooses said:


> Give me like 10 mins de-encrypting my nexus 6
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using xda app-developers app

Click to collapse



This guy is a beast lol


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 22, 2014)

clockcycle said:


> adb root replies "adbd cannot run as root in production builds"
> 
> If I reboot into recovery, it allows me to chose to sideload via adb.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



It found mine when I tried and I tried all zte root methods and I also altered the zips a little but nothing...

Sent from my Z970 using xda app-developers app

---------- Post added at 03:25 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:25 AM ----------




moosiemooses said:


> It found mine when I tried and I tried all zte root methods and I also altered the zips a little but nothing... It always fails at 20%
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using xda app-developers app

Click to collapse





Sent from my Z970 using xda app-developers app

---------- Post added at 03:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:25 AM ----------




mingolianbeef said:


> That's what I was worried about. Here again tho, the guy isn't hurting for replacement money, he was going to buy two more earlier.
> 
> Hey bro if you see this, do whatever you did to get into fastboot and use "fastboot OEM unlock" to see if anything comes up.
> 
> I just spoke with ZTE CN today and they said that they are still awaiting word from the tech department. I think I'm getting on their nerves though. There is nothing like a pest to keep GPL compliance in effect

Click to collapse



Nada... Getting discouraged with this phone. Like I said earlier I'm open to do anything to this phone. Found a Walmart near by going tomorrow morning to grab 2 of them. 

Sent from my Nexus 6 using xda app-developers app


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 22, 2014)

moosiemooses said:


> It found mine when I tried and I tried all zte root methods and I also altered the zips a little but nothing...
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using xda app-developers app
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



ZTE locked it down like it was a Samsung or something. Like I said tho, we will have root, and ZTE will give it to us. The devices are selling like hotcakes, so a lot of people have it. They can't ignore the dev community, that's bad business


----------



## KEMC2k6 (Dec 22, 2014)

How can we get a forum for this phone? I just got it, it's a bad ass phone, I managed to get one for $150.


----------



## Furik (Dec 22, 2014)

Is there any way to honestly mute those bootup bootdown sounds? My god, they are obnoxiously loud.


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 22, 2014)

KEMC2k6 said:


> How can we get a forum for this phone? I just got it, it's a bad ass phone, I managed to get one for $150.

Click to collapse



We would need a root method, unlocked boot loader, ROMs, etc., then we can ask XDA for one. We also need a large following as far as people who actually bought the phone


Furik said:


> Is there any way to honestly mute those bootup bootdown sounds? My god, they are obnoxiously loud.

Click to collapse



I usually just turn my volume down on the phone itself before I power it down


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 22, 2014)

OK, I'm looking for any method of unlocking the boot loader on this phone. Even if its not for this device. I don't care if it potentially bricks. I have 3 extra. 

Sent from my Nexus 6 using xda app-developers app


----------



## shabbypenguin (Dec 22, 2014)

So much misinformation in this thread i dont even know where to begin. Unlocked bootloaders dont mean instantly get root, you still need an exploit which there is none atm.

Android source/kernel source will do nothing for you guys. How do you intend to write it into the phone? dd needs root, even then you dont have the ramdisk from stock kernel so you dont even have a full boot.img.

Trying roots from other phones is almost certainly a waste of time, the only exploit that may work is the asec explout, but i dont know for certain because it needs to be crafted and altered for each device, and zte may have finally blocked it. If that doesnt work then youll need to wait until a new root is found.

Sent from my SM-N910P using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 22, 2014)

shabbypenguin said:


> So much misinformation in this thread i dont even know where to begin. Unlocked bootloaders dont mean instantly get root, you still need an exploit which there is none atm.
> 
> Android source/kernel source will do nothing for you guys. How do you intend to write it into the phone? dd needs root, even then you dont have the ramdisk from stock kernel so you dont even have a full boot.img.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Gratias, moosie mooses will have fun with the third one lol


----------



## shabbypenguin (Dec 22, 2014)

> This is simply a thread meant to toss around ideas. It isn't meant to be the central information hub of all of XDA. There are many people with varying levels of knowledge here. Like most Android device owners on this site, we want the usual: Unlocked boot loader, root and for people like myself who have a bit of experience with source building ROMs (far from expert level, but good enough to satisfy the group), kernel source. Each person has their own understanding of Android, and its no ones job to play XDA fact checker here.
> 
> Therefore, I appreciate your advice, and I'm sure the third paragraph of your response will be especially valuable to the only guy here crazy enough to do anything other than play it safe with his phone(s)

Click to collapse



My concern is the group of people thinking that root is just around the bend when kernel source releases, or that progress is even being made.

edit: since you removed your original post


----------



## voidcomp (Dec 22, 2014)

shabbypenguin said:


> So much misinformation in this thread i dont even know where to begin. Unlocked bootloaders dont mean instantly get root, you still need an exploit which there is none atm.
> 
> Android source/kernel source will do nothing for you guys. How do you intend to write it into the phone? dd needs root, even then you dont have the ramdisk from stock kernel so you dont even have a full boot.img.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



I noticed the 'donate to me' button for you.  There have been people who have expressed willingness to pay someone to tackle root.  Are you up to the task?


----------



## shabbypenguin (Dec 22, 2014)

voidcomp said:


> I noticed the 'donate to me' button for you.  There have been people who have expressed willingness to pay someone to tackle root.  Are you up to the task?

Click to collapse



i only accept donations for work that ive done, not for possible future work. that being said im sorry i have no desire to purchase this device and find out if the asec exploit works on it or not. and if it does does this suffer the same locked system protection the concord 2 did? or is it more like teh zinger where EVERY partition is locked? because if its just system then i could craft a root script for you guys with some trial an  error, if not then you guys will be forever SOL.

if the bootloader is blocking access to the recovery/boot partitions then you have no way of booting something taht would allow you to write to the system partition, thus preventing root from ever happening.


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 22, 2014)

shabbypenguin said:


> My concern is the group of people thinking that root is just around the bend when kernel source releases, or that progress is even being made.

Click to collapse



I mean is it horrible to hope? We could look at this optimistically with the intent of getting exactly what we want, or we could loosely do what your suggesting and be a bit pessimistic and loathe our devices. You'd be amazed at how persistence and the willingness to achieve can inspire people. Between my primary use of devices from bigger names like HTC and Samsung (Evo 3D, Nexus S, One, S4, etc.), I did exactly what we are doing now with the Kyocera Echo and the Hisense Sero 7 Pro, both essentially no name devices with no real weight on their value other than price point and the dual screen gimmick. Both have root AND kernel source because I was persistent with the community of ppl who owned the phone and the manufacturers in supporting development. Not to mention, there are many other phones with similar situations. Who knows how many phones would be left in the dust if we based it on your POV. We are trying to make progress, don't discount efforts and ideas just because there isn't a team of XDA recognized developers unlocking bootloaders with paperclips and hard bricking devices left and right [emoji2]


----------



## shabbypenguin (Dec 22, 2014)

mingolianbeef said:


> I mean is it horrible to hope? We could look at this optimistically with the intent of getting exactly what we want, or we could loosely do what your suggesting and be a bit pessimistic and loathe our devices. You'd be amazed at how persistence and the willingness to achieve can inspire people. Between my primary use of devices from bigger names like HTC and Samsung (Evo 3D, Nexus S, One, S4, etc.), I did exactly what we are doing now with the Kyocera Echo and the Hisense Sero 7 Pro, both essentially no name devices with no real weight on their value other than price point and the dual screen gimmick. Both have root AND kernel source because I was persistent with the community of ppl who owned the phone and the manufacturers in supporting development. Not to mention, there are many other phones with similar situations. Who knows how many phones would be left in the dust if we based it on your POV. We are trying to make progress, don't discount efforts and ideas just because there isn't a team of XDA recognized developers unlocking bootloaders with paperclips and hard bricking devices left and right [emoji2]

Click to collapse



Didn't say shut down and stop caring. 

Your posts http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=57624877&postcount=483 imply that once kernel source is released everything will just open up. That isnt the case. the next 6 posts were all thanking you for working on root, IMO that is false hope and the issue.

I would suggest looking into my work before you accuse me of leaving devices in the dust.


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 22, 2014)

shabbypenguin said:


> Didn't say shut down and stop caring.
> 
> Your posts http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=57624877&postcount=483 imply that once kernel source is released everything will just open up. That isnt the case. the next 6 posts were all thanking you for working on root, IMO that is false hope and the issue.
> 
> I would suggest looking into my work before you accuse me of leaving devices in the dust.

Click to collapse



If you look at my previous posts you will also see that prior to speaking on kernel source, I did say that I was speaking with ZTE CN about root and bootloader unlocking on multiple occasions, kernel source would serve as a means for me getting a proper CM build churning (or whatever custom rom is preferred). If you felt my posts were ambiguous then that is your right, but don't simplify everyone else's perception of my statements and categorize the collective as "misinformed".

And while I have no particular reason to research your work because I'm not here to debate it, I thank you for what you have done for the Android community as I'm sure it has impacted many users in a great way.


----------



## voidcomp (Dec 22, 2014)

shabbypenguin said:


> Didn't say shut down and stop caring.
> 
> Your posts http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=57624877&postcount=483 imply that once kernel source is released everything will just open up. That isnt the case. the next 6 posts were all thanking you for working on root, IMO that is false hope and the issue.

Click to collapse



Yes, that was the impression I got also and it's important that any optimism needs to go hand-in-hand with remaining challenges.  Thanks for the clarification, I think we all needed to be reminded of whole picture, good and bad.  Avoids false hopes that way.

---------- Post added at 06:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:15 PM ----------




mingolianbeef said:


> I mean is it horrible to hope? We could look at this optimistically with the intent of getting exactly what we want, or we could loosely do what your suggesting and be a bit pessimistic and loathe our devices.

Click to collapse



I didn't see him as coming across as pessimistic at all, rather a logical assessment of the challenges faced.  Optimism is great, but it must be tempered by the facts. 

Keep up the good work with ZTE_CN.


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 22, 2014)

Don't know if this helps the root situation but I tried another root method called mobilego by wondershare. It failed. Tried it from ftm mode and failed too. But that mode where its a black screen and red led light made the program say my device model was zte z990g(Merit). 

Sent from my Nexus 6 using xda app-developers app


----------



## Vee63b (Dec 23, 2014)

moosiemooses said:


> Don't know if this helps the root situation but I tried another root method called mobilego by wondershare. It failed. Tried it from ftm mode and failed too. But that mode where its a black screen and red led light made the program say my device model was zte z990g(Merit).
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 6 using xda app-developers app

Click to collapse



So, theorizing off of what you came across;

The device registered as a Z990G. 

Looking at the root methods for the ZTE Merit... There's a root method that involves an UPDATE.ZIP being installed through recovery, followed by an install of (i.e. SuperUser and Busybox from the play store.) 

Here's the link to the root method: goo.gl/OkJtHp

My question is:

1) Since the ZMAX registered as a Merit, and this is by a longshot-attached-to-hope-on-a-thread lol, would the update.zip for the Merit's method be compatible since all it contains is the /xbin/su?

2) Also since modified update.zip files no longer contain a valid signature for the stock recovery's signature check it will fail and abort the install, is there a way someone can obtain an original copy of the ZMAX's update.zip and copy the signature from that to a modified one to be able to install in stock recovery?

Recovery Mode for ZMAX is Holding Volume Up while powering on for those that didn't know.

Recovery Options:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/mxajr1ja0bq5owk/20141223_014347.jpg?dl=0

Any recommendations? Thoughts? Ideas?


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## deBricker (Dec 23, 2014)

Bumppppppppp


----------



## Planterz (Dec 23, 2014)

deBricker said:


> Bumppppppppp

Click to collapse



After 39 minutes?


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 23, 2014)

Vee63b said:


> So, theorizing off of what you came across;
> 
> The device registered as a Z990G.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Zips dead in the link. Have another?

Sent from my Nexus 6 using xda app-developers app

---------- Post added at 03:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:56 PM ----------

Scratch that...

Sent from my Z970 using xda app-developers app

---------- Post added at 03:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:11 PM ----------

Didn't work

Sent from my Nexus 6 using xda app-developers app


----------



## Vee63b (Dec 23, 2014)

moosiemooses said:


> Zips dead in the link. Have another?
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 6 using xda app-developers app
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Really? I've downloaded the file earlier:  https://www.dropbox.com/s/8dj3jkdba9flfz7/update.zip?dl=0

I tried some more last night but fell asleep before I made any real progress. Busybox is already preinstalled, we just need a way to get the SU Binary to the xbin folder.

Anyone know where to get the adb driver for the zmax? 

And has anyone tried to use Signapktic in the Play Store to sign the update.zip?

Signapktic (requires root):  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.stericson.signapktic


----------



## Vyrus69 (Dec 23, 2014)

The issue you guys have to remember as well though is with a locked bootloader you still won't have full root read / write access to the phone. 

ZTE locks in system r/w with their bootloader.  So theoretically you can have ROOT ACCESS without having full R/W privileges.


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 23, 2014)

Vee63b said:


> Really? I've downloaded the file earlier:  https://www.dropbox.com/s/8dj3jkdba9flfz7/update.zip?dl=0
> 
> I tried some more last night but fell asleep before I made any real progress. Busybox is already preinstalled, we just need a way to get the SU Binary to the xbin folder.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Yeah that was my fault. I assumed you were directing to the XDA thread for the merit were the link didn't work. Sorry

Sent from my Nexus 6 using xda app-developers app


----------



## Vyrus69 (Dec 23, 2014)

Has anyone tried to pull recovery from the devices?

http://xda-university.com/as-a-developer/porting-clockworkmod-recovery-to-a-new-device


----------



## Vee63b (Dec 23, 2014)

Okay so, just got off the phone with ZTE, rep said he would try to see if he was able to obtain either an SDK or a method to unlock bootloader for developers. Waiting for a callback, lets see if they're gonna actually call back lol.


----------



## Vyrus69 (Dec 23, 2014)

I'm hitting up their emails as well, they are telling me if I unlock bootloader I lose warranty.  

No duh reeealy?!!?! Like I didn't know that.


----------



## Vee63b (Dec 23, 2014)

Vyrus69 said:


> I'm hitting up their emails as well, they are telling me if I unlock bootloader I lose warranty.
> 
> No duh reeealy?!!?! Like I didn't know that.

Click to collapse



lmao, "Isaiah" told me on the phone the same thing after I clearly stated, "I understand it will void the warranty." He did, however, seemed more willing to help after we spoke about why I wanted admin permissions on my device.  I referenced Android Issue 67570: SD Card read only problem. Although... I'm still waiting on a call back.  

On another note, anyone knows the key combo for the different modes on the ZMAX?


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 24, 2014)

Vee63b said:


> lmao, "Isaiah" told me on the phone the same thing after I clearly stated, "I understand it will void the warranty." He did, however, seemed more willing to help after we spoke about why I wanted admin permissions on my device.  I referenced Android Issue 67570: SD Card read only problem. Although... I'm still waiting on a call back.
> 
> On another note, anyone knows the key combo for the different modes on the ZMAX?

Click to collapse



What's the number to call and what needs to be said? If you can't post it here pm me? I'm going to call and get every one of my friends, family and employees to call and say the exact same thing!!! 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Vyrus69 (Dec 24, 2014)

Forgive me guys as I don't have the phone JUST YET, but looking at Issue 67570, does the ZTE block writing to the SD card too?!


----------



## Vee63b (Dec 24, 2014)

moosiemooses said:


> What's the number to call and what needs to be said? If you can't post it here pm me? I'm going to call and get every one of my friends, family and employees to call and say the exact same thing!!!
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



ZTE USA:
 (877) 817-1759

I've tried emailing them too but never received a response back... That's all 8 times I tried. Feel free to use any excuse/story you would like. I just found it easier to use an issue I found. I very tactfully told them my device is paid for, screw the warranty, there's an issue with sd, and since I felt neither ZTE or T-Mo is willing to fix the issue - seeing as how metro got 4.4.4 before we did. (See PG: 25 Post: 250) - I'd fix it myself. 

Was told someone from ZTE development would give me a call back, within a 24 hr period, with possible news on unlocking bootloader or an SDK.




Vyrus69 said:


> Forgive me guys as I don't have the phone JUST YET, but looking at Issue 67570, does the ZTE block writing to the SD card too?!

Click to collapse



(Someone else that noticed SD Card issue on PG: 19 Post:182)

Writing from certain apps; yes. Other apps don't even recognize the SD card is even there. I haven't tested all my installed apps yet to see which ones have problems. Basically if the app wasn't written for KK, you'll face a few issues, but, I'm sure most people won't notice it unless they're using apps that were written specifically for JB and below. Google Play does a pretty good job of keeping apps updated. It just works great as an excuse for ZTE lol.

This phone has so much potential once root's in place it'll be even better than it is now; and I'm saying this coming from a Note 3.


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 24, 2014)

I'm glad that ZTE USA was more... Er... Helpful, but I think the China HQ will save a lot of you headaches. While they aren't the fastest to respond, they respond every time I email them and seem to be more flexible in helping "solve" this issue


----------



## Vee63b (Dec 24, 2014)

mingolianbeef said:


> I'm glad that ZTE USA was more... Er... Helpful, but I think the China HQ will save a lot of you headaches. While they aren't the fastest to respond, they respond every time I email them and seem to be more flexible in helping "solve" this issue

Click to collapse



I take it you're emailing HQ, any response/progress? Any info would help. I've been trying to find something all day; from adb to ASEC to find a way to root.


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 24, 2014)

Vee63b said:


> I take it you're emailing HQ, any response/progress? Any info would help. I've been trying to find something all day; from adb to ASEC to find a way to root.

Click to collapse



The forwarded my IMEI and Serial to their main technical department about a week ago. When I emailed them Monday, they said they were still awaiting word from the tech department.

I am just assuming that they are trying to provide a tool that could do what we asked, or maybe I'm just being overly confident in their customer service. Either way, they haven't dodged my emails and they have been transparent with why they needed my info, as well as answering questions I had, I'll keep you all updated as things transpire. Thanks for being patient with all of this, I know the root lovers are eager to get a little more freedom with the device ???


----------



## Vee63b (Dec 24, 2014)

mingolianbeef said:


> The forwarded my IMEI and Serial to their main technical department about a week ago. When I emailed them Monday, they said they were still awaiting word from the tech department.
> 
> I am just assuming that they are trying to provide a tool that could do what we asked, or maybe I'm just being overly confident in their customer service. Either way, they haven't dodged my emails and they have been transparent with why they needed my info, as well as answering questions I had, I'll keep you all updated as things transpire. Thanks for being patient with all of this, I know the root lovers are eager to get a little more freedom with the device ???

Click to collapse



Awesome! Here's to being hopeful!  :sly::thumbup:
Let's hope they come up with something. I need my SD card fix and some xposed in my life lol


----------



## CDWJ (Dec 24, 2014)

I too came from a note 3 and htc one max...begging for root...all attemps have failed...not giving up...battery life will support overclock with awe.


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 24, 2014)

Vee63b said:


> Awesome! Here's to being hopeful!  :sly:[emoji106]
> Let's hope they come up with something. I need my SD card fix and some xposed in my life lol

Click to collapse



You just don't know how bad I have been wanting that lol

---------- Post added at 08:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:30 PM ----------




Vyrus69 said:


> Has anyone tried to pull recovery from the devices?
> 
> http://xda-university.com/as-a-developer/porting-clockworkmod-recovery-to-a-new-device

Click to collapse



I haven't, but I'll give it a go!


----------



## voidcomp (Dec 24, 2014)

Vee63b said:


> ZTE USA:
> (877) 817-1759

Click to collapse



Wouldn't hurt to remind them about their company's (C)ool (G)reen (O)pen initiative and hold them to their word, especially the "O" part.

http://www.zteusa.com/news-zte-q3-profit-rises-smartphone-equipment-sales-surge


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## Vee63b (Dec 24, 2014)

CDWJ said:


> I too came from a note 3 and htc one max...begging for root...all attemps have failed...not giving up...battery life will support overclock with awe.

Click to collapse



That was the selling point of the ZMAX vs the Note Edge when I was picking up a different device. The reviews on XDA on the battery life! I was on one charge for over 24 hrs, moderate use, day one of having the phone. A lil root lovin' and this device is gold in my eyes!


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 24, 2014)

Just got off the horn with a "Frank Williams" from India... Asked about the mode I've always asked about and why it showed the merit. He had no idea what mode I was talking about... Told him I was a dev for tmo during the day lol but that I came across this phone and wondered where fastboot was and why in ftm, in cmd adb devices a ? Shows up. He said I'd be emailed the ftm drivers and I asked for any and every driver available for this phone. Claimed it'll be in me email after the holidays. 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Vee63b (Dec 24, 2014)

moosiemooses said:


> Just got off the horn with a "Frank Williams" from India... Asked about the mode I've always asked about and why it showed the merit. He had no idea what mode I was talking about... Told him I was a dev for tmo during the day lol but that I came across this phone and wondered where fastboot was and why in ftm, in cmd adb devices a ? Shows up. He said I'd be emailed the ftm drivers and I asked for any and every driver available for this phone. Claimed it'll be in me email after the holidays.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Keep us posted and definitely share the drivers if it arrives, I'll see what I can dig up on my end too.


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 24, 2014)

Vee63b said:


> Keep us posted and definitely share the drivers if it arrives, I'll see what I can dig up on my end too.

Click to collapse



Absolutely:thumbup:

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 24, 2014)

All we had to do was lie!!!! Lol. Okay everybody is a T-Mobile tech support person, lets make calls lol. I'm JP, that's great news bro, many thanks! Keep us updated for sure 

Side note, I just have to say this,   the phone has industry leading battery life when compared to phones of the same size and battery capacity. On 4G LTE I usually get up at about 8 and plug it in around 10 at night with light, slightly moderate use. On WiFi, waking up at the same time, turn WiFi and 4G off before I go to sleep that night, wake up and use it at least half the next day before its down in single digits!!! I love it


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 24, 2014)

Man this phone is weird. Just tried MtkDroidTools 2.5.2 and tried in every mode and in that same mode I speak of it showed mt6582. What the hell is this phone???

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 24, 2014)

moosiemooses said:


> Man this phone is weird. Just tried MtkDroidTools 2.5.2 and tried in every mode and in that same mode I speak of it showed mt6582. What the hell is this phone???
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Yeah that's weird lol


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 24, 2014)

mingolianbeef said:


> Yeah that's weird lol

Click to collapse



This is even more hilarious... From recovery, adb sideload on the modilego program it shows nexus 4!!!

Sent from my Nexus 6 using xda app-developers app


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 24, 2014)

moosiemooses said:


> This is even more hilarious... From recovery, adb sideload on the mobilego program it shows nexus 4!!!
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 6 using xda app-developers app

Click to collapse





Sent from my Nexus 6 using xda app-developers app


----------



## Vee63b (Dec 24, 2014)

Hey guys, i just stumbled across something interesting. Pulled both of these from my device.

verify.zip
otacerts.zip

Attached at bottom.

Maybe we can use this to push something through stock recovery? Someone with more knowledge than me in signatures feel free!

Also:
Recovery Mode - Vol Up and power on
FTM - Vol Down and power on
Download Mode - Vol Up & Down and power on -This is the "all black screen with the LED red."

ZTE said these were the only 3 alternate start ups on the Z970.


----------



## clockcycle (Dec 24, 2014)

Vee63b said:


> Really? I've downloaded the file earlier:  https://www.dropbox.com/s/8dj3jkdba9flfz7/update.zip?dl=0
> 
> Anyone know where to get the adb driver for the zmax?

Click to collapse



Choose install driver mode, it will show up on your pc as a virtual cd, install or copy from there.


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 24, 2014)

Is there a way to find out if this phone is a mediatek device? I was a lot of vids on those devices and I've noticed the majority of them have false information on them. So far this phone has shown me Z970,z990g,Zte G717c and Zte n9100. 
Also mt6582
Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 24, 2014)

moosiemooses said:


> Is there a way to find out if this phone is a mediatek device? I was a lot of vids on those devices and I've noticed the majority of them have false information on them. So far this phone has shown me Z970,z990g,Zte G717c and Zte n9100.
> Also mt6582
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



It's a snapdragon 400 quad core 32bit processor. Definitely not mediatek. I don't know hardware enough to give factual stuff, but my best educated guess is that there my be a hardware component on the Snapdragon chip that is also sported by Mediatek processors, so it appears as such. Its definitely a snapdragon though, false advertisement is very much illegal, and I'm also sure that they had to order these processors from Qualcomm, who would speak out against them if it weren't true.


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 24, 2014)

mingolianbeef said:


> It's a snapdragon 400 quad core 32bit processor. Definitely not mediatek. I don't know hardware enough to give factual stuff, but my best educated guess is that there my be a hardware component on the Snapdragon chip that is also sported by Mediatek processors, so it appears as such. Its definitely a snapdragon though, false advertisement is very much illegal, and I'm also sure that they had to order these processors from Qualcomm, who would speak out against them if it weren't true.

Click to collapse



Thank you for the answer. I was thinking about cracking it open and looking. 

Sent from my Nexus 6 using xda app-developers app


----------



## Vee63b (Dec 24, 2014)

moosiemooses said:


> Is there a way to find out if this phone is a mediatek device? I was a lot of vids on those devices and I've noticed the majority of them have false information on them. So far this phone has shown me Z970,z990g,Zte G717c and Zte n9100.
> Also mt6582
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



It may be because you're using MobileGo, Windows device manager shows Z970, and adb also shows Z970; unless you're in recovery mode, then it shows as "?" when I try.


----------



## RaiderWill (Dec 25, 2014)

Guys,
Being a prior owner of the Max I wanted to check back and see what stage development was at.
I've read the last 10 pages or so and.. everything you've tried has been tried before with no success.. Calls, E-Mails.. all One-Clicks.. everything.
It's a great phone and should be looked at as the glass being "Half-Full" not "Half-Empty".. Nice big screen.. Great price.. Tremendous battery life.
That's what the Max is all about.. Not Root.

It's time to make a choice of which side of the fence you want to be on.. and stop torturing yourselves..  if root is what you want, then move on from the Max.


----------



## ubigred (Dec 25, 2014)

RaiderWill said:


> Guys,
> Being a prior owner of the Max I wanted to check back and see what stage development was at.
> I've read the last 10 pages or so and.. everything you've tried has been tried before with no success.. Calls, E-Mails.. all One-Clicks.. everything.
> It's a great phone and should be looked at as the glass being "Half-Full" not "Half-Empty".. Nice big screen.. Great price.. Tremendous battery life.
> ...

Click to collapse



Reality


----------



## Vee63b (Dec 25, 2014)

RaiderWill said:


> Guys,
> Being a prior owner of the Max I wanted to check back and see what stage development was at.
> I've read the last 10 pages or so and.. everything you've tried has been tried before with no success.. Calls, E-Mails.. all One-Clicks.. everything.
> It's a great phone and should be looked at as the glass being "Half-Full" not "Half-Empty".. Nice big screen.. Great price.. Tremendous battery life.
> ...

Click to collapse



I personally don't see it as sitting on the fence or torture; its more of a learning experience for me lol. So what if there's no SDK or Bootloader Unlock support from ZTE - there's a flaw just waiting to be found and exploited. I, personally, don't need root. It would just help me with a few things like customizing and quick fixes with xposed.


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 25, 2014)

I remember when they said "S-OFF on the Evo 3D CDMA is impossible, just give up," and unknownforce found a way that required tapping two dots near the camera. It may seem crazy to some of you, but I just refuse to give up on it. I'm enjoying the ride 

BTW, merry Christmas everyone!


----------



## mdabeezy (Dec 25, 2014)

The ride is the fun part of the journey, the destination is the payoff.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 26, 2014)

mingolianbeef said:


> I remember when they said "S-OFF on the Evo 3D CDMA is impossible, just give up," and unknownforce found a way that required tapping two dots near the camera. It may seem crazy to some of you, but I just refuse to give up on it. I'm enjoying the ride
> 
> BTW, merry Christmas everyone!

Click to collapse



Merry Christmas homie!!

Sent from my Nexus 6 using xda app-developers app


----------



## rfunderburk39 (Dec 26, 2014)

I purchased one for my girlfriend and she loves the phone. After some use I must say I'm impressed. This is coming from us using from Nexus 5 and LG G2. My brother recently purchased one as an upgrade to his Sony Xperia  and he loves it too. So I plan on getting one for myself next week. For the price it's a great bang for your buck. I to will begin an email campaign tomorrow for unlocking the device.


----------



## trineomorph (Dec 26, 2014)

Doesn't anyone know the service code to change the LTE bands?


----------



## Vee63b (Dec 27, 2014)

trineomorph said:


> Doesn't anyone know the service code to change the LTE bands?

Click to collapse



Only one I know of off the top of my head is the "Testing" menu: 

*#*#4636#*#* 

listed under a drop-down in the "Phone Information" tab.

Also heard back from ZTE today, spoke with a supervisor named "Roy", who stated, "because we do not have an SDK/Bootloader Unlock Method to distribute here, I have escalated your request to our back-end office; where we have a 'higher' more capable technical department that will be able to further help you with your request: [email protected]"

"Roy" also stated that if there is not an available SDK one is usually released on their website with the first "major" update - not the minor bug fix updates. Also stated that since MetroPCS already has Android 4.4.4, T-Mobile's is in the works; it's just up to T-Mobile to push the update once they receive it.

In the meantime, everyone feel free to shoot an email requesting an SDK/Bootloader Unlock Method to the listed email address!


----------



## sparky18018 (Dec 27, 2014)

*anyone try kingroot*

I saw this app and pc software was wondering if anyone tried it


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 27, 2014)

sparky18018 said:


> I saw this app and pc software was wondering if anyone tried it

Click to collapse



What and where?

Sent from my Nexus 6 using xda app-developers app


----------



## TrevorPhilips (Dec 27, 2014)

sparky18018 said:


> I saw this app and pc software was wondering if anyone tried it

Click to collapse



Page 4 says it's a no go


----------



## treIII (Dec 27, 2014)

Has anyone seen this or is this what is being referred to?

http://www.how-to-root.club/mp3-0/zte-zmax-6697.html

Sent from my Z970 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Dec 27, 2014)

What about some of the other methods to root other ZTE phones. Like the ZTE Warp Sequent. I had the phone rooted it as well . It was a pretty good phone.


----------



## Vee63b (Dec 27, 2014)

StonerSteve420 said:


> What about some of the other methods to root other ZTE phones. Like the ZTE Warp Sequent. I had the phone rooted it as well . It was a pretty good phone.

Click to collapse



That's a no-go. We'd still have to unlock bootloader. Otherwise its a false root. It'll seem rooted but give u BS error messages like such:


----------



## Vee63b (Dec 27, 2014)

treIII said:


> Has anyone seen this or is this what is being referred to?
> 
> http://www.how-to-root.club/mp3-0/zte-zmax-6697.html
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2

Click to collapse



Its a fake. Endless surveys, never downloads, basically it one of "those" websites that takes your search term and inserts it into a blank line.


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Dec 27, 2014)

Vee63b said:


> That's a no-go. We'd still have to unlock bootloader. Otherwise its a false root. It'll seem rooted but give u BS error messages like such:

Click to collapse



I just didnt know if those other phones had to have the bootloader unlocked as well


----------



## Vee63b (Dec 27, 2014)

StonerSteve420 said:


> I just didnt know if those other phones had to have the bootloader unlocked as well

Click to collapse



Most ZTE phones have unlocked bootloaders, not sure why the ZMAX and Grand S are the ones with lock BLs I'm afraid.


----------



## imadsen (Dec 27, 2014)

Vee63b said:


> "Roy" also stated that if there is not an available SDK one is usually released on their website with the first "major" update - not the minor bug fix updates. Also stated that since MetroPCS already has Android 4.4.4, T-Mobile's is in the works; it's just up to T-Mobile to push the update once they receive it.
> 
> In the meantime, everyone feel free to shoot an email requesting an SDK/Bootloader Unlock Method to the listed email address!

Click to collapse



Anyone know for sure if Lollipop will be coming down the line? All I've heard are rumors from unofficial sources. Got this phone this morning after my Samsung Galaxy S3 gave up the ghost on Christmas Day. Under $200 at Wally World. Hell of an upgrade if you ask me. 

Root and custom roms would be nice, but it's been a long time since I meddled with Android root or tinkered with code. Just happy to have a working phone again.

:good:


----------



## treIII (Dec 27, 2014)

If metro already has the update can we put a metro sim card in the phone and get it to update or are the metro phones a certain imei or serial number that verifies a certain phone should receive the update? Thanks

Sent from my Z970 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2


----------



## mcknixy (Dec 27, 2014)

treIII said:


> If metro already has the update can we put a metro sim card in the phone and get it to update or are the metro phones a certain imei or serial number that verifies a certain phone should receive the update? Thanks
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2

Click to collapse



Oooh devious!  Jk.  just tipsy and wishing to jeebus I could put Viper audio  on this summbich.


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Dec 27, 2014)

If we get 5.0 i really hope that it keeps the stock google material look that is making lollipop famous. I love the lockscreen but ZTE for some reason digs the touch and hold to unlock. Its so stupid. Does anyone know how to fix google voice crashing when trying to use a bluetooth headseat to voice dial a contact?


----------



## shabbypenguin (Dec 27, 2014)

treIII said:


> If metro already has the update can we put a metro sim card in the phone and get it to update or are the metro phones a certain imei or serial number that verifies a certain phone should receive the update? Thanks
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2

Click to collapse



Its based on a bit more than that. You'd have to have enough system modifications done to convince metro's servers to send you the OTA (which you cant do without root). It wouldnt matter much though because the OTA signature checks the files on your system and patches them, since you don't have that carriers version it wouldnt pass and you wouldnt be able to update. Heck on my phone i cant even do the OTA if i have a custom recovery let alone altered the rom at all .


----------



## treIII (Dec 27, 2014)

Ok so if metro is the one who is going to be getting the updates if there are more should I go get a metro zmax? I got mine from Walmart and it may never see an update. Lol . but I don't see anything on the phone relating it to family mobile only. When it boots up it says T-Mobile. I just wonder if it will get the update when the t mobile store bought phones do?

Sent from my Z970 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2


----------



## Vee63b (Dec 27, 2014)

shabbypenguin said:


> Its based on a bit more than that. You'd have to have enough system modifications done to convince metro's servers to send you the OTA (which you cant do without root). It wouldnt matter much though because the OTA signature checks the files on your system and patches them, since you don't have that carriers version it wouldnt pass and you wouldnt be able to update. Heck on my phone i cant even do the OTA if i have a custom recovery let alone altered the rom at all .

Click to collapse



I pulled the OTA Certs and Verify zips for recovery from my phone a few days ago if you wanna play with them.  They're on Post: 570 Page: 57


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## shabbypenguin (Dec 27, 2014)

Vee63b said:


> I pulled the OTA Certs and Verify zips for recovery from my phone a few days ago if you wanna play with them.  They're on Post: 570 Page: 57

Click to collapse



im afraid it wont do you any bit of good, those are the public keys to decrypt files and check they are signed by zte, you cant sign your own stuff with it. you could edit it and put in test keys and sign your own zips and flash them, but that would require you editing the zip and then using root to push that zip. its all a vicious cycle :/


----------



## Vee63b (Dec 27, 2014)

shabbypenguin said:


> im afraid it wont do you any bit of good, those are the public keys to decrypt files and check they are signed by zte, you cant sign your own stuff with it. you could edit it and put in test keys and sign your own zips and flash them, but that would require you editing the zip and then using root to push that zip. its all a vicious cycle :/

Click to collapse



Eh, it was worth a shot lol. I'm out of ideas.


----------



## treIII (Dec 28, 2014)

Anyone feel like it would be best to get the metro PCs variant of this phone because of updates as it seems to be selling better as that variant ? I have the family mobile variant which simply boots as a Tmobile phone. I've booted the one in T-Mobile store and can find no differences. But I don't want to keep the Walmart variant if anyone thinks that it will not receive updates. Thanks to any one who may reply with true knowledge of what I should do.

Sent from my Z970 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2


----------



## mdabeezy (Dec 28, 2014)

The family mobile variant should get exactly the same updates as the tmusa variant as they are the same phone on the same network.


----------



## Shlickwilly (Dec 28, 2014)

It seems that the metro pcs phone does not have the same T Mobile wifi calling there is some kind of wifi calling but I don't think it uses the T Mobile system. It will only work using different voip providers (unless you know how to do this as I don't think it can be done.) You can look this info over. I found it in the metro pcs ZTE manual located on the metro pcs page.




Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mdabeezy (Dec 28, 2014)

It uses the same system as the tmus phone, just doesn't have a polished app. I didn't have to select any VoIP provider just updated e911 info and bam good!


----------



## Shlickwilly (Dec 28, 2014)

mdabeezy said:


> It uses the same system as the tmus phone, just doesn't have a polished app. I didn't have to select any VoIP provider just updated e911 info and bam good!

Click to collapse



Are you able to use the WiFi calling if you don't have cell coverage?

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mdabeezy (Dec 28, 2014)

Yes I'm using it now!

---------- Post added at 11:16 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:14 AM ----------

I have it set to cellular network preferred but I keep my WiFi on so it automatically jumps over when I walk in my home.


----------



## treIII (Dec 28, 2014)

Shlickwilly said:


> It seems that the metro pcs phone does not have the same T Mobile wifi calling there is some kind of wifi calling but I don't think it uses the T Mobile system. It will only work using different voip providers (unless you know how to do this as I don't think it can be done.) You can look this info over. I found it in the metro pcs ZTE manual located on the metro pcs page.
> 
> 
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



That's strange. I watched a video on you tube and it was an unboxing they said it had WiFi calling though I didn't see which type it was. 

Sent from my Z970 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2


----------



## RaiderWill (Dec 28, 2014)

Vee63b said:


> I personally don't see it as sitting on the fence or torture there's a flaw just waiting to be found and exploited. I, personally, don't need root. It would just help me with a few things like customizing and quick fixes with xposed.

Click to collapse





mingolianbeef said:


> I remember when they said "S-OFF on the Evo 3D CDMA is impossible, just give up," and unknownforce found a way that required tapping two dots near the camera. It may seem crazy to some of you, but I just refuse to give up on it. I'm enjoying the ride

Click to collapse





mdabeezy said:


> The ride is the fun part of the journey, the destination is the payoff.

Click to collapse



Reality sets in at different times for different people.
Your Ultimate Reality about this device will come... Until then... Continue to Gather & Hope.. 

May 2015 be your year of awakening..


----------



## mdabeezy (Dec 28, 2014)

Whether or not root or ROMs ever materialise for this device I'd be happy. I've had mine for about a month now and its super snappy for such a cheap device. I'm patiently waiting on xiaomi's arrival in the USA!


----------



## Vee63b (Dec 28, 2014)

RaiderWill said:


> Reality sets in at different times for different people.
> Your Ultimate Reality about this device will come... Until then... Continue to Gather & Hope..
> 
> May 2015 be your year of awakening..

Click to collapse



I'm actually content and fond of my ZMAX the way it is lol, Root would just be a convenience. Reality set in for me before I purchased the device, but ya know, no body can predict the future! Hope everyone had (or is still having) a great holiday season!


----------



## RaiderWill (Dec 28, 2014)

*I'm Happy Your Happy..*



Vee63b said:


> I'm actually content and fond of my ZMAX the way it is. Reality set in for me before I purchased the device

Click to collapse



Good for you... 
If you understand you will most likely Never get Root.. and you are still happy with this purchase then great...

When I owned it, It was with the expectation that the snapdragon 400 SoC would be as easy to unlock as other devices with the same SoC..
I thank gawd I had the foresight to return mine within the remorse period and like you with your Max, I'm 110% satisfied with my Samsung Galaxy Note 4.. 

I Know I'll continue to enjoy my device.... and it sounds like you will continue to enjoy yours.. :good:

Good for the both of us.. To be totally content with our choice of cellular devices.. 

Enjoy!!!


----------



## voidcomp (Dec 29, 2014)

RaiderWill said:


> I thank gawd I had the foresight to return mine within the remorse period and like you with your Max, I'm 110% satisfied with my Samsung Galaxy Note 4..!

Click to collapse



I'm glad for you.  At 3x (or is it 4x?) I hope it makes you happy.   We just happen to find happiness much more cheaply.  

Your posts have inspired me to go over to the Note 4 forums and mention how happy we Zmax owners are.   I'll give credit to you as my inspiration for posting ... a  fellow Note 4 owner has taken an active interest in our forums and we are simply reciprocating.  Can't wait to tell them what a tremendous bang for the buck we're getting.  I'll be careful though ... don't want to brag too much.


----------



## RaiderWill (Dec 29, 2014)

*Thanks For Your Acknowledgement...*



voidcomp said:


> I'm glad for you.  At 3x (or is it 4x?) I hope it makes you happy.   We just happen to find happiness much more cheaply.
> 
> Your posts have inspired me to go over to the Note 4 forums and mention how happy we Zmax owners are.   I'll give credit to you as my inspiration for posting ... a  fellow Note 4 owner has taken an active interest in our forums and we are simply reciprocating.  Can't wait to tell them what a tremendous bang for the buck we're getting.  I'll be careful though ... don't want to brag too much.

Click to collapse



Forum's are open....
Help Yourself... :good:
And Again....... Enjoy your Max !!!


----------



## treIII (Dec 29, 2014)

I think zte has to release kernel source within 90 days per the GPL. I've seen something like this with HTC phones. If not and they are reported they won't be selling phones here for long and they definitely want market share in the US.  I'd say its T-Mobile involved in the boot loader being locked with this specific phone. Some members of Xda filed a petition against HTC for the HTC evo 4g LTE kernel source to be released as HTC was in violation of the GPL. At that point it was very quickly that HTC revealed source. If someone has the know how to create an electronic petition that users of this phone can electronically sign and be submitted to zte I'm sure it would very much persuade them to give the possibility of unlocking the boot loader along with kernel source. I personally do not have the knowledge to create the petition. But there are members here on Xda that definitely know how. If I remember correctly I think captain throwback was one if the members and Mikey Xda was another member. These are two gentleman who are very savvy in many aspects of android developing and the rules. Thanks for reading. Now get the job done. 

Sent from my Z970 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2


----------



## jdalmolin (Dec 29, 2014)

*Have any of you tried this?*

It's telling me I have to have 10 posts to post a url so piece this together
www dot how-to-root dot club /mp3-0/zte-zmax-6697 dot html

Has anyone tried this method yet?


----------



## clockcycle (Dec 29, 2014)

*ditto*



mdabeezy said:


> Whether or not root or ROMs ever materialise for this device I'd be happy. I've had mine for about a month now and its super snappy for such a cheap device. I'm patiently waiting on xiaomi's arrival in the USA!

Click to collapse



Exactly how I feel. Since Im using it with Tmo, their added apps are useful.

Only a few things I need root for, adblock, romtoolbox and quickboot. But been ok without.


----------



## melcali (Dec 29, 2014)

RaiderWill said:


> Good for you...
> If you understand you will most likely Never get Root.. and you are still happy with this purchase then great...
> 
> When I owned it, It was with the expectation that the snapdragon 400 SoC would be as easy to unlock as other devices with the same SoC..
> ...

Click to collapse




Lol dude just get out of here already. We get it... You did a summer job and saved up for a phone and now you are happy with an expensive new toy. Don't worry. Your purchase is justified. Don't feel bad. You earned it. 

Hope you are having fun popping the s-pen in and out just to hear your custom star wars light saber sound over and over because that's probably the most you will use it for. Oh yeah can't forget about the heart rate sensor that doubles as 20 other sensors! Having fun pointing the back of your note 4 to the sun to get those harmful UV ratings?! Don't forget to apply some sun screen, champ!

BTW. I had the note 4 also and could care less about it. My z ultra runs smoother than your awesome note 4. 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## clockcycle (Dec 29, 2014)

*chase is a foot..*



Vee63b said:


> That's a no-go. We'd still have to unlock bootloader. Otherwise its a false root. It'll seem rooted but give u BS error messages like such:

Click to collapse



I used to get these types of errors on my motorola atrix, but was bootloader unlocked and rooted. apps that required root ran fine, except adaway could not edit/write host to system sometimes..


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## Vyrus69 (Dec 29, 2014)

Online Petition!

https://www.change.org/p/zte-usa-an...ium=email&utm_campaign=share_email_responsive


----------



## treIII (Dec 29, 2014)

Vyrus69 said:


> Online Petition!
> 
> https://www.change.org/p/zte-usa-an...ium=email&utm_campaign=share_email_responsive

Click to collapse



Anyone who wants to be able to alter their device as a zte zmax owner needs to sign this. I signed. 

Sent from my Z970 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2


----------



## stinkbud (Dec 29, 2014)

Signed


----------



## treIII (Dec 29, 2014)

There's a subforum on howardforums and I posted a link to this petition.  We need as many to sign as possible.

Sent from my Z970 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 29, 2014)

Signed too

Sent from my Nexus 6 using xda app-developers app


----------



## rfunderburk39 (Dec 29, 2014)

My girlfriend and I have both signed the petition.

---------- Post added at 02:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:58 PM ----------

I also started a thread under XDA>general


----------



## Furik (Dec 29, 2014)

I signed but are Change.org petitions really affective?


----------



## vons01 (Dec 29, 2014)

I signed as well.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## stinkbud (Dec 29, 2014)

Furik said:


> I signed but are Change.org petitions really affective?

Click to collapse



This one is because it will be sent to ZTE as proof of a need for public release of the kernel source and boot loader unlock. 

Now one of those save the environment petitions...those aren't worth the drive space on their servers.


----------



## treIII (Dec 29, 2014)

stinkbud said:


> This one is because it will be sent to ZTE as proof of a need for public release of the kernel source and boot loader unlock.
> 
> Now one of those save the environment petitions...those aren't worth the drive space on their servers.

Click to collapse



Its illegal to not comply with GPL. They will respond. 

Sent from my Z970 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Dec 30, 2014)

Signed


----------



## Vyrus69 (Dec 30, 2014)

Wow that got up to 54 signatures pretty quick...the initial target was 100, but I went ahead and raised it to 200.   Which is still a VERY small number compared to the amount of devices they've sold.

Lets keep it going guys!!

https://www.change.org/p/zte-usa-an...urce-and-bootloader-unlock-for-zte-zmax-phone


----------



## Vee63b (Dec 30, 2014)

Signed


----------



## smallyetzon (Dec 30, 2014)

Signed!! ?

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## bhood (Dec 30, 2014)

Signed.


----------



## mdabeezy (Dec 30, 2014)

Signed [emoji13]


----------



## treIII (Dec 30, 2014)

Vyrus69 said:


> Wow that got up to 54 signatures pretty quick...the initial target was 100, but I went ahead and raised it to 200.   Which is still a VERY small number compared to the amount of devices they've sold.
> 
> Lets keep it going guys!!
> 
> https://www.change.org/p/zte-usa-an...urce-and-bootloader-unlock-for-zte-zmax-phone

Click to collapse



Did anyone put this in Facebook?  Tell everyone of your friend's to pass it on and have everyone they know sign it. One of the android internet blogs will post something about it once enough people sign it. It won't be over looked. Just post the link for the petition everywhere we can and there will be success. If this phone has out 90 days they should already have posted source. 

Sent from my Z970 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2


----------



## justmpm (Dec 30, 2014)

Hi,
I cleaned the thread.  Please remember that the best way to handle trolling is to ignore it, and also please note that you are not required to respond everytime you have been quoted!

Thanks!


----------



## Furik (Dec 30, 2014)

Shared the petition on Facebook.

Also, is anyone else having trouble moving stuff to an SD card? I know we have a decent amount of storage internally but I can't seem to move anything to the SD card. Also, when downloading torrents, they cannot write externally either.  I have to download on the phone storage before moving to the SD card.


----------



## voidcomp (Dec 30, 2014)

Furik said:


> Shared the petition on Facebook.
> 
> Also, is anyone else having trouble moving stuff to an SD card? I know we have a decent amount of storage internally but I can't seem to move anything to the SD card. Also, when downloading torrents, they cannot write externally either.  I have to download on the phone storage before moving to the SD card.

Click to collapse



I've heard it's hit or miss.  More have been successful with smaller capacity cards like 16 Mb.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## smallyetzon (Dec 30, 2014)

I signed and called t mobile to see when they will have the 5.0 L update and there is no signs of that anytime soon  

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Dec 30, 2014)

I had the LG Optimus L70 before my Zmax and it also had a locked bootloeader but root was possible with TowelRoot. They also figured out how to unlock the bootloader  dont know if there methods would help


----------



## treIII (Dec 30, 2014)

Furik said:


> Shared the petition on Facebook.
> 
> Also, is anyone else having trouble moving stuff to an SD card? I know we have a decent amount of storage internally but I can't seem to move anything to the SD card. Also, when downloading torrents, they cannot write externally either.  I have to download on the phone storage before moving to the SD card.

Click to collapse



I have a 16gb SD card and I haven't had any problems yet moving anything. 

Sent from my Z970 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2

---------- Post added at 12:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:22 PM ----------




smallyetzon said:


> I signed and called t mobile to see when they will have the 5.0 L update and there is no signs of that anytime soon
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Wouldn't we have to get the update to 4.4.4 before the lollipop update? I still haven't gotten it. T-Mobile user not metro. Thanks

Sent from my Z970 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2


----------



## mdabeezy (Dec 30, 2014)

I thought after 4.4.2 they restricted that.


----------



## Vyrus69 (Dec 31, 2014)

Almost at 100 signatures in 2 days!! keep it going! lets go!

I already tweeted it to ZTE as well as commented and posted on their facebook page. 

They will know how badly we want a bootloader unlock one way or another!


----------



## mjsell2 (Dec 31, 2014)

Signed

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## barrygeorge001001 (Dec 31, 2014)

Signed.


----------



## shinkinrui (Dec 31, 2014)

Signed 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## lmarisy (Dec 31, 2014)

Signed also!!! lets see if that makes a difference!


Luis


----------



## shinkinrui (Dec 31, 2014)

Anybody try this latest version of this root app?

http://www.kingoapp.com/root-update.htm

Found it in another thread.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 31, 2014)

shinkinrui said:


> Anybody try this latest version of this root app?
> 
> http://www.kingoapp.com/root-update.htm
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Yes. Tried it in every mode. Trying R Kingroot now. 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 31, 2014)

Signed the petition


----------



## treIII (Dec 31, 2014)

Can someone install rhapsody on their zmax and see how it works out. Keops force closing on me. Here it is

Sent from my Z970 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2


----------



## Vee63b (Dec 31, 2014)

treIII said:


> Can someone install rhapsody on their zmax and see how it works out. Keops force closing on me. Here it is
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2

Click to collapse



Same on my end. Can browse and search, but goes back one screen and FC on pressing "Play" or "Cast"


----------



## Planterz (Dec 31, 2014)

treIII said:


> Can someone install rhapsody on their zmax and see how it works out. Keops force closing on me. Here it is

Click to collapse





Vee63b said:


> Same on my end. Can browse and search, but goes back one screen and FC on pressing "Play" or "Cast"

Click to collapse



That's definitely a problem. T-Mobile gives customers with the unlimited high-speed Simple Choice plan a free premium Rhapsody subscription ($4/mo for other plans, plus it doesn't count against your data). If it hasn't been already, this needs to be reported to T-Mobile immediately.


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 31, 2014)

Anyone using rhapsody that is actually using tmo service? I noticed in the FC pics no one has a sim in. Could be the reason.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Vee63b (Dec 31, 2014)

moosiemooses said:


> Anyone using rhapsody that is actually using tmo service? I noticed in the FC pics no one has a sim in. Could be the reason.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Sim Card's in, on wifi calling when I'm at home.


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 31, 2014)

Vee63b said:


> Sim Card's in, on wifi calling when I'm at home.

Click to collapse



Damn... Just fc on me too...

Sent from my Nexus 6 using xda app-developers app


----------



## mdabeezy (Dec 31, 2014)

Spotify did that to me for the first week until I uninstalled and and reinstalled it.


----------



## Shlickwilly (Dec 31, 2014)

moosiemooses said:


> Trying R Kingroot now.
> 
> What happened with kingroot?

Click to collapse


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## BenisHeger (Dec 31, 2014)

Shlickwilly said:


> moosiemooses said:
> 
> 
> > Trying R Kingroot now.
> ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 31, 2014)

Shlickwilly said:


> moosiemooses said:
> 
> 
> > Trying R Kingroot now.
> ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse


----------



## treIII (Dec 31, 2014)

Is anyone on here that wants this device unlocked or rooted a developer? I am not. My thought is if a developer tried to root this unlock boot loader etc.. That it may not be that difficult for someone with the know how. It seems that we may not have someone who is qualified.  Ask some of your favorite developers that you have donated to or had a good relationship with and they may take a glance at this. 

Sent from my Z970 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 31, 2014)

Willing to drop $200+

Sent from my Nexus 6 using xda app-developers app


----------



## BenisHeger (Dec 31, 2014)

Can someone confirm if this site is legit? rootandroid(dot)com ?  $39.99 and they mention 'XDA-Developers'.. Is this for real?


----------



## Planterz (Dec 31, 2014)

BenisHeger said:


> Can someone confirm if this site is legit? rootandroid(dot)com ?  $39.99 and they mention 'XDA-Developers'.. Is this for real?

Click to collapse



Definitely not.


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 31, 2014)

BenisHeger said:


> Can someone confirm if this site is legit? rootandroid(dot)com ?  $39.99 and they mention 'XDA-Developers'.. Is this for real?

Click to collapse



Don't do it. http://www.androidpit.com/scam-alert-don-t-get-duped-by-root-android-com

Sent from my Nexus 6 using xda app-developers app


----------



## voidcomp (Dec 31, 2014)

moosiemooses said:


> Shlickwilly said:
> 
> 
> > Sorry had too many last night... It was a no go in reg mode and ftm. Also zte called me back and was kind of a ****. Said there is no other drivers for this device. Also that it was a "plug and play device". Kept going on about how its against their policy to help unlock and or root the device. He got loud with so I kindly reminded him that I was recording the conversation. He apologized then I hung up on him.
> ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 31, 2014)

L launcher, Greenify and double tap... Golden 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mingolianbeef (Dec 31, 2014)

moosiemooses said:


> L launcher, Greenify and double tap... Golden
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Give the new apex launcher update a go, it has the true Android lollipop animations for the home screen. Been using it for a week now I think, super smooth!


----------



## moosiemooses (Dec 31, 2014)

mingolianbeef said:


> Give the new apex launcher update a go, it has the true Android lollipop animations for the home screen. Been using it for a week now I think, super smooth!

Click to collapse



On it:thumbup:
Didn't know apex was on their game!
Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Jan 2, 2015)

Where did everyone go?


----------



## Vee63b (Jan 2, 2015)

StonerSteve420 said:


> Where did everyone go?

Click to collapse



I can't speak for everyone else, but I'd say New Year's kept me pretty intoxicated and full of food and sleep lol


----------



## BenisHeger (Jan 2, 2015)

Vee63b said:


> I can't speak for everyone else, but I'd say New Year's kept me pretty intoxicated and full of food and sleep lol

Click to collapse



+1

Took some time yesterday to try every available method out there, nothing works. Just have to sit back and wait it out. I'm having fun customizing it in the mean time, launchers, wallpaper, apps.


----------



## Shlickwilly (Jan 2, 2015)

I was reading chainfire's auto root  pages and what he would need to try to make it work on unsupported phones.   Do we have a recovery.IMG or a copy of the OEM ROM image?

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Vee63b (Jan 3, 2015)

Shlickwilly said:


> I was reading chainfire's auto root  pages and what he would need to try to make it work on unsupported phones.   Do we have a recovery.IMG or a copy of the OEM ROM image?
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



System's so locked down I can even make a backup of it smh...


----------



## D33PTHAWTE (Jan 3, 2015)

Picked up my Zmax the other day as an interim while I await a replacement screen for my Huawei Ascend Mate 2.
Enjoying the Zmax and reading through the thread reminds me so much of what all of us Mate 2 owners went through getting root.
The big difference is that ZTE is so unhelpful as far as unlocking the bootloader. Huawei would send it right to us.
Just read through all 68 pages in the past two days and aside from a couple of folks causing trouble you guys already have a good community.
I signed the petition twice and requested an actual forum for the Zmax.


Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Shlickwilly (Jan 3, 2015)

Thanks for trying Vee63  
Was anyone able to find a downloaded version of the ROM maybe from t-mobile or ZTE USA or perhaps even MetroPCS

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## BenisHeger (Jan 3, 2015)

Shlickwilly said:


> Thanks for trying Vee63
> Was anyone able to find a downloaded version of the ROM maybe from t-mobile or ZTE USA or perhaps even MetroPCS
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



T-Mobile & Metro have user manuals for download, ZTE USA has nothing for downloads for the ZMAX. Oddly, I was able to find older Android builds (ICS / JB) on ZTE's site.


----------



## Vee63b (Jan 3, 2015)

Shlickwilly said:


> Thanks for trying Vee63
> Was anyone able to find a downloaded version of the ROM maybe from t-mobile or ZTE USA or perhaps even MetroPCS
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



No problem, wasn't able to find anything for a downloadable rom.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## voidcomp (Jan 3, 2015)

Anyone going to CES?  Imagine ZTE is going to have a booth.  How about stopping over and telling them about our bootloader/unlock desires?


----------



## Shlickwilly (Jan 3, 2015)

Benis got a link for that d/l page?

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## BenisHeger (Jan 3, 2015)

Shlickwilly said:


> Benis got a link for that d/l page?
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



I was poking around almost every ZTE site I could find looking for downloads. Somehow I came across this one. I still can't post URL's yet so -----------------> support.zte.com.cn/support/news/NewsMain.aspx?_langType=en
In the drop down tree click on service bulletins, there it will show you a list of devices and source code to d/l.


----------



## Shlickwilly (Jan 4, 2015)

Looked thru that site. I did not find anything for the the Z970. I'm starting to think that T Mobile ordered this phone to be produced under a contract that bound them to lock the bootloader. When you look at the support section of this site z970 isn't even listed. At this point I wish I had enough money to just send a zmax 2 chain fire or some other noted root specialist that could open up the phone and work it thru the JTAG or what ever those interfaces are called.  I would be willing to donate towards a dev phone if we could find 1 willing to really try. The Walmart version is down to 179.oo 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mdabeezy (Jan 4, 2015)

JTAG! I love the amount of peeking and poking that can be done via a JTAG interface. If the 360 can be hacked that way this phone should be cake as there is no hypervisor as far as I'm aware.


----------



## Shlickwilly (Jan 4, 2015)

UART/COM port* is the other type of port I was thinking of. Has anyone opened this up yet to look inside at the main board.?  Post some pics Plz.
Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## drbones (Jan 4, 2015)

I'd contribute $20 to buy a phone if we had a dev willing to look at it.


----------



## jbyers5355 (Jan 4, 2015)

If we do get a dev to accept the task I will donate towards a phone for them also


----------



## BenisHeger (Jan 4, 2015)

I'm in as well for a donation to purchase a device.  Any updates yet on when we will have a dedicated ZMAX  thread?


----------



## mjsell2 (Jan 4, 2015)

I just used holo backup to pull the system under opensuse Linux. I am working on extracting the .ab image the make sure it worked.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## shabbypenguin (Jan 5, 2015)

Shlickwilly said:


> Looked thru that site. I did not find anything for the the Z970. I'm starting to think that T Mobile ordered this phone to be produced under a contract that bound them to lock the bootloader. When you look at the support section of this site z970 isn't even listed. At this point I wish I had enough money to just send a zmax 2 chain fire or some other noted root specialist that could open up the phone and work it thru the JTAG or what ever those interfaces are called.  I would be willing to donate towards a dev phone if we could find 1 willing to really try. The Walmart version is down to 179.oo
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Nothing against chainfire, he is an amazing dev but he doesnt exploit phones. His software is extremely good at rooting devices that have a flashing software that can be used at a low level. For most phones (like ZTE's) you need root to write to teh recovery partition, cf-root works by flashing a custom recovery that installs supersu, without a way to install cf-root its not much help to you.

You guys need someone who would be able to leverage a vulnerability into an exploit, very few people have that skillset. i would be very careful about finding someone who may have rooted a phone or two in the past via any ole method and sending them a few hundred bucks. my suggestion would be reaching out to someone like jcase and see, he is very talented and possibly your best shot at it.


----------



## treIII (Jan 5, 2015)

shabbypenguin said:


> Nothing against chainfire, he is an amazing dev but he doesnt exploit phones. His software is extremely good at rooting devices that have a flashing software that can be used at a low level. For most phones (like ZTE's) you need root to write to teh recovery partition, cf-root works by flashing a custom recovery that installs supersu, without a way to install cf-root its not much help to you.
> 
> You guys need someone who would be able to leverage a vulnerability into an exploit, very few people have that skillset. i would be very careful about finding someone who may have rooted a phone or two in the past via any ole method and sending them a few hundred bucks. my suggestion would be reaching out to someone like jcase and see, he is very talented and possibly your best shot at it.

Click to collapse



This is a fact. Jcase or beaups. They are good. This would probably be simple for them. You can reach them at root ninja it had their iirc chat link on their sunshine site for soff for modern Motorola HTC devices

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2


----------



## johnb380 (Jan 5, 2015)

Hell everyone got this phone a few weeks ago and have been reading the thread. Hoping we can find a way to get root on this thing!


----------



## voidcomp (Jan 5, 2015)

treIII said:


> This is a fact. Jcase or beaups. They are good. This would probably be simple for them. You can reach them at root ninja it had their iirc chat link on their sunshine site for soff for modern Motorola HTC devices

Click to collapse



Hope either has paypal.  There's certainly enough $ expressed to pay them.  I'm in for a contribution too.


----------



## devious900 (Jan 5, 2015)

Been watching this thread for a few weeks as I picked up four of these phones via Wal-Mart's $179 deal as my family jumped on the T-Mobile bandwagon.  Waiting patiently for root but in the meantime, really enjoying this phone after moving from old Galaxy S3's.

Had an issue with the proximity sensor not working correctly on two of the phones.  When calling and holding the phone to your face, the screen would stay off no matter how you held the phone.  The only way to enable the screen again was to press the power key.  Searching, I found that ZTE like many other companies has a secret menu used to test various parts of the phone.  In this menu, the proximity sensor can be reset fixing the problems my phones had.  

Dial *983*0# to enable the menu.  

Hope this can help others who might have the same issue or just use the other menu tests to review info about their phone.


----------



## Shlickwilly (Jan 5, 2015)

I contacted the Sunshine support team via there irc channel  and asked them if they would be interested in trying to help us out with Root for the ZTE ZMZX Z970. I was answered immediately upon entering the channel.  the Team said that they would give it a shot but would need a LOANER phone to work with. I was told to emphasize This was only to be a loaner phone and it would be returned. I would imagine that you would have to risk the condition of the returned phone. I know i read back in this forum there was a user that was talking of getting a phone for testing. I am going to start looking back and see if I can contact him directly.  In the mean time If you would like to PM me about a loaner plz do so. ..   .       ok going to look back and see if I can find that post .


----------



## D33PTHAWTE (Jan 5, 2015)

That's awesome of you to take the lead and contact those guys.
I'm awaiting a replacement screen for my primary device, but if no one else has provided a device before then I'd be willing to risk my Zmax for the cause.


Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## jcase (Jan 5, 2015)

Shlickwilly said:


> I contacted the Sunshine support team via there irc channel  and asked them if they would be interested in trying to help us out with Root for the ZTE ZMZX Z970. I was answered immediately upon entering the channel.  the Team said that they would give it a shot but would need a LOANER phone to work with. I was told to emphasize This was only to be a loaner phone and it would be returned. I would imagine that you would have to risk the condition of the returned phone. I know i read back in this forum there was a user that was talking of getting a phone for testing. I am going to start looking back and see if I can contact him directly.  In the mean time If you would like to PM me about a loaner plz do so. ..   .       ok going to look back and see if I can find that post .

Click to collapse



He is referring to me, I am willing to look at it, I would need a loaner that would be returned in working order (or better). I do not want money pooled for a device, but if someone has one they are willing to loan me let me know.


----------



## Planterz (Jan 5, 2015)

jcase said:


> He is referring to me, I am willing to look at it, I would need a loaner that would be returned in working order (or better). I do not want money pooled for a device, but if someone has one they are willing to loan me let me know.

Click to collapse



I don't have an Avant, but I'll take 3 chicken tacos with no lettuce.

But seriously, if you can root this thing, I might just buy one.


----------



## john16v (Jan 5, 2015)

devious900 said:


> the proximity sensor can be reset fixing the problems my phones had.
> 
> Dial *983*0# to enable the menu.
> 
> Hope this can help others who might have the same issue or just use the other menu tests to review info about their phone.

Click to collapse



I got into the menu, got it tested and re-calibrated  (everything said OK) but how do you reset the sensor? Is there a rest icon or something? 

Thx


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## devious900 (Jan 5, 2015)

john16v said:


> I got into the menu, got it tested and re-calibrated  (everything said OK) but how do you reset the sensor? Is there a rest icon or something?
> 
> Thx

Click to collapse



Just a re-calibration was all it took to get my phones working right.  Your right, after checking again, there's no reset option.


----------



## perrisiam (Jan 5, 2015)

I'm having alot of trouble with the phone mic, it cuts in and out no matter how I am holding the phone, this does not happen on speaker.

I tried a factory reset to see if it was a program I installed, same issue, I had the phone replaced, same issue.

I am wondering if it might have something to do with dual mics, if anyone knows how to adjust that, also maybe it's dolby?

I have no idea, anyone else having the same issue?


----------



## BenisHeger (Jan 5, 2015)

perrisiam said:


> I'm having alot of trouble with the phone mic, it cuts in and out no matter how I am holding the phone, this does not happen on speaker.
> 
> I tried a factory reset to see if it was a program I installed, same issue, I had the phone replaced, same issue.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse




No issues with mine, going on week 2.


----------



## john16v (Jan 5, 2015)

devious900 said:


> Just a re-calibration was all it took to get my phones working right.  Your right, after checking again, there's no reset option.

Click to collapse



Ok, that's what I thought. Thanks! Another thing about the proximity sensor, when you get a screen protector make sure you get the one with the cut out. (Stay away from XtremeGuard) 



perrisiam said:


> I'm having alot of trouble with the phone mic, it cuts in and out no matter how I am holding the phone, this does not happen on speaker.
> 
> I tried a factory reset to see if it was a program I installed, same issue, I had the phone replaced, same issue.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Have you try that  *983*0# sub menu test to see if there is anything that can test the mics? If not, perhaps another replacement? 

GL


----------



## Ra.burt86 (Jan 5, 2015)

drbones said:


> I'd contribute $20 to buy a phone if we had a dev willing to look at it.

Click to collapse



yes, I could donate a little, too


----------



## moosiemooses (Jan 5, 2015)

jcase said:


> He is referring to me, I am willing to look at it, I would need a loaner that would be returned in working order (or better). I do not want money pooled for a device, but if someone has one they are willing to loan me let me know.

Click to collapse



I have one! Take as long as you need with it!!! 

Sent from my Nexus 6 using xda app-developers app


----------



## jcase (Jan 5, 2015)

Too late just bought one.


----------



## _ck_ (Jan 5, 2015)

jcase said:


> Too late just bought one.

Click to collapse



Greetings from the ZTE Z667 thread, a (very) poor cousin of the z970

Our phones are also very locked down in the newest 4.4.2 versions but we have an older model from last year that is 4.3 based and can be poked around a little.

hroark13 recently made a mini-breakthough that might help you with the z970

he discovered if a sdcard has a special file called ZTE_FLAG on it with a special signature inside, it will attempt to install update.zip from the bootloader/recovery:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=57959701&postcount=196

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=57969007&postcount=206

This is possibly important because when recovery is loaded is the only time all the rom is allowed to be written. It seems to have write-protected parts after boot.

Hope that helps somehow, good luck!


----------



## KEMC2k6 (Jan 5, 2015)

Can't wait to see what you come up with jcase, thanks for looking into it!


----------



## BenisHeger (Jan 5, 2015)

jcase said:


> Too late just bought one.

Click to collapse



Which version did you end up getting?


----------



## perrisiam (Jan 5, 2015)

john16v said:


> Ok, that's what I thought. Thanks! Another thing about the proximity sensor, when you get a screen protector make sure you get the one with the cut out. (Stay away from XtremeGuard)
> 
> 
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Thanks, I did read that post, gave it  a whirl, there is a mic test in that menu but no joy


----------



## jcase (Jan 5, 2015)

BenisHeger said:


> Which version did you end up getting?

Click to collapse



Z970


----------



## BenisHeger (Jan 5, 2015)

jcase said:


> Z970

Click to collapse



Right, but Walmart / T-Mobile / MetroPC's? Not sure if there is much difference, but the MetroPCS version is running 4.4.4, the Walmart version (the one I bought) is 4.4.2. I'm using that with a T-Mobile plan.


----------



## jcase (Jan 5, 2015)

BenisHeger said:


> Right, but Walmart / T-Mobile / MetroPC's? Not sure if there is much difference, but the MetroPCS version is running 4.4.4, the Walmart version (the one I bought) is 4.4.2. I'm using that with a T-Mobile plan.

Click to collapse



Walmart, 4.4.2.

Does anyone have full firmware for this, for any version?


----------



## hroark13 (Jan 5, 2015)

jcase said:


> Too late just bought one.

Click to collapse



hi Jcase

not sure if this will help you or not

I did not see any kernel source code for the Zmax, but I have found 4.4.2 kernel source for the ZTE X9180 KitKat(4.4.2) kernel(3.4.x) source code 

Which has the msm8926 cpu, so the kernel may be similar to the kernel you have, and you may be able to find a vuln somewhere

https://github.com/ztemt/X9180_kernel

---------- Post added at 06:43 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:30 PM ----------




jcase said:


> Walmart, 4.4.2.
> 
> Does anyone have full firmware for this, for any version?

Click to collapse



here are some Chinese ROMS for the V9180 which is the same as the X9180

I know it is not for the ZMAX, but since it has the same CPU you may be able to learn something form it

http://www.ztehn.com/download.php

---------- Post added at 06:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:43 PM ----------

here is another place to possible download a ROM for the V9180

http://www.needrom.com/download/zte-v5-v9180-dual-sim-support/


----------



## Velrix (Jan 6, 2015)

I spoke with ZTE today about receiving source code. From what I am told they are planning to release but they have not yet however I was told to email [email protected] for any source code releases. If I receive anything I will post it here. Otherwise I will be trying to get the full backup. So far nothing. 

---------- Post added at 07:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:55 PM ----------

Quick update... File system as follows....


```
cat proc/filesystems
nodev   sysfs
nodev   rootfs
nodev   bdev
nodev   proc
nodev   cgroup
nodev   tmpfs
nodev   debugfs
nodev   sockfs
nodev   pipefs
nodev   anon_inodefs
nodev   devpts
        ext3
        ext2
        ext4
nodev   ramfs
        vfat
        fuseblk
nodev   fuse
nodev   fusectl
nodev   selinuxfs
```


```
cat proc/partitions
major minor  #blocks  name

 253        0     196608 zram0
 179        0   15388672 mmcblk0
 179        1       8192 mmcblk0p1
 179        2       8192 mmcblk0p2
 179        3       8192 mmcblk0p3
 179        4       8192 mmcblk0p4
 179        5       8192 mmcblk0p5
 179        6       8192 mmcblk0p6
 179        7       8192 mmcblk0p7
 179        8       8192 mmcblk0p8
 179        9       8192 mmcblk0p9
 179       10       8192 mmcblk0p10
 179       11      40960 mmcblk0p11
 179       12       8192 mmcblk0p12
 179       13       8192 mmcblk0p13
 179       14       8192 mmcblk0p14
 179       15       8192 mmcblk0p15
 179       16       8192 mmcblk0p16
 179       17       8192 mmcblk0p17
 179       18       8192 mmcblk0p18
 179       19       8192 mmcblk0p19
 179       20     131072 mmcblk0p20
 179       21      16384 mmcblk0p21
 179       22      16384 mmcblk0p22
 179       23      16384 mmcblk0p23
 179       24       8192 mmcblk0p24
 179       25     819200 mmcblk0p25
 179       26    1572864 mmcblk0p26
 179       27   12435456 mmcblk0p27
 179       32        512 mmcblk0rpmb
 179       64   15339520 mmcblk1
 179       65   15335424 mmcblk1p1
```

Obviously permission denied as we have no root.. "[email protected]:/dev $ dd if=/dev/block/zram0 of=/sdcard/zram.img
dd if=/dev/block/zram0 of=/sdcard/zram.img
/dev/block/zram0: cannot open for read: Permission denied"


Rom Download from ZTE China - Removed wrong device


----------



## hroark13 (Jan 6, 2015)

jcase said:


> Walmart, 4.4.2.
> 
> Does anyone have full firmware for this, for any version?

Click to collapse



also

I am not sure how hard it is to obtain a private key, pretty sure it is impossible, but afox27 has provided 2 small (3mb) ZTE signed update zips for the ZTE Whirl 2

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=57953467&postcount=172

the only thing these zips do is update the build.prop, there are a few different files between the two zips

ZTE most likely uses the same Private Key for most of their phones

---------- Post added at 07:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:21 PM ----------




Velrix said:


> Rom Download from ZTE China - http://devicedownload.zte.com.cn/cn/UpLoadFiles/product/0/73/soft/2013051617402346.zip

Click to collapse



what phone is that ROM for ?


----------



## Velrix (Jan 6, 2015)

Our phone z970 off the China ZTE site!

---------- Post added at 07:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:34 PM ----------




Velrix said:


> Our phone z970 off the China ZTE site!

Click to collapse



Taking the first link off..

This is the correct link below

From this link
REMOVED


----------



## hroark13 (Jan 6, 2015)

Velrix said:


> Our phone z970 off the China ZTE site!

Click to collapse



looks like it is for the ZTE Kis III V790

MSM7225A 

dont think that will help much


----------



## mcknixy (Jan 6, 2015)

snowball is rolling!  Thanks to those diligently pursuing development for all of us.  I can feel it.... 
?


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## treIII (Jan 6, 2015)

Can someone who uses metro please upload their WiFi calling apk from their zmax? I read that its different than the Tmobile version. Thanks

Sent from my Tapatalk 2


----------



## Velrix (Jan 6, 2015)

hroark13 said:


> looks like it is for the ZTE Kis III V790
> 
> MSM7225A
> 
> dont think that will help much

Click to collapse



Your right! I fixed the link


----------



## hroark13 (Jan 6, 2015)

Velrix said:


> Your right! I fixed the link

Click to collapse



and the ZTE Grand X V970T has a MediaTek MT6577 

that wont help either


----------



## Velrix (Jan 6, 2015)

hroark13 said:


> and the ZTE Grand X V970T has a MediaTek MT6577
> 
> that wont help either

Click to collapse




You are correct.. Total fail on my part. I will keep digging sorry about the fire alarm!


----------



## hroark13 (Jan 6, 2015)

Velrix said:


> You are correct.. Total fail on my part. I will keep digging sorry about the fire alarm!

Click to collapse



it is the thought that counts, and it is good you are trying to help



another ZTE Phone that has the msm8926 cpu is the Blade Vec and Blade Vec 4G

Zte has kernel source code for them here

http://opensource.ztedevice.com/


hopefully there will be draconis stuff in it



ZMAX is P892T57
Blade Vec 4G is P892D30

so there may be some similar stuff between them



here is a Blade Vec 4G spanish ROM to download

http://www.ztedevices.com/support/smart_phone/14a8704e-de3c-400e-839c-3c35bd16f065.html


.hK


----------



## Velrix (Jan 6, 2015)

hroark13 said:


> it is the thought that counts, and it is good you are trying to help
> 
> 
> 
> ...

Click to collapse




I wonder if we can get a filesystem/partition tree to verify


----------



## hroark13 (Jan 6, 2015)

Velrix said:


> I wonder if we can get a filesystem/partition tree to verify

Click to collapse



not sure, but ZTE's download sites suck, take forever to download anything, and most of the time the download fails

I think between the Red Bull and Blade Vec, the Blade Vec will be most similar


----------



## jcase (Jan 6, 2015)

So wait which firmware is this phone?


----------



## hroark13 (Jan 6, 2015)

jcase said:


> So wait which firmware is this phone?

Click to collapse



there is none available for it, I was just trying to provide links to ZTE Phones that have the same CPU, and may have a similar ROM

Just figured it may help you some how

I dont think you will find a ZMAX ROM out there for quite some time


----------



## Velrix (Jan 6, 2015)

hroark13 said:


> not sure, but ZTE's download sites suck, take forever to download anything, and most of the time the download fails
> 
> I think between the Red Bull and Blade Vec, the Blade Vec will be most similar

Click to collapse



I agree with the Blade Vec (From searching its also called Orange Rono or Turkcell T50)

OS	Android OS, v4.4.2 (KitKat)
Chipset	Qualcomm MSM8926 Snapdragon 400
CPU	Quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7
GPU	Adreno 305

The same setup as our phone. I can almost promise the firmware is basically identical. If we find an exploit with that firmware we are golden!


----------



## hroark13 (Jan 6, 2015)

Velrix said:


> I agree with the Blade Vec
> 
> OS	Android OS, v4.4.2 (KitKat)
> Chipset	Qualcomm MSM8926 Snapdragon 400
> ...

Click to collapse



yeah I think so too

Blade Vec 4g and Zmax use same kernel source it seems, I am uploading it to github now, there is a msm8226_P892D30_defconfig in the blade vec source and the Zmax is P892D30 same kernel source usually means very similar roms 


Blade Vec 4g KitKat Kernel
https://github.com/hroark13/android_kernel_zte_8x26


----------



## Velrix (Jan 6, 2015)

http://www.symbianize.com/showthread.php?t=1232873 Check this out. This phone has the same chip but 1g ram. They have a exploit for root on it. This may help us.


----------



## hroark13 (Jan 6, 2015)

zImage builds with that source / config 

hopefully it boots


  LD [M]  drivers/spi/spidev.ko
  AS      arch/arm/boot/compressed/piggy.gzip.o
  LD      arch/arm/boot/compressed/vmlinux
  OBJCOPY arch/arm/boot/zImage
  Kernel: arch/arm/boot/zImage is ready
[email protected]:~/d/git/1$

derp


----------



## Vee63b (Jan 6, 2015)

Velrix said:


> I spoke with ZTE today about receiving source code. From what I am told they are planning to release but they have not yet however I was told to email [email protected] for any source code releases. If I receive anything I will post it here. Otherwise I will be trying to get the full backup. So far nothing.
> 
> ---------- Post added at 07:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:55 PM ----------
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



A few post back I was trying to pull the recovery.img from the ZMAX, screenshot is still there, lists each partition. I'll attach screenshot again; jcase, good luck! I'm back to 16 Hr days and haven't had much time to try anything else, Med School and work beating me to an exhausted mess. I'll pop back in when I can to try and help.


----------



## hroark13 (Jan 6, 2015)

Velrix said:


> http://www.symbianize.com/showthread.php?t=1232873 Check this out. This phone has the same chip but 1g ram. They have a exploit for root on it. This may help us.

Click to collapse



yeah the Blade vec 4g that is in that link, has an open boot loader

you can do

adb reboot bootloader

and flash a custom kernel or recovery

I dont think ZMax people will be so lucky


----------



## Velrix (Jan 6, 2015)

Ya I can't get bootloader already tried.


----------



## hroark13 (Jan 6, 2015)

here is some the Blade Vec 4G partitions, plus the unpacked ramdisk

boot.img
emmc_appsboot.mbn
NON-HLOS.bin
recovery.img
rpm.mbn
sbl1.mbn
sdi.mbn
splash.img

https://www.mediafire.com/?fpuznmsv28iddzp

---------- Post added at 11:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:59 PM ----------

has anyone tried DFU mode on this phone yet ?

What you do is unplug battery put it back in, hold vol up, vol down and power

the the red LED should light

then plug it into your USB on your computer and run

dmesg -tail


on some of the ZTE MSM8x30 phones, when you did this, you had access to the nand, and could dd it


----------



## nobreak1970 (Jan 6, 2015)

hroark13 said:


> here is some the Blade Vec 4G partitions, plus the unpacked ramdisk
> 
> boot.img
> emmc_appsboot.mbn
> ...

Click to collapse



In this mode it tries to install a couple of drivers and fails.  Not sure where to get them.
UPDATE:
QHSUSB_Bulk = qualcomm driver for something.  If you google it you will notice that many many phones got bricked and this driver helped out in some way?

Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface. <--- nevermind this...a windows thing.  sorry for the confusion.


----------



## treIII (Jan 6, 2015)

Jcase will get the job done. Fact. If its possible he will do it. If its considered not possible he will do it. 

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2


----------



## hroark13 (Jan 6, 2015)

nobreak1970 said:


> In this mode it tries to install a couple of drivers and fails.  Not sure where to get them.
> UPDATE:
> QHSUSB_Bulk = qualcomm driver for something.  If you google it you will notice that many many phones got bricked and this driver helped out in some way?
> 
> Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface. <--- nevermind this...a windows thing.  sorry for the confusion.

Click to collapse



i think if it says QUSB BULK, then the nand is not accessable

I think it needs to say QUSB DLOAD

---------- Post added at 06:05 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:42 AM ----------

I am an idiot

the ZMAX is P892T57
Blade Vec 4G is P892D30

so that kernel source does not support the Zmax, sorry everyone, brain fart

---------- Post added at 06:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:05 AM ----------




hroark13 said:


> i think if it says QUSB BULK, then the nand is not accessable
> 
> I think it needs to say QUSB DLOAD
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



there is a msm8226_P892T50_defconfig in that source, but I dont know how similar the P892T57 and P892T50 are


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## Velrix (Jan 6, 2015)

> [/COLOR]has anyone tried DFU mode on this phone yet ?
> 
> What you do is unplug battery put it back in, hold vol up, vol down and power
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



I am able to get into DFU mode. How would I dd in this mode?


----------



## IBeMe (Jan 6, 2015)

Cricket's $200 ZTE Grand X Max+ features wide-angle front camera, 6-inch display (hands-on)

http://www.cnet.com/products/zte-grand-x-max-plus/

this only has a 720 display
originally, I was under the impression it had a higher res screen


----------



## Velrix (Jan 6, 2015)

Just a quick update ;

I was able to get to DFU and FTM modes however the USDL utility some ZTE users have used before on other phones would fail trying to do a backup of nvdata and firmware. I do notice that in FTM mode we still have ADB access though so Im thinking there has to be some directly which we can get access to and force a exploit for root. After we get temp root we can DD the files and work on perm root.


----------



## Velrix (Jan 6, 2015)

jcase said:


> So wait which firmware is this phone?

Click to collapse



Jcase this may be of use for us -

http://androidforums.com/threads/cm11-developer-and-tester-thread-for-zte-msm-8x30-devices.834705/

https://github.com/hroark13/zte_msm...evice/zte/msm8x30-common/BoardConfigCommon.mk


----------



## jc33777 (Jan 6, 2015)

Man wish i would of looked a little more before i got this last night i do enjoy the phone alot just wish i could root to get rid of the metro crap


----------



## BenisHeger (Jan 6, 2015)

jc33777 said:


> Man wish i would of looked a little more before i got this last night i do enjoy the phone alot just wish i could root to get rid of the metro crap

Click to collapse



What kind of bloatware came with that version? I bought the Walmart Family Mobile version, which I think is the same one T-Mobile sells, but mine was $179. It came with T-Mobile TV and the T-Mobile 'My Account".  The other thing I find odd is that the MetroPCS version has KK 4.4.4, whereas mine is KK 4.4.2.


----------



## Vyrus69 (Jan 6, 2015)

I know jcase is on a mission to get us root, but just a reminder that I've been bombarding ZTE twitter, email and facebook with out petition for bootloader unlock.  So keep signing or get anyone you know to sign to help us out!

https://www.change.org/p/zte-usa-an...urce-and-bootloader-unlock-for-zte-zmax-phone


----------



## Velrix (Jan 6, 2015)

jc33777 said:


> Man wish i would of looked a little more before i got this last night i do enjoy the phone alot just wish i could root to get rid of the metro crap

Click to collapse



Root will come soon enough, Give it a little time. The phone is still fairly new and a lot of developers are loyal to more popular brands (sad truth). Spec wise this phone is really solid and I think time will show this, heck even stock its really fast and I have not noticed any lag browsing through apps, web, gallery. I am confident once we get root, then recovery, an unofficial port of CM/Slim/ect will be in the works. That is when this phone will really shine.


----------



## jc33777 (Jan 6, 2015)

BenisHeger said:


> What kind of bloatware came with that version? I bought the Walmart Family Mobile version, which I think is the same one T-Mobile sells, but mine was $179. It came with T-Mobile TV and the T-Mobile 'My Account".  The other thing I find odd is that the MetroPCS version has KK 4.4.4, whereas mine is KK 4.4.2.

Click to collapse



there is metro hotspot app, metro web browser, metro411, metro app store, metro block it, metro zone, my metro and metro visual voicemail and that is odd i did notice that about the version of android


Vyrus69 said:


> I know jcase is on a mission to get us root, but just a reminder that I've been bombarding ZTE twitter, email and facebook with out petition for bootloader unlock.  So keep signing or get anyone you know to sign to help us out!
> https://www.change.org/p/zte-usa-an...urce-and-bootloader-unlock-for-zte-zmax-phone

Click to collapse



i will go sign it now


Velrix said:


> Root will come soon enough, Give it a little time. The phone is still fairly new and a lot of developers are loyal to more popular brands (sad truth). Spec wise this phone is really solid and I think time will show this, heck even stock its really fast and I have not noticed any lag browsing through apps, web, gallery. I am confident once we get root, then recovery, an unofficial port of CM/Slim/ect will be in the works. That is when this phone will really shine.

Click to collapse



yeah i really enjoy the phone however i have had youtube freeze up and it has randomly closed i wasnt even watching a video it was over i was just reading comments and i couldnt scroll down or up then it just closed


----------



## BenisHeger (Jan 6, 2015)

Vyrus69 said:


> I know jcase is on a mission to get us root, but just a reminder that I've been bombarding ZTE twitter, email and facebook with out petition for bootloader unlock.  So keep signing or get anyone you know to sign to help us out!
> 
> https://www.change.org/p/zte-usa-an...urce-and-bootloader-unlock-for-zte-zmax-phone

Click to collapse



I've been doing the same (Twitter / email bombs) so far they are just ignoring me


----------



## treIII (Jan 6, 2015)

Would someone that uses metro please upload their apk for WiFi calling? Thanks to someone who can do this.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2


----------



## Llamalover87 (Jan 7, 2015)

*Finally a ZTE ZMAX root!!!*



nikkdotcom said:


> I have also tried several different root methods such as FramaRoot and TowelRoot. Neither has worked. I doubt anything is going to work but ill try a few more things and see where I get.

Click to collapse



Hello everyone! 
I'm also into rooting/jailbreaking/modding etc, etc. I've been doing this for about 2 years now. Every phone I've ever had I've rooted and flashed custom roms. Admittedly I've bricked one device in my two year tenure. Anywho I've been reading everyone's thread and I think I found a way to root.....AND I install Android 5.0..
Before I get everyone's hopes up higher then what they are now allow me to see if this works...you all will be hearing from me ASAP!!! :fingers-crossed:


----------



## Velrix (Jan 7, 2015)

Llamalover87 said:


> Hello everyone!
> I'm also into rooting/jailbreaking/modding etc, etc. I've been doing this for about 2 years now. Every phone I've ever had I've rooted and flashed custom roms. Admittedly I've bricked one device in my two year tenure. Anywho I've been reading everyone's thread and I think I found a way to root.....AND I install Android 5.0..
> Before I get everyone's hopes up higher then what they are now allow me to see if this works...you all will be hearing from me ASAP!!! :fingers-crossed:

Click to collapse




I would suggest everyone stay as far as you can away from this guy its spam and reported do not trust what they post.


----------



## 70cutty (Jan 7, 2015)

Llamalover87 said:


> Hello everyone!
> I'm also into rooting/jailbreaking/modding etc, etc. I've been doing this for about 2 years now. Every phone I've ever had I've rooted and flashed custom roms. Admittedly I've bricked one device in my two year tenure. Anywho I've been reading everyone's thread and I think I found a way to root.....AND I install Android 5.0..
> Before I get everyone's hopes up higher then what they are now allow me to see if this works...you all will be hearing from me ASAP!!! :fingers-crossed:

Click to collapse



Is it done yet


----------



## misterbjm (Jan 7, 2015)

It's been done. Lol it never started.


----------



## Llamalover87 (Jan 7, 2015)

Velrix said:


> I would suggest everyone stay as far as you can away from this guy its spam and reported do not trust what they post.

Click to collapse



I PROMISE you I'm not spam or a spammer...I
I've spent 72 hours researching a way to find out how to root the ZTE ZMAX...just as you all have been..the reason why I made the statement about me wanting to try it first is because I didn't want the "open mouth insert foot" syndrome. I'm not gonna take credit for this man's discovery nor do I want to, I will be more than obliged to c&p the link where I found my study and you guys or the seniors can try it out for yourselves. When it comes to rooting and all that stuff im just a rook lol. I want to one day create my own ROM ...but anyway I'll post the link.

---------- Post added at 09:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:13 PM ----------




misterbjm said:


> It's been done. Lol it never started.

Click to collapse



Wow


----------



## Velrix (Jan 7, 2015)

Llamalover87 said:


> I PROMISE you I'm not spam or a spammer...I
> I've spent 72 hours researching a way to find out how to root the ZTE ZMAX...just as you all have been..the reason why I made the statement about me wanting to try it first is because I didn't want the "open mouth insert foot" syndrome. I'm not gonna take credit for this man's discovery nor do I want to, I will be more than obliged to c&p the link where I found my study and you guys or the seniors can try it out for yourselves. When it comes to rooting and all that stuff im just a rook lol. I want to one day create my own ROM ...but anyway I'll post the link.
> 
> ---------- Post added at 09:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:13 PM ----------
> ...

Click to collapse




I have been digging, consoling to this phone, and researching all day. If you found something please link it as it may help.


----------



## hroark13 (Jan 7, 2015)

this is what I am gonna do, I am gonna get one of these phones, hop in my time machine, and go one year into the future, by then the phone will be rooted and have some custom roms and stuff,  I will save all those goodies onto the phone and come back to this time and upload everything for you guys

---------- Post added at 09:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:56 PM ----------

ok, just got back from 2016, sorry everyone I could not get any updates or root, there was a nuclear war and damn dirty apes rule the planet, I almost did not escape


----------



## shabbypenguin (Jan 7, 2015)

Velrix said:


> I would suggest everyone stay as far as you can away from this guy its spam and reported do not trust what they post.

Click to collapse



Careful with your words, more often than not we people show skepticism towards this kind of stuff end up getting the brunt of clueless folk's anger. The mysterious person will claim he is taking his ball and leaving and the clueless people will blame the doubters for causing issues instead of realizing things werent as they seemed.


Had his claim only been "i think i figured out how to get temporary root but ill need to test and see if i can turn it into something more!" it would have been believable, but full on root, bypassing the write protection and installing a rom that anyone with a history with ZTE should know isnt coming. It starts to sound like it began with "Once upon a time..."


----------



## BenisHeger (Jan 7, 2015)

hroark13 said:


> this is what I am gonna do, I am gonna get one of these phones, hop in my time machine, and go one year into the future, by then the phone will be rooted and have some custom roms and stuff,  I will save all those goodies onto the phone and come back to this time and upload everything for you guys
> 
> ---------- Post added at 09:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:56 PM ----------
> 
> ...

Click to collapse


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## Velrix (Jan 7, 2015)

shabbypenguin said:


> Careful with your words, more often than not we people show skepticism towards this kind of stuff end up getting the brunt of clueless folk's anger. The mysterious person will claim he is taking his ball and leaving and the clueless people will blame the doubters for causing issues instead of realizing things werent as they seemed.
> 
> 
> Had his claim only been "i think i figured out how to get temporary root but ill need to test and see if i can turn it into something more!" it would have been believable, but full on root, bypassing the write protection and installing a rom that anyone with a history with ZTE should know isnt coming. It starts to sound like it began with "Once upon a time..."

Click to collapse




I totally agree but the reason I knew that is I knew exactly what he would link and he just PM'd it to me for obvious reasons do not follow what it tells you but if you google search it will show up with promised root results and lollipop.
This is the body of the PM from him. I will say it again DO NOT USE THAT LINK. 
zte zmax root
http://www.how-to-root.club/mp3-0/zte-zmax-6697.html

Here's the link that I found earlier


----------



## _ck_ (Jan 7, 2015)

Velrix said:


> DO NOT USE THAT LINK.

Click to collapse



the entire "how-to-root.club" website is a scam and obviously written by a bot
https://www.google.com/search?q=site:how-to-root.club
 they use the same template for many phones that do not have existing root, the are just monitoring searches for these things

some of the links on the page are for firmwares to other phones to make it seem semi-legit but it's not

everyone just needs to report the site to google's malware list so the searches get blocked

https://www.google.com/safebrowsing/report_badware/

the domain also needs to be blocked on xda


----------



## Llamalover87 (Jan 7, 2015)

Everyone I stand corrected. I had just been informed that the site I found was bogus and a spam site, (thank you velrix for setting me straight. ) I was just excited that I finally (or so I thought) found what we all have been looking for...but ima keep looking


----------



## hroark13 (Jan 7, 2015)

BenisHeger said:


> Was it Google, no wait... SKYNET ... that launched first?

Click to collapse



believe it or not it was the Pope, no one knew that he was stock piling nuclear weapons, he got all pissed off because Jimmy Falon made a joke about him, and he went ballistic and launched all his nukes, the Damn Dirty Apes saw this as their chance to takeover Earth, they currently have a secret base on the Moon, and are waiting for a good time to strike.

Please someone contact the government and let them know this information, so that we can save ourselves, I would do it myself but I have to go get a haircut tomorrow


----------



## mingolianbeef (Jan 7, 2015)

Lol seems I've been away a bit too long. I apologize for my absence. I have had to put in more working hours recently, but I am still talking to ZTE CN (bet ur tired of hearing about that song and dance). Based on what they are saying, they are still "awaiting a response". But its amazing that so many of you are contributing to getting this done. I can promise ROMs if we get root lol. Thank you all so much for standing by the device!!!!


----------



## hroark13 (Jan 7, 2015)

hroark13 said:


> believe it or not it was the Pope, no one knew that he was stock piling nuclear weapons, he got all pissed off because Jimmy Falon made a joke about him, and he went ballistic and launched all his nukes, the Damn Dirty Apes saw this as their chance to takeover Earth, they currently have a secret base on the Moon, and are waiting for a good time to strike.
> 
> Please someone contact the government and let them know this information, so that we can save ourselves, I would do it myself but I have to go get a haircut tomorrow

Click to collapse



Oh and ShabbyPenguin you survive this catastrophic event, but you do get a sex change operation, and change your name to Shirley


----------



## ubigred (Jan 7, 2015)

This thread is going downhill? 

Sent from my SM-N910P


----------



## BenisHeger (Jan 7, 2015)

Velrix said:


> I totally agree but the reason I knew that is I knew exactly what he would link and he just PM'd it to me for obvious reasons do not follow what it tells you but if you google search it will show up with promised root results and lollipop.
> This is the body of the PM from him. I will say it again DO NOT USE THAT LINK.
> zte zmax root
> http://www.how-to-root.club/mp3-0/zte-zmax-6697.html
> ...

Click to collapse



Yeah I found that link first day I bought this and new it was bogus. At this point in time, I'm not about to give up on a root method, however after 77 pages and 700+ posts, when will this device finally see its own dedicated thread? I think this would really be of great benefit for all of us.  If needed, I have no problem making a donation to XDA to at least get this part rollin'


----------



## treIII (Jan 7, 2015)

Gentleman, one of the best devs on Xda just purchased this device. When he exploits the phone he will post. Jcase is an excellent member (probably the best we could have with the device in his hands). It will be done. We've waited this long so with no gains. He will get it done. He's got a lot going on but I know he will crack this device. Be patient. The best is yet to come. 

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2


----------



## Velrix (Jan 7, 2015)

treIII said:


> Gentleman, one of the best devs on Xda just purchased this device. When he exploits the phone he will post. Jcase is an excellent member (probably the best we could have with the device in his hands). It will be done. We've waited this long so with no gains. He will get it done. He's got a lot going on but I know he will crack this device. Be patient. The best is yet to come.
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 6 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2

Click to collapse



I have 100% faith in him as well, I know he will do it soon enough. Now if we could get our own forum...


----------



## hroark13 (Jan 7, 2015)

ubigred said:


> This thread is going downhill?
> 
> Sent from my SM-N910P

Click to collapse



is that a question ?
based on the OP
the topic of this thread is



Planterz said:


> Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?

Click to collapse



99.9 percent of the posts are Off topic


----------



## Planterz (Jan 7, 2015)

hroark13 said:


> 99.9 percent of the posts are Off topic

Click to collapse



It's basically the only thread going on discussing development on this phone. Neither I nor my friend ever got this phone anyway, so I'm perfectly fine with the directions it's taking (well...mostly)., and don't really consider this _my_ thread anymore. I am following it though, because if the dang phone ever does get root, I might be interested again.


----------



## Furik (Jan 7, 2015)

I know it's probably a  while back in the thread but has anyone got an update on that petiyion?


----------



## ubigred (Jan 7, 2015)

Planterz said:


> It's basically the only thread going on discussing development on this phone. Neither I nor my friend ever got this phone anyway, so I'm perfectly fine with the directions it's taking (well...mostly)., and don't really consider this _my_ thread anymore. I am following it though, because if the dang phone ever does get root, I might be interested again.

Click to collapse



Why didn't you get the phone? 

Sent from my SM-N910P


----------



## perrisiam (Jan 7, 2015)

perrisiam said:
			
		

> ...my mic cuts out

Click to collapse



Good news and I  feel a little foolish, I am guessing, since there is dual mic noise cancellation, if I hold the phone away from my mouth the mic thinks it's ambient sound and cancels, so I guess trying to be a distance from the mic cuts it out, I think I have this sussed, thanks everyone for trying to help

also, VERY excited it looks like we will have root in the near future, I think someone might mention to the zte team that they the only real thing holding back popularity for this phone is lack  of root and they might sell a good amount more once we can play

I am told, in the corporate world, believe it or not, Money motivates.


----------



## DroidisLINUX (Jan 7, 2015)

*great phone*

I just bought mine, love it such a large screen decent memory and long life on battery you can't ask for much more than that, I hope we get root cause this phone diserves a thread and some attention


----------



## Vyrus69 (Jan 7, 2015)

I just want to be able to install xposed and xposed modules and I'll be a happy camper, as well as some custom kernels and be able to tweak the device and possibly even more battery life


----------



## mhaner (Jan 7, 2015)

Just ordered mine. My brother in law got one and I've messed with it some. I decided to "downgrade" from my Note 4, I never use the stylus and it's not worth the extra $24+ a month to me for the Note over the ZMax. I much prefer stock android over the Samsung Interface anyway.


----------



## Planterz (Jan 7, 2015)

ubigred said:


> Why didn't you get the phone?

Click to collapse



Various reasons. I bought a used Note 3 but quit my job and had to sell it. I liked it, but it was just a hair too big, and the ZMAX isn't any smaller. When I can afford to (probably soon, when I do my taxes), I plan on getting an LG G2 or maybe a OnePlus One. Plus, as of yet, there's no root for this phone. I _need_ root, because my phone is my internet, so I need some method of bypassing tethering provisioning. Plus stuff like adblock and the convenience of transferring app backups from device to device.


----------



## Vee63b (Jan 8, 2015)

mingolianbeef said:


> Lol seems I've been away a bit too long. I apologize for my absence. I have had to put in more working hours recently, but I am still talking to ZTE CN (bet ur tired of hearing about that song and dance). Based on what they are saying, they are still "awaiting a response". But its amazing that so many of you are contributing to getting this done. I can promise ROMs if we get root lol. Thank you all so much for standing by the device!!!!

Click to collapse



Its not much, but its a response back from ZTE that isn't their usual response. It was a very long email that I had originally sent to [email protected]


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## shabbypenguin (Jan 8, 2015)

Planterz said:


> Various reasons. I bought a used Note 3 but quit my job and had to sell it. I liked it, but it was just a hair too big, and the ZMAX isn't any smaller. When I can afford to (probably soon, when I do my taxes), I plan on getting an LG G2 or maybe a OnePlus One. Plus, as of yet, there's no root for this phone. I _need_ root, because my phone is my internet, so I need some method of bypassing tethering provisioning. Plus stuff like adblock and the convenience of transferring app backups from device to device.

Click to collapse



Have you see the zenphone 2? might be the one for you


----------



## mingolianbeef (Jan 8, 2015)

Vee63b said:


> Its not much, but its a response back from ZTE that isn't their usual response. It was a very long email that I had originally sent to [email protected]

Click to collapse



I'm glad they forwarded you to mobile. Like I said, they are much more helpful, but you have... And I mean HAVE to be persistent or they will brush you off (not rudely, but you get the idea. Keep emailing them, they will respond, and make your case. I'm sure this sudden influx of emails requesting Root has to get annoying, and they will give in, because as a community with flashing disorders lol, we won't accept anything else.

Great job though! Keep it up everyone. I know it seems like a long haul, but dedication will carry us through. Great job!


----------



## voidcomp (Jan 8, 2015)

shabbypenguin said:


> Have you see the zenphone 2? might be the one for you

Click to collapse



When that phone will be available is anyone's guess.  It could be months following the release in March.


----------



## brandonlee96 (Jan 8, 2015)

I just got the zte zMax and I was wondering is there any way to get this phone rooted I've tried almost every root tool out there but nothing work


----------



## QuickNET Tech (Jan 8, 2015)

brandonlee96 said:


> I just got the zte zMax and I was wondering is there any way to get this phone rooted I've tried almost every root tool out there but nothing work

Click to collapse



Not yet, but we have one of the best developers in our community working on it.

Sent from my LGLS740 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Planterz (Jan 8, 2015)

shabbypenguin said:


> Have you see the zenphone 2? might be the one for you

Click to collapse



Yeah. Looks too good to be true, especially if the rumored pricing is to believed. 2015 is going to be an interesting year, that's for sure. I'm also hoping T-Mobile gets their butt into gear rolling out band 12.


----------



## brandonlee96 (Jan 8, 2015)

Did the developer himself say he was working on it


----------



## afox27 (Jan 8, 2015)

I can confirm that they are working on it jcase an most likely beaups to from the way they where talking in IRC chat


----------



## Planterz (Jan 8, 2015)

shabbypenguin said:


> Have you see the zenphone 2? might be the one for you

Click to collapse





Planterz said:


> Yeah. Looks too good to be true, especially if the rumored pricing is to believed. 2015 is going to be an interesting year, that's for sure. I'm also hoping T-Mobile gets their butt into gear rolling out band 12.

Click to collapse



Actually, if I went with Asus, I'd get the ZenFone Zoom. Same phone, but with a 3x optical zoom camera. Not as impressive as the Galaxy K Zoom, but it's has a lot slimmer profile.


----------



## mhaner (Jan 8, 2015)

afox27 said:


> I can confirm that they are working on it jcase an most likely beaups to from the way they where talking in IRC chat

Click to collapse



Which IRC channel are you guys on?


----------



## Ra.burt86 (Jan 8, 2015)

Going to send jcase a little donation in advance.


----------



## Root_Junkie (Jan 8, 2015)

Hey guys I am new to XDA I'd first like to say thank you for all of your help with getting this phone rooted. I also signed the petition and posted it on my blog and pretty much everywhere else I could. I emailed zte as well as called T-Mobile about the violation of the GPL by XTE. This is a great phone and an even better community of people surrounding it. Thanks guys and I look forward to working with all of you to make this phone prosper. 

I am in desperate need of some xposed in my life.


----------



## rfunderburk39 (Jan 9, 2015)

Maybe we should all report ZTE & T-Mobile for violation of the GPL. Anyone more familiar with the process should pipe in. Here is the link. https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-violation.html


----------



## Vee63b (Jan 9, 2015)

treIII said:


> Can someone install rhapsody on their zmax and see how it works out. Keops force closing on me. Here it is
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2

Click to collapse



Temporary fix until Rhapsody is updated. 

https://secure-static.rhapsody.com/Rhapsody4.15.1.292.apk


----------



## Vee63b (Jan 9, 2015)

rfunderburk39 said:


> Maybe we should all report ZTE & T-Mobile for violation of the GPL. Anyone more familiar with the process should pipe in. Here is the link. https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-violation.html

Click to collapse



I was waiting to see how the petition turns out, cuz that's a lot of info to collect to report the violation in details lol


----------



## rfunderburk39 (Jan 9, 2015)

Vee63b said:


> I was waiting to see how the petition turns out, cuz that's a lot of info to collect to report the violation in details lol

Click to collapse



That's what I was curious about. But feel it's the next step.


----------



## Vee63b (Jan 9, 2015)

rfunderburk39 said:


> That's what I was curious about. But feel it's the next step.

Click to collapse



I did send ZTE a nice reminder of the petition and GPL not too long ago. Surprisingly they've been good about emailing me back within a day or so.


----------



## nobreak1970 (Jan 9, 2015)

Ummmmm....and what does that say by chance?


----------



## Root_Junkie (Jan 9, 2015)

rfunderburk39 said:


> Maybe we should all report ZTE & T-Mobile for violation of the GPL. Anyone more familiar with the process should pipe in.

Click to collapse



Really we just have to get the link for the petition out to as many people as possible right now its at 166 supporters so get it out as much as possible. At some point they will get so annoyed with us that they will have to listen. And them releasing code source is a lot easier than lawsuit. It just takes persistence  and that's one thing we do have. 

I can't post links yet but the links for the peteion and the email to contact zte are posted a few pages back.


----------



## Vee63b (Jan 9, 2015)

nobreak1970 said:


> Ummmmm....and what does that say by chance?

Click to collapse



Lol sorry, it's easier to convey messages to ZTE China if the message isn't lost in translation, here's the full email translated. This email was a response to a prior email from ZTE stating it wasn't their responsibility, but the mobile operator's, to release the source code. 
-----------------------------------------------------------
Mobile Operators do not carry the Kernel Source Code or the required keys/software to unlock the device's bootloader, the manufacturer of the device does.

Simply put;

The Android Operating System (OS) is governed by the GNU-GPLv3 Agreement,* which states that any device/hardware that is using the Android platform must be opened for other developers as well, if the hardware is locked, an unlock method must also be provided by the manufacturer.

In short, the Kernel Source Code and the bootloader unlock method must be released to avoid violations.

I have checked your support website at

http://support.zte.com.cn/support/news/NewsMain.aspx?type=service

The KERNEL SOURCE FOR ZTE ZMAX Z970 is not there. Please release source.

Also,

https://www.change.org/p/zte-usa-an...urce-and-bootloader-unlock-for-zte-zmax-phone

This is the link to a current petition against ZTE from the development community to release the kernel source and to unlock the bootloader for the ZTE Zmax Phone.

To help ZTE realize the gravity of the situation, the following are excerpts from the GNU GPLv3:

Link to GPL agreement:

https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html

GPL Preamble:

"To protect your rights, we need to prevent others from denying you these rights or asking you to surrender the rights. Therefore, you have certain responsibilities if you distribute copies of the software, or if you modify it: responsibilities to respect the freedom of others.
For example, if you distribute copies of such a program, whether gratis or for a fee, you must pass on to the recipients the same freedoms that you received. You must make sure that they, too, receive or can get the source code. And you must show them these terms so they know their rights."

"Some devices are designed to deny users access to install or run modified versions of the software inside them, although the manufacturer can do so. This is fundamentally incompatible with the aim of protecting users' freedom to change the software. The systematic pattern of such abuse occurs in the area of products for individuals to use, which is precisely where it is most unacceptable. Therefore, we have designed this version of the GPL to prohibit the practice for those products."

Section 6 of the Terms and Conditions:

"Installation Information for a User Product means any methods, procedures, authorization keys, or other information required to install and execute modified versions of a covered work in that User Product from a modified version of its Corresponding Source. The information must suffice to ensure that the continued functioning of the modified object code is in no case prevented or interfered with solely because modification has been made."

"The requirement to provide Installation Information does not include a requirement to continue to provide support service, warranty, or updates for a work that has been modified or installed by the recipient, or for the User Product in which it has been modified or installed."

"Corresponding Source conveyed, and Installation Information provided, in accordance with this section must be in a format that is publicly documented (and with an implementation available to the public in source code form), and must require no special password or key for unpacking, reading or copying."

Many developers, have attempted multiple times to obtain the source code, however ZTE simply refuses to follow the GPL Agreement, and the Bootloader on the device (ZTE Z970/ZMAX/Olympia) still remains locked and prevents development.

The developers are having faith that ZTE will resolve this issue and comply with GPL agreement, however, if there is still no compliance from ZTE, the Development Community will report the GPL Violation.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## afox27 (Jan 9, 2015)

Vee63b said:


> I was waiting to see how the petition turns out, cuz that's a lot of info to collect to report the violation in details lol

Click to collapse



I have the z667g a distant cousin to the zmax that is locked down just as bad or worse I've already started collecting info for the reports for  zinger,whirl2,prelude2,zmax if you guys want me to wait let me know an I'll hold off


----------



## Vee63b (Jan 9, 2015)

afox27 said:


> I have the z667g a distant cousin to the zmax that is locked down just as bad or worse I've already started collecting info for the reports for  zinger,whirl2,prelude2,zmax if you guys want me to wait let me know an I'll hold off

Click to collapse



My opinion: Have at it! ZTE has been holding out and trying to drag this on from my communications with them.


----------



## afox27 (Jan 9, 2015)

Vee63b said:


> My opinion: Have at it! ZTE has been holding out and trying to drag this on from my communications with them.

Click to collapse



If you guys find any other phones on there website that doesn't have sources or unlocked or anything that violates the GPL let me know an I'll make a report for it *cough go look pls cough* xD lmao most of the info is gonna be the same for the reports just different model numbers #ZTE gonna be #REKT hopefully


----------



## jcase (Jan 9, 2015)

Android is not gpl, doesnt not require source release, and gpl doeant cover the boot loaders.

Linux Kernel != android nor bootloaders

The link you provided is gpl3, which the kernel is gpl2. Very huge difference. Tivoization clause is in 3 but not 2





Vee63b said:


> Lol sorry, it's easier to convey messages to ZTE China if the message isn't lost in translation, here's the full email translated. This email was a response to a prior email from ZTE stating it wasn't their responsibility, but the mobile operator's, to release the source code.
> -----------------------------------------------------------
> Mobile Operators do not carry the Kernel Source Code or the required keys/software to unlock the device's bootloader, the manufacturer of the device does.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse


----------



## Vyrus69 (Jan 9, 2015)

Well before you jumped on board and got a phone we were grasping at any straws possible to see what we can do to get root for the phone.

Thanks again for jumping on the ZTE bandwagon, according to a lot of media outlets they are the "IT" company at this years CES event and they are going to have a HUGE marketing push in the US this year, so the community can only get bigger and stronger.


----------



## voidcomp (Jan 9, 2015)

Keep on irritating them on twitter.  I have.  

https://twitter.com/ZTEPress

https://twitter.com/ZTE_USA


----------



## ubigred (Jan 9, 2015)

Best chance is a petition with at LEAST 1,000 people to even be taken seriously. 

Companies loooove using the 'we'll get back to you' line when an issue is insignificant to them. 

Jcase, you seem to be the only hope. Godspeed my friend. 

Sent from my SM-N910P


----------



## DroidisLINUX (Jan 9, 2015)

*Jcase*

I hope you find a way in, before they give the source. That will show them, glad someone here knows what their doing, and talking about; let the root games begin
dd if=zte/security/hacked of=/jcase/owns bs=/zte count=/now


----------



## jcase (Jan 9, 2015)

You have to realize, the carrier are their customers, not you. They build to spec for the carrier. Write letters (not email bomb) the carriers.


----------



## nobreak1970 (Jan 9, 2015)

All I know is that the carriers care about selling phones selling phones to the normal person who uses them doesn't care about rooting.  Let's face it we're not normal not the typical smart phone user.  It's going to take a helluva lot more than 1000 signatures for t-mobile to do anything.
I like the track that what's his name the head of T Mobile is taking the company but I still don't think they're going to give a rats ass about the development community.  This is my opinion in my opinion only I could be wrong.

I want to thank you J case for jumping on board if you can get the zmax rooted perhaps the zinger can be rooted too.
All in due time.

Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Shlickwilly (Jan 9, 2015)

J case have you had any luck at all? I was wondering if you had removed the cover and maybe found a way to read the nand directly? If you have by chance maybe you could post a few pics . thanks

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## ubigred (Jan 9, 2015)

nobreak1970 said:


> All I know is that the carriers care about selling phones selling phones to the normal person who uses them doesn't care about rooting.  Let's face it we're not normal not the typical smart phone user.  It's going to take a helluva lot more than 1000 signatures for t-mobile to do anything.
> I like the track that what's his name the head of T Mobile is taking the company but I still don't think they're going to give a rats ass about the development community.  This is my opinion in my opinion only I could be wrong.
> 
> I want to thank you J case for jumping on board if you can get the zmax rooted perhaps the zinger can be rooted too.
> ...

Click to collapse



I was just trying to be nice lol

If my life depended on it....500,000 signatures would get their attention. 

Sent from my SM-N910P


----------



## nobreak1970 (Jan 9, 2015)

No fault in your end.  Keep doing what you are doing. :thumbup:

Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Jan 10, 2015)

Im just ready to get a 5.0 rom on here and get rid of the zte verson of stock google. Too many bugs and little quirks that shouldnt be happening with a pbone that performs as well as it does in situations that usually cause a phone to show its bugs.


----------



## _ck_ (Jan 10, 2015)

hroark13, have you mentioned in here how you discovered the ZTE Open C flash tool seems to write to the Z667 models, though nothing actually changes in the end?

because that might help the z970 folks in some tiny way

maybe nothing happens because the OpenC tool does not "s-off" the rom (enable writes to write-protected areas) if so, then probably not helpful at all - it does do some kind of unlock to the C but maybe not the correct one for our models

http://en.comebuy.com/developer-firefox-os-open-c.html

maybe we can spy on the commands being sent to the phone from the open c tool?


----------



## nobreak1970 (Jan 10, 2015)

StonerSteve420 said:


> Im just ready to get a 5.0 rom on here and get rid of the zte verson of stock google. Too many bugs and little quirks that shouldnt be happening with a pbone that performs as well as it does in situations that usually cause a phone to show its bugs.

Click to collapse



Oh believe me as of now 5.0 aosp is buggy as hell in a Nexus.  This phone needs root for Xposed. 



Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## brandonlee96 (Jan 10, 2015)

So is ther any luck yet


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Jan 10, 2015)

nobreak1970 said:


> Oh believe me as of now 5.0 aosp is buggy as hell in a Nexus.  This phone needs root for Xposed.
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Well thats a Nexus. Different coding and designers. Plus Liquid Smooth is better than Cyanogen Mod. CM just tries to cater to every single phones needs to much. CM11 on my GS3 was down right terrible. Thats one thing i dont think many people have thought of is the fact that after getting root (Counting on you jcase) we than have to get rom developers as well. Once we get root (I got faith in you brudda!!!) the ball will start rolling fast. This phone is to good for the price. Wish the gpu was a tad better madden lags sometimes but its no deal breaker what so ever


----------



## Ra.burt86 (Jan 10, 2015)

brandonlee96 said:


> So is ther any luck yet

Click to collapse



Nope. We just need to be patient. 

---------- Post added at 04:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:57 PM ----------




StonerSteve420 said:


> Im just ready to get a 5.0 rom on here and get rid of the zte verson of stock google. Too many bugs and little quirks that shouldnt be happening with a pbone that performs as well as it does in situations that usually cause a phone to show its bugs.

Click to collapse



I agree. Does anyone else have a non disableable "Assistant" app w/ a bald eagle as an icon? Ayone know WTF that is???? I'm suspicious.

---------- Post added at 04:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:07 PM ----------

I just contacted ZTE asking for the Zmax source code. Making some noise may help!

http://support.zte.com.cn/support/web/Contact.aspx


----------



## perrisiam (Jan 10, 2015)

just sent off what I think is a persuasive email, feel free  using as a template for your own email;

email address;
[email protected]


Hello zte zmax team!

Great news, the android community LOVE the zmax, it's a really good product for the price and out performs most phones that cost quite a bit more.

Popularity is being held back because the android community wants to be able to root their phones, the zmax has the bootloader locked and we cannot root your device.

I believe sales will more then double if you provide a method for unlocking the boot loader, this is not an exaggeration, people in the android community outright refuse getting devices that cannot be rooted.

If the community cannot find a method to root your device, sadly for your company,  it will not be nearly as popular a device or company as it  should have become.

I know I don't have to remind you, one of the contractual agreements when using android (gnu) is that you make source code available, this is important not only to honor your contract, but also it's important for the popularity of the product, and to demonstrate goodwill in the community so that we look forward to supporting this and future devices.

Thank you in advance

Perris


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## vanessaem (Jan 11, 2015)

Hello everyone,

I did a little light cleaning. 
General message to all: You all are here to have a discussion about this device. Let it be just that. No need for pointless arguing and bickering. Please try and be respectful to one another on here. 

Regards...


----------



## afox27 (Jan 11, 2015)

vanessaem said:


> Hello everyone,
> 
> I did a little light cleaning.
> General message to all: You all are here to have a discussion about this device. Let it be just that. No need for pointless arguing and bickering. Please try and be respectful of one another on here.
> ...

Click to collapse



Thank you very much


----------



## HD2FORNICK (Jan 11, 2015)

Has anyone considered the possibility that ZTE being a Chinese company is not giving is the source code since it may be trying to hide something? Wasn't some Chinese company accused of stealing data from phones?


----------



## misterbjm (Jan 11, 2015)

That's hilarious! I thought the and thing this morning but I didn't want to post it. Lol


----------



## Ra.burt86 (Jan 11, 2015)

HD2FORNICK said:


> Has anyone considered the possibility that ZTE being a Chinese company is not giving is the source code since it may be trying to hide something? Wasn't some Chinese company accused of stealing data from phones?

Click to collapse



Personally, I'd like to know how this "Assistant" app is "assisting" me. I don't know if it's specific to T-Mobile or something from ZTE.


----------



## D33PTHAWTE (Jan 11, 2015)

I have the Family Mobile version and do not have this assistant app you guys are talking about.
(worth noting that it's unlocked and on at&t)

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Velrix (Jan 11, 2015)

Ra.burt86 said:


> Personally, I'd like to know how this "Assistant" app is "assisting" me. I don't know if it's specific to T-Mobile or something from ZTE.

Click to collapse



I purchased this phone at Walmart and seems to be the same version from T-mobile without a assistant app? Any chance of you taking screenshots so we can see what you mean?


----------



## Ra.burt86 (Jan 11, 2015)




----------



## nobreak1970 (Jan 11, 2015)

Ra.burt86 said:


>

Click to collapse



Our Zinger z667t has this too.

Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Velrix (Jan 11, 2015)

nobreak1970 said:


> Our Zinger z667t has this too.
> 
> Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



I see that under all apps. I did not look there. Hmm that is a bit suspicious honestly. We will need to find out what that is.


----------



## Porky munoz (Jan 11, 2015)

Here's the permission
Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## nobreak1970 (Jan 11, 2015)

Curiouser and curiouser.


Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## moosiemooses (Jan 11, 2015)

Tried to disable it thru the method rootjunky posted from xdas YouTube and it still there...

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## afox27 (Jan 11, 2015)

Zte its on most new phones I guess cause the z667g aka my phone has it to :/


----------



## Ra.burt86 (Jan 11, 2015)

"Some of the other goodies for the Grand Memo will be software related. ZTE has said the handset will launch with the ZTE Assistant app which brings power savings and security..."

---------- Post added at 02:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:00 PM ----------




moosiemooses said:


> Tried to disable it thru the method rootjunky posted from xdas YouTube and it still there...
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Fishy. I'm never convinced that an app that has no description and cannot be disabled is of any value to me. Offical word is "security & power saving".


----------



## D33PTHAWTE (Jan 11, 2015)

Aha! False sense of security. Checked under all apps and I do have it as well.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Velrix (Jan 11, 2015)

More of a reason to get Root so we can de-compile the APK and find out what it is and remove it.


----------



## jcase (Jan 11, 2015)

Velrix said:


> More of a reason to get Root so we can de-compile the APK and find out what it is and remove it.

Click to collapse



What APK, and root isnt needed for that


----------



## Velrix (Jan 11, 2015)

jcase said:


> What APK, and root isnt needed for that

Click to collapse



Your right. Attached the APK.

*What I meant by that is we cant delete it without root at this point.


----------



## jcase (Jan 11, 2015)

Velrix said:


> Your right. Attached the APK.
> 
> *What I meant by that is we cant delete it without root at this point.

Click to collapse



Seems to just collect crash reports


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## Ra.burt86 (Jan 11, 2015)

ZTE States it's for security and battery life


----------



## mcknixy (Jan 11, 2015)

I've ignored my suspicions about this phone for a while now.  I'm glad I'm not being paranoid and others have had the same thoughts.  If I could know the size and composition of those crash reports and if they are similar to whatever the standards are,  I'd feel easier.  It is China after all.


----------



## Ra.burt86 (Jan 11, 2015)

ZteProxCal has extensive permissions and also cannot be disabled.


----------



## Velrix (Jan 11, 2015)

Ra.burt86 said:


> ZteProxCal has extensive permissions and also cannot be disabled.

Click to collapse



I believe that one goes along with the ZTE Update utility for system updates.

Update - Looks like this is linked to com.qualcomm.sensors.zteproxcal.TabControl should be fine


----------



## brandonlee96 (Jan 11, 2015)

so i ask the zte people for the source code for the zte zmax and this is what they sent me??


----------



## Velrix (Jan 11, 2015)

brandonlee96 said:


> so i ask the zte people for the source code for the zte zmax and this is what they sent me??

Click to collapse



I received the same thing too. I do believe other users got that same email. Just let Jcase finish it up.

On a side note. Can we pool together a root bounty for Jcase taking his time on this? I'm placing $50 on the bounty.


----------



## Shlickwilly (Jan 11, 2015)

I would guess that Jcase will just add the zmax support to sunshine s-off  and collect that way, with of course if it works for you the option to tip via his donate button.... I am just guessing tho.


----------



## jcase (Jan 12, 2015)

Dont count on anything soon, I'm pretty sick right now. It will have to wait until I'm better and caught up.



Shlickwilly said:


> I would guess that Jcase will just add the zmax support to sunshine s-off  and collect that way, with of course if it works for you the option to tip via his donate button.... I am just guessing tho.

Click to collapse











Velrix said:


> I received the same thing too. I do believe other users got that same email. Just let Jcase finish it up.
> 
> On a side note. Can we pool together a root bounty for Jcase taking his time on this? I'm placing $50 on the bounty.

Click to collapse


----------



## nobreak1970 (Jan 12, 2015)

jcase said:


> Dont count on anything soon, I'm pretty sick right now. It will have to wait until I'm better and caught up.

Click to collapse



Just get better man...this stuff can wait!

Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## deBricker (Jan 12, 2015)

Do I hear a bounty thread in the works?


----------



## Shlickwilly (Jan 12, 2015)

No worries jcase . get well !!!  If you guys get it worked out someday, great. If not it still is a good phone all the same. Your commitment to get the phone to work on in the first place was more than any of us could've asked for. Thanks.


----------



## brandonlee96 (Jan 12, 2015)

i'll put $100 bounty on jcase please get it done soon but get well your health is more important but plz get root access to the zte zmax


----------



## 70cutty (Jan 12, 2015)

I have $25 on it..Get well soon


----------



## Velrix (Jan 12, 2015)

Bounty threat posted 

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-root-bounty-t3000178


----------



## D33PTHAWTE (Jan 12, 2015)

jcase thanks for your efforts. Feel better man.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Ra.burt86 (Jan 12, 2015)

Pretty good screen on time. 7% battery left when I took the screen shot


----------



## mingolianbeef (Jan 12, 2015)

I've seen XDA bounties but my god, we got people paying by the $100s. My money is tied up in stuff with my baby girl, but know that if I have it, I'd absolutely give it because I've donated before. We really appreciate your efforts man!


----------



## afox27 (Jan 12, 2015)

Velrix said:


> Bounty threat posted
> 
> http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-root-bounty-t3000178

Click to collapse



I'll post that link every 10 posts or so in this thread for you   lol hopefully if this gets root we can use the same method in our thread for the cheap zte phones xD


----------



## Root_Junkie (Jan 12, 2015)

jcase said:


> Dont count on anything soon, I'm pretty sick right now. It will have to wait until I'm better and caught up.

Click to collapse



Hope you feel better soon! And thank you so much for taking on this challenge. It means a lot to all of us! As soon as I have some money I'll def be down to this in at least $25 on the bounty. That's honestly the least I can do.


----------



## HD2FORNICK (Jan 12, 2015)

This phone is down right boring. It has yet to throw a tantrum at me, slow down, freeze up or show some signs of life. Instead, all it does is get up every day and goes through the same performance all over again with about ton of battery life left. I wish it was more like my LG G Pro or the Notes that froze up, etc.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## Velrix (Jan 12, 2015)

HD2FORNICK said:


> This phone is down right boring. It has yet to throw a tantrum at me, slow down, freeze up or show some signs of life. Instead, all it does is get up every day and goes through the same performance all over again with about ton of battery life left. I wish it was more like my LG G Pro or the Notes that froze up, etc.

Click to collapse



The reason for that is this phone is almost 100% vanilla. Its not bloated nor running a completely ****ty UI ie Touchwiz. With that being said I wish we was getting more support in the forums with our own forum section.


----------



## nobreak1970 (Jan 12, 2015)

Touché ZTE touché

Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## melcali (Jan 12, 2015)

HD2FORNICK said:


> This phone is down right boring. It has yet to throw a tantrum at me, slow down, freeze up or show some signs of life. Instead, all it does is get up every day and goes through the same performance all over again with about ton of battery life left. I wish it was more like my LG G Pro or the Notes that froze up, etc.

Click to collapse



lol seriously.. we all want a good performing beast but deep down we hope there is some kind of lag so that we have a reason to root and further tweak


----------



## nobreak1970 (Jan 12, 2015)

Same with the Zinger little sucker runs smooth and perfect ....damn stock kitkat firmware
Lol
Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## afox27 (Jan 13, 2015)

I guess I'm lucky then the whirl2 on 4.3 jellybean has to have background processes turned off an destroy all processes as soon as the user leaves them ticked in developer options or it laggs like hell an puts up a fight


----------



## Root_Junkie (Jan 13, 2015)

I guess I just have bad luck with phones or something but I just got my replacement bc the first on froze and had more issues than I could count. And now this one has issues with WiFi calling, as well as the screen lighting up until it times out then vibrating and showing that I have a message but not lighting up again. I'm also having issues with apps not working and crashing until I dig deep enough to find an older version. At first I thought it was a great phone. But now I'm begining to really not like this phone. I hope we can get root so I can upgrade it to a better OS bc T-Mobile and XTE clearly do not care enough to do it for us.


----------



## Ra.burt86 (Jan 13, 2015)

My phone will, on occasion, turn on from sleep for no reason. Other than that, it's amazingly smooth. 68% battery after a day of light usage, super stoked.


----------



## Vyrus69 (Jan 13, 2015)

So apparantly the Zmax DOES NOT have a locked bootloader, I just got this email from ZTE China.  

I'm no where near I can try this method to root listed below, who can?!

So the link takes us to a github that says the Nubia Z7 and Zmax, so do both phones share a similar kernel?  

Dear Valued ZTE Customer, 

Thanks for contacting ZTE.
1.The bootloader of Zmax is open, so you needn't to unlock it.

  You can try to press and hold the volume down key and power key of the phone for a few seconds in order to enter the Fastboot mode to root the phone;

  and also you can open the Fastboot mode through adb.

2.But we need to remind you that you may lose your files from the phone or make the phone dead after you root the phone, so we don't recommend you to root your phone.

3.Please click the link to get the kernel source code of Z7Max : https://github.com/ztemt/Z7Max_NX505J_H129_kernel 

Should there be further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us. 

Best Regards,


----------



## Velrix (Jan 13, 2015)

Vyrus69 said:


> So apparantly the Zmax DOES NOT have a locked bootloader, I just got this email from ZTE China.
> 
> I'm no where near I can try this method to root listed below, who can?!
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



This is for the Nubia Z7Max not the Zmax, two totally different phones.

---------- Post added at 11:00 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:56 AM ----------

Side note  from CES 2015

https://twitter.com/ZTE_USA/status/554707837968850944?cn=cmVjb3NfbmV0d29ya19kaWdlc3RfYWN0aXZl

Now if we could only get our own forum XD!

---------- Post added at 11:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:00 AM ----------




Root_Junkie said:


> I guess I just have bad luck with phones or something but I just got my replacement bc the first on froze and had more issues than I could count. And now this one has issues with WiFi calling, as well as the screen lighting up until it times out then vibrating and showing that I have a message but not lighting up again. I'm also having issues with apps not working and crashing until I dig deep enough to find an older version. At first I thought it was a great phone. But now I'm begining to really not like this phone. I hope we can get root so I can upgrade it to a better OS bc T-Mobile and XTE clearly do not care enough to do it for us.

Click to collapse



Its very possible it could be bad apps causing all your issues. From everyone I have talked to and coming from Galaxy line devices before this I have been extremely pleased. This phone is almost to perfect in its stock form but really leaves me to wonder after we get root the only thing I may want is a kernel for Overclocking or UV.


----------



## Vyrus69 (Jan 13, 2015)

Yes just looked it up, I dont know if they are being stupid on purpose or trying to delay as much as possible.


----------



## Root_Junkie (Jan 13, 2015)

---------- Post added at 11:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:00 AM ----------

[/COLOR]

Its very possible it could be bad apps causing all your issues. From everyone I have talked to and coming from Galaxy line devices before this I have been extremely pleased. This phone is almost to perfect in its stock form but really leaves me to wonder after we get root the only thing I may want is a kernel for Overclocking or UV.[/QUOTE]

It just weird to me that the same apps are having issues. Even the stock messaging app continues to tell me I have a message long after I've read it. I have to go to task manager and close messages in order for it to go away. I really like this phone but c'mon I don't understand why our phone is newer than most yet we have android 4.4.2 installed on our phones stock. There's something fishy going on bc our phone isn't even listed on ZTE's website. I talked to T-Mobile on the phone and they informed me that they requested ZTE add WiFi calling to the android 4.4.2 platform to include they're WiFi calling(which barely works on my zmax) rather than asking for 4.4.4 with WiFi calling added to that. And I shouldn't have to download older versions of apps to make them work yet my friends Zmax on metro pcs works fine. Snapchat works and doesn't force close tumblr stock apps don't crash either. I'm beginning to lose faith in T-Mobile and zte. This partnership is not going well especially with this phone.

---------- Post added at 01:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:24 PM ----------

Does anyone else have issues with the keyboard freezing in the middle of typing? Or just completely erasing a word you're typing? Or the latest update for google play music doesn't show any of the music on the phone nor the SD card except 2 songs. So I have to uninstall the update just to listen to my music on this phone. Please tell me I'm not the only on having issues with the zmax form T-Mobile. I have been so unhappy with this phone.


----------



## Velrix (Jan 14, 2015)

Root_Junkie said:


> ---------- Post added at 11:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:00 AM ----------
> 
> [/COLOR]
> 
> Its very possible it could be bad apps causing all your issues. From everyone I have talked to and coming from Galaxy line devices before this I have been extremely pleased. This phone is almost to perfect in its stock form but really leaves me to wonder after we get root the only thing I may want is a kernel for Overclocking or UV.

Click to collapse



It just weird to me that the same apps are having issues. Even the stock messaging app continues to tell me I have a message long after I've read it. I have to go to task manager and close messages in order for it to go away. I really like this phone but c'mon I don't understand why our phone is newer than most yet we have android 4.4.2 installed on our phones stock. There's something fishy going on bc our phone isn't even listed on ZTE's website. I talked to T-Mobile on the phone and they informed me that they requested ZTE add WiFi calling to the android 4.4.2 platform to include they're WiFi calling(which barely works on my zmax) rather than asking for 4.4.4 with WiFi calling added to that. And I shouldn't have to download older versions of apps to make them work yet my friends Zmax on metro pcs works fine. Snapchat works and doesn't force close tumblr stock apps don't crash either. I'm beginning to lose faith in T-Mobile and zte. This partnership is not going well especially with this phone.

---------- Post added at 01:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:24 PM ----------

Does anyone else have issues with the keyboard freezing in the middle of typing? Or just completely erasing a word you're typing? Or the latest update for google play music doesn't show any of the music on the phone nor the SD card except 2 songs. So I have to uninstall the update just to listen to my music on this phone. Please tell me I'm not the only on having issues with the zmax form T-Mobile. I have been so unhappy with this phone.[/QUOTE]

I will say this, I haven't had any issues with the keyboard. The stock seemed to work fine and I'm texting/replying to emails all day. That play music issue is odd. If you delete the update and let it re-update does that correct the issue? Google Play Music has nothing to do with the phone just so you know btw.


----------



## shinkinrui (Jan 14, 2015)

Root_Junkie said:


> It just weird to me that the same apps are having issues. Even the stock messaging app continues to tell me I have a message long after I've read it. I have to go to task manager and close messages in order for it to go away. I really like this phone but c'mon I don't understand why our phone is newer than most yet we have android 4.4.2 installed on our phones stock. There's something fishy going on bc our phone isn't even listed on ZTE's website. I talked to T-Mobile on the phone and they informed me that they requested ZTE add WiFi calling to the android 4.4.2 platform to include they're WiFi calling(which barely works on my zmax) rather than asking for 4.4.4 with WiFi calling added to that. And I shouldn't have to download older versions of apps to make them work yet my friends Zmax on metro pcs works fine. Snapchat works and doesn't force close tumblr stock apps don't crash either...
> 
> Does anyone else have issues with the keyboard freezing in the middle of typing? Or just completely erasing a word you're typing? Or the latest update for google play music doesn't show any of the music on the phone nor the SD card except 2 songs. So I have to uninstall the update just to listen to my music on this phone. Please tell me I'm not the only on having issues with the zmax form T-Mobile. I have been so unhappy with this phone.

Click to collapse



It sucks that you're having so much trouble   I've seen nothing but good things about this phone, both when I'm using it and when I'm reading about it online(except for your posts, lol).

One thing that's worked for me before when I had similar issues on other phones: factory data reset the phone, then MAKE SURE when you sign into Google that the option to "backup your app data and settings" is UNCHECKED. This should result in your calendar, contacts, etc still syncing but the cache data and other settings from apps will not. If there is any corrupted or incompatible app data from a previous phone, I believe it can follow you if you're syncing app and settings data with Google. You can still go into the play store and all your downloads and purchases will be available.

Good luck, hope you can start to enjoy this phone as much as I am 

Edit: fwiw, I have no keyboard problems but my updated play music does not show the music that I have placed on the phone/SD card myself. Only music that I downloaded with play music will display. As a test, I uninstalled all play music updates and it did display the songs. Maybe this is a problem or change with the play music app?

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Root_Junkie (Jan 14, 2015)

Thanks for the help guys and as soon as I got this new one straight out of the box I did the factory reset and unchecked the back up app data and downloaded the ones I new I had real issues with. But still no luck. I have to keep the downgraded Google play music or else none of my music will show up. I've played with the one from metro pcs and I have none of the issues like I do with this one from T-Mobile. And I honestly think its because of the software. Even with the rhapsody app it wouldn't work unless we download the downgraded one. I have to keep all of my apps from auto updating and go through 4shares to find older versions that work. I have only 120.75 left to pay off so I'm paying it off this weekend and buying the metro pcs one. Don't get me wrong I absolutely love this phone I really do. But these software issues I'm having are driving me insane.


----------



## Sug27 (Jan 14, 2015)

Root_Junkie said:


> Thanks for the help guys and as soon as I got this new one straight out of the box I did the factory reset and unchecked the back up app data and downloaded the ones I new I had real issues with. But still no luck. I have to keep the downgraded Google play music or else none of my music will show up. I've played with the one from metro pcs and I have none of the issues like I do with this one from T-Mobile. And I honestly think its because of the software. Even with the rhapsody app it wouldn't work unless we download the downgraded one. I have to keep all of my apps from auto updating and go through 4shares to find older versions that work. I have only 120.75 left to pay off so I'm paying it off this weekend and buying the metro pcs one. Don't get me wrong I absolutely love this phone I really do. But these software issues I'm having are driving me insane.

Click to collapse



My zmax came out the box with 4.4.4 and has been running great. One thing i have noticed is that sometimes my wifi signal drops in the house, not sure if it some kind of interference though.


----------



## Velrix (Jan 14, 2015)

Sug27 said:


> My zmax came out the box with 4.4.4 and has been running great. One thing i have noticed is that sometimes my wifi signal drops in the house, not sure if it some kind of interference though.

Click to collapse



Can you screenshot the about my device section? I would love to see Kernel version, Build number ect. Also if you are familiar with ADB can you plug in to your PC and try adb reboot fastboot.

---------- Post added at 10:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:35 PM ----------




Root_Junkie said:


> Thanks for the help guys and as soon as I got this new one straight out of the box I did the factory reset and unchecked the back up app data and downloaded the ones I new I had real issues with. But still no luck. I have to keep the downgraded Google play music or else none of my music will show up. I've played with the one from metro pcs and I have none of the issues like I do with this one from T-Mobile. And I honestly think its because of the software. Even with the rhapsody app it wouldn't work unless we download the downgraded one. I have to keep all of my apps from auto updating and go through 4shares to find older versions that work. I have only 120.75 left to pay off so I'm paying it off this weekend and buying the metro pcs one. Don't get me wrong I absolutely love this phone I really do. But these software issues I'm having are driving me insane.

Click to collapse



For your keyboard issue try out Swiftkey and see how it works for you. My wife loves it and honestly I like it as well. For the play music issue the newest update I have the same problem. This looks to be a Google issue (same thing on my Galaxy S3 and Nexus 7) keep the update off for now or contact Google support for a work around maybe?


----------



## Sug27 (Jan 14, 2015)

Here is the screen shot. Haven't used adb in a long time so I will need a lil time on that.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## brandonlee96 (Jan 14, 2015)

how did you update to 4.4.4 im only on 4.4.2 and there is no system update see


----------



## nobreak1970 (Jan 14, 2015)

Tmo vs Metro variation?

Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Sug27 (Jan 14, 2015)

brandonlee96 said:


> how did you update to 4.4.4 im only on 4.4.2 and there is no system update see

Click to collapse



It came out the box with that version I did not have to update.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## brandonlee96 (Jan 14, 2015)

ok


----------



## HD2FORNICK (Jan 14, 2015)

Vyrus69 said:


> Yes just looked it up, I dont know if they are being stupid on purpose or trying to delay as much as possible.

Click to collapse



Keep at it. They'll respond with the right phone eventually! :highfive:


----------



## DroidisLINUX (Jan 14, 2015)

Yea metro users anyone do a adb reboot fastboot from cmd line see if you get a bootloader


----------



## Porky munoz (Jan 14, 2015)

brandonlee96 said:


> how did you update to 4.4.4 im only on 4.4.2 and there is no system update see

Click to collapse



T-mobile is 4.4.2
Metro is 4.4.4


ZTE Zmax Z970 (Metro-4.4.4) Stock
SM-T217S (Negalite rom)
SGH-T999 stock rom rooted (4.1.2)


----------



## Velrix (Jan 14, 2015)

The Baseband is identical to the Tmo version but Kernel and Build is obviously different. I wonder if Jcase finds something with the Tmo version will it work on the Metro one without downgrading the firmware?


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Jan 14, 2015)

Has anybody noticed that if you go into Settings, About Phone, Additional System Updates there is a option called SD card updates . I guess it allows you to put an update package to your SD card and update the phone from there. Maybe there is a way to exploit this and get into our recovery


----------



## nobreak1970 (Jan 14, 2015)

Yep our ZTE Zinger is the same.  P also if you go into recovery it has apply update ADB sideload.

Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Distant1 (Jan 14, 2015)

*Hi everyone*

Hi everyone I'm New here found this forum looking for a root guide to ZTE zmax z970 I'm not to tech savvy but am a quick learner if there any thing I can do to help plz let me know so we can get this phone rooted also where can I sign the petition?


----------



## misterbjm (Jan 14, 2015)

The petition is to have access to the code to allow for root.


----------



## Distant1 (Jan 14, 2015)

misterbjm said:


> The petition is to have access to the code to allow for root.

Click to collapse



Yes but where can I sign it at?


----------



## brandonlee96 (Jan 14, 2015)

https://www.change.org/p/zte-usa-an...ium=email&utm_campaign=share_email_responsive


----------



## bhood (Jan 14, 2015)

brandonlee96 said:


> https://www.change.org/p/zte-usa-an...ium=email&utm_campaign=share_email_responsive

Click to collapse



Signed ( perhaps again; I cannot recall  ).


----------



## Velrix (Jan 14, 2015)

Going to pop this on the last page as well to keep it current
Bounty Thread -
http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-root-bounty-t3000178


----------



## Shlickwilly (Jan 15, 2015)

Vyrus69 I'm hoping when you reply to zte cn that you call them out for not even having the decency to at least provide you with the information that pertains to the phone model you are inquiring about.  That kind of disrespectful behavior of current paying customers infuriates me. I swear it makes me want to go to EVERY retailer website that sells ZTE products and post 0 star reviews with Huge WARNING MESSAGES. stating the stories and outright lies there tech support seem to vomit up weekly.      .... OK rant off.


----------



## Velrix (Jan 15, 2015)

Shlickwilly said:


> Vyrus69 I'm hoping when you reply to zte cn that you call them out for not even having the decency to at least provide you with the information that pertains to the phone model you are inquiring about.  That kind of disrespectful behavior of current paying customers infuriates me. I swear it makes me want to go to EVERY retailer website that sells ZTE products and post 0 star reviews with Huge WARNING MESSAGES. stating the stories and outright lies there tech support seem to vomit up weekly.      .... OK rant off.

Click to collapse



Just what we need less support for a device that is already lacking support as it is. This device is good for what its worth. Stock firmware is very solid, the phone is solid and seems to be built well so far, great battery, ect. Eventually they will release something. The problem is when and if it will be to late at that point. They may even upgrade the phone to LP first then release old firmware. Only time will tell.


----------



## Shlickwilly (Jan 15, 2015)

Velrix you seem to have missed the point. ZTE directed a customer to a kernel for a different phone. And also told said customer the boot loader is not locked . That kind of incorrect information is 10x more grievous than no help at all.


----------



## mingolianbeef (Jan 15, 2015)

Shlickwilly said:


> Velrix you seem to have missed the point. ZTE directed a customer to a kernel for a different phone. And also told said customer the boot loader is not locked . That kind of incorrect information is 10x more grievous than no help at all.

Click to collapse



Not to mention flat out dangerous. Imagine if an ambitious noob took that for face value and destroyed their phone in the process. It just shows what OEMs value customer service. Its as simple as directing us to a viable source with reliable information.


----------



## Dacali21kid (Jan 15, 2015)

*Food for thought*

Metro pcs recently lowered the in-store price of the ZTE zmax to 149.99


----------



## Distant1 (Jan 15, 2015)

Hey v guys is unlocking SIM card use n unlocking bootloader same thing?


----------



## Velrix (Jan 15, 2015)

Distant1 said:


> Hey v guys is unlocking SIM card use n unlocking bootloader same thing?

Click to collapse



Nope, Unlocking your sim allows you to use the device on another carrier. Unlocking the bootloader allows us access to the filesystem for write access.

---------- Post added at 09:13 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:11 AM ----------




mingolianbeef said:


> Not to mention flat out dangerous. Imagine if an ambitious noob took that for face value and destroyed their phone in the process. It just shows what OEMs value customer service. Its as simple as directing us to a viable source with reliable information.

Click to collapse



While I partially agree the fact is they posted the device model which was a completely different device. At this time we have absolutely no way to get into fastboot mode or flash the files they mentioned so the average "noob" capable of knowing how to flash would have no success actually flashing said files.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## Distant1 (Jan 15, 2015)

Hmmm.....   thanks valrex............hopefully someone gets it unlocked soon this phone is awesome


----------



## DroidisLINUX (Jan 15, 2015)

We do have busybox pre-installes, with root permissions if someone knew the root uid and password they would be able to have su working
you can see this in terminal by running: busybox su
su: must be suid to work properly.

---------- Post added at 03:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:28 PM ----------

I think the best possible way to root would be from within the device itself, with: busybox switch_root 
Here you may be able to chroot into a new modified environment with su working to make changes to the running system.


----------



## afox27 (Jan 15, 2015)

Rember write protected after boot loader if I'm right so even if you did get it working an had su installed first reboot an it would be lost if I'm right idk tho I could be very wrong here I'm no expert lol


----------



## Velrix (Jan 15, 2015)

Just a update..

I finally received a different email from ZTE!

Dear Valued ZTE Customer,

Thanks for contacting ZTE.

Your issue have been escalated and we will contact you soon

Should there be further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Thanks could be looking up ? Maybe? Here's to hoping!


----------



## voidcomp (Jan 15, 2015)

Velrix said:


> Just a update..
> 
> I finally received a different email from ZTE!
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



At least you got a reply though it sounds like the standard brush off others have got.  

I sent the 'Hello zte zmax team!' form letter posted earlier back on the 10th to support.zte.cn.  So far nothing.  Going to send again.


----------



## Velrix (Jan 15, 2015)

voidcomp said:


> At least you got a reply though it sounds like the standard brush off others have got.
> 
> I sent the 'Hello zte zmax team!' form letter posted earlier back on the 10th to support.zte.cn.  So far nothing.  Going to send again.

Click to collapse




 I have gotten multiple replies. This is the first time they said they would "escalate" lol. We will see.


----------



## mhaner (Jan 15, 2015)

For anyone needing unlimited tethering without root use these APN settings:

Name	 T-Mobile 
APN	 fast.t-mobile.com 
Proxy	 not set
Port not set
Username	 not set
Password	 not set
Server	 not set
MMSC	 http://mms.msg.eng.t-mobile.com/mms/wapenc 
MMS Proxy	not set
MMS Port	 not set
MMC	 310 
MNC	 260 
Authentication type	 not set 
APN Type	  default,mms,supl,hipri,fota,dun
APN Protocol	 IPv4
APN roaming protocol IPv4

Everything else untouched

These settings work great for me. I have 5GB of tethering data but my daughters tablets use a lot more than that while we are driving.


----------



## nobreak1970 (Jan 16, 2015)

He may still be sick.  Damn flu.

Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## brandonlee96 (Jan 16, 2015)

ok


----------



## Vyrus69 (Jan 16, 2015)

Trust me no new is good news until we hear great news.  Everyone has been this patient so just keep having it.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## voidcomp (Jan 16, 2015)

Vyrus69 said:


> Trust me no new is good news until we hear great news.  *MOST* everyone has been this patient so just keep having it.

Click to collapse



Corrected 

---------- Post added at 08:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:26 PM ----------




perrisiam said:


> just sent off what I think is a persuasive email, feel free  using as a template for your own email;
> 
> email address;
> [email protected]
> ...

Click to collapse



Here's the response I got:

Dear Sir/Madam, 
Thanks for contacting us. We are responsible for ZTE system equipment after sales service, if you need any assistance related to our business area, please do not hesitate to contact us. Wish you a nice day! 

Best Regards,

ZTE Global Customer Support Center
Hotline:+86-755-26771900
Complaint:+86-755-26770199

??


----------



## Porky munoz (Jan 16, 2015)

mhaner said:


> For anyone needing unlimited tethering without root use these APN settings:
> 
> Name T-Mobile
> APN fast.t-mobile.com
> ...

Click to collapse



Is this only for T-Mobile or can u use for metro as well

ZTE Zmax Z970 (Metro-4.4.4) Stock
SM-T217S (Negalite rom)
SGH-T999 stock rom rooted (4.1.2)


----------



## D33PTHAWTE (Jan 16, 2015)

Glad to see you guys are still keeping the faith alive. I'm discouraged about ever getting root since ZTE won't release bootloader unlock.
Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mhaner (Jan 16, 2015)

Porky munoz said:


> Is this only for T-Mobile or can u use for metro as well
> 
> ZTE Zmax Z970 (Metro-4.4.4) Stock
> SM-T217S (Negalite rom)
> SGH-T999 stock rom rooted (4.1.2)

Click to collapse



I'm not sure, I've never been on Metro, I found this thread from the Mate 2 forum that should work for you also. If you can't edit the default one just create a new one with all the same settings and dun added to the APN type. Also make sure IPv4 is selected.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/ascend-mate2/general/free-metropcs-tethering-apn-mod-t2923911


----------



## Porky munoz (Jan 16, 2015)

mhaner said:


> I'm not sure, I've never been on Metro, I found this thread from the Mate 2 forum that should work for you also. If you can't edit the default one just create a new one with all the same settings and dun added to the APN type. Also make sure IPv4 is selected.
> 
> http://forum.xda-developers.com/ascend-mate2/general/free-metropcs-tethering-apn-mod-t2923911

Click to collapse



First two are T-Mobile
Last two are metro


ZTE Zmax Z970 (Metro-4.4.4) Stock
SM-T217S (Negalite rom)
SGH-T999 stock rom rooted (4.1.2)


----------



## kvan1707 (Jan 16, 2015)

mhaner said:


> For anyone needing unlimited tethering without root use these APN settings:
> 
> Name T-Mobile
> APN fast.t-mobile.com
> ...

Click to collapse



Can you give more detail on where to access these settings please.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mhaner (Jan 16, 2015)

kvan1707 said:


> Can you give more detail on where to access these settings please.
> 
> Sent from my SPH-L720 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Settings > Mobile Networks > Access Point Names

Click the little plus in the circle at the top right and input those settings then make sure to save it. Select that as your APN and you are good to go.


----------



## Vee63b (Jan 16, 2015)

Has anyone else on T-Mobile gotten an update today 1/15/15 @11pm CST


----------



## Vee63b (Jan 16, 2015)

I got a response from ZTE 3 days ago. They asked for my IMEI and Serial. Sent them the info, and got an update today; its not the In-flight Texting update that was released back in Oct 2014, that one's only 13.1 MB, this one's 15.1 MB. Haven't installed it yet, anyone knows where it downloads to? I wanna look at it before I install it.


----------



## mingolianbeef (Jan 16, 2015)

I'll look into the update and for anyone who received the "escalate" email, I received that December 17th, and here we are January 16th...


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## afox27 (Jan 16, 2015)

If you guys had a update.zip can't you get the source code from it? Or any kind of info from it


----------



## Vee63b (Jan 16, 2015)

mingolianbeef said:


> I'll look into the update and for anyone who received the "escalate" email, I received that December 17th, and here we are January 16th...

Click to collapse



Don't remember where I saw it, but it showed it was build #Z970V1.0.0B22 can't find any info on what it contains though


----------



## smallyetzon (Jan 16, 2015)

Hi guys i just got this Update but is not near 5.0 its just enhancements
 Got exited for a bit

Sorry the app wont uoload the pic
Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## shinkinrui (Jan 16, 2015)

Oh man, I bet this is the update that enables band 12, and I live in a band 12 city!!! Bring it on! I can't wait to get a better signal than -112db


Edit: can either of you who received the update upload a screenshot of your about phone screen?

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Ra.burt86 (Jan 16, 2015)

My T-Mobile Zmax is not seeing any system updates (currently on 4.4.2)


----------



## Furik (Jan 16, 2015)

I haven't received any update on T-Mobile.


----------



## Velrix (Jan 16, 2015)

If you get the update do not apply it please. First make a backup of the update.zip and upload it so we can look at the contents. After you activate the install it will delete the file upon reboot.


----------



## brandonlee96 (Jan 16, 2015)

Vee63b said:


> I got a response from ZTE 3 days ago. They asked for my IMEI and Serial. Sent them the info, and got an update today; its not the In-flight Texting update that was released back in Oct 2014, that one's only 13.1 MB, this one's 15.1 MB. Haven't installed it yet, anyone knows where it downloads to? I wanna look at it before I install it.

Click to collapse



can u upload the update.zip somewhere so we can have please and thank you


----------



## Velrix (Jan 16, 2015)

Vee63b said:


> I got a response from ZTE 3 days ago. They asked for my IMEI and Serial. Sent them the info, and got an update today; its not the In-flight Texting update that was released back in Oct 2014, that one's only 13.1 MB, this one's 15.1 MB. Haven't installed it yet, anyone knows where it downloads to? I wanna look at it before I install it.

Click to collapse



Should be in the SDCARD/Update.Zip or maybe Data/Local/Tmp. You may have to search around for it.


----------



## afox27 (Jan 16, 2015)

It will be in the /cache   folder which is hidden you have to download but not install it hopefully the zmax is the exact same set up an the way we pulled the updates from the cheaper version aka my phone let me get the files from our thread

---------- Post added at 12:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:55 AM ----------

This follow these directions an it hopefully will pull the update.zip



hroark13 said:


> i dont think I can pull the key, but I would like to play with the zip file a little
> 
> try using this script that I attached to this post
> make sure you have the usb / adb drivers installed and you have usb debugging enabled
> ...

Click to collapse



Hopefully it works


----------



## hroark13 (Jan 16, 2015)

afox27 said:


> Hopefully it works

Click to collapse



it wont


----------



## afox27 (Jan 16, 2015)

Crap it lol xD there goes that plan


----------



## shinkinrui (Jan 16, 2015)

afox27 said:


> (Shortened so not copying entire post)
> Hopefully it works

Click to collapse



Thanks for the info, but can we also get a link to the referenced script file or the thread you copied this from? 

Plus, has anyone even been able to get drivers working for adb on this phone? I saw some drivers posted by someone earlier in the thread, but don't recall anyone confirming it works

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## afox27 (Jan 16, 2015)

It won't work lol the maker of those files said they won't :/


----------



## shinkinrui (Jan 16, 2015)

Lol sorry, didn't see the replies until after you both posted...

Regardless, the basic process and tools should be about the same(I.e. locate update zip and then use adb to copy the file into the SD card), I believe.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## hroark13 (Jan 16, 2015)

shinkinrui said:


> Lol sorry, didn't see the replies until after you both posted...
> 
> Regardless, the basic process and tools should be about the same(I.e. locate update zip and then use adb to copy the file into the SD card), I believe.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



wont work


----------



## nobreak1970 (Jan 16, 2015)

hroark13 said:


> wont work

Click to collapse





Ladies and gentlemen.... A man of few words. 


Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## shinkinrui (Jan 16, 2015)

hroark13 said:


> wont work

Click to collapse



Alrighty then. Moving on.

I thought I'd check the T-Mobile support site for any indication of an impending OTA. Although there's no mention of a new update, the page was modified 2 days ago- possibly an admin laying groundwork for a quick page update when the OTA hits? See for yourself- this link is also the official place the update will be announced- 
https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-15634

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## hroark13 (Jan 16, 2015)

nobreak1970 said:


> Ladies and gentlemen.... A man of few words.
> 
> 
> Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



the only reason it works on the Whirl 2 is because the Whirl 2 is vulnerable to the ASEC exploit, and we can get temp root on it

the update.zip gets stored in /cache

you have to have root permissions to read that folder or copy anything from it


----------



## Vee63b (Jan 16, 2015)

hroark13 said:


> the only reason it works on the Whirl 2 is because the Whirl 2 is vulnerable to the ASEC exploit, and we can get temp root on it
> 
> the update.zip gets stored in /cache
> 
> you have to have root permissions to read that folder or copy anything from it

Click to collapse



Yup, can't access /cache to copy it.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## shinkinrui (Jan 16, 2015)

Vee63b said:


> Yup, can't access /cache to copy it.

Click to collapse



Thanks for your efforts on this so far. I presume you've already tried accessing from the various bootloader modes you mentioned earlier in the thread?

Man, you have the patience of a saint. I would want to install that puppy, lol


----------



## afox27 (Jan 16, 2015)

Lol installs can be bad if you install it most likely the root will come out but since you updated it won't work for you


----------



## shinkinrui (Jan 16, 2015)

They just announced the update.  


https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-15634



> Beginning*January 15, the ZTE ZMAX will have a software update to Android version 4.4.2/Software version Z970V1.0.0B22 via OTA or Wi-Fi.This update provides*features and improvements
> 
> New Features
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Sounds pretty boring. Hopefully they're just not mentioning adding band 12? Also no 4.4.4 but I kinda expected that with such a small update file. Still, damn.


----------



## mhaner (Jan 16, 2015)

shinkinrui said:


> They just announced the update.
> 
> 
> https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-15634
> ...

Click to collapse



Looks like the baseband version is the same so they aren't updating the modem with this update.


----------



## shinkinrui (Jan 16, 2015)

mhaner said:


> Looks like the baseband version is the same so they aren't updating the modem with this update.

Click to collapse



From the evidence (no baseband version listed; only build), looks like you're right.

Still, I hold out hope because I've seen T-Mobile miss or get wrong technical details before. Plus Neville Ray stated in a recent interview that some phones would be receiving a b12 update in January. I won't allow my hopes to be dashed until someone is able to install and confirm, lol. I've been trying to get the update, but hasn't rolled out to my IMEI yet. If I manage to get it, I'll install and report on it; root would be nice but isn't critical for me.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mhaner (Jan 16, 2015)

shinkinrui said:


> From the evidence (no baseband version listed; only build), looks like you're right.
> 
> Still, I hold out hope because I've seen T-Mobile miss or get wrong technical details before. Plus Neville Ray stated in a recent interview that some phones would be receiving a b12 update in January. I won't allow my hopes to be dashed until someone is able to install and confirm, lol. I've been trying to get the update, but hasn't rolled out to my IMEI yet. If I manage to get it, I'll install and report on it; root would be nice but isn't critical for me.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Baseband is listed right below the build number and it's the same as my current version on the old build number.Baseband P892T57B01


----------



## shinkinrui (Jan 16, 2015)

mhaner said:


> Baseband is listed right below the build number and it's the same as my current version on the old build number.Baseband P892T57B01

Click to collapse



I'm interpreting the chart differently than you. Included is a screenshot where I circled the sections for the old update(red) and the new one(green). Notice how there's not a baseband version listed in the new update? 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mhaner (Jan 16, 2015)

shinkinrui said:


> I'm interpreting the chart differently than you. Included is a screenshot where I circled the sections for the old update(red) and the new one(green). Notice how there's not a baseband version listed in the new update?
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Ok I see now. Well hopefully we do get a new modem then.


----------



## Vee63b (Jan 17, 2015)

shinkinrui said:


> Thanks for your efforts on this so far. I presume you've already tried accessing from the various bootloader modes you mentioned earlier in the thread?
> 
> Man, you have the patience of a saint. I would want to install that puppy, lol

Click to collapse




I figure my phone is fine as is, so until I, or someone else can verify the contents of it I can hold off on the update. Can't access with any of the methods on the phone because of the system being read-only.


----------



## Milly7 (Jan 17, 2015)

Where would the update be located? ES File Manager is allowing me to view and copy files from system but I cannot find where the update would be located. Cache is empty.


----------



## smallyetzon (Jan 17, 2015)

mhaner said:


> Looks like the baseband version is the same so they aren't updating the modem with this update.

Click to collapse



I updated mine and really dont know what was in it 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## shinkinrui (Jan 17, 2015)

smallyetzon said:


> I updated mine and really dont know what was in it
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Do you think you could go to settings, about phone and tell us what the baseband version is? Please and thank you 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## shrekandroid (Jan 17, 2015)

shinkinrui said:


> Do you think you could go to settings, about phone and tell us what the baseband version is? Please and thank you
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Hey I just updated my zmax and the base number is P892T57B01. Hope this helps!


----------



## moosiemooses (Jan 17, 2015)

Opening her up... Battery is huge

Sent from my Nexus 6 using xda app-developers app


----------



## moosiemooses (Jan 17, 2015)

Sent from my Nexus 6 using xda app-developers app


----------



## shinkinrui (Jan 17, 2015)

shrekandroid said:


> Hey I just updated my zmax and the base number is P892T57B01. Hope this helps!

Click to collapse



Thank you  just to confirm, after the update your build number ends with B22 right?

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## shrekandroid (Jan 17, 2015)

shinkinrui said:


> Thank you  just to confirm, after the update your build number ends with B22 right?
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Yes it does.


----------



## HD2FORNICK (Jan 17, 2015)

Can anyone tell me if I'll get anymore updates since I unlocked the phone and am now using cricket wireless? Thanks.


----------



## D33PTHAWTE (Jan 17, 2015)

HD2FORNICK said:


> Can anyone tell me if I'll get anymore updates since I unlocked the phone and am now using cricket wireless? Thanks.

Click to collapse



My guess is no. The reason I believe that is because I believe the update is being pushed out by T-Mobile/Metro PCS.
Since your SIM doesn't connect you to their networks, when the update is pushed, it's not pushed to you (or me on AT&T).

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## matthew9mm (Jan 18, 2015)

Has anyone tried this? Not sure if it's legit or not.

http://www.upgrade-lollipop.org/mp3-0/zte-zmax-6697.html


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Jan 18, 2015)

matthew9mm said:


> Has anyone tried this? Not sure if it's legit or not.
> 
> http://www.upgrade-lollipop.org/mp3-0/zte-zmax-6697.html

Click to collapse




Need an unlocked bootloader to install CWM


----------



## BenisHeger (Jan 18, 2015)

matthew9mm said:


> Has anyone tried this? Not sure if it's legit or not.
> 
> http://www.upgrade-lollipop.org/mp3-0/zte-zmax-6697.html

Click to collapse



It's a bogus site to infect your PC, don't download or run anything on that site.


----------



## Porky munoz (Jan 18, 2015)

Here something thats been bugging me,
Whats the different between T-mobile and metro Version of this phone apart of one being 4.4.2 and 4.4.4

ZTE Zmax Z970 (Metro-4.4.4) Stock
SM-T217S (Negalite rom)
SGH-T999 stock rom rooted (4.1.2)


----------



## treezy26 (Jan 18, 2015)

So I'm new to this phone and curious as to what's up with this phone?


----------



## Planterz (Jan 18, 2015)

Milly7 said:


> Where would the update be located? ES File Manager is allowing me to view and copy files from system but I cannot find where the update would be located. Cache is empty.

Click to collapse



It's there, you just can't see it without root.


----------



## treezy26 (Jan 18, 2015)

Has anyone been able to get a 64gb SD card to work? I know it shows only 32gb but these things can work in mysterious ways. I have a 64gb and it doesn't seem to work. I have yet to try and format it because I am not at home.


----------



## stinkbud (Jan 18, 2015)

treezy26 said:


> Has anyone been able to get a 64gb SD card to work? I know it shows only 32gb but these things can work in mysterious ways. I have a 64gb and it doesn't seem to work. I have yet to try and format it because I am not at home.

Click to collapse



Mine works, I did nothing to it.


----------



## Porky munoz (Jan 18, 2015)

Mine works as well 

ZTE Zmax Z970 (Metro-4.4.4) Stock
SM-T217S (Negalite rom)
SGH-T999 stock rom rooted (4.1.2)


----------



## Milly7 (Jan 18, 2015)

Anyone who's taken the T-Mobile update notice any specific differences or enhancements?


----------



## DroidisLINUX (Jan 19, 2015)

> Originally Posted by mhaner
> For anyone needing unlimited tethering without root use these APN settings:
> 
> Name T-Mobile
> ...

Click to collapse




This APN "hack" only works for me on other android devices, I have connected to a computer and it says I have internet, and allows me to go to google.com, but if I put any address into the browser I get the T-Mobile limit of 5gb WiFi tether has been used up page.


----------



## nobreak1970 (Jan 19, 2015)

Well that sucks.  I have an at&t straight talk sim...
Unlocked it cause tmo sucks here.
Guess that won't work.

Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## smallyetzon (Jan 19, 2015)

Milly7 said:


> Anyone who's taken the T-Mobile update notice any specific differences or enhancements?

Click to collapse



All the same here...

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## afox27 (Jan 19, 2015)

Lol T-Mobile has some of the best towers tho on edge data while over my limit ping:50-60  download:23kb/s or a little higher  
Upload: same as download

---------- Post added at 10:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:43 PM ----------

On 4g under my data cap I get around 25mbs


----------



## john16v (Jan 19, 2015)

I have a tmboile/ family talk Zmax from walmart. And so far, no update yet. 

Baseband= P892T57B01 
Build #= B20


----------



## clockcycle (Jan 19, 2015)

treezy26 said:


> Has anyone been able to get a 64gb SD card to work? I know it shows only 32gb but these things can work in mysterious ways. I have a 64gb and it doesn't seem to work. I have yet to try and format it because I am not at home.

Click to collapse



Does your PC read it as a real 64gb? I'd suggest you reformat the card on your PC.


----------



## shrekandroid (Jan 19, 2015)

john16v said:


> I have a tmboile/ family talk Zmax from walmart. And so far, no update yet.
> 
> Baseband= P892T57B01
> Build #= B20

Click to collapse



I have the same plan and phone from Walmart and I got the update.


----------



## Velrix (Jan 19, 2015)

BREAKING NEWS ---- ZTE JUST RELEASED THE KERNEL SOURCE ---- Opensource.ztedevice.com !!!!!


----------



## john16v (Jan 19, 2015)

shrekandroid said:


> I have the same plan and phone from Walmart and I got the update.

Click to collapse



Wait...so what is your baseband now after the update? Was P892T57B01 Build #= B20 before?


----------



## afox27 (Jan 19, 2015)

Sweet now maybe somethibg create will happen


----------



## BenisHeger (Jan 19, 2015)

Velrix said:


> BREAKING NEWS ---- ZTE JUST RELEASED THE KERNEL SOURCE ---- Opensource.ztedevice.com !!!!!

Click to collapse



I keep hitting on Error 500 when trying to go to that site.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## Velrix (Jan 19, 2015)

BenisHeger said:


> I keep hitting on Error 500 when trying to go to that site.

Click to collapse



Its been bouncing today. Give it some time, they may be doing updates/outage possibly? I started the download and it failed halfway through and I could not get back to the site.


----------



## Vee63b (Jan 19, 2015)

BenisHeger said:


> I keep hitting on Error 500 when trying to go to that site.

Click to collapse



Same here


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Jan 19, 2015)

Vee63b said:


> Same here

Click to collapse



Me as well. I'm calling shenanigans


----------



## T3mpr1x (Jan 19, 2015)

StonerSteve420 said:


> Me as well. I'm calling shenanigans

Click to collapse



Actually, ztedevice.com, the main page, is working. I remember seeing that opensource subdomain working, so I think this is real! Someone is probably just sleeping on the job and misconfigured it...This is good news! We'll have a kernel source momentarily! :good:


----------



## Vyrus69 (Jan 19, 2015)

I'm downloading it as we speak!!!

Will post to my google drive once done.

ZTE OPEN SOURCE NOTICE - http://resource.ztedevices.com/uploadfiles/copyright/mobilephones/open_source_notice.html

---------- Post added at 09:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:56 PM ----------

TMOBILE KERNEL SOURCE - https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3c_enS_FZ-_d0lhMGYwSU5va1U/view?usp=sharing

METRO PCS ALMOST DONE.

---------- Post added at 09:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:06 PM ----------

METRO PCS SOURCE CODE - https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3c_enS_FZ-_Vm5RMWtlUWlZVVk/view?usp=sharing


----------



## Velrix (Jan 19, 2015)

I wasn't lying obviously lol. Now someone needs to mod the kernel


----------



## nobreak1970 (Jan 19, 2015)

Vyrus69 said:


> I'm downloading it as we speak!!!
> 
> Will post to my google drive once done.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Holy hell!!

Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## barrygeorge001001 (Jan 19, 2015)

*Apparrently this is the metrics version*

https://docs.google.com/uc?id=0B3c_enS_FZ-_Vm5RMWtlUWlZVVk&export=download


----------



## nobreak1970 (Jan 19, 2015)

Now I want this stuff for z667t.
I'm a lurker here. 
The Zinger is the Zmax' little brother.


Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## shinkinrui (Jan 19, 2015)

Thanks for posting up mirrors, guys. So how does this help? I know devs can modify this source to their heart's content, but don't we still need a way to write to the system area of the phone for that to do us any good? Or is it expected that one of the devs around here can analyse this source to search for possible exploits and get root?

Either way, exciting news. Monitoring this thread, should be fun times watching this progress.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## brandonlee96 (Jan 19, 2015)

Vyrus69 said:


> I'm downloading it as we speak!!!
> 
> Will post to my google drive once done.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



so is this the official source code to the zte zmax z970 4.4.2 phone from t-mobile


----------



## Velrix (Jan 19, 2015)

brandonlee96 said:


> so is this the official source code to the zte zmax z970 4.4.2 phone from t-mobile

Click to collapse



Yes it is. I was informed via EMAIL this morning of this release.


----------



## Vyrus69 (Jan 19, 2015)

brandonlee96 said:


> so is this the official source code to the zte zmax z970 4.4.2 phone from t-mobile

Click to collapse



100% it comes straight from ZTE themselves.

The main website is down.  So I google searched "open source ZTE" and looked up the Cached site and sure enough all of the download links were there for me.  MPCS one took 2 tries to download, TMO took just 1.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...urce.ztedevice.com/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

The zinger isn't showing there right now.  Just keep an eye out, should show up soon.


----------



## brandonlee96 (Jan 19, 2015)

so what has to be done to get root access now since we got the zte zmax z970 source code?


----------



## D33PTHAWTE (Jan 19, 2015)

Wait for the devs just like before, only now they have something more to work with.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## nobreak1970 (Jan 19, 2015)

http://mentalfloss.com/sites/default/files/renstimpy_0.jpg


Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Reallionare (Jan 19, 2015)

Hello, I have 2 noob questions is this what we need to unlock our boot loader and ROM development?

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mingolianbeef (Jan 20, 2015)

Sooooon of a biscuit eater!!! Congrats on the dedication everyone, I knew we could do it!!! Now about that root... Lol


----------



## mdabeezy (Jan 20, 2015)

That's awesome! I'm gonna have fun before I get my xiaomi mi note pro!


----------



## mhaner (Jan 20, 2015)

DroidisLINUX said:


> This APN "hack" only works for me on other android devices, I have connected to a computer and it says I have internet, and allows me to go to google.com, but if I put any address into the browser I get the T-Mobile limit of 5gb WiFi tether has been used up page.

Click to collapse



I think something like FoxFI or one of the other ones that acts as proxy along with the APN hack might work. I only tether other android devices so I'm not much help when it comes to tethering a PC. Or if you use a user agent switcher on your desktop browser and set it to Android that may help too.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## Velrix (Jan 20, 2015)

I'm just going to throw this into the convo here.

I spoke with ZTE Support today via phone and got with a very knowledgeable engineer/tiii support. He informed me that the Zmax shipped to Tmobile/MPCS unlocked. They do not have the ability to unlock the bootloader and only Tmobile/MPCS has that ability. He stated since they are a Chinese based company they do not have the ability to sale phones direct to customer so therefore T-Mobile will have to provide an update that allows us to unlock the bootloader on this phone. He did inform me they will continue to release updates for the phone and T-mobile has the option to provide them to us and to keep an eye on the opensource website as we could see a lollipop source soon. So sad thing is I actually believe the company is trying to do the right thing but T-Mobile/MPCS is actually gimping us at this point .


----------



## ulycb792 (Jan 20, 2015)

..

Sent from my Z970


----------



## Milly7 (Jan 20, 2015)

Why would T-Mobile lock the boot loader when they don't on their other devices? I would think that if they were shipped unlocked then I would assume they still are. 

In any event we still need to find out how to obtain root, recovery, etc. regardless.


----------



## Velrix (Jan 20, 2015)

The did it to the Sony Xperia devices and actually started doing it on the Galaxy lines back a while ago. Although I thought this was manufacturer doing this. 
Regardless email [email protected] and let them know we want our bootloader unlocked. We paid for our device outright and should be able to do absolutely anything with it.


----------



## ulycb792 (Jan 20, 2015)

So pretty much that source code... useless..?

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## nobreak1970 (Jan 20, 2015)

The source code is a good first step the bootloader lock is a hurdle and the fact that all the partitions are read-only is another big hurdle

Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mingolianbeef (Jan 20, 2015)

ulycb792 said:


> So pretty much that source code... useless..?
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Lol it's kind of the cart before the horse. It allows us to unlock the potential of the cart lol, but it cant go anywhere. I didnt have to get the bootloader unlocked with Kyocera when I faced this similar hurdle, so I am taking just as much direction as the next person lol. I am going to look at the kernel source though, simply for my own education, I haven't done this in quite some time.

I'll get on it and contact TMo about getting the bootloader unlocked though.


----------



## Porky munoz (Jan 20, 2015)

mingolianbeef said:


> Lol it's kind of the cart before the horse. It allows us to unlock the potential of the cart lol, but it cant go anywhere. I didnt have to get the bootloader unlocked with Kyocera when I faced this similar hurdle, so I am taking just as much direction as the next person lol. I am going to look at the kernel source though, simply for my own education, I haven't done this in quite some time.
> 
> I'll get on it and contact TMo about getting the bootloader unlocked though.

Click to collapse



If you get the TMO bootloader unlocked could it also unlock the metro

ZTE Zmax Z970 (Metro-4.4.4) Stock
SM-T217S (Negalite rom)
SGH-T999 stock rom rooted (4.1.2)


----------



## mingolianbeef (Jan 20, 2015)

Porky munoz said:


> If you get the TMO bootloader unlocked could it also unlock the metro
> 
> ZTE Zmax Z970 (Metro-4.4.4) Stock
> SM-T217S (Negalite rom)
> SGH-T999 stock rom rooted (4.1.2)

Click to collapse



I'm not qualified to give an educated answer on that to be honest. However, my best inference based on experience is that it hinges on firmware. Seeing as how they are the same phone on the same carrier towers, it would be my best guess that it wouldn't be farfetched.  If you look at it that way though, how come MetroPCS ZMAX got 4.4.4, but TMo ZMAX didn't? If you want a better answer, ask JCase when he gets back, as I'm sure he would be able to provide insight. Anybody else have a less base-level answer? lol


----------



## Shlickwilly (Jan 20, 2015)

My question is didn't ZTE cell phones directly to Walmart? That is where I bought my phone and it was branded as a Walmart family plan so why is it that the bootloader is locked on my phone ? Are they saying that Walmart installed the new bootloader on their phones I don't think so. Possibly T Mobile sold the phones to Walmart. But when I called tmobile and ask them about this particular Walmart branded phone they said I had to talk to Walmart to find out whether the SIM card was locked or not because they didn't have that information.


----------



## nobreak1970 (Jan 20, 2015)

Shlickwilly said:


> My question is didn't ZTE cell phones directly to Walmart? That is where I bought my phone and it was branded as a Walmart family plan so why is it that the bootloader is locked on my phone ? Are they saying that Walmart installed the new bootloader on their phones I don't think so. Possibly T Mobile sold the phones to Walmart. But when I called tmobile and ask them about this particular Walmart branded phone they said I had to talk to Walmart to find out whether the SIM card was locked or not because they didn't have that information.

Click to collapse



Hit the nail on the head....Tmo is the carrier for Walmart family plan
They locked the bloader.
They provide updates for those phones too.
Walamrt is the vendor/sponsor/partner/brand owner
Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## afox27 (Jan 20, 2015)

nobreak1970 said:


> Now I want this stuff for z667t.
> I'm a lurker here.
> The Zinger is the Zmax' little brother.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Same here xD whirl2 z667g


----------



## vons01 (Jan 20, 2015)

Does anyone know of a good lock screen app I'm getting tired of the stock press and hold one.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## moosiemooses (Jan 20, 2015)

vons01 said:


> Does anyone know of a good lock screen app I'm getting tired of the stock press and hold one.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Widget locker is what I'm using. Worth the money. 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## nobreak1970 (Jan 20, 2015)

moosiemooses said:


> Widget locker is what I'm using. Worth the money.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Yep bought this a while back.  Its tried and true.  I've got mine set for the old Froyo slide lock.  Ah the memories.

Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## moosiemooses (Jan 20, 2015)

nobreak1970 said:


> Yep bought this a while back.  Its tried and true.  I've got mine set for the old Froyo slide lock.  Ah the memories.
> 
> Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Yeah I got it and totally forgot about it until this ls  got to me lol froyo I have it to invisible lock

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## D33PTHAWTE (Jan 20, 2015)

vons01 said:


> Does anyone know of a good lock screen app I'm getting tired of the stock press and hold one.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



I've been using Go Locker and like it. The app itself is free and there are a good many free themes.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## voidcomp (Jan 20, 2015)

https://support.t-mobile.com/thread/66334

'Thanks for reaching out via the support forums vegasjoe85.  Unfortunately, we can't unlock the bootloader on your device.  This is because devices that have had root access or unlocked bootloaders have no warranty.   We can't guarantee the functionality of any handsets or devices that do not have a software version that was sold or updated by T-Mobile (for example, rooted devices).

Rooting a device or installing ROMs on it are a process that allows customers to change the operating system on the device. Rooting a device allows a customer to change how the hardware works. Installing ROMs, installs software that T-Mobile has not distributed and therefore does not support. Both actions void the device  warranty, may permanently damage the device, and may prevent the device from receiving future software updates.'

https://community.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-2168

---

Good luck with T-Mobile.


----------



## shinkinrui (Jan 20, 2015)

If you guys want the best chance of actually pushing them into allowing us to unlock it, start a twitter campaign. John Legere is very active in twitter and views it as an integral part of uncarrier. Come up with a good hashtag and start bombing his twitter feed.

#UncarrierMyPhone
#FreeMyPhone
#MyPhoneNeedsUncarrier
#ALockedPhoneIsNOTUncarrier
#UncarrierUnlock
#LockedPhonePainPoint
#WhyIsUncarrierLockingMyPhone
#UnlockMyPainPoint
#DontBSMeUnlockMyPhone
#NoBSPhoneLocks
#UncarrierRestrictions
#FreedomForMyPhone

Just brainstorming. Some terms to play off of for the tag:

Uncarrier(obviously)
Customer Pain Points (this is what they say uncarrier is all about)
Restrictions (as in getting rid of them- again, what uncarrier is supposed to be)
Freedom (this term was used a lot in reference to no contracts)

Example tweet: @JohnLegere Why is my ZMAX's bootloader locked? Doesn't Uncarrier mean freedom? #UncarrierRestrictions

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Thediesel1972 (Jan 20, 2015)

*zmax source code*

Im not sure if this has be posted already or if it will help in rooting but heres the Zte source codes.
opensource. zte device. com/


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## mingolianbeef (Jan 20, 2015)

shinkinrui said:


> If you guys want the best chance of actually pushing them into allowing us to unlock it, start a twitter campaign. John Legere is very active in twitter and views it as an integral part of uncarrier. Come up with a good hashtag and start bombing his twitter feed.
> 
> #UncarrierMyPhone
> #FreeMyPhone
> ...

Click to collapse



Not bad at all, just might try that


----------



## gottago (Jan 20, 2015)

I really like #FreeMyPhone, since I purchased it and I should be able to do with it as I wish. The T-Mobile rep's response seemed contrite at best.


----------



## Vee63b (Jan 21, 2015)

What about exploiting the Qualcomm's SMC? I know the bootloader's locked, but maybe there's something there that'll point us in the right direction, The file is located at arch/arm/mach-msm/scmmod.c

It list all of the commands issued to lock/unlock the bootloader via QFuses.


----------



## misterbjm (Jan 21, 2015)

How about:

#cellbreak
#phonefreedom
#uncarrierunlock
#freedomoftweaks
#giveourbootsback

It would set T-Mobile apart if they committed to open bootloaders and open source.


----------



## TTJB (Jan 21, 2015)

I'm still trying to decide if I'm going to get this phone or wait for the Asus Zenphone 2.  The main component that I need on any phone is the ability to be able to use the phone as a Hotspot with my unlimited tzones data.  So unless it comes out of the box with this ability then rooting the device is paramount.  Anyway I found this on another website for rooting the zmax and I don't know if it is "Real and True" or not.  Anyone willing to give it a try?

http://theunlockr.com/2015/01/20/how-to-root-the-zte-zmax/


----------



## mingolianbeef (Jan 21, 2015)

TTJB said:


> I'm still trying to decide if I'm going to get this phone or wait for the Asus Zenphone 2.  The main component that I need on any phone is the ability to be able to use the phone as a Hotspot with my unlimited tzones data.  So unless it comes out of the box with this ability then rooting the device is paramount.  Anyway I found this on another website for rooting the zmax and I don't know if it is "Real and True" or not.  Anyone willing to give it a try?
> 
> http://theunlockr.com/2015/01/20/how-to-root-the-zte-zmax/

Click to collapse



The unlockr sends me back down memory lane to my Mytouch 3G slide  but I just tried it, and no go, anybody else?


----------



## afox27 (Jan 21, 2015)

Kingo root added a new exploit on 1/8 anyone want to try it I can't I don't have the zmax


----------



## shinkinrui (Jan 21, 2015)

Tried the new Kingo root app, failed 

Has anyone managed to locate a copy of the B22 update files?


----------



## Vyrus69 (Jan 21, 2015)

Guys Metropcs has the zmax now for $99 after rebate.  $50 instant and $100 mail in!


----------



## john16v (Jan 21, 2015)

Vyrus69 said:


> Guys Metropcs has the zmax now for $99 after rebate.  $50 instant and $100 mail in!

Click to collapse



I saw that. Now you are wondering is it still worth it (all this trouble) to still try to root this phone.  

Maybe is time to move on....


----------



## Furik (Jan 21, 2015)

I hope not as I just received this phone a fee months ago.


----------



## Vyrus69 (Jan 21, 2015)

Of course it's still worth rooting it.  There are many many people with the phone and dying for root.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mas_rock (Jan 21, 2015)

THANKS


----------



## voidcomp (Jan 21, 2015)

john16v said:


> I saw that. Now you are wondering is it still worth it (all this trouble) to still try to root this phone.
> 
> Maybe is time to move on....

Click to collapse



Huh?  At that price who cares whether it gets rooted (though I'm crossing my fingers).


----------



## moosiemooses (Jan 21, 2015)

Can some people who also own this phone try iroot version 1.7.9.2 or higher ( if one)? I'm still trying too. It actually worked on a different phone that also was "unrootable". Keep us posted please. 

Sent from my Nexus 6 using xda app-developers app


----------



## gijoeyxx (Jan 21, 2015)

iroot v2.1.1 did not work for me =\


----------



## rfunderburk39 (Jan 21, 2015)

T-Mobile update is rolling out. Just got the notice on two phones. I will attempt to share it when I return home in an hour or so.


----------



## johnb380 (Jan 21, 2015)

We need the boot loader unlocked before any root is gonna be achieved in my opinion. The boot loader being locked is gonna stop any root exploits from making it where they need to make it.

---------- Post added at 04:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:15 PM ----------

I can't even play music files from my sdcard on this phone with any music players because the sdcard can't be read by apps. Root explorer can play individual files but music players like google play music and etc. Can't play the files. 

Yet another reason we need root. This sucks because then I have to keep the music on the internal phone SD not the external card. We need external card write and read privileges.

I hope @jcase can get to our phone soon and break into some exploit or something.

I'm thinking when I get my taxes I may just get a nexus 6 since it has much bigger memory I believe 32 gbs is plenty for me. Also the phone has much bigger and better development I've always loved nexus devices my N4 recently broke the screen and I got the ZTE Zmax but didn't know it wouldn't get root ever. So if it doesn't by the time I get tax money I'll def get me a N6.


----------



## PC Jona (Jan 21, 2015)

lets get this badboy rooted lets gooooooooooooo

great phone. just needs root so i can adblock and delete some system stuff to speed it up.


----------



## johnb380 (Jan 21, 2015)

rfunderburk39 said:


> T-Mobile update is rolling out. Just got the notice on two phones. I will attempt to share it when I return home in an hour or so.

Click to collapse



Ya I got that update yesterday its only 15.6mb or so and is only a security enhancement. Its not much different after and if I'm being honest my phone feels and reacts slower than before the update. Idk exactly what it was but my internet seems to be slower after I installed and now I'm seeing lag on a lot of things I didn't see lag on before. 

Maybe placebo but I wish I could revert back.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## moosiemooses (Jan 21, 2015)

4037Tstill boot loader locked. Rooted.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using xda app-developers app


----------



## rfunderburk39 (Jan 21, 2015)

johnb380 said:


> Ya I got that update yesterday its only 15.6mb or so and is only a security enhancement. Its not much different after and if I'm being honest my phone feels and reacts slower than before the update. Idk exactly what it was but my internet seems to be slower after I installed and now I'm seeing lag on a lot of things I didn't see lag on before.
> 
> Maybe placebo but I wish I could revert back.

Click to collapse



Hopefully my uploading the update, someone will be able to discover an exploit.


----------



## johnb380 (Jan 21, 2015)

moosiemooses said:


> 4037Tstill boot loader locked. Rooted.
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 6 using xda app-developers app

Click to collapse



That's an Alcatel phone we need to find other ZTE phones that have been rooted with the boot loader locked and see how they did it and maybe even contact the people that did and get some info from them on how.


----------



## jcase (Jan 21, 2015)

Bootloader unlock is not required to root this device, or any. Look at my motorola pie and weaksauce exploits, both obtain root without a bootloader unlock.



johnb380 said:


> We need the boot loader unlocked before any root is gonna be achieved in my opinion. The boot loader being locked is gonna stop any root exploits from making it where they need to make it.
> 
> ---------- Post added at 04:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:15 PM ----------
> 
> ...

Click to collapse


----------



## john16v (Jan 21, 2015)

johnb380 said:


> Ya I got that update yesterday its only 15.6mb or so and is only a security enhancement. Its not much different after and if I'm being honest my phone feels and reacts slower than before the update. Idk exactly what it was but my internet seems to be slower after I installed and now I'm seeing lag on a lot of things I didn't see lag on before.
> 
> Maybe placebo but I wish I could revert back.

Click to collapse



So is 4.4.4 now after the update?


----------



## johnb380 (Jan 21, 2015)

jcase said:


> Bootloader unlock is not required to root this device, or any. Look at my motorola pie and weaksauce exploits, both obtain root without a bootloader unlock.

Click to collapse



Ya I guess I worded that wrong and also assumes that without YOU we prolly would need to unlock the boot loader to obtain root. Here's to hoping you can figure it out friend. As I've heard if anyone can do it you can!

Also are you feeling better and have you had a chance to check out our lil old device?
Thanks in advance for any and all work u put into our phone!


----------



## Alfa Droid (Jan 21, 2015)

*Music files*



johnb380 said:


> We need the boot loader unlocked before any root is gonna be achieved in my opinion. The boot loader being locked is gonna stop any root exploits from making it where they need to make it.
> 
> ---------- Post added at 04:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:15 PM ----------
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



I can play music from my SD card just fine.


----------



## johnb380 (Jan 21, 2015)

john16v said:


> So is 4.4.4 now after the update?

Click to collapse



Well let's hope they jump us up to Lollipop but I know I'm just dreaming now! But honestly to me Lollipop makes more sense since to write code for an incremental update with minimal change and very little different UI would be pointless.


----------



## voidcomp (Jan 21, 2015)

johnb380 said:


> Well let's hope they jump us up to Lollipop but I know I'm just dreaming now! But honestly to me Lollipop makes more sense since to write code for an incremental update with minimal change and very little different UI would be pointless.

Click to collapse



Hoping they don't push us to Lollipop.  Very happy with 4.4.4 and Xposed on my N5.


----------



## johnb380 (Jan 21, 2015)

voidcomp said:


> Hoping they don't push us to Lollipop.  Very happy with 4.4.4 and Xposed on my N5.

Click to collapse



Your crazy lollipop is awesome I loved it on my N4 and plus we'll never get xposed for the Zmax. We need root first of all and then we can hope for all the other benefits and ROMs and such.


----------



## jcase (Jan 21, 2015)

Here is the tmobile update

http://android.clients.google.com/p...3f9cd398146d2cdaea6f2a0.UPDATE_B16_to_B20.zip


----------



## Vyrus69 (Jan 22, 2015)

jcase said:


> Here is the tmobile update
> 
> http://android.clients.google.com/p...3f9cd398146d2cdaea6f2a0.UPDATE_B16_to_B20.zip

Click to collapse



Looks like there is a boot.img  and recovery.img in that update.  Would it possible to alter, rename this update to update.zip, flash it and possiblly have root and r/w privileges?


----------



## Velrix (Jan 22, 2015)

jcase said:


> Here is the tmobile update
> 
> http://android.clients.google.com/p...3f9cd398146d2cdaea6f2a0.UPDATE_B16_to_B20.zip

Click to collapse



I notice this shows B20. How did you get this one? Off the phone?


----------



## jcase (Jan 22, 2015)

Vyrus69 said:


> Looks like there is a boot.img  and recovery.img in that update.  Would it possible to alter, rename this update to update.zip, flash it and possiblly have root and r/w privileges?

Click to collapse



incomplete images, worthless



Velrix said:


> I notice this shows B20. How did you get this one? Off the phone?

Click to collapse



Yes, i snagged the url during the update process.


----------



## Velrix (Jan 22, 2015)

jcase said:


> incomplete images, worthless
> 
> 
> 
> Yes, i snagged the url during the update process.

Click to collapse



Crafty work there =)! I still haven't seen the update yet on my phone. I wish we could alter that zip and resign it


----------



## ph37rd (Jan 22, 2015)

Just saw the Metro PCS add for their $60 (limited time offer $50) unlimited everything plan. One of the eligible phones is this one... Making this very tempting...

From their fine print:
*General: *Limited time offer. See a sales associate for details.  Offer not valid in Indiana.  Promotional $50 unlimited rate plan  requires LTE capable GSM device. Bring your own device phones not  eligible for promotional $50 rate plan. Nationwide long distance only  available to continental U.S. and Puerto Rico. Fees include regulatory  fees only and exclude non-recurring customer fees. Phone selection and  availability may vary by store. Restrictions apply. MetroPCS 4G LTE  service available only in a MetroPCS 4G LTE coverage area. MetroPCS  coverage and services not available everywhere. See coverage details at  metropcs.com/coverage. Rates, services, coverage and features subject to  change. MetroPCS services for personal use only. *Abnormal Usage: *Service  may be slowed, suspended, terminated, or restricted for misuse,  abnormal use, interference with our network or ability to provide  quality service to other users, or roaming usage predominance. See store  or metropcs.com for details, restrictions and Terms and Conditions of  Service (including arbitration provision). *Copyright: *MetroPCS  related brands, product names, company names, trademarks, servicemarks  and other intellectual property are the exclusive properties of T-Mobile  USA, Inc. ©2015 T-Mobile USA, Inc.

I'm curious if I could get this ZMax phone and activate the plan, then swap the SIM to my LG G3 (and keep the $50 price)... Keep the ZMax as a backup phone...


----------



## brandonlee96 (Jan 22, 2015)

jcase said:


> Here is the tmobile update
> 
> http://android.clients.google.com/p...3f9cd398146d2cdaea6f2a0.UPDATE_B16_to_B20.zip

Click to collapse



so does this update workor no


----------



## SweetBearCub (Jan 22, 2015)

ph37rd said:


> [snip] I'm curious if I could get this ZMax phone and activate the plan, then swap the SIM to my LG G3 (and keep the $50 price)... Keep the ZMax as a backup phone...

Click to collapse



As far as I know, you must call Metro and give them the IMEI number of the device you want to switch to, it's not as simple as just swapping a SIM card. And if they know you are swapping to an in-eligible phone, kiss the discounted plan goodbye..


----------



## ph37rd (Jan 22, 2015)

SweetBearCub said:


> As far as I know, you must call Metro and give them the IMEI number of the device you want to switch to, it's not as simple as just swapping a SIM card. And if they know you are swapping to an in-eligible phone, kiss the discounted plan goodbye..

Click to collapse



Interesting, I'm currently on Simple Mobile, another T-Mo MVNO. I switch between my G3 and my Nexus 4 without issue. The G3 is an unlocked T-Mo device and the N4 is from Google direct.

EDIT: according to the supervisor at the Metro PCS customer service call center, I should be able to swap my SIM at will as long as I buy a 4G LTE phone from them and activate service with that phone. To have the ZMax phone unlocked, it would have to be active for three months before they will give you the unlock code.

So the MetroPCS unlimited plan, no throttling, for $50 (limited time offer, normally $60) is looking pretty good. Runs on T-Mo which I do now with Simple Mobile. For quite awhile, Simple's $40 plan with 1GB of LTE has been the best plan out there. Metro's new $40 plan doubles that data and with the promotion, no throttling for only $10 more. I'm thinking I'll use the ZTE as a small tablet and have it as a spare phone should something happen to my LG G3... :good:

Even if they don't honor the promotion after swapping the SIM, I drop the plan down to their $40/2GB plan and still profit...


----------



## brandonlee96 (Jan 22, 2015)

{HELP PLEASE} i am having a big problem with this phone and the sd card. i put a sd card in and this is what its been saying these errors now but when i first got this phone  i put in a 32 gig sd card it worked perfectly but then when i restored this phone it started to give me errors like the ones shown in these photos i tried 3 different sd cards and still got the same errors so can someone please help me resolve this problem.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## nobreak1970 (Jan 22, 2015)

brandonlee96 said:


> {HELP PLEASE} i am having a big problem with this phone and the sd card. i put a sd card in and this is what its been saying these errors now but when i first got this phone  i put in a 32 gig sd card it worked perfectly but then when i restored this phone it started to give me errors like the ones shown in these photos i tried 3 different sd cards and still got the same errors so can someone please help me resolve this problem.

Click to collapse



Format it.
I assume its new and blank.
If it has some thing you put on it....see if a computer can read it before you format it.  Report back.


Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## brandonlee96 (Jan 22, 2015)

ive aready done that i did a full format. and yes my windows 7 pc reads it perfecty


----------



## nobreak1970 (Jan 22, 2015)

brandonlee96 said:


> ive aready done that i did a full format. and yes my windows 7 pc reads it perfecty

Click to collapse



Hmmm so if you hit yes on the phone does it finish ?


Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app

---------- Post added at 10:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:08 PM ----------

Also is it blank or does it have stuff on it?

Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## brandonlee96 (Jan 22, 2015)

yes it finishes but this messahe pops up again


----------



## nobreak1970 (Jan 22, 2015)

brandonlee96 said:


> yes it finishes but this messahe pops up again

Click to collapse



This apparently an unfortunately is a somewhat common situation.  I've read forums just now and apparently the SD card is corrupt and you probably have to format it on your PC fat32 if possible.
Is it a name brand SD card or just a cheap one here's a forum addressing somewhat this situation...

http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s4/357955-sd-card-blank-has-unsupported-file.html


Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## brandonlee96 (Jan 22, 2015)

but the thing is that the sd card worked before now its not and i did a full format already


----------



## D33PTHAWTE (Jan 22, 2015)

brandonlee96 said:


> {HELP PLEASE} i am having a big problem with this phone and the sd card. i put a sd card in and this is what its been saying these errors now but when i first got this phone  i put in a 32 gig sd card it worked perfectly but then when i restored this phone it started to give me errors like the ones shown in these photos i tried 3 different sd cards and still got the same errors so can someone please help me resolve this problem.

Click to collapse



I've actually had this same problem from the very beginning. My phone has never successfully read any sd card.
I've formatted on the phone and my pc. I've tried writing to card before and after installation. I've tried mounting the card from the storage tab under settings.
I've tried an off-brand 32GB card and a Samsung 16GB card.
I'm stumped.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## brandonlee96 (Jan 22, 2015)

like i said ive tried 3 different sd cards


----------



## nobreak1970 (Jan 22, 2015)

Going to pull one out of my butt here but check to see if the slot has any fuzz in it or something.
Minuscule pieces of Lint can get in very small places.

Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## fototogo (Jan 22, 2015)

brandonlee96 said:


> but the thing is that the sd card worked before now its not and i did a full format already

Click to collapse



If your on a PC..... download fat32formatter... It can sometimes bring a card back from the dead if the controller of the card is still good and the first sector readable.... It's fairly straightforward... I would do the whole card fat 32 first and click on the card graphic in the program and initialize the card first if the partition is collapsed.... even if it isn't... one link here...

sorry... I'm a newbe here and can't post the link.... google fat32formatter 1.1 and find the publishers site...

another more complex formatting tool for ext 2,3 and 4 where you first format all but about 2GB of the card fat 32 and then the ext 2, 3 or 4 approx 2GB or your preference...

search for partitionwizard dot com or mini tool partition wizard or minitool dot com

I hope at least one of  these help to get your zMax working with it...


----------



## nobreak1970 (Jan 22, 2015)

I was just going to mention that if you're trying to format your SD card using windows 7 and above it's going to only formatted in NTFS and Android wont read it

Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## brandonlee96 (Jan 22, 2015)

how would i clean thesd card slot good


----------



## nobreak1970 (Jan 22, 2015)

brandonlee96 said:


> how would i clean thesd card slot good

Click to collapse



Read the post of mine and the one right above mine first the two posts right above

Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## johnb380 (Jan 22, 2015)

My sdcard slot works fine but no music player can find any music on any cards I have its weird I can play one file from root explorer but no music player app will see the files.


----------



## nobreak1970 (Jan 22, 2015)

fototogo said:


> If your on a PC..... download fat32formatter... It can sometimes bring a card back from the dead if the controller of the card is still good and the first sector readable.... It's fairly straightforward... I would do the whole card fat 32 first and click on the card graphic in the program and initialize the card first if the partition is collapsed.... even if it isn't... one link here...
> 
> sorry... I'm a newbe here and can't post the link.... google fat32formatter 1.1 and find the publishers site...
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Do this. :thumbup:

Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app

---------- Post added at 11:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:56 PM ----------

Here's an awesome blog post on SD cards and why they get corrupted and stuff..

http://retireasia.com/blog/sd-microsd-memory-card-problem-2015/

It talks about a Windows program called Android data recovery might want to check it out


Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## brandonlee96 (Jan 22, 2015)

how can i apply a update. zip without a sd card working or without a pc where can i put the file for it to work with recovery mode?


----------



## lkchrono (Jan 22, 2015)

Alfa Droid said:


> I can play music from my SD card just fine.

Click to collapse



I second this. Something might be wrong with your sd. I keep all video and audio on my external sd. To top that my sd is a five year old class 4 16 Gb card and still just fine.


----------



## xaviercomputers (Jan 22, 2015)

Short answer is no that will not work. Metro pcs tracks and matches the sim to the phones imei. As soon as you switch the sim card out the both phones are without service till you put the sim back in the zmax. Infact Metro still charges a 15 buck phone change fee on gsm lines.  You can not simply switch out sims Like T-Mobile. Remember this promo plan only works with metro pcs lte phones.

---------- Post added at 12:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:03 PM ----------

Zmax dropped to 99 bucks at metro pcs store. Physical store location only.  If ordered on web site you have to deal with a rebate.  Offer is good new activations and qualified upgrades only.


----------



## mjsell2 (Jan 22, 2015)

nobreak1970 said:


> I was just going to mention that if you're trying to format your SD card using windows 7 and above it's going to only formatted in NTFS and Android wont read it
> 
> Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Win 7, 8 and 8.1 will format fat and fat32. Where it says NTFS, it is a drop down menu. If for some reason that isn't working, you can launch disk manager from the control panel, administration tools. It will let you alter partitions on the drive. 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Alfa Droid (Jan 22, 2015)

Feels like I'm rooted


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## shinkinrui (Jan 22, 2015)

99 dollars for this phone is an absolute steal. On top of that, you get a phone fully compatible with all of T-Mobile's current LTE network bands, including the newest band 12. 

I didn't get why people were saying "who cares if it gets root" at first, but from a value perspective, I think I get it. You get a LOT of value for 100 bucks. 2gb ram, 16gb internal storage, expandable memory card slot, acceptable 8mp camera... Even if the phone is never rooted, I'm happy with it. But that makes it even better if someone figures root out 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## tech_yeet (Jan 22, 2015)

Have you faced this glitch where your touch screen stopes working out of no where or android.keygurad.com as stopped working?

Sent from my Z971-A-LTE using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Velrix (Jan 22, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> Have you faced this glitch where your touch screen stopes working out of no where or android.keygurad.com as stopped working?
> 
> Sent from my Z971-A-LTE using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



No but from your signature your device code is Z971? Which device do you have?


----------



## D33PTHAWTE (Jan 22, 2015)

Alfa Droid said:


> Feels like I'm rooted

Click to collapse



Why is that?

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Vyrus69 (Jan 22, 2015)

ph37rd said:


> Just saw the Metro PCS add for their $60 (limited time offer $50) unlimited everything plan. One of the eligible phones is this one... Making this very tempting...
> 
> From their fine print:
> *General: *Limited time offer. See a sales associate for details.  Offer not valid in Indiana.  Promotional $50 unlimited rate plan  requires LTE capable GSM device. Bring your own device phones not  eligible for promotional $50 rate plan. Nationwide long distance only  available to continental U.S. and Puerto Rico. Fees include regulatory  fees only and exclude non-recurring customer fees. Phone selection and  availability may vary by store. Restrictions apply. MetroPCS 4G LTE  service available only in a MetroPCS 4G LTE coverage area. MetroPCS  coverage and services not available everywhere. See coverage details at  metropcs.com/coverage. Rates, services, coverage and features subject to  change. MetroPCS services for personal use only. *Abnormal Usage: *Service  may be slowed, suspended, terminated, or restricted for misuse,  abnormal use, interference with our network or ability to provide  quality service to other users, or roaming usage predominance. See store  or metropcs.com for details, restrictions and Terms and Conditions of  Service (including arbitration provision). *Copyright: *MetroPCS  related brands, product names, company names, trademarks, servicemarks  and other intellectual property are the exclusive properties of T-Mobile  USA, Inc. ©2015 T-Mobile USA, Inc.
> ...

Click to collapse



No it won't won't work because with Metro the sim card is attached to the phones imei.  And the 50 plan only works with phones bought in house from them not byod.


Sent from my SGH-T999 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Milly7 (Jan 22, 2015)

jcase said:


> Here is the tmobile update
> 
> http://android.clients.google.com/p...3f9cd398146d2cdaea6f2a0.UPDATE_B16_to_B20.zip

Click to collapse



Do you advise against taking the update?


----------



## tech_yeet (Jan 22, 2015)

I had changed the SIG one time I was on a website I time and it sayed that I was infected with virus it said"your ZTE Olympia Z970-A-LTE has been infected with the honeyworm.apk download the cleaning app now to fix!!!" I noticed it said A-LTE but I had looked it up I none of the website said it was A-LTE so basically I got the idea form a fake virus....

Sent from my Z971-A-LTE using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Velrix (Jan 22, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> I had changed the SIG one time I was on a website I time and it sayed that I was infected with virus it said"your ZTE Olympia Z970-A-LTE has been infected with the honeyworm.apk download the cleaning app now to fix!!!" I noticed it said A-LTE but I had looked it up I none of the website said it was A-LTE so basically I got the idea form a fake virus....
> 
> Sent from my Z971-A-LTE using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



I see, I have been very lucky and really haven't had any issues. I had a few hiccups exiting apps but that has been few and far between. Honestly the phone runs better than my S3 with SlimKat did :\


----------



## Alfa Droid (Jan 22, 2015)

D33PTHAWTE said:


> Why is that?
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Look at my notification


----------



## SweetBearCub (Jan 22, 2015)

Alfa Droid said:


> Feels like I'm rooted

Click to collapse



So are you rooted or not?


----------



## D33PTHAWTE (Jan 22, 2015)

Alfa Droid said:


> Look at my notification

Click to collapse



I see. 
How did you manage those changes?

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## tech_yeet (Jan 22, 2015)

Velrix said:


> I see, I have been very lucky and really haven't had any issues. I had a few hiccups exiting apps but that has been few and far between. Honestly the phone runs better than my S3 with SlimKat did :\

Click to collapse



Um how about when you phone is on the charger dose it heat up and slow down because my phone dose that for some reason the CPU heats up to 158F°!!! and throttles it self I can't text right and I can't play subway sufers without it lagging real bad it reminds me of my old DROID X (that I still have and it works) when it comes to gaming performance while its like that but lucky just restarted it or turning it off and letting it cool down brings it back to normal...

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Velrix (Jan 22, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> Um how about when you phone is on the charger dose it heat up and slow down because my phone dose that for some reason the CPU heats up to 158F°!!! and throttles it self I can't text right and I can't play subway sufers without it lagging real bad it reminds me of my old DROID X (that I still have and it works) when it comes to gaming performance while its like that but lucky just restarted it or turning it off and letting it cool down brings it back to normal...
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Thats rather scary. I would check apps running in the background. Sometimes these apps do not close properly and will continue to run in the background. IE Battery heats up as normal while charging but the CPU is getting tapped out from other apps running causing excessive heat.


----------



## DroidisLINUX (Jan 22, 2015)

I had that issue when using a charger that didn't come with the phone.
I have a 64 GB card class 10 works fine


----------



## tech_yeet (Jan 22, 2015)

DroidisLINUX said:


> I had that issue when using a charger that didn't come with the phone.
> I have a 64 GB card class 10 works fine

Click to collapse



Oh no it the charger that came with the phone...

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Vyrus69 (Jan 22, 2015)

Alfa Droid said:


> Feels like I'm rooted

Click to collapse



Is that an app you used to change the notification area?


----------



## tech_yeet (Jan 22, 2015)

The thing is I thought that to so I turned on no back process and the destroy everything that the user leaves option and it still heats up and slow down.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## eddytholland (Jan 22, 2015)

johnb380 said:


> My sdcard slot works fine but no music player can find any music on any cards I have its weird I can play one file from root explorer but no music player app will see the files.

Click to collapse



have you tried using winamp? i've had no problem playing from there and i've got 3000+ songs on my sd card.

---------- Post added at 05:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:02 PM ----------




stinkbud said:


> + 1 googling for a root method, I am also googling for a decent case for this phone. The plastic on the back is starting to pick up scratches.

Click to collapse



i have no idea what carrier you have, bu metropcs has a good selection of cases. so check out one of the stores and see for yourself ^_^


----------



## Velrix (Jan 22, 2015)

If you guys want change from T-mobile with the bootloader please goto the FCC website and file a petition on the bootloader being unlocked. I have made a request and it currently has been submitted to T-Mobile for a response. I urge everyone else to do the same.


----------



## johnb380 (Jan 22, 2015)

eddytholland said:


> have you tried using winamp? i've had no problem playing from there and i've got 3000+ songs on my sd card.

Click to collapse




Winamp for Android? Cuz I don't see it in the play store. I see AIMP when searching for winamp so I downloaded that and I'll try it now!

Damn it it works lol thanx... Wonder why google play music and normal players don't work?
On this app I  had to add the folder manually and now it sees them. Anyways now I'm good!


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## eddytholland (Jan 22, 2015)

johnb380 said:


> Winamp for Android? Cuz I don't see it in the play store. I see AIMP when searching for winamp so I downloaded that and I'll try it now!
> 
> Damn it it works lol thanx... Wonder why google play music and normal players don't work?
> On this app I  had to add the folder manually and now it sees them. Anyways now I'm good!

Click to collapse



https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nullsoft.winamp&hl=en 
try this if your current app fails. but i'm glad you got it working


----------



## DroidHackalot (Jan 22, 2015)

Alfa Droid said:


> Feels like I'm rooted

Click to collapse



Is that so??


----------



## Shlickwilly (Jan 22, 2015)

Velrix said:


> If you guys want change from T-mobile with the bootloader please goto the FCC website and file a petition on the bootloader being unlocked. I have made a request and it currently has been submitted to T-Mobile for a response. I urge everyone else to do the same.

Click to collapse



Link for this?


----------



## Velrix (Jan 23, 2015)

Shlickwilly said:


> Link for this?

Click to collapse



https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us


----------



## clockcycle (Jan 23, 2015)

Vyrus69 said:


> Guys Metropcs has the zmax now for $99 after rebate.  $50 instant and $100 mail in!

Click to collapse





*Offer not valid in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Miami-Dade, Florida. Last one is a county, not even a state or city... lol fraud is stronk!


----------



## Vyrus69 (Jan 23, 2015)

WTF!!!?? I live in Miami 

Sent from my SGH-T999 using XDA Free mobile app

---------- Post added at 01:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:46 AM ----------

I don't find those notes anywhere

Sent from my SGH-T999 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## jc33777 (Jan 23, 2015)

Velrix said:


> If you guys want change from T-mobile with the bootloader please goto the FCC website and file a petition on the bootloader being unlocked. I have made a request and it currently has been submitted to T-Mobile for a response. I urge everyone else to do the same.

Click to collapse



Complaint filed

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app


----------



## Alfa Droid (Jan 23, 2015)

SweetBearCub said:


> So are you rooted or not?

Click to collapse



No I'm not rooted. But in did find a work around to change the color and battery in my notification. Like with xposed.

---------- Post added at 08:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:30 PM ----------

The app is called super status bar in the playstore guys enjoy.


----------



## Furik (Jan 23, 2015)

I'd like to file a complaint but i'm not even sure what to write at this point.


----------



## tech_yeet (Jan 23, 2015)

Have you tried putting SU in the system bin of the update? I tried but I have no way of testing because I can't put it the root folder XP..

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## TJay99 (Jan 23, 2015)

DroidisLINUX said:


> I had that issue when using a charger that didn't come with the phone.

Click to collapse



Really? Is this really an issue (i.e., _having the Zmax heat up to an extreme temp_)? I'm so used to using any old charger for any phone (without consequence, mind you) that it would truly surprise me.

Anyone else had similar results?


----------



## Velrix (Jan 23, 2015)

Furik said:


> I'd like to file a complaint but i'm not even sure what to write at this point.

Click to collapse



Please use this template if you like and modify it to your liking.

I am the proud owner of a ZTE Zmax from T-mobie/MetroPCs. The locked bootloader prevents the phone from being modified beyond root access by not allowing the installation of custom OS software. Rooting is not illegal- it simply allows access to all files on the device nor is modifying a device we own.
ZTE has been committed to providing access to consumers wishing to access all the files on the phones they own and has provided users with the kernel source code for our phone. T-Mobile has requested bootloader to be locked and ZTE is unable to provide this unlock.
Locking the bootloader seems contrary to T-Mobile's own efforts to be seen as an "uncarrier".  The vast majority of T-Mobile devices do not have locked bootloaders. T-Mobile has stated that it did not provide an unlockable bootloader because rooting the phone would void the warranty and allow users to install software that may harm the device. Users can accept that unlocking the bootloader will void their warranty and besides the majority of users will not root their devices. Allow those who wish to root their devices the opportunity to do so with the understanding of the risks they undertake.


----------



## shinkinrui (Jan 23, 2015)

Edit: please disregard this post, I am wrong. Only leaving original text for posterity.

I don't mean to be a downer, but I don't see what power the FCC could have to get T-Mobile to unlock it. 

I still say a twitter campaign is the best option.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Velrix (Jan 23, 2015)

shinkinrui said:


> I don't mean to be a downer, but I don't see what power the FCC could have to get T-Mobile to unlock it.
> 
> I still say a twitter campaign is the best option.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



And what power would twitter have? The FCC will at least send the complaint to T-mobile for a response. It can get their attention. I do not expect the FCC to say they have to do it.


----------



## Summatyme (Jan 23, 2015)

Heh. Tried writing a very reasonable and truthful review about the bootloader as a con for this phone on Tmobile's website.  Was sent an email saying that my review would not be posted unless it was revised.  Looks like we know what to expect from them now.


----------



## shinkinrui (Jan 23, 2015)

Velrix said:


> And what power would twitter have?

Click to collapse



The power of going along with T-Mobile's branding. John Legere reads twitter every day, if he got a hundred legit tweets asking about unlocking the bootloader, he'd be likely to at least respond. He's the man in charge, and what he most cares about is the T-Mobile brand right now, not appeasing the couple hundred people online that actually care about this minor thing. BUT if we make enough noise, he can then turn around and give the word to unlock it, and suddenly he's got a great PR story on the tech sites about how friendly he is to the tech savvy community. 

Edit: please disregard this next part of my argument in this post, I am wrong. If you feel compelled to submit a FCC complaint, please do so confident that it is making a difference. Only leaving original text for posterity.

Complaining to the FCC won't do any good because T-Mobile isn't breaking any rules by not unlocking the bootloader. Nobody at the FCC will "send them a complaint" because locking the bootloader is an accepted and perfectly legal business practice. It's like a 5-year-old running to a cop and complaining that his friend won't share his toys. The cop's gonna give the kids a pat on the head and ignore the complaint. You might get a "thank you for reporting this" form letter back, but that's it.

But this is the last post I'm making on this, not worth the argument. If you want to fill out a FCC complaint, go right ahead. Not like anybody really picked up my twitter idea, so your idea and mine are accomplishing the same thing in the end anyway 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## SweetBearCub (Jan 23, 2015)

shinkinrui said:


> Not like anybody really picked up my twitter idea

Click to collapse



I tweeted John Legere yesterday, using your suggestions.


----------



## Velrix (Jan 23, 2015)

shinkinrui said:


> The power of going along with T-Mobile's branding. John Legere reads twitter every day, if he got a hundred legit tweets asking about unlocking the bootloader, he'd be likely to at least respond. He's the man in charge, and what he most cares about is the T-Mobile brand right now, not appeasing the couple hundred people online that actually care about this minor thing. BUT if we make enough noise, he can then turn around and give the word to unlock it, and suddenly he's got a great PR story on the tech sites about how friendly he is to the tech savvy community.
> 
> Complaining to the FCC won't do any good because T-Mobile isn't breaking any rules by not unlocking the bootloader. Nobody at the FCC will "send them a complaint" because locking the bootloader is an accepted and perfectly legal business practice. It's like a 5-year-old running to a cop and complaining that his friend won't share his toys. The cop's gonna give the kids a pat on the head and ignore the complaint. You might get a "thank you for reporting this" form letter back, but that's it.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



FCC has already sent the complaint to T-mobile actually(See attachment). They may not be breaking rules but hitting them from every angle at this moment is all Im worried about. They already shut me down on twitter and facebook.


----------



## DroidHackalot (Jan 23, 2015)

I use my gs4 wall adapter and g flex usb to charge my zmax and it doesn't heat up. I'm not sure if it's just metros zmax but it came with the lookout app straight out the box and because of that app it lags the cpu and over heats my phone. 
This is why we need root to be able to remove apps like these.


----------



## TJay99 (Jan 23, 2015)

DroidHackalot said:


> I use my gs4 wall adapter and g flex usb to charge my zmax and it doesn't heat up. I'm not sure if it's just metros zmax but it came with the lookout app straight out the box and because of that app it lags the cpu and over heats my phone.
> This is why we need root to be able to remove apps like these.

Click to collapse



Good to know. I'll experiment with other adapters as well. And I agree about Lookout. But I was able to easily stop and *disable *the Lookout App. Not as good as rooting and removing, but it does suffice.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## Milly7 (Jan 23, 2015)

Disregard


----------



## clockcycle (Jan 23, 2015)

DroidHackalot said:


> I use my gs4 wall adapter and g flex usb to charge my zmax and it doesn't heat up. I'm not sure if it's just metros zmax but it came with the lookout app straight out the box and because of that app it lags the cpu and over heats my phone.
> This is why we need root to be able to remove apps like these.

Click to collapse



I just went into app manager, forced closed and disabled this and most apps I didn't want. It's built-in, no root required.


----------



## jc33777 (Jan 23, 2015)

Furik said:


> I'd like to file a complaint but i'm not even sure what to write at this point.

Click to collapse



I just keep it simple and to the point they are locking the boot loader and limiting a device I paid for out right I should be able to do whatever I please since it is my property

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app


----------



## shinkinrui (Jan 23, 2015)

Velrix said:


> FCC has already sent the complaint to T-mobile actually(See attachment). They may not be breaking rules but hitting them from every angle at this moment is all Im worried about. They already shut me down on twitter and facebook.

Click to collapse



Fair enough, guess I was wrong. Nice work. Went and thanked all your posts now that I realized I was wrong and the FCC expects a response. 

John Legere already tweeted you back and shut you down? 

EDIT: if we're hitting them from every angle, anybody who's submitted a complaint to the FCC please tweet John and let him know. Don't just tweet T-Mobile, tweet John Legere (at sign then johnlegere). Any twitter accounts that are T-Mobile are gonna just give a polite reply basically saying to go pound sand by the employees monitoring those accounts, but John's account is John's, and he's said multiple times that he is the one reading and responding on that account. Skip the red tape and large-company BS 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Velrix (Jan 23, 2015)

He hasn't tweeted back but Tmobile did and said they would not do it. He has yet to respond via email, Facebook or Twitter.


----------



## Furik (Jan 23, 2015)

I just tweeted this:  @Tmobile @xdadevelopers @ZTE_USA #FreeMyPhone #UncarrierUnlock #UncarrierRestrictions #FreedomForMyPhone #ZTEZmax

Hopefully this will catch on.


----------



## shinkinrui (Jan 23, 2015)

Velrix said:


> He hasn't tweeted back but Tmobile did and said they would not do it. He has yet to respond via email, Facebook or Twitter.

Click to collapse



I'm confident that John will reply to this if enough people bug him on twitter about it. He uses twitter as a tool to further his goals for T-Mobile. If we can convince him that its more worth the good PR to unlock it than it is worth having another locked-down phone they can keep us tech junkies from using for unauthorized tethering, we've got a chance. Your FCC complaint idea is also perfect for more pressure, so thanks for that 

While jcase tries to get our phone unlocked, at least we can do as much as we can to convince T-Mobile. Big thanks to anyone trying these FCC and twitter routes 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Vyrus69 (Jan 23, 2015)

Remember we don't need bootloader unlock to have root.  

Have patience and I have all the confidence in the world with jcase.


----------



## OHNONONO (Jan 23, 2015)

Been following this from the beginning..sure hope we get root.  I've filled this phone up at the same time played CPU demanding games while miracasting..I can just imagine...


----------



## madjenks16 (Jan 23, 2015)

*Required to unlock phones*

Not sure if this is the same type of unlocking, but looks like coming next month all the carriers will be required to unlock phones...or am I reading this incorrectly?  I'm kinda new but I have been following this thread.  I have the ZTE ZMAX and would love to get CM, Paranoid, or something custom rom on here.

This is my first post so I can't post the link but if you look at...lets see if I can make this easy to understand...
go to "/policy-initiatives/voluntary-guidelines/consumer-code-for-wireless-service"

on the ctia org's website

Look at #12


----------



## Telyx (Jan 23, 2015)

SIM unlocking (what #12 talks about) and bootloader unlocking (what we want) are two different things.


----------



## madjenks16 (Jan 23, 2015)

*ahhhhh*

Ok, thanks for educating me on this.  I was about to get happy.  Please excuse my newbieness!!  :cyclops:


----------



## Porky munoz (Jan 23, 2015)

This blows, I really love this phone just isnt fair that I am unable to root it. And since the price went down for it, it doesnt have any real value if your trying to trade the phone with someone

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## johnb380 (Jan 23, 2015)

Porky munoz said:


> This blows, I really love this phone just isnt fair that I am unable to root it. And since the price went down for it, it doesnt have any real value if your trying to trade the phone with someone
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



That's the price u pay buying cheap. O well this phone runs great really we are lucky to have such a good performing phone. And the Ui is almost stock Android KK so I'm really happy. 
It would be nice to do a few root functions but if it never gets root I'll still be happy with the way this thing performs.


----------



## Reallionare (Jan 23, 2015)

Hello, I have been using my HTC phone adapter to charge my Zmax and haven't had any issues , charges fully in approx. 2+hrs...

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## graysooner (Jan 23, 2015)

johnb380 said:


> That's the price u pay buying cheap. O well this phone runs great really we are lucky to have such a good performing phone. And the Ui is almost stock Android KK so I'm really happy.
> It would be nice to do a few root functions but if it never gets root I'll still be happy with the way this thing performs.

Click to collapse



I'd love to have root also, but I bought the phone for the value.


----------



## DroidHackalot (Jan 23, 2015)

Some day and in some way the zmax will be free! 
FreeTheZmax!


----------



## Kahuna_Tuna (Jan 24, 2015)

Complaint filed.


----------



## gordthedev (Jan 24, 2015)

*Noob online... Am I missing something...*

I thought that the only thing needed to root for an expert dev was the source code for the kernel? Because its been posted in a thread for a couple days... 

Also, when yall talk about bootloaders, if I hold down + pwr i get to the system recovery and if i hold down + pwr i get to a weird screen that says FTM...


----------



## clockcycle (Jan 24, 2015)

gordthedev said:


> I thought that the only thing needed to root for an expert dev was the source code for the kernel? Because its been posted in a thread for a couple days...
> 
> Also, when yall talk about bootloaders, if I hold down + pwr i get to the system recovery and if i hold down + pwr i get to a weird screen that says FTM...

Click to collapse



In FTM my win7 only loads USB Composite drivers, but the other two are missing and show up as "Android". Reloaded drivers from virtual CD on phone.

EDIT:* [warning this is NOT for our phones, it just for research, read at your own peril and risk]* but this looks interesting https://sites.google.com/site/zteopenfirmware/download-mode

EDIT2: Our phones goes into the same modes as described in that guide, including DFU mode and that APP does see our phone. I am now wondering if we can flash an appropriate recovery like CMW,??


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Jan 24, 2015)

shinkinrui said:


> I'm confident that John will reply to this if enough people bug him on twitter about it. He uses twitter as a tool to further his goals for T-Mobile. If we can convince him that its more worth the good PR to unlock it than it is worth having another locked-down phone they can keep us tech junkies from using for unauthorized tethering, we've got a chance. Your FCC complaint idea is also perfect for more pressure, so thanks for that
> 
> While jcase tries to get our phone unlocked, at least we can do as much as we can to convince T-Mobile. Big thanks to anyone trying these FCC and twitter routes
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



I doubt he'll even care. He just gets on Twitter to talk trash. Probably doesn't read ours lol

Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Velrix (Jan 24, 2015)

clockcycle said:


> In FTM my win7 only loads USB Composite drivers, but the other two are missing and show up as "Android".
> 
> EDIT:* [warning this is not for our phones, it just for research, read at your own peril and risk]* but this looks interesting https://sites.google.com/site/zteopenfirmware/download-mode
> 
> EDIT2: Our phones goes into the same modes as described in that guide, including DFU mode and that APP does see our phone. I am now wondering if we can flash an appropriate recovery like CMW,??

Click to collapse



In DFU we could flash recovery and kernels ext. The problem is without a bootloader that will work for our phone that is unlocked it will brick the phone completely. And the FTM is a download mode think (File Transfer Mode) opens adb and the Qualcomm ZTE debug driver.  I messed with QPST and such with this phone. We can't do anything unless we find a way around the bootloader. Other than root and maybe some prop edits.


Edit. I know a way around the bootloader issue with root. We can backup the bootloader and change a string with beyond and compare. Another ZTE had a similar issue and they changed the string from 100000 to 000000 and it unlocked the phone. Should work on this phone too. After the change you push the file back with qpst. Another option is deleting a specific bootfile to force fastboot mode. Once there we can OEM unlock.


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Jan 24, 2015)

Velrix said:


> In DFU we could flash recovery and kernels ext. The problem is without a bootloader that will work for our phone that is unlocked it will brick the phone completely. And the FTM is a download mode think (File Transfer Mode) opens adb and the Qualcomm ZTE debug driver.  I messed with QPST and such with this phone. We can't do anything unless we find a way around the bootloader. Other than root and maybe some prop edits.
> 
> 
> Edit. I know a way around the bootloader issue with root. We can backup the bootloader and change a string with beyond and compare. Another ZTE had a similar issue and they changed the string from 100000 to 000000 and it unlocked the phone. Should work on this phone too. After the change you push the file back with qpst. Another option is deleting a specific bootfile to force fastboot mode. Once there we can OEM unlock.

Click to collapse



Somebody do it. Lol

Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## treIII (Jan 24, 2015)

BB6H22LUDE said:


> I doubt he'll even care. He just gets on Twitter to talk trash. Probably doesn't read ours lol
> 
> Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



No. His team responds to what customers have to say. I as tweeting him about a tower issue in my homentown that customer service stated had no issues for months I tweeted john andbtold him what customer service was saying and that I lived here and I knew that something was wrong. He then sent my request to the engineer over my area and they actually came and met me and agreed that their software wasn't showing the problem on the back end but there was definitely a problem. I tweeted john and told him that service was so bad that if he lived here he would not use T-Mobile. He responded within 48 hours and had the engineer meet me at the tower. I was amazed. Now the engineer and I speak on a regular basis and have become friends beyond Tmobile. He will respond or I should say have one of the appropriate members respond. Many of you should tweet him and you will get what you want. He doesn't care for us to unlock our boot loader. He just wants to make sure all customers are accommodated so they keep sending money. He knows in reality that those who want root are a small percentage. He probably figures if we brick the phone we will just need another one. And in reality its zte that loses for the Tmobile warranty replacement.  Tmobile covers their self. Its all about the customers and monetary gains in johns eyes. Tweet. He will respond. I'd be very surprised if not. Thanks

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2


----------



## DroidisLINUX (Jan 24, 2015)

Might be time for a new zte zmax thread, directed at the different bootloader modes, and the possibility in dfu mode ( both volume buttons + power) to install a custom recovery or system.IMG, or maybe even an open bootloader from the post earlier.


----------



## clockcycle (Jan 24, 2015)

Wondering if there is a way to bootstrap load cwm. It is what was used with my 
LG L9 and Moto Atrix before they got perm solutions


----------



## Alfa Droid (Jan 24, 2015)

Just loving my Zmax


----------



## mjsell2 (Jan 24, 2015)

Anyone else that hasn't received the update, and wants to update the phone, switch back to the stock launcher and it will be there. 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## duvalbmarley (Jan 24, 2015)

Someone should ask dev to port this for zmax
http://forum.xda-developers.com/cro...l/tool-master-tool-unlock-bootloader-t2997696

Sent from my LG-D415 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## duvalbmarley (Jan 24, 2015)

The max from metropcs can it be used on T-Mobile without sim unlock

Sent from my LG-D415 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Velrix (Jan 24, 2015)

duvalbmarley said:


> The max from metropcs can it be used on T-Mobile without sim unlock
> 
> Sent from my LG-D415 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Yep.


----------



## clockcycle (Jan 24, 2015)

duvalbmarley said:


> Someone should ask dev to port this for zmax
> http://forum.xda-developers.com/cro...l/tool-master-tool-unlock-bootloader-t2997696
> 
> Sent from my LG-D415 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Those are just scripts doing what you'd normally do by typing in the commands yourself. Since there are no known methods or exploits, the script would do nothing for us.


----------



## Reallionare (Jan 24, 2015)

Have anyone noticed any differences with the update? I'm yet to receive any update s my Zmax is from Wal-Mart but but I'm using  T-Mobile/network sim.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Porky munoz (Jan 25, 2015)

An update... wish metro had one lol

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## cdwjohnson (Jan 25, 2015)

so....I have achieved pulling a backup from my phones entire os...I think it will have the system files as well....I'm using adb commands on ubuntu...need a su file for insertion.

It is 227.8 mb so I believe it is the entire os now for sure....I need to know how to open it and edit it...its binary


----------



## DroidisLINUX (Jan 25, 2015)

> I am only on for a minute however
> 
> I have used adb root and achieved root privliges using ubuntu ...now starting to play around.
> 
> cdwjohnson

Click to collapse



were you in a special mode to achieve root, or running normal system. What usb drivers are you using.


----------



## cdwjohnson (Jan 25, 2015)

DroidisLINUX said:


> were you in a special mode to achieve root, or running normal system. What usb drivers are you using.

Click to collapse



I only got root for a flash then it told me i was not allowed....sucks...

attempted oem unlock....failed...sucks

Using ubuntu 14.04 working through terminal in command line....Ubuntu doesn't work like windows....drivers are majorly different


----------



## brandonlee96 (Jan 25, 2015)

what is the latest android version on zte zmax tmobile?


----------



## cdwjohnson (Jan 25, 2015)

brandonlee96 said:


> what is the latest android version on zte zmax tmobile?

Click to collapse



4.4.2 for tmobile
4.4.4 for metro


----------



## Velrix (Jan 25, 2015)

cdwjohnson said:


> I only got root for a flash then it told me i was not allowed....sucks...
> 
> attempted oem unlock....failed...sucks
> 
> Using ubuntu 14.04 working through terminal in command line....Ubuntu doesn't work like windows....drivers are majorly different

Click to collapse



I'd love to know how you achieved root on your phone and did a dd backup of your mmc. Can you post your backup you achieved?


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## DroidHackalot (Jan 25, 2015)

I was wondering what does cast screen do?


----------



## mingolianbeef (Jan 25, 2015)

cdwjohnson said:


> I only got root for a flash then it told me i was not allowed....sucks...
> 
> attempted oem unlock....failed...sucks
> 
> Using ubuntu 14.04 working through terminal in command line....Ubuntu doesn't work like windows....drivers are majorly different

Click to collapse



Mary mother of god [emoji33] [emoji51]  I believe that you all could crack the code guys  great job!!!!


----------



## cdwjohnson (Jan 25, 2015)

Velrix said:


> I'd love to know how you achieved root on your phone and did a dd backup of your mmc. Can you post your backup you achieved?

Click to collapse



i'm still trying to unpack it...i keep getting error zlib isn't working on my commandline....i'm using ubuntu

---------- Post added at 05:46 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:42 AM ----------

slightly off subject but what am I doing wrong here....

dd if=backup.ab bs=24 skip=1 | openssl zlib -d > mybackup.tar


----------



## DroidisLINUX (Jan 25, 2015)

DroidHackalot said:


> I was wondering what does cast screen do?

Click to collapse



Cast screen let's you display your screen on a wireless device capable of multicast like a roku device, or some smart tv's that are capable of it, or computers with some software


----------



## DroidHackalot (Jan 25, 2015)

Ohh alright just was.curious thanks bro.


----------



## gordthedev (Jan 25, 2015)

mingolianbeef said:


> Mary mother of god [emoji33] [emoji51]  I believe that you all could crack the code guys  great job!!!!

Click to collapse



I mentioned this earlier but didn't really get a response... If you guys are trying to get to the boot loader wouldn't you guys just need the source code for the ROM?  If so you guys know that zte released it for most of their phone two days ago...


----------



## mingolianbeef (Jan 25, 2015)

gordthedev said:


> I mentioned this earlier but didn't really get a response... If you guys are trying to get to the boot loader wouldn't you guys just need the source code for the ROM?  If so you guys know that zte released it for most of their phone two days ago...

Click to collapse



Lol I think you misunderstand what "source code" is. It basically allows us to build custom kernels FOR custom ROMs that we can flash BY rooting and/or unlocking the bootloader. Source code can't root phones. We were persistent with that more so because its our right under GPL to have it and when we got root, we didn't have to waste time fighting for it, so we can cook ROMs almost immediately. I have the CM11 source code on my computer as we speak .


----------



## cdwjohnson (Jan 25, 2015)

running a new backup and it does appear to be backing up factory data also...saw providers pass by and tmobiledtvhd and com.netgate andcom.android.vending and several stock apps so i do believe it is the full ackup....just need to unpack it.


----------



## gordthedev (Jan 25, 2015)

mingolianbeef said:


> Lol I think you misunderstand what "source code" is. It basically allows us to build custom kernels FOR custom ROMs that we can flash BY rooting and/or unlocking the bootloader. Source code can't root phones. We were persistent with that more so because its our right under GPL to have it and when we got root, we didn't have to waste time fighting for it, so we can cook ROMs almost immediately. I have the CM11 source code on my computer as we speak .

Click to collapse



Ah... Thanks for the clarification...


----------



## cdwjohnson (Jan 25, 2015)

mingolianbeef said:


> Lol I think you misunderstand what "source code" is. It basically allows us to build custom kernels FOR custom ROMs that we can flash BY rooting and/or unlocking the bootloader. Source code can't root phones. We were persistent with that more so because its our right under GPL to have it and when we got root, we didn't have to waste time fighting for it, so we can cook ROMs almost immediately. I have the CM11 source code on my computer as we speak .

Click to collapse



Yes...however with every other method failing i thought I would take a different approach....I fingured if I could back up my stock...unpack...insert su and change some permissions around I could puch/restore my backup and get root to get the rest.  Or am I completely wrong and this route, though longer, won't work?


----------



## johnb380 (Jan 25, 2015)

cdwjohnson said:


> Yes...however with every other method failing i thought I would take a different approach....I fingured if I could back up my stock...unpack...insert su and change some permissions around I could puch/restore my backup and get root to get the rest.  Or am I completely wrong and this route, though longer, won't work?

Click to collapse



How r u gonna sign the zip u need zte key codes to sign the ROM for flashing or it will abort. I don't think that method will work but by all means try it. I'm not a dev but I know that just putting Superuser in a ROM package isn't going to root the ROM or the phone. Also you would need to actually put the superuser files where they need to go in xbin or wherever to even have a chance of it rooting. 

Every company uses different key signatures to sign their ROM packages so unless you find a way around that I fear u efforts r in vain my friend.


----------



## mingolianbeef (Jan 25, 2015)

johnb380 said:


> How r u gonna sign the zip u need zte key codes to sign the ROM for flashing or it will abort. I don't think that method will work but by all means try it. I'm not a dev but I know that just putting Superuser in a ROM package isn't going to root the ROM or the phone. Also you would need to actually put the superuser files where they need to go in xbin or wherever to even have a chance of it rooting.
> 
> Every company uses different key signatures to sign their ROM packages so unless you find a way around that I fear u efforts r in vain my friend.

Click to collapse



I have to agree with him on this, no key, no flash bro


cdwjohnson said:


> Yes...however with every other method failing i thought I would take a different approach....I fingured if I could back up my stock...unpack...insert su and change some permissions around I could puch/restore my backup and get root to get the rest.  Or am I completely wrong and this route, though longer, won't work?

Click to collapse



I think that if you backed up everything, including bootloader, whatever you did needs to be researched further, as you are the only one of us all to get system level access, if only for a moment. If you have the bootloader file, I saw someone talk about bootfiles and changing "10000" to "00000" or something like that. Let's see where those go, and if someone has a device they are willing to risk, then we flash that file. Whatever you did was a breakthrough that can't be ignored. Flashing a modified zip likely won't work, but you have opened so many more doors with your work!

And please, upload that dump for download if you can, I would love to take a look at it


----------



## shabbypenguin (Jan 25, 2015)

cdwjohnson said:


> i'm still trying to unpack it...i keep getting error zlib isn't working on my commandline....i'm using ubuntu
> 
> ---------- Post added at 05:46 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:42 AM ----------
> 
> ...

Click to collapse





cdwjohnson said:


> running a new backup and it does appear to be backing up factory data also...saw providers pass by and tmobiledtvhd and com.netgate andcom.android.vending and several stock apps so i do believe it is the full ackup....just need to unpack it.

Click to collapse



you are doing an adb backup, it backs up the apk's and data for them, nothing more. the last time it was able to be used to root was 4.1 and since then it was patched. if you wipe your device and restore that backup it will put the data as if you didnt wipe, thats all. sorry to disappoint but you didnt have system level access :/. heck you can adb pull /system without root and have the majority of teh rom on your computer.


----------



## brandonlee96 (Jan 25, 2015)

what if i got the adb shell to work on this device what could i do with it because i think i got the adb shell to work


----------



## johnb380 (Jan 25, 2015)

brandonlee96 said:


> what if i got the adb shell to work on this device what could i do with it because i think i got the adb shell to work

Click to collapse



Adb shell is just another command line bro. If we had a way to root that's what you'd use to push cwm recovery and root. But we don't have a method yet.


----------



## sleepingturtle (Jan 25, 2015)

I was looking around for possible exploits and found this thread for the ZTE V5 Max where someone found root.  They are nearly identical in hardware.  Same chipset, etc.  Only difference I can see is screen and battery.  Anyone think this may work?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2965142

Edit: I'm stuck at work so can't verify for myself for a few hours.

Edit: Nevermind, borrowed a computer.  Doesn't work.  No damage to the device.   I hope this thing isn't as rough to root as the Dell Streak I used to have. [emoji53]


----------



## Velrix (Jan 25, 2015)

sleepingturtle said:


> I was looking around for possible exploits and found this thread for the ZTE V5 Max where someone found root.  They are nearly identical in hardware.  Same chipset, etc.  Only difference I can see is screen and battery.  Anyone think this may work?
> http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2965142
> 
> Edit: I'm stuck at work so can't verify for myself for a few hours.

Click to collapse



It had a unlocked bootloader so it was a lot easier to develop for.


----------



## sleepingturtle (Jan 25, 2015)

I figured as much but I was hoping root could have been had.  Tmo needs to unlock the bootloader.  This is ridiculous.


----------



## DroidHackalot (Jan 25, 2015)

sleepingturtle said:


> I figured as much but I was hoping root could have been had.  Tmo needs to unlock the bootloader.  This is ridiculous.

Click to collapse



For real!


----------



## sleepingturtle (Jan 25, 2015)

To be honest if the boot loader doesn't get unlocked, it doesn't mean the end of development.  I used to have a LG L9 and the folks over there figured out a 2nd init boodloader solution that worked OK.  
Had some decent ROMs on that device.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## Demonik1 (Jan 25, 2015)

*Lock screen and volume lag*

Have the zmax from metro and a couple days ago it started minor lagging whenever i go to unlock the screen....it should be almost instant but its taking anywhere from 3-10 secs to light up after i hit the unlock button and the volume is almost the same when i go to turn it up or down......anyone know whats causing this?


----------



## DroidisLINUX (Jan 25, 2015)

Removed


----------



## TheSolomon90 (Jan 25, 2015)

DroidisLINUX said:


> http://forum.xda-developers.com/crossdevice-dev/sony/giefroot-rooting-tool-cve-2014-4322-t3011598
> 
> Has anyone tried this? It is a new form of towel root that uses some exploit to root device, its a live root so after reboot you may not retain root. Uses a allow mock location exploit.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Please remove, not sure how XD


----------



## brandonlee96 (Jan 26, 2015)

DroidisLINUX said:


> http://forum.xda-developers.com/crossdevice-dev/sony/giefroot-rooting-tool-cve-2014-4322-t3011598
> 
> Has anyone tried this? It is a new form of towel root that uses some exploit to root device, its a live root so after reboot you may not retain root. Uses a allow mock location exploit.
> 
> no this method dont work just tried Sent from my Z970 using XDA Paid mobile app

Click to collapse


----------



## johnb380 (Jan 26, 2015)

Hey has anyone figured out how to get in boot loader or stock recovery mode? And if so is there a wipe cache selection in either? And can you tell me the button combo and any info pertaining to this?
Thanx in advance either way!
My phone needs a good wiping it seems to be slowing with time!

---------- Post added at 11:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:44 PM ----------

Also I'm wondering why there is no selection in Developer options to switch to Art runtime that was nice on my N4 to have that on kit kat before Lollipop made Art runtime stock setting!


----------



## johnb380 (Jan 26, 2015)

Never mind I got into stock recovery by holding vol up while powering up but wipe cache wouldn't complete you can select it but it never does anything. I wonder why that is. Maybe a security feature they have baked in idk.


----------



## therealduckie (Jan 26, 2015)

Count me in as another voice who bought this phone.

Got it from MetroPCS for the $99 price and $50/month unlimited 

Upgraded from a Samsung S3, so I am dearly missing my Galaxy Gear, now.   Looking forward to root so I can install Gear Manager. Haven't found a good/working non-root tutorial for getting it working on a non-Samsung phone. Figured I would mention the Gear as some of you who got this phone might also have this issue and want it resolved.


EDIT: ALSO, for those who want a sliding home screen, I just installed this and it works pretty well.  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft.next&hl=en

Not usually the type to laud Microsoft things, but they did a good job on it. Has weather, time, calendar items, shortcuts and more.


----------



## jc33777 (Jan 26, 2015)

Hopefully I'll get a response soon!

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app


----------



## HD2FORNICK (Jan 26, 2015)

I sold my ZMax for a $50 loss but still got something back in return. I will buy ths phone again if it gets root and custom ROMS. At first I thought I wouldn't miss root but I was wrong. This phone would be a rock star if it got root. I hope someday! :good:


----------



## jbird5047 (Jan 26, 2015)

I followed the guide here on XDA (install each gear apk separately)  and have Gear 1st Gen (was rooted but went stock) working very well with my Zmax.


----------



## therealduckie (Jan 26, 2015)

There are about 15 different guides on here for that - which one?

And yes, i did the same thing - installed all 15 of the APK files, the ones from the MediaFire, and even the trick to use Samsung's site. Would not pair with the Gear.


----------



## jbird5047 (Jan 26, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> There are about 15 different guides on here for that - which one?
> 
> And yes, i did the same thing - installed all 15 of the APK files, the ones from the MediaFire, and even the trick to use Samsung's site. Would not pair with the Gear.

Click to collapse



After you install all the apks, you have to start Gear Manager and while it's searching, go back to Bluetooth settings and search for gear. Then once you accept the pairing request it should connect to Gear Manager.


----------



## DroidHackalot (Jan 26, 2015)

What does gear manager do?


----------



## therealduckie (Jan 26, 2015)

DroidHackalot said:


> What does gear manager do?

Click to collapse





This is related to pairing the Galaxy Gear watch with the ZMAX


----------



## Demonik1 (Jan 26, 2015)

*Lock screen and volume lag*

Have the zmax from metro and a couple days ago it started minor lagging whenever i go to unlock the screen....it should be almost instant but its taking anywhere from 3-10 secs to light up after i hit the unlock button and the volume is almost the same when i go to turn it up or down......anyone know whats causing this?


----------



## fototogo (Jan 26, 2015)

Demonik1 said:


> Have the zmax from metro and a couple days ago it started minor lagging whenever i go to unlock the screen....it should be almost instant but its taking anywhere from 3-10 secs to light up after i hit the unlock button and the volume is almost the same when i go to turn it up or down......anyone know whats causing this?

Click to collapse



This sounds like an app running in the background that is a resource hog of one type or another...and/or.... Install Clean master (blue broom with yellow brushes) and run it manually and it will tell you what apps are secretly running in the background if you have root.... Since the device isn't rootable yet, you might be able to find it thru another program or go into your apps and force close the ones you installed or downloaded and keep checking the screen lock to see what app you closed when and if the lag disappears. 

I like the specs and everything about this phone except it's not water/dust resistant and without root I have no interest in it.... I like the flexibility of backups, installs and uninstalls with a rooted phone.  Good luck and I hope JCase is feeling well and I'm rooting for you and all who want this phone rooted....


----------



## Vyrus69 (Jan 26, 2015)

Try Greenify.  It now works without needing full root and puts all of your apps to sleep and hibernate.  Saves a ton of battery.


----------



## therealduckie (Jan 26, 2015)

jbird5047 said:


> After you install all the apks, you have to start Gear Manager and while it's searching, go back to Bluetooth settings and search for gear. Then once you accept the pairing request it should connect to Gear Manager.

Click to collapse



Can you link to the specific guide you used?


----------



## jbird5047 (Jan 26, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> Can you link to the specific guide you used?

Click to collapse



Its been a little while,  but start here. 
http://www.xda-developers.com/pair-your-samsung-galaxy-gear-with-non-samsung-devices/


----------



## melcali (Jan 27, 2015)

Some news involving the ZMax and the 700 mhz spectrum on T-mobile

http://www.androidauthority.com/t-mobile-700mhz-support-582645/

Says that the update is coming but I wonder if the recent update pushed to the zmax is it or just some maintenance update...


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## Demonik1 (Jan 27, 2015)

Vyrus69 said:


> Try Greenify.  It now works without needing full root and puts all of your apps to sleep and hibernate.  Saves a ton of battery.

Click to collapse



Works great,  thanks......it was getting annoying force stopping everything manually........seems to be working better  now, plus i uninstalled a few apps i downloaded for the little one which i believe was the problem in the first place but i wanted to see if it was a known problem with the phone instead of just assuming everything was fine


----------



## sleepingturtle (Jan 27, 2015)

melcali said:


> Some news involving the ZMax and the 700 mhz spectrum on T-mobile
> 
> http://www.androidauthority.com/t-mobile-700mhz-support-582645/
> 
> Says that the update is coming but I wonder if the recent update pushed to the zmax is it or just some maintenance update...

Click to collapse



Yeah, it says 2015 not when.  Knowing TMo 4th quarter or never.


----------



## therealduckie (Jan 27, 2015)

jbird5047 said:


> Its been a little while,  but start here.
> http://www.xda-developers.com/pair-your-samsung-galaxy-gear-with-non-samsung-devices/

Click to collapse



Thanks. I have it working, now - just don't have the store.


----------



## treezy26 (Jan 27, 2015)

So I just got a notification for an update? Zmax software enhancement?


----------



## Furik (Jan 27, 2015)

I just got the notification too. I'm going to hold off on it. If it's the same one rolling out from earlier, I believe someone said not to update. Phones that have been updated may stall the rooting development.

Edit: looks like it may very well be the recent update. https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-15634


----------



## afox27 (Jan 27, 2015)

Yes that is very true updating may well make ur device unrootable till they find another root method for it


----------



## Reallionare (Jan 27, 2015)

Just received the update also, it downloaded but battery was too low to install, I don't want to install , does anyone know the location of the update so I could possibly try to delete it......Thanks ahead .

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mingolianbeef (Jan 27, 2015)

Lol I just got the update notification too


----------



## stinkbud (Jan 27, 2015)

afox27 said:


> Yes that is very true updating may well make ur device unrootable till they find another root method for it

Click to collapse



Right, because easy ZMax rooting has been a problem TMo needs to deal with.


----------



## QuickNET Tech (Jan 27, 2015)

Reallionare said:


> Just received the update also, it downloaded but battery was too low to install, I don't want to install , does anyone know the location of the update so I could possibly try to delete it......Thanks ahead .
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



As with most phones, it is most likely in the /cache partition, which means you cannot see it, unfortunately meaning you cannot delete it.

I've been lurking around this forum since this phones release hoping this phone will get root, because if it does, I am totally going to pick one up. It's sad, this phone was released last year and it still hasn't gotten root access. That's the only thing holding me back from picking his phone up. For now I'm on Sprint's ****ty network with a rooted LG volt. The only thing stopping me from switching is my phone has root and unfortunately the Z max does not.

Either way, good luck on root!  

Quickdraw996

PS I wouldn't update to be safe, just from my experience with other devices, where the prior updates got root access and the newer ones didn't get it until much later.


----------



## Vee63b (Jan 27, 2015)

Ok, finally got a day off, I'm gonna look thru the source tonite after I finish updating my Kubuntu Box and see what I can find to move this root process along. Wish me luck! Lol


----------



## nobreak1970 (Jan 27, 2015)

Not sure if you guys saw this today:

Tmobile 700Mhz LTE band compatible:
DEVICE LIST – PHONES – 700 COMPATIBLE
Galaxy Note™ 4 - Available now
Galaxy Note™ 4 Edge - Available now
Google Nexus 6 - Software update coming early 2015
*ZTE ZMAX – Software update coming 2015*
Samsung Galaxy Avant™ - Software update coming May 2015
Sony Xperia® Z3 - Software update coming May 2015
Link:

http://www.t-mobile.com/optional-services/coverage-phones-700.html


----------



## Hammerdroid (Jan 27, 2015)

gordthedev said:


> I thought that the only thing needed to root for an expert dev was the source code for the kernel? Because its been posted in a thread for a couple days...
> 
> Also, when yall talk about bootloaders, if I hold down + pwr i get to the system recovery and if i hold down + pwr i get to a weird screen that says FTM...

Click to collapse



FTM= f*** t mobile lol


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Jan 27, 2015)

There has to be a way to exploit the ability to update software via the SD card. The fact that you can download the update software and put it on the external memory than go into your settings and click update from SD card.  Root and bootloader unlock is possible the lg L70 had a locked down bootloader still had root they finally figured out how to unlock the bootloader. Maybe they can help you I know its a different phone company but if metro pcs/ T-Mobile is the ones locking down the bootloader maybe they did it the same way to the L70 that they did to our beautiful ZMax


----------



## afox27 (Jan 27, 2015)

Its in the /cache    an you can't delete it


----------



## Malcrof (Jan 27, 2015)

*Saw this toda*

[theunlockr.com/2015/01/20/how-to-root-the-zte-zmax

has anyone tried it?


----------



## D33PTHAWTE (Jan 27, 2015)

I stand corrected about an earlier statement I had made:
My Zmax is the family mobile (T mobile)
version unlocked and on AT&T, and I DID receive the update finally last night.
I will recommend that anyone who is unlocked NOT update because it will likely break your unlock (on top of jeopardizing root chance).

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Alfa Droid (Jan 27, 2015)

jbird5047 said:


> I followed the guide here on XDA (install each gear apk separately)  and have Gear 1st Gen (was rooted but went stock) working very well with my Zmax.

Click to collapse



 Do you have the notification working?  Like getting your Gmail and SMS received on your gear1


----------



## Furik (Jan 27, 2015)

nobreak1970 said:


> Not sure if you guys saw this today:
> 
> Tmobile 700Mhz LTE band compatible:
> DEVICE LIST – PHONES – 700 COMPATIBLE
> ...

Click to collapse



I wonder if that's the update rolling around. It looks like, from the page, they are talking about just an improvement update for their network. Nothing about an actual OS update - like 5.0.


----------



## Kahuna_Tuna (Jan 27, 2015)

melcali said:


> Some news involving the ZMax and the 700 mhz spectrum on T-mobile
> 
> http://www.androidauthority.com/t-mobile-700mhz-support-582645/
> 
> Says that the update is coming but I wonder if the recent update pushed to the zmax is it or just some maintenance update...

Click to collapse



Recently I bought the ZTE Zmax z970 at the WaltonsWorld for $187.00, to try out.  BTW, they have a discount to get $35.00 plan for $24, for seniors citizens with unlimited everything.

I live in a cell signal dead zone & the only carrier to work in home was Verizon's.  The WW FAMILY PLAN T-Mobile nearly worked at home.  1 bar in good spots, -109dbm.

T-MOBILE let's me have their free tmo signal booster, and with right placement of their boxes, I am boosting signal to 2-3 bars @ -83dbm

I tried installing the zip update file on this thread, but the phone couldn't find the zip on the root of SD card. I even told max where the file was 

Well this morning tmo notified me of update, which I installed & rebooted to find all my signal bars (5) lit with a up/down arrow over 4gLTE animated icon, next to signal bars.

Before this current update, it was just a plan LTE icon.

Now my signal measures -77dbm 62asu and all 5 bars lit.
That is the same with Wi-Fi on or off.

I decided to compare the effect of update without using the tmo signal booster.  

In what was a dead spot, it now gets 1 bar In a hi spot area, that was 2-3 bars in home, I now get a steady for 4 bars. 2 bars are required for good voice or reception, BTW.

So I realize the current update, 0B22, has improved signal reception.

That is a very good improvement, that may make me keep ZTE, over upgrading to a used Sony Xperia Z3. If only z970 could be rooted.   Dang.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## jbird5047 (Jan 27, 2015)

Alfa Droid said:


> Do you have the notification working?  Like getting your Gmail and SMS received on your gear1

Click to collapse



Yes I get all notifications and phone calls as well. Now if I could only get it to work with my Oneplus One......


----------



## Alfa Droid (Jan 27, 2015)

jbird5047 said:


> Yes I get all notifications and phone calls as well. Now if I could only get it to work with my Oneplus One......

Click to collapse



Can you link me the xda form. I used a method from YouTube and I only get phone calls.


----------



## clockcycle (Jan 27, 2015)

Kahuna_Tuna said:


> Recently I bought the ZTE Zmax z970 at the WaltonsWorld for $187.00, to try out.  BTW, they have a discount to get $35.00 plan for $24, for seniors citizens with unlimited everything.
> 
> I live in a cell signal dead zone & the only carrier to work in home was Verizon's.  The WW FAMILY PLAN T-Mobile nearly worked at home.  1 bar in good spots, -109dbm.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



It has to be a psuedo effect, since it was stated earlier that 0B22 does not contain any modem update files. According to previous posts, those that have applied the update did not change any other version numbers.

Have others been wrong or perhaps this is a different update?

IMO towers, network in your area may have been upgraded.


----------



## Vyrus69 (Jan 27, 2015)

Has anyone tried that Sunshine root app from theroot.ninja?


----------



## jbird5047 (Jan 27, 2015)

Alfa Droid said:


> Can you link me the xda form. I used a method from YouTube and I only get phone calls.

Click to collapse



Try this. 
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2573200
Or the app in the Playstore called "Gear Manager for all Mobile"


----------



## therealduckie (Jan 27, 2015)

Alfa Droid said:


> Can you link me the xda form. I used a method from YouTube and I only get phone calls.

Click to collapse



They linked it above, earlier:  http://www.xda-developers.com/pair-your-samsung-galaxy-gear-with-non-samsung-devices/

Also, I followed this and have almost everything working. Only missing the following:

Samsung Store access
Weather

Everything else works like before on my S3.
One minor issue: All calls default to the Gear. Even when I answer the phone, it sends the sound to the Gear. Haven't quite figured it out, yet.


----------



## D33PTHAWTE (Jan 27, 2015)

Vyrus69 said:


> Has anyone tried that Sunshine root app from theroot.ninja?

Click to collapse



I haven't seen anyone mention it, have you tried it yet?

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## brandonlee96 (Jan 27, 2015)

i just tried it it dont work


----------



## jbird5047 (Jan 27, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> They linked it above, earlier:  http://www.xda-developers.com/pair-your-samsung-galaxy-gear-with-non-samsung-devices/
> 
> Also, I followed this and have almost everything working. Only missing the following:
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Yes it defaults to gear on phone call for me too.  I have to answer then swipe on phone or gear the option to switch to phone audio. Kind of annoying, but at least it works. Wish it would work with my Oneplus, but at least it works with my Zmax.


----------



## therealduckie (Jan 27, 2015)

Ok, not sure if anyone else tried, but I just spent the better part of an hour trying every version I could find of 'Root Genius'/'Root Wizard' just to know if it would work as they have decent support for ZTE phones and are based in China, like ZTE.

Sadly, none of them worked. Still no root.  Just thought I would let everyone know.


----------



## nobreak1970 (Jan 27, 2015)

Kahuna_Tuna said:


> Recently I bought the ZTE Zmax z970 at the WaltonsWorld for $187.00, to try out.  BTW, they have a discount to get $35.00 plan for $24, for seniors citizens with unlimited everything.
> 
> I live in a cell signal dead zone & the only carrier to work in home was Verizon's.  The WW FAMILY PLAN T-Mobile nearly worked at home.  1 bar in good spots, -109dbm.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Welcome to 700mhz spectrum it sounds like.  Don't know for sure though.  They totally updated their coverage map on their website so you can probably check that out


Sent from my HUAWEI Y536A1 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## silverhawknike (Jan 27, 2015)

*Tmobile SIM card in METRO ZTE ZMAX*

Have everyone tried using Tmobile SIM card in METROPCS ZTE ZMAX? Is it working or it need to be unlocked first? Also does WIFI calling work on Tmobile SIM card? I wasnt sure and I have been thinking of buying one. Let me know. Thanks


----------



## Summatyme (Jan 27, 2015)

Vyrus69 said:


> Has anyone tried that Sunshine root app from theroot.ninja?

Click to collapse



Sunshine root did not work for me. "Cannot root phone as is. Flash a different rom or one closer to stock."


----------



## Velrix (Jan 27, 2015)

This is the last email I have received from T-Mobile. I do not believe we will have anymore luck from them. Our only hope it seems would be ZTE unlocking the bootloader.

"T-Mobile USA, Inc. (“T-Mobile”) is in receipt of your correspondence regarding the above-
referenced account. 

Please be advised that T-Mobile is committed to delivering an optimal experience on our devices 

for our customers and we sell our handsets with access to the bootloader locked. Please know 

that this security feature is designed to protect the integrity of the operating system and the 

device warranty. Additionally, this will help prevent device fraud, as well as security threats that 

may result from third-party firmware that has not been tested by T-Mobile and its OEM partners. 

As such, T-Mobile has no plans to sell equipment with unlocked bootloaders. Customers who 

wish to purchase equipment with this ability to modify the operating system may do so directly 

from the manufacturer. T-Mobile regrets any inconvenience this may have caused.

Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. If you have any questions, please do not 

hesitate to contact me at the address listed below or toll free at 877-290-6323 ext. 341-8073.

Very truly yours,

T-MOBILE USA, INC.

Marcos Chaz

Executive Response"


_____________________
Basically a big F*CK YOU and we don't care. Maybe we circle back and hit ZTE again =).


----------



## stinkbud (Jan 27, 2015)

So basically the TMo attitude is we don't like phone modders and will do everything in our power to block their efforts. 

There is a large community out there that likes modding their devices and other carriers are more accepting of those who would take more control of their devices. 

Just doesn't seem like a valid business model to me. SMH

Can we get this Marcos Chaz's email? I would like to know why TMo  would want to alienate the modding community.


----------



## johnb380 (Jan 27, 2015)

We don't exist to ZTE their customer is Tmobile friend!


----------



## Velrix (Jan 27, 2015)

stinkbud said:


> So basically the TMo attitude is we don't like phone modders and will do everything in our power to block their efforts.
> 
> There is a large community out there that likes modding their devices and other carriers are more accepting of those who would take more control of their devices.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Marcos Chaz
Executive Response 
Office of the President/CEO
Desk: 877-290-6323 ext. 341-8073
[email protected]
[email protected]


----------



## Vyrus69 (Jan 27, 2015)

Please continue with your patience guys.  Jcase has a device in his hands that he purchased, so root will come soon.


----------



## therealduckie (Jan 27, 2015)

stinkbud said:


> So basically the TMo attitude is we don't like phone modders and will do everything in our power to block their efforts.
> 
> There is a large community out there that likes modding their devices and other carriers are more accepting of those who would take more control of their devices.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Forgive me, I am NOT trying to be crass, but - 

This is not the way you handle corporate-types.  Jumping down their throats will only make them react negatively. He and TMO/METRO could care less that a small community of people mod their phones. Believe me, I have been doing it for close to 20 years. We're not a big deal. Not by a long shot.

The way you need to approach it is by focusing on his point about security. TMO/METRO have ill-advised concerns that rooted phones can be used to cheat their system. So, it's not that he doesn't want you to have TWRP and CM, it's that they hold their IP very close and rooting exposes that.

You need to appeal to common sense, present a valid, logical argument, and state the facts. Provide them with documentation, reports, and security papers on the BENEFITS of opening their phones.

Berating them on Twitter with useless hashtags does nothing but make them snicker. 

Handle it professionally, with facts to back your argument, and they MIGHT listen. It would certainly be a better approach then "OMG YOU BIG MEANY HEAD!! LET US HAVE OUR TOYS!!!!".

Cheers.


----------



## cheappc (Jan 27, 2015)

Vyrus69 said:


> Please continue with your patience guys.  Jcase has a device in his hands that he purchased, so root will come soon.

Click to collapse



Great news! Should be a challenge who's not up to a challenge? This zte zmax is a bargain for $99 hopefully root will bring us a way to make it faster.. I feel like picking up another one for $99 as a backup, root would be awesome,.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## ubigred (Jan 28, 2015)

It's Jcase or bust. 

Sent from my SM-N910P


----------



## Vyrus69 (Jan 28, 2015)

In Jcase We Trust   lmao


----------



## bhood (Jan 28, 2015)

cheappc said:


> Great news! Should be a challenge who's not up to a challenge? This zte zmax is a bargain for $99 hopefully root will bring us a way to make it faster.. I feel like picking up another one for $99 as a backup, root would be awesome,.

Click to collapse



Where are you picking it up for $99?!  The cheapest I've seen is $199 at Best Buy.


----------



## therealduckie (Jan 28, 2015)

bhood said:


> Where are you picking it up for $99?!  The cheapest I've seen is $199 at Best Buy.

Click to collapse



Metropcs has them for $99. I got one a few days ago.


----------



## Meep70 (Jan 28, 2015)

This was posted a week ago on Unlockr. Has anyone tried their step by step, yet?
edit: Never mind. Comments on the site indicate that it doesn't work.
http://theunlockr.com/2015/01/20/how-to-root-the-zte-zmax/


----------



## therealduckie (Jan 28, 2015)

Meep70 said:


> This was posted a week ago on Unlockr. Has anyone tried their step by step, yet?
> edit: Never mind. Comments on the site indicate that it doesn't work.
> http://theunlockr.com/2015/01/20/how-to-root-the-zte-zmax/

Click to collapse



Can we all stop advertising that site? It's a fraud.


----------



## mingolianbeef (Jan 28, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> Can we all stop advertising that site? It's a fraud.

Click to collapse



The unlockr is a legitimate site (I used it to root my old Mytouch 3G Slide waaay back when, and I've used a lot of their tutorials in the past). The author of the article is either view thirsty or greatly misinformed.


----------



## misterbjm (Jan 28, 2015)

So I'm assuming everyone knows the 3 modes that the ZTE   will connect to a PC, right?  There's the FTM (com 11), the regular, and the com12 (screen stays black but red light comes on)


----------



## dbpaddler (Jan 28, 2015)

silverhawknike said:


> Have everyone tried using Tmobile SIM card in METROPCS ZTE ZMAX? Is it working or it need to be unlocked first? Also does WIFI calling work on Tmobile SIM card? I wasnt sure and I have been thinking of buying one. Let me know. Thanks

Click to collapse



You need to unlock it to work on T-Mobile. THink it's about $16 on ebay. 

What I don't know is if there is the stock T-Mo firmware that can be put on the Metro one. LG and Samsung phones on metro can just get the T-mo firmware flashed  which makes it pretty much a T-mo phone outside of the MetroPCS on the cover with no need to unlock to use on T-Mo. 

So is there T-Mo firmware that can be flashed to the Metro version ala the Galaxy Avant and LG F6?


----------



## silverhawknike (Jan 28, 2015)

dbpaddler said:


> You need to unlock it to work on T-Mobile. THink it's about $16 on ebay.
> 
> What I don't know is if there is the stock T-Mo firmware that can be put on the Metro one. LG and Samsung phones on metro can just get the T-mo firmware flashed  which makes it pretty much a T-mo phone outside of the MetroPCS on the cover with no need to unlock to use on T-Mo.
> 
> So is there T-Mo firmware that can be flashed to the Metro version ala the Galaxy Avant and LG F6?

Click to collapse



Actually, I already unlocked my ZTE ZMAX! It is now running on TMobile SIM  The unlock code was going for $10.20 on ebay. Everything is working including Metro Hotspot and Wifi calling! And I downloaded Tmobile MyAccount from Google Play store and it is working as well


----------



## therealduckie (Jan 28, 2015)

mingolianbeef said:


> The unlockr is a legitimate site (I used it to root my old Mytouch 3G Slide waaay back when, and I've used a lot of their tutorials in the past). The author of the article is either view thirsty or greatly misinformed.

Click to collapse



I think at one point that was the case, but the lure of ad revenue took over. I happen to know, from experience, that they simply take the towelroot process, replace the name of any phone or tablet, and repost the same article over and over.  I agree, though, that ages ago I used them to unlock/root my S3. They were a decent site, but things have obviously changed.

I admit that I may have been harsh to use such vernacular. Here's to hoping they return to their former glory.

---------------------
Now, as for the Galaxy Gear--

Once we have root, I am going to compile all the working APKs and do a tutorial for those that need it. For now, the process is convoluted. I found that more items will work, if you tinker. The thing is, you have to install APKs from 2013, 2014, and 2015 in order for it to work, and the combination has no rhyme or reason. Most of the tutorials on XDA are antiquated and either focused on when Gear was Android-based or _NULL-based. Few exist for Tizen-based roms...and fewer still have working apps. (I.E. Only 4 clock faces are loaded as default instead of the normal 10+)

Here is a list the Gear and Samsung APKs I have installed to get the best possible performance, pre-root. This list contains the version numbers of each APK:

GEAR:

ConnectionManager 1.1.10
FindMyPhoneProvider 1.03
Galaxy Apps 14120405.03.012.1 (Doesn't load list of apps - Just installed as a core)
Gear Manager 1.0.02
Gear Navigator 1.1.0
Gear Plugin 2.2.14102499
Gear Tag Writer 1.4.131022
GearModule 2.2.14102499
goproviders 2.0.337
HostManager 2.2.1400299
InstantSettings 2.0.14051301
NSyncProvider 1.021
SAAlarmProvider 1.0.9.12
SACalendarProvider 1.0.9.6-1
SACameraTransfer Service 1.2.1
SAClockSettingsProvider 1.0
SAContactProvider 1.27-MK14
SAContextProvider 1.0.9.3
SALogProvider 2.2-MJ31
Samsung Accessory Service 2.15.83
Samsung Gear 2.2.12110499
SANotiProvider 1.0.9.42
saproviders 2.0.87
SASystemProviders 2.3.23
SAVoiceMemoProvider 1.1.4
SecCallHandlerProvider 1.0
svoice provider 0.2.103
teracalculator 1.0
TextTemplateProvider (crashes when loaded in GearManager but stable otherwise)
Update Gear Software 2.141021.2191
Watch Styler 1.2.06

SAMSUNG:

SPen 3.0.0
DroidSerifItalic 1.0 (Font)
SamsungSans 1.0 (Font)
SVoice 11.4.0.0 (Launches and crashes, but allows you to add a Samsung Account in Android Settings)
Samsung Account 2.0.0039
Samsung Hub 13101501.1.00.01
Samsung Music 131022802.1.00.02
Samsung Push Service 1.3.0.2
Samsung Video 13102403.1.00.31
SamsungHub Updater 13101101.1.00.01
SamsungTTS HD US English 1.0
TouchWiz Home 1.5.1 (version TouchWizUX)
Weather Daemon 120426.01

NOT WORKING:

SAPedometerSettingProvider.apk (Version unknown - of 4 installed, all crashed)
Clocks - 

Antique : Analog 1.0.1
Chocolate : Analog 1.0.1
Colorful D-Day 1.0.2
Diamond : Analog 1.0.3
Metalholic D-Day 1.0.2
Mosaic : Digital 1.0.2
Pattern : Digital 1.0.2
Simple Alarm 1.0.5

Only thing missing is Weather. That will not work until after root as certain APKs have to be forced into the /system/app/ folder.  Unknown which those are at this time as they could be any combination of about 6 different APKs. 

BIG PROPS to @Brendo (XDA-Dev) - Most everything I installed was from his Mediafire HERE

Cheers


----------



## DroidisLINUX (Jan 28, 2015)

Walmart has them for $179, I think at metro you have to sign a contract don't you?
Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Jan 28, 2015)

DroidisLINUX said:


> Walmart has them for $179, I think at metro you have to sign a contract don't you?
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



No, no contract at Metro.  I just got one for my son yesterday.

I got mine last October from T-Mobile.  BTW, you can activate Tmo phones on Metro without unlocking...

Mine is on Metro and everything works, tethering, wifi calling etc..


----------



## Reallionare (Jan 28, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> I think at one point that was the case, but the lure of ad revenue took over. I happen to know, from experience, that they simply take the towelroot process, replace the name of any phone or tablet, and repost the same article over and over.  I agree, though, that ages ago I used them to unlock/root my S3. They were a decent site, but things have obviously changed.
> 
> I admit that I may have been harsh to use such vernacular. Here's to hoping they return to their former glory.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Hello, I was wanting to get a Gear s for use with 2 different Android phones, could you tell me if possible and  what I would have to basically do to,Gear S and phones 1 of the phones(MyTouch 4g slide) already rooted with custom ROM. Zmax confidence in Devs. Thanks ahead..

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## therealduckie (Jan 28, 2015)

Reallionare said:


> Hello, I was wanting to get a Gear s for use with 2 different Android phones, could you tell me if possible and  what I would have to basically do to,Gear S and phones 1 of the phones(MyTouch 4g slide) already rooted with custom ROM. Zmax confidence in Devs. Thanks ahead..
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Negative - You can only use it with one device. As soon as you try to sync the Gear with any other device, it resets it to default.


----------



## Reallionare (Jan 28, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> Negative - You can only use it with one device. As soon as you try to sync the Gear with any other device, it resets it to default.

Click to collapse



I would prefer to use with the Zmax will I have to wait until its rootable, will all main features work 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## therealduckie (Jan 28, 2015)

Reallionare said:


> I would prefer to use with the Zmax will I have to wait until its rootable, will all main features work
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Everything works but Weather. There is also a small glitch where the Gear always defaults to answering calls when you accept a call. Finally, until we can root, there is no way to get the store running, so all apps have to be installed manually. Most of the apps can be found here:  http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-gear/themes-apps/request-signed-apks-t2851177


----------



## ph37rd (Jan 28, 2015)

Velrix said:


> As such, T-Mobile has no plans to sell equipment with unlocked bootloaders.

Click to collapse



This is a blatant falsehood. T-Mo's variant of the LG G3 is the only one that shipped with an unlocked bootloader.

Sent from my LG-D851 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Velrix (Jan 28, 2015)

ph37rd said:


> This is a blatant falsehood. T-Mo's variant of the LG G3 is the only one that shipped with an unlocked bootloader.
> 
> Sent from my LG-D851 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Know he is lying but he won't take my call.


----------



## ph37rd (Jan 28, 2015)

Velrix said:


> Know he is lying but he won't take my call.

Click to collapse



Huh?

Sent from my LG-D851 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## Velrix (Jan 28, 2015)

ph37rd said:


> Huh?
> 
> Sent from my LG-D851 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



I know they are lying but the rep will not answer my calls or emails now.


----------



## treezy26 (Jan 29, 2015)

Anyone accepted the latest update? I'm sick of seeing the notification for it. Wish I was rooted so I could get rid of it ?


----------



## misterbjm (Jan 29, 2015)

I updated


----------



## brandonlee96 (Jan 29, 2015)

i did too


----------



## jbird5047 (Jan 29, 2015)

Ditto.... I did too.


----------



## BadWolfVI (Jan 29, 2015)

Same here. I read after not to because of root possibilities.


----------



## therealduckie (Jan 29, 2015)

No update notification coming from the Metro side. Already on 4.4.4 here.


----------



## treezy26 (Jan 29, 2015)

So what's in the update?


----------



## therealduckie (Jan 29, 2015)

treezy26 said:


> So what's in the update?

Click to collapse









This thread could use a little levity.


----------



## Furik (Jan 29, 2015)

I haven't updated but I believe its just mediocre performance improvements and security enhancements. 
https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-15634


----------



## 9h0s7 (Jan 29, 2015)

I updated 

It seems like the battery, speakerphone, autobrightness and dolby enhancements perform much better (at least for me) after the update. Also, my data speeds are better.
But, it's slightly less stable.


----------



## gorilla p (Jan 29, 2015)

Right now, I would probably recommend the Amazon Fire phone. They are selling unlocked for $199 right now. Amazon stopped their 199 sale, but they're new on eBay for 199 all over the place still.
There's also a lot of high-end cheap phones coming out of China right now.
Www.1949deal.com
I saw a 5.0 " LCD, 1.7GHz 8-Core 64-bit CPU, 3GB Ram phone for under $200 from ECOO.

From what I've read, the 64-bit CPUs are significantly faster than the current 32-bit CPUs. I don't think I'll buy another 32-bit phone.


Sent from my Nexus 4 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Velrix (Jan 29, 2015)

gorilla p said:


> Right now, I would probably recommend the Amazon Fire phone. They are selling unlocked for $199 right now. Amazon stopped their 199 sale, but they're new on eBay for 199 all over the place still.
> There's also a lot of high-end cheap phones coming out of China right now.
> Www.1949deal.com
> I saw a 5.0 " LCD, 1.7GHz 8-Core 64-bit CPU, 3GB Ram phone for under $200 from ECOO.
> ...

Click to collapse



Still run into the same issue with the Firephone, while it may be "sim unlocked" the bootloader is still locked. It will take tremendous work to get around that although it can be done to an extent. If I was to tell anyone to purchase any phone it would be the Onephone One, Xiaomi Mi4 or Meizu MX4 /MX4pro. It boils down to what you really want to spend on a phone. The Zmax is a really decent base device but developer support will be extremely limited.


----------



## mdabeezy (Jan 29, 2015)

Xiaomi MI Note PRO will be the goodbye punch to my zmax!


----------



## brandonlee96 (Jan 29, 2015)

i am starting to lose all hope for the root of the zte zmax so i took my time to try out 16 different programs and apps to try to get root access AND THEY ALL FAILED HERE IS THE LIST OF ALL 16 

1.kingo root-FAILED
2.srsroot-FAILED 
3.framaroot-FAILED 
4.vroot/iroot boot the same-FAILED 
 5.zergRush Root-FAILED 
6.unlock root pro-FAILED 
7.Root Master apk-FAILED 
8.z4root apk-FAILED 
9.g2root-FAILED 
10.zdsrooter-FAILED 
11.Universal Androot apk-FAILED 
12.RootGenius-FAILED 
13 .giefroot-FAILED 
14.mt7 root-FAILED 
15.kingroot-FAILED 
16.sunshine root apk-FAILED 

but i did find something great out in the process i found out the root needed app called (lucky patcher) call still work for nonrooted users such as (free iap without root,remove ads from apps, remove lincense verification , and change permissions of apps). all without root with lucky patcher

IF YOU KNOW OF ANY OTHER PROGRAM OR APP THAT ISNT ON THIS LIST LET ME KNOW ILL TRY THEM OUT AND LET EVERY KNOW IF IT WORKS OR NOT


----------



## Planterz (Jan 29, 2015)

It's crazy that this inexpensive phone is so locked down, yet all the flagships from T-Mobile, even the Note 4, are all rootable.


----------



## Velrix (Jan 30, 2015)

Planterz said:


> It's crazy that this inexpensive phone is so locked down, yet all the flagships from T-Mobile, even the Note 4, are all rootable.

Click to collapse



The phone is rootable. I can promise you there will be a release of it very soon although I have no timelines. Just know its coming. With that being said. I would be more worried about the locked bootloader at this point.


----------



## therealduckie (Jan 30, 2015)

** REMOVED


----------



## Vyrus69 (Jan 30, 2015)

Phones can be rooted with a locked bootloader...the issue with this phone is the read/write ability of the phone once we have root.

Zte has something built into the bootloader blocking r/w ability.


----------



## therealduckie (Jan 30, 2015)

Vyrus69 said:


> Phones can be rooted with a locked bootloader...the issue with this phone is the read/write ability of the phone once we have root.
> 
> Zte has something built into the bootloader blocking r/w ability.

Click to collapse



So is it possible to root it but it doesn't hold on reboot?


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## Velrix (Jan 30, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> So is it possible to root it but it doesn't hold on reboot?

Click to collapse



We can achieve perma root. The problem will come loading unsigned software on the device. IE CWM/TWRP/Roms. There may be minor things we can do to modify the rom like build prop edits and such but thats about it until we find a work around for the bootloader.


----------



## Milly7 (Jan 30, 2015)

Velrix said:


> We can achieve perma root. The problem will come loading unsigned software on the device. IE CWM/TWRP/Roms. There may be minor things we can do to modify the rom like build prop edits and such but thats about it until we find a work around for the bootloader.

Click to collapse



Is this on old or new software or both?


----------



## therealduckie (Jan 30, 2015)

Velrix said:


> We can achieve perma root. The problem will come loading unsigned software on the device. IE CWM/TWRP/Roms. There may be minor things we can do to modify the rom like build prop edits and such but thats about it until we find a work around for the bootloader.

Click to collapse



To be honest, I could care less about CWM/TWRP or any other ROM. All I want is the ability to have root for the system/app folder and other things. I'm a tinkerer. 

Keep us updated on the progress, though, and if you plan to release. Appreciate it.


----------



## Velrix (Jan 30, 2015)

Milly7 said:


> Is this on old or new software or both?

Click to collapse



Not sure what you mean. The update we received on T-mobile was not a kernel update. It shouldn't be a issue.


----------



## stinkbud (Jan 30, 2015)

Before I got my zmax, I was on a rooted Xperia Z. The bootloader was locked on that device as well, but there was an apk out there that added custom recovery temporarily, one reboot only. That was how ROMs were flashed. Eventually a permanent recovery was achieved but the bootloader remained locked.

Maybe we can learn from what the Xperia devs were able to do.


----------



## Velrix (Jan 30, 2015)

stinkbud said:


> Before I got my zmax, I was on a rooted Xperia Z. The bootloader was locked on that device as well, but there was an apk out there that added custom recovery temporarily, one reboot only. That was how ROMs were flashed. Eventually a permanent recovery was achieved but the bootloader remained locked.
> 
> Maybe we can learn from what the Xperia devs were able to do.

Click to collapse



There is ways around it. Writing a recovery partition on a second partition and having the device boot from that is one way. Usually pretty safe but you never know. Until we have root accomplished that cannot happen.


----------



## therealduckie (Jan 30, 2015)

I miss the days when people who were working on an exploit could be honest and open about it and have a discussion rather than fearing the onslaught of a million kids bothering them for it and avoiding confrontation by hiding.

Thanks to those of you working on this. Sorry if you're now being bombarded with private messages and people bothering you incessantly.

Cheers


----------



## nobreak1970 (Jan 30, 2015)

Perhaps, and this may be dumb, some of you with the ability to write up a professional letter can compare ZTE in polite manner to Huawei adn what they do with their bootloaders.
I just got a Huawei after ditching my new ZTE device.  What Huawei does is freely unlock their bootloaders on their new devices.  You email them some info from the phone, ie serial number, product number and IMEI and they send a code you use with the oem unlock command within adb.
Just a thought...not sure if it matters to ZTE at all.
Sorry you guys are having such a hard time with this.


----------



## clockcycle (Jan 30, 2015)

Truth is there is a lack of interest. Not even enough, that we can't/don't even have a proper sub section dedicated, other than a simple thread.

No talk of cases, covers, skins. Screen shots, wallpapers, popular apps?

Personally I'd like root just to say we can and have the option. I'd mostly install adaway, quickboot and rom toolbox. Bootstrap cwm would be nice for backups.

So far no talk on zte open and ftm software I posted a link to earlier, either.


----------



## Vyrus69 (Jan 30, 2015)

There are many phones with full root and ROMs that don't have a sub forum either.  Xda sometimes takes a while or doesn't open up one for phones that's aren't as mainstream.


----------



## therealduckie (Jan 30, 2015)

clockcycle said:


> Truth is there is a lack of interest. Not even enough, that we can't/don't even have a proper sub section dedicated, other than a simple thread.
> 
> No talk of cases, covers, skins. Screen shots, wallpapers, popular apps?
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



I was offered a case the day I bought mine. They had screen covers, too. 

As for screenshots, just hold DOWN VOLUME-POWER and it works. Wallpapers are standard 720x1280 so any will do, and as for apps...what limitations outside of root-enabled apps are there?


----------



## clockcycle (Jan 30, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> I was offered a case the day I bought mine. They had screen covers, too.
> 
> As for screenshots, just hold DOWN VOLUME-POWER and it works. Wallpapers are standard 720x1280 so any will do, and as for apps...what limitations outside of root-enabled apps are there?

Click to collapse



I meant screenshot of customized personalize home page of user's phones. Alternate launchers.

There are no limitations other than root.


----------



## therealduckie (Jan 30, 2015)

clockcycle said:


> I meant screenshot of customized personalize home page of user's phones. Alternate launchers.
> 
> There are no limitations other than root.

Click to collapse



I use NOVA Launcher. No limitations on alternative launchers that I know of, unless you mean Touchwiz.


----------



## TJay99 (Jan 30, 2015)

Been lurking in this thread for days now. Not sure if any of you are aware of it, but there's a fairly active G+ community for the Zmax.  Have a look.

Also.... my case: Evocel Dual Armor (in the Shadow Blue color)... it's excellent, durable and pretty damn stylish.


----------



## DroidHackalot (Jan 30, 2015)

I also have the evocel case in white and.black, and red n black

Huawei Mercury 4.1.2 cm10
HTC one v 4.2.2 cm11
Samsung GS4 4.3.1 cm11


----------



## Furik (Jan 30, 2015)

Thanks for the Google+ community. Seems really active! Didn't know so many people had this phone.


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Jan 30, 2015)

Wonder how jcase is doing.... Haven't heard much out of him! Getting a little worried


----------



## Vyrus69 (Jan 30, 2015)

Asked him on twitter earlier and he says he doesn't comment but when hes ready to release something he'll post it.


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Jan 30, 2015)

This phone is locked down to the ZMAX! FUDGE

Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## therealduckie (Jan 30, 2015)

Been having fun tweaking the UI. Thought I would share.

Using:


NOVA LAUNCHER
Floating Stickies
AirTerm
Floating Calc
My own icons from Mac OS
Purposely photoshopped wallpaper with Finder bar
Mac-like Clock


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## Planterz (Jan 30, 2015)

clockcycle said:


> Truth is there is a lack of interest. Not even enough, that we can't/don't even have a proper sub section dedicated, other than a simple thread.

Click to collapse





Vyrus69 said:


> There are many phones with full root and ROMs that don't have a sub forum either.  Xda sometimes takes a while or doesn't open up one for phones that's aren't as mainstream.

Click to collapse



I don't think it's so much a matter of interest, but rather proliferation and availability/saturation. Obviously a Nexus device or a flagship from a major manufacturer will get a forum, often before its even available. But a carrier-specific budget device will automatically have a hard time getting its own forum, especially when interest in development for the device numbers in the dozens, compared to thousands. 

Frankly, I think a ZMAX forum at this point would be, well, pointless. No root, no recovery, no development. Giving the ZMAX its own forum won't magically mean more development. My own Galaxy Light has root, a debloated ROM and a CM build, TWRP recovery, etc. But it's only available through T-Mobile and MetroPCS, there's only a relative handful who care about it, and as such hasn't received its own forum.


----------



## DroidHackalot (Jan 31, 2015)

Just plain and simple lol 










Huawei Mercury 4.1.2 cm10
HTC one v 4.2.2 cm11
Samsung GS4 4.3.1 cm11


----------



## therealduckie (Jan 31, 2015)

Although the possibility of a ZMAX specific forum is a long shot, perhaps a ZTE one would be acceptable.  ZTE has many more phones than the ZMAX and all of them have threads on the site. 

Anyone know who we would talk to about making such a thing happen?


----------



## clockcycle (Jan 31, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> Although the possibility of a ZMAX specific forum is a long shot, perhaps a ZTE one would be acceptable.  ZTE has many more phones than the ZMAX and all of them have threads on the site.
> 
> Anyone know who we would talk to about making such a thing happen?

Click to collapse



Have to post in the new device forum request forum, link was posted earlier. I'll see if i can dig it up.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1660354


----------



## voidcomp (Jan 31, 2015)

StonerSteve420 said:


> Wonder how jcase is doing.... Haven't heard much out of him! Getting a little worried

Click to collapse



This post summarized it nicely:



therealduckie said:


> I miss the days when people who were working on an exploit could be honest and open about it and have a discussion rather than fearing the onslaught of a million kids bothering them for it and avoiding confrontation by hiding.
> 
> Thanks to those of you working on this. Sorry if you're now being bombarded with private messages and people bothering you incessantly.
> 
> Cheers

Click to collapse



Jcase is very smart to be tight lipped.  Whether he finds the solution or not isn't important to me, the ZMax is great as it is.


----------



## biledigger (Jan 31, 2015)

My only hope is that if and when we have root access that modifying the rom partition of the phone wont cause any security based lockdowns that some of the LG phones tend to do.


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Jan 31, 2015)

voidcomp said:


> This post summarized it nicely:
> 
> 
> 
> Jcase is very smart to be tight lipped.  Whether he finds the solution or not isn't important to me, the ZMax is great as it is.

Click to collapse




No it doesn't really apply to me. I haven't been bugging him. I haven't messaged him haven't bugged him and I haven't posted much about how far along he is. I just said what everyone is thinking. No body can honestly say at some point they haven't thought I wonder how its coming along. As an enthusiasts of the android world its a good thing to be curious about the process and what its all looking like. If I didn't have curiosity than I don't really care. I love this phone sorry for wanting to see it used at its full potential.


----------



## clockcycle (Jan 31, 2015)

Those evocel look great. Ive wanted a candy gel slim tpu for my zmax. usually buy mercury for most my phones. this is similar. 

Currently I have a full body xtremeguard on and its been great. Wondering if that tpu would cause the edges of screen protectors to peel?


----------



## Alfa Droid (Jan 31, 2015)

DroidHackalot said:


> Just plain and simple lol
> 
> 
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Very nice..


----------



## Alfa Droid (Jan 31, 2015)

Good Morning. Zmax in tablet mode (Landscape) . ﻿


----------



## mjsell2 (Jan 31, 2015)

Maybe this is just a little odd looking to me, but I just got to poking around on the phone and it looks like there is an extra level of "system" permissions. It looks like they did something silly, like making the user root and adding system to lock this phone down. Forgive me if this is a known, I am more Linux oriented and haven't dealt much into the android side.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## clockcycle (Jan 31, 2015)

Stock launcher, Hulk wallpaper, calander widget, beautiful widget pro.


----------



## treezy26 (Jan 31, 2015)

Simple. KK Launcher.


----------



## Reallionare (Jan 31, 2015)

mjsell2 said:


> Maybe this is just a little odd looking to me, but I just got to poking around on the phone and it looks like there is an extra level of "system" permissions. It looks like they did something silly, like making the user root and adding system to lock this phone down. Forgive me if this is a known, I am more Linux oriented and haven't dealt much into the android side.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Hello, excuse the noob question, do you mind explaining what this means for us that's trying to learn more about phones... Thanks ahead

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mjsell2 (Jan 31, 2015)

Reallionare said:


> Hello, excuse the noob question, do you mind explaining what this means for us that's trying to learn more about phones... Thanks ahead
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Can't say much for android as I haven't dug into any of the actual file system since my G1. I just got to looking at the permissions (ls -l). Typically in a Linux system you have 3 groups of permission: root, user, world. The file system on this device seems to have 4 groups: system,root,user,world. The root, cache, system, etc are locked to system r/w only. It is really weird as busybox seems to see root permissions but won't install as the directory needed is locked to system instead of root as it should be. Need to find a way to chmod the permissions 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## John Laurinaitis (Feb 1, 2015)

Buying myself one this week. There are so many deals i just can't pass , Just $100 in store and for a limited time $50 unlimited at Metro. Just ordered myself a clear case and a Matte screen protector off amazon. :good:


----------



## Milly7 (Feb 1, 2015)

Good choice. Its a heck of a phone for the price. Battery life is amazing for my usage.


----------



## DroidHackalot (Feb 1, 2015)

Milly7 said:


> Good choice. Its a heck of a phone for the price. Battery life is amazing for my usage.

Click to collapse



Hell yea I abuse this phone with games and always on YouTube and it last so long. 

Huawei Mercury 4.1.2 cm10
HTC one v 4.2.2 cm11
Samsung GS4 4.3.1 cm11


----------



## clockcycle (Feb 2, 2015)

Better than the energizer bunny. Days with without charge, normal use. Where as with my previous phones I'd have to charge at least every night.


----------



## Furik (Feb 2, 2015)

Ugh. Wish I could do that. I can go about a full day before I need to charge. 
Is that just standby with no messing around on it?


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Feb 2, 2015)

clockcycle said:


> Better than the energizer bunny. Days with without charge, normal use. Where as with my previous phones I'd have to charge at least every night.

Click to collapse



What's your screen on time though?

Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Ra.burt86 (Feb 2, 2015)

The battery is exceptional. I've hit 9 hours screen on time WiFi + cell radio on the whole time. I've hit 3 days of normal use. Sometimes I'm shocked at how long it will stay at a specific percentage level!


----------



## clockcycle (Feb 2, 2015)

BB6H22LUDE said:


> What's your screen on time though?
> 
> Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse








Note that I am comparing "my" normal daily use. Regardless of what I did with previous phones, they would require I plug in every night. With light to moderate use on previous phones, I'd had to plug during the day as well.

So far I've not plugged in since Friday night.


----------



## mhaner (Feb 2, 2015)

Nova Launcher
UCCW with CTOS theme


----------



## ubigred (Feb 2, 2015)

clockcycle said:


> Note that I am comparing "my" normal daily use. Regardless of what I did with previous phones, they would require I plug in every night. With light to moderate use on previous phones, I'd had to plug during the day as well.
> 
> So far I've not plugged in since Friday night.

Click to collapse



2hr screen time? :/

Sent from my SM-N910P


----------



## Vyrus69 (Feb 2, 2015)

ubigred said:


> 2hr screen time? :/
> 
> Sent from my SM-N910P

Click to collapse



2 hour screen time with probably 30+ standby and still has half a battery left over....thats pretty dang good any way you look at it.


----------



## 98clru (Feb 2, 2015)

*to update or not to update, that is the question...*

T-Mobile says nothing on their support site and make believe it's all you need to know. I hate to update just to find for no real enhancement I've screwed from rooting later. Guess there's only a few of us outliers that care.


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Feb 2, 2015)

98clru said:


> T-Mobile says nothing on their support site and make believe it's all you need to know. I hate to update just to find for no real enhancement I've screwed from rooting later. Guess there's only a few of us outliers that care.

Click to collapse



Update. I'm willing to bet there won't ever be root

Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Feb 3, 2015)

BB6H22LUDE said:


> Update. I'm willing to bet there won't ever be root
> 
> Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



I'm beginning to think the same.


----------



## Vyrus69 (Feb 3, 2015)

Never say never guys.


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Feb 3, 2015)

Vyrus69 said:


> Never say never guys.

Click to collapse



NEVER!! ;(

EDIT 53 seconds later jcase posts instructions on how to unlock, root and install custom recovery. 

Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Velrix (Feb 3, 2015)

BB6H22LUDE said:


> Update. I'm willing to bet there won't ever be root
> 
> Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



You may think that but don't be so sure lol. Why don't you just relax and wait for the perm root to be released. Not that it won't be but just because root can be achieved doesn't mean after you get root, you need to find a way to keep it. Once that is achieved and only then will it be released. Otherwise it could potentially cause more harm then good. If you can't wait get out of the thread or buy another device.


----------



## Mistress_Sin (Feb 3, 2015)

Can anyone confirm that I can use Mobile Hotspot without paying extra on MetroPcs using this method? 
http://forum.xda-developers.com/ascend-mate2/general/free-metropcs-tethering-apn-mod-t2923911
I tried it on my SO's LG F6 and I couldn't get it to work. Is it possible without root to get free Hotspot? If I can do this on the ZTE, then I'll get one.


----------



## Ra.burt86 (Feb 3, 2015)

Come on folks, let's get some more chips in the bounty thread


----------



## clockcycle (Feb 3, 2015)

ubigred said:


> 2hr screen time? :/
> 
> Sent from my SM-N910P

Click to collapse



28% left after 2days 16hours with 3+ hours screen time browsing watching videos with LTE wifi and gps on. Not bad imho.


----------



## Metatron911 (Feb 3, 2015)

First post. Nova launcher, nox icon pack and wallpaper, zooper calender and barcode battery and 1weather transparent tabbed widget.


----------



## Ra.burt86 (Feb 3, 2015)

clockcycle said:


> 28% left after 2days 16hours with 3+ hours screen time browsing watching videos with LTE wifi and gps on. Not bad imho.

Click to collapse



Not bad is an understatement! The Zmax gets better battery life than quite a few tablets. Screen on + WiFi + videos/gaming = 10+ hours is exceptional if you ask me. Battery life may be the greatest feature of this phone.


----------



## Root_Junkie (Feb 3, 2015)

*just thought I'd let you know*

I did the system update on my zmax from TM and it seems to have slowed it down a lot. There were a few fixes like google play music actually being able to read my music on my SD card with the updated version of the app. Now neither version of the app read my SD card. It also freezes now. It never did that before until I did the update. Also I get a lot of messages saying that stock apps have stopped working. I get at least 2 of the same text messages from people even long after I have replied to it. I'm also noticing that when my girlfriend texts me from her HTC one I will get them all several hours later. This is a replacement of the brand new one I bought and it has more issues than the last one. I just received the replacement of the replacement so here's to wishful thinking. Has anyone else had these se problems or is it just the phones I keep getting?


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Feb 3, 2015)

Root_Junkie said:


> I did the system update on my zmax from TM and it seems to have slowed it down a lot. There were a few fixes like google play music actually being able to read my music on my SD card with the updated version of the app. Now neither version of the app read my SD card. It also freezes now. It never did that before until I did the update. Also I get a lot of messages saying that stock apps have stopped working. I get at least 2 of the same text messages from people even long after I have replied to it. I'm also noticing that when my girlfriend texts me from her HTC one I will get them all several hours later. This is a replacement of the brand new one I bought and it has more issues than the last one. I just received the replacement of the replacement so here's to wishful thinking. Has anyone else had these se problems or is it just the phones I keep getting?

Click to collapse



Have you tried wiping the cache and or factory reset maybe that will speed it up


----------



## Root_Junkie (Feb 3, 2015)

StonerSteve420 said:


> Have you tried wiping the cache and or factory reset maybe that will speed it up

Click to collapse



Yes I have. Since I got this replacement I haven't really put anything on here to slow it down bc of the issues I had with my first one. I do a factory reset on new phones right out of the box just in cade ya know? But since I have nothing on here I updated and did the factory reset and its been causing problems. I am in the process of transferring to my new replacement so fingers crossed.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Feb 3, 2015)

Root_Junkie said:


> Yes I have. Since I got this replacement I haven't really put anything on here to slow it down bc of the issues I had with my first one. I do a factory reset on new phones right out of the box just in cade ya know? But since I have nothing on here I updated and did the factory reset and its been causing problems. I am in the process of transferring to my new replacement so fingers crossed.

Click to collapse



I have had mine since Oct 2014 without any issues.  I do get some intermittent slowdown with Words With Friends (glitches), but that is a WWF issue.  I have noticed that Ingress stops, but it did that on my GNEX before this also.


----------



## Velrix (Feb 4, 2015)

Just got a call from T-Mobile executive team. They have reached a deal with ZTE and they are releasing a bootloader unlock for the Zmax. So now its a short waiting game! I will post the follow up email when I receive it!


----------



## nobreak1970 (Feb 4, 2015)

Holy hell!

Sent from my HUAWEI Y536A1 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## DroidHackalot (Feb 4, 2015)

Velrix said:


> Just got a call from T-Mobile executive team. They have reached a deal with ZTE and they are releasing a bootloader unlock for the Zmax. So now its a short waiting game! I will post the follow up email when I receive it!

Click to collapse



It's alive! The zmax is alive! Lol

Huawei Mercury 4.1.2 cm10
HTC one v 4.2.2 cm11
Samsung GS4 4.3.1 cm11


----------



## Velrix (Feb 4, 2015)

DroidHackalot said:


> It's alive! The zmax is alive! Lol
> 
> Huawei Mercury 4.1.2 cm10
> HTC one v 4.2.2 cm11
> Samsung GS4 4.3.1 cm11

Click to collapse



Not sure if it was the Twitter Bombs or FCC complaints but something got the attention. So just sit tight . If everything happens as stated on this call we must all praise ZTE and T-Mobile on social networks.


----------



## Vyrus69 (Feb 4, 2015)

Velrix said:


> Just got a call from T-Mobile executive team. They have reached a deal with ZTE and they are releasing a bootloader unlock for the Zmax. So now its a short waiting game! I will post the follow up email when I receive it!

Click to collapse



Pleeease don't be trolling... I know you've been on here for a while trying to support the device, but some people can get cabin fever waiting for something and they snap.  

100% legit?:highfive::cyclops:


----------



## DroidHackalot (Feb 4, 2015)

Please no trolls here.. 

Huawei Mercury 4.1.2 cm10
HTC one v 4.2.2 cm11
Samsung GS4 4.3.1 cm11


----------



## Velrix (Feb 4, 2015)

Vyrus69 said:


> Pleeease don't be trolling... I know you've been on here for a while trying to support the device, but some people can get cabin fever waiting for something and they snap.
> 
> 100% legit?:highfive::cyclops:

Click to collapse



Trust me 100% not trolling I will give you a copy of the email when I receive it. It will be a follow up to the discussion. I will be talking to ZTE as well to get more clarification on how it will be distributed. From what I gathered TMobile and ZTE had a conference call. During this call they came to agreement they can provide the unlock but it will be at the cost of the device warranty. ZTE will be the one actually providing the update what I need to clarify is will it be an update on the ZTE USA page or on their opensource website.


Edit. Still no email just yet. If I do not receive the followup email by tomorrow noon I will contact the rep to find out why.


----------



## nobreak1970 (Feb 4, 2015)

Ummmm

Sent from my HUAWEI Y536A1 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Summatyme (Feb 4, 2015)

Velrix said:


> Just got a call from T-Mobile executive team. They have reached a deal with ZTE and they are releasing a bootloader unlock for the Zmax. So now its a short waiting game! I will post the follow up email when I receive it!

Click to collapse



Awesome news. I know @jcase must be relieved. Lol


----------



## brandonlee96 (Feb 4, 2015)

how would the bootloader unlocked be acheived in an update by the zte or what


----------



## D33PTHAWTE (Feb 4, 2015)

brandonlee96 said:


> how would the bootloader unlocked be acheived in an update by the zte or what

Click to collapse



If they do the same thing Huawei did, each individual user would email the support department with your serial number and/or imei number.
They would then email you back the unlock code. If I remember correctly, the unlock code is pushed via adb.

Sent from my LG-V410 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## clockcycle (Feb 4, 2015)

D33PTHAWTE said:


> If they do the same thing Huawei did, each individual user would email the support department with your serial number and/or imei number.
> They would then email you back the unlock code. If I remember correctly, the unlock code is pushed via adb.
> 
> Sent from my LG-V410 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Several motorola phones had a similar automated method via their website. You entered your imei, agreed to their terms, essentially acknowledging you'll be voiding your warranty.

Then it gives you a long code and instructions how to issue it via adb oem unlock.


----------



## brandonlee96 (Feb 4, 2015)

D33PTHAWTE said:


> If they do the same thing Huawei did, each individual user would email the support department with your serial number and/or imei number.
> They would then email you back the unlock code. If I remember correctly, the unlock code is pushed via adb.
> 
> Sent from my LG-V410 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse




ok thanks






clockcycle said:


> Several motorola phones had a similar automated method via their website. You entered your imei, agreed to their terms, essentially acknowledging you'll be voiding your warranty.
> 
> Then it gives you a long code and instructions how to issue it via adb oem unlock.

Click to collapse


----------



## nobreak1970 (Feb 4, 2015)

Makes it so easy.  If they do the email thing I hope they were as quick as huawei was in getting the codes to us

Sent from my HUAWEI Y536A1 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## D33PTHAWTE (Feb 4, 2015)

nobreak1970 said:


> Makes it so easy.  If they do the email thing I hope they were as quick as huawei was in getting the codes to us
> 
> Sent from my HUAWEI Y536A1 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Huawei was very fast. I had the code within a few hours. Some folks reported even quicker turn around.

Sent from my LG-V410 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## BB6H22LUDE (Feb 4, 2015)

If this person is full of you know what. I will track him down thru his IP and find him for you guys if you like for the right price. We don't like trolls here. Lol

Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Kahuna_Tuna (Feb 4, 2015)

Do you accept cache?  Are partition payments good?


---------- Post added at 12:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:18 PM ----------

Last week I got my call back from tmo on my FCC complaint & it was a no way at that time to unlock.  I told her I would probably return my device to Wally World ($179.00 & I did, but bought same again this week) & she even suggested another big screen device for my low vision, Nexus 6.  That's about $600+.
I think if enough noise was heard, they very well may have made those arrangements to unlock via a request.  

"From our mouths, to ZTE/TMO gods ears"
lol


----------



## johnb380 (Feb 4, 2015)

Here's my home screens! Buzz launcher home packs!  It is the best launcher out there! With a few widgets u can make your home screen look sick. I like minimalistic look personally! And Star Wars of course!


----------



## voidcomp (Feb 4, 2015)

How good is this phone when it comes to bluetooth connectivity?  I have a wireless bluetooth speaker which is recognized by my S3 and N5 but not with the ZMax.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## aSuperSaiyanG0D (Feb 4, 2015)

Does anybody know if the Walmart Family Mobile version would work on Target's BrightSpot?

Or would it have to be unlocked?

I know the plain T-Mobile version doesn't need to be unlocked

Thanks in advance ?

Sent from my LG Optimus L90,

I'm on YouTube,
(aSuperSaiyanG0D Gaming/Android)


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Feb 4, 2015)

voidcomp said:


> How good is this phone when it comes to bluetooth connectivity?  I have a wireless bluetooth speaker which is recognized by my S3 and N5 but not with the ZMax.

Click to collapse



I have had mine connected to several cars handsfree systems(I travel a lot for work) and 2 different headsets, a motorola and a cheap off brand unit.  I have had no issues with the bluetooth for these applications.

However, when trying to play spaceteam with my kids, it would not connect to my son's GNEX, but would my daughters S4 when they were hosting.  I am not sure why.  It would host fine for both of their phones.


----------



## Velrix (Feb 4, 2015)

BB6H22LUDE said:


> If this person is full of you know what. I will track him down thru his IP and find him for you guys if you like for the right price. We don't like trolls here. Lol
> 
> Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Can assure you I am not, however I am starting to wonder why T-Mobile never sent this email out the rep told me would be coming out. They called me, they told me this and reassured me numerous times I would receive the email. I am reaching out to them yet again to find out what in the hell is going on.

edit. Furthermore I would not be gaining anything by trolling, I wanted this just as much as anyone else and have continued to blast T-Mobiles Twitter/Facebook and suggest the FCC contact. Whenever I have more details I will let you know.


----------



## brandonlee96 (Feb 4, 2015)

Velrix said:


> Can assure you I am not, however I am starting to wonder why T-Mobile never sent this email out the rep told me would be coming out. They called me, they told me this and reassured me numerous times I would receive the email. I am reaching out to them yet again to find out what in the hell is going on.
> 
> edit. Furthermore I would not be gaining anything by trolling, I wanted this just as much as anyone else and have continued to blast T-Mobiles Twitter/Facebook and suggest the FCC contact. Whenever I have more details I will let you know.

Click to collapse



any proof of this bootloader release soon


----------



## nobreak1970 (Feb 4, 2015)

aSuperSaiyanG0D said:


> Does anybody know if the Walmart Family Mobile version would work on Target's BrightSpot?
> 
> Or would it have to be unlocked?
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



I bet it will be fine and work automatically but I've been wrong before.  Its like I bought an AT&T go phone and I'm using it on straight talk using their AT&T SIM and it didn't need to be a locked


Sent from my HUAWEI Y536A1 using XDA Free mobile app

---------- Post added at 04:16 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:13 PM ----------




Velrix said:


> Can assure you I am not, however I am starting to wonder why T-Mobile never sent this email out the rep told me would be coming out. They called me, they told me this and reassured me numerous times I would receive the email. I am reaching out to them yet again to find out what in the hell is going on.
> 
> edit. Furthermore I would not be gaining anything by trolling, I wanted this just as much as anyone else and have continued to blast T-Mobiles Twitter/Facebook and suggest the FCC contact. Whenever I have more details I will let you know.

Click to collapse



I believe you. Now I have to ask and I'm not trying to be condescending is your phone number that they called you on listed anywhere that somebody on this forum can get? What I'm getting at is couldn't be a prank from someone here

Sent from my HUAWEI Y536A1 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## johnb380 (Feb 4, 2015)

Velrix said:


> Can assure you I am not, however I am starting to wonder why T-Mobile never sent this email out the rep told me would be coming out. They called me, they told me this and reassured me numerous times I would receive the email. I am reaching out to them yet again to find out what in the hell is going on.
> 
> edit. Furthermore I would not be gaining anything by trolling, I wanted this just as much as anyone else and have continued to blast T-Mobiles Twitter/Facebook and suggest the FCC contact. Whenever I have more details I will let you know.

Click to collapse



I hope you got the reps name and id number and office location because if you didn't then they'll prolly just say it never happened. Also if you didn't record the call there's really no proof anywhere either way! I hope this does come to fruition but well see I've been told lots a "things" from companies that have never came true.

But my fingers r crossed hoping that the rep actually knew what they were talking about. Honestly I would of asked for their supervisor just to verify that the info the rep relayed was true and accurate!

O well either way I love this phone!


----------



## Velrix (Feb 4, 2015)

nobreak1970 said:


> I bet it will be fine and work automatically but I've been wrong before.  Its like I bought an AT&T go phone and I'm using it on straight talk using their AT&T SIM and it didn't need to be a locked
> 
> 
> Sent from my HUAWEI Y536A1 using XDA Free mobile app
> ...

Click to collapse



No my number is not listed. My wife is the account holder and they called her phone. I doubt it was a prank. I have the name and have emailed TMobile's executive team to find out what's going on with this email.


----------



## johnb380 (Feb 4, 2015)

voidcomp said:


> How good is this phone when it comes to bluetooth connectivity?  I have a wireless bluetooth speaker which is recognized by my S3 and N5 but not with the ZMax.

Click to collapse



I use quite a few BT connected electronics with my Zmax a pair of Bluedio Stereo Earbuds, a cheap BT speaker I bought at Wally World, and a Motorola mono earpiece and they all work great.


----------



## Velrix (Feb 5, 2015)

This is the email I received so it looks like a waiting game at this point until they get all the information out. Furthermore it looks like it was reaching out to the FCC !


I apologize if there was any confusion about the correspondence you would be receiving from our office. You are sent a letter along with the response we send to the FCC. This process can sometimes take a few weeks. Instead of mailing this letter like we normally do I would be happy to email you a copy instead. I should have this letter drafter by the end of the week.



Thank you,



Tiffany (Removed so they are not harassed)

Executive Response 
Office of the President/CEO


----------



## Raider1911 (Feb 5, 2015)

Velrix said:


> This is the email I received so it looks like a waiting game at this point until they get all the information out. Furthermore it looks like it was reaching out to the FCC !
> 
> 
> I apologize if there was any confusion about the correspondence you would be receiving from our office. You are sent a letter along with the response we send to the FCC. This process can sometimes take a few weeks. Instead of mailing this letter like we normally do I would be happy to email you a copy instead. I should have this letter drafter by the end of the week.
> ...

Click to collapse



I needed some good news in my life. Things have been outrageous.  We're one big step closer guys.     Like every company I'm sure they'll drag their heels on this.  Still good news..I'll take it. :good:


----------



## DroidHackalot (Feb 5, 2015)

We all shared our voice as one, and it got heard loud and clear 


Huawei Mercury 4.1.2 cm10
HTC one v 4.2.2 cm11
Samsung GS4 4.3.1 cm11


----------



## nobreak1970 (Feb 5, 2015)

Velrix said:


> This is the email I received so it looks like a waiting game at this point until they get all the information out. Furthermore it looks like it was reaching out to the FCC !
> 
> 
> I apologize if there was any confusion about the correspondence you would be receiving from our office. You are sent a letter along with the response we send to the FCC. This process can sometimes take a few weeks. Instead of mailing this letter like we normally do I would be happy to email you a copy instead. I should have this letter drafter by the end of the week.
> ...

Click to collapse



Kinda generic?
What's what this exactly in response to?

Sent from my HUAWEI Y536A1 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Velrix (Feb 5, 2015)

nobreak1970 said:


> Kinda generic?
> What's what this exactly in response to?
> 
> Sent from my HUAWEI Y536A1 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse




I have still not received the follow up email about the bootloader unlock confirmation via the rep that called me last night "Carmen" I believe. She informed me that ZTE and Tmobile had a conference call and agreed to allow the bootloader to be unlocked on the Zmax, she stated numerous times Tmobile would not unlock but it would be provided by ZTE and she would be sending an email out to confirm this matter. Can I please get a response about this.
▶ Show quoted text
T-MoUSAS28c_2C_K65



February 4, 2015



VIA EMAIL





Dear Mr. :



I apologize if there was any confusion about the correspondence you would be receiving from our office. You are sent a letter along with the response we send to the FCC. This process can sometimes take a few weeks. Instead of mailing this letter like we normally do I would be happy to email you a copy instead. I should have this letter drafter by the end of the week.



Thank you,



Tiffany

Executive Response 
Office of the President/CEO


----------



## stinkbud (Feb 5, 2015)

OMG,  show some gratitude people. Here is an idea, let's trash talk jcase too. Who is to say he is really helping us and not leading us along for his own  amusement? Really???

These are people helping us to get an unlocked bootloader and root. I for one am grateful we have people in this community willing to put their time and effort into the common cause of unlocking our phones.


----------



## biledigger (Feb 5, 2015)

I have a question for you guys. Is there any specific debug driver set that I would need to successfully use easy tether in windows 10? So far it is fully detectable by the upsale detwction kit whilst back in 7 x64 it was undetectable. Any tips guys?


----------



## brandonlee96 (Feb 5, 2015)

thank you too all the people trying to get the bootloader unlocked we all thank you and thank you jcase for trying his best to get this zte zmax rooted ?


----------



## DroidHackalot (Feb 5, 2015)

mdabeezy said:


> I wouldn't expect any thing less from a Honda driver.... Gah they are so childish....[emoji13]

Click to collapse



Lol Calm down bro. 

Huawei Mercury 4.1.2 cm10
HTC one v 4.2.2 cm11
Samsung GS4 4.3.1 cm11


----------



## clockcycle (Feb 5, 2015)

People wonder why most usually dont say anything until its done..

Anyways, I ordered this..


----------



## DroidHackalot (Feb 5, 2015)

clockcycle said:


> People wonder why most usually dont say anything until its done..
> 
> Anyways, I ordered this..

Click to collapse



Dam is that the only.color?

Huawei Mercury 4.1.2 cm10
HTC one v 4.2.2 cm11
Samsung GS4 4.3.1 cm11


----------



## Vee63b (Feb 5, 2015)

clockcycle said:


> People wonder why most usually dont say anything until its done..
> 
> Anyways, I ordered this..

Click to collapse



Amazon has this one. Which works great with my layout lol


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## mingolianbeef (Feb 5, 2015)

Vee63b said:


> Amazon has this one. Which works great with my layout lol

Click to collapse



Yoooo that's dope!!! I have a regular TPU case (black with a smokey grey back) and a screen protector that doesn't cover the cam, speaker or gyroscope.


----------



## loonycgb2 (Feb 5, 2015)

*working hotspot on metropcs 60$ plan!*

I finally got hotspot working on the 60$ plan on metropcs  now to see if i can find a root method to work ..

Dont know if anyone has got it working too:


----------



## mdabeezy (Feb 5, 2015)

That gameboy case is the beezneez


----------



## Vee63b (Feb 5, 2015)

mdabeezy said:


> That gameboy case is the beezneez

Click to collapse



If only i can find a good gameboy color emu with a themed background! Lol

---------- Post added at 06:05 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:16 AM ----------




mingolianbeef said:


> Yoooo that's dope!!! I have a regular TPU case (black with a smokey grey back) and a screen protector that doesn't cover the cam, speaker or gyroscope.

Click to collapse



I'm still looking for a good screen protector


----------



## John Laurinaitis (Feb 5, 2015)

loonycgb2 said:


> I finally got hotspot working on the 60$ plan on metropcs  now to see if i can find a root method to work ..
> 
> Dont know if anyone has got it working too
> ]

Click to collapse



What did you do? I got mines today  instore and added the hotspot service lol


----------



## loonycgb2 (Feb 5, 2015)

John Laurinaitis said:


> What did you do? I got mines today  instore and added the hotspot service lol

Click to collapse



60$ plan has hotspot option????
I thought it was not allowed as it is an unlimited service.

1. Install an app that creates activity shortcuts
2. Locate settings drop down in activity shortcuts app and find advanced ap settings
3. change hotspot settings (ssid and passcode for ssid encryption)
4. Download foxfi and have installed and ready.
5. Go to widgets and add the hotspot widget and click icon to turn hotspot on. (it will not check for account status)
6. While hotspot on go into foxfi and disable then re-enable hotspot
(if you connect to hotspot before doing all steps then nothing will load on connected device. Also doing this step will bug out the hotspot code)
7. Click hotspot widget on homescreen to disable hotspot.
8. Now if you enable hotspot from drop down menu in status bar it will allow all devices to connect to the internet at full speed.


----------



## John Laurinaitis (Feb 5, 2015)

loonycgb2 said:


> 60$ plan has hotspot option????
> I thought it was not allowed as it is an unlimited service.
> 
> 1. Install an app that creates activity shortcuts
> ...

Click to collapse



Thank you for the guide I'll be trying it when i have time, What activity shortcut would you recommend? I am using the $60 unlimited (temporary deal $50 unlimited) data. The Metro worker told me something about the hotspot not being  unlimited, If i remember correctly.. i was told it was half a gig. It works fine and i don't have to use anything special like a UA switcher. Does your method require that?
Edit: You are given 2.5gb of tethering data


----------



## loonycgb2 (Feb 5, 2015)

John Laurinaitis said:


> Thank you for the guide I'll be trying it when i have time, What activity shortcut would you recommend? I am using the $60 unlimited (temporary deal $50 unlimited) data. The Metro worker told me something about the hotspot not being  unlimited, If i remember correctly.. i was told it was half a gig. It works fine and i don't have to use anything special like a UA switcher. Does your method require that?

Click to collapse



I used quickshorcutmaker off the playstore.

And it depends like any other hotspot bypass. If you use any apple or android or linux products then no, but if its windows i would recommend fiddler2 which will change the useragent to everything on your pc so you can just start it up and forget about it.


----------



## clockcycle (Feb 5, 2015)

DroidHackalot said:


> Dam is that the only.color?
> 
> Huawei Mercury 4.1.2 cm10
> HTC one v 4.2.2 cm11
> Samsung GS4 4.3.1 cm11

Click to collapse



Its evocel, they have the dual layer in several colors, and this tpu in 3 colors.

---------- Post added at 06:06 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:04 AM ----------




Vee63b said:


> If only i can find a good gameboy color emu with a themed background! Lol
> 
> ---------- Post added at 06:05 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:16 AM ----------
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



I use xtremeguard full body. They always have 80-90% off so check for cupons. Ive used them on all my devices.

Edit: current promotional coupons are Xtreme90 for 90% 2+ items or 50off 50% 1+ items.


----------



## Distant1 (Feb 5, 2015)

stinkbud said:


> OMG,  show some gratitude people. Here is an idea, let's trash talk jcase too. Who is to say he is really helping us and not leading us along for his own  amusement? Really???
> 
> These are people helping us to get an unlocked bootloader and root. I for one am grateful we have people in this community willing to put their time and effort into the common cause of unlocking our phones.

Click to collapse



Thank u velrix


----------



## clockcycle (Feb 5, 2015)

Looks nice, but doing an image search, it seems to be a sticker, reviews say it looks even better than the pictures tho.


Im usually a case hoarder.. Ultra feather lite snapon clipon, driztronic ect..


Edit: found a liking to this e-time on amazon, customer posted pictures of it installed.


----------



## bhood (Feb 5, 2015)

clockcycle said:


> Its evocel, they have the dual layer in several colors, and this tpu in 3 colors.

Click to collapse



Those three colors on Amazon are some ugly pastels.


----------



## graysooner (Feb 5, 2015)

clockcycle said:


> People wonder why most usually dont say anything until its done..
> 
> Anyways, I ordered this..

Click to collapse



Me too! Thanks for the tip.


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 5, 2015)

Even if, and that has always been a huge 'if', TMO and ZTE offered an unlock it would not happen quickly and it is also not the same thing as root.

We need to stop pestering devs and each other and BE PATIENT. Root will come. 

For crying out loud...this phone is barely 2 months old in the US market. Did you think a magic fairy was going to root it in a day? Its not as popular as you think. Just because we own one doesn't mean it is popular.

So relax, please. Get to know your device. Play around with it until a solution comes. The more you complain, the longer it will take.


----------



## btzte90 (Feb 5, 2015)

*lollipop update*

Found this:

Upgrade-lollipop.org/mp3-0/zte-zmax-6697.html

Has anyone tried this?
Does anyone think it's a bad idea? If so, why?
I might contact ZTE and see if they advise for or against...I bet I can guess their answer, but maybe they'll offer an official release if enough customers request it.


----------



## Kahuna_Tuna (Feb 5, 2015)

I just had a online chat with help at ZTE RMA link. The chat circled  to, I think, my getting unlock of sim carrier, before bootloader can get unlocked. 

Problem is they seemed to indicate that the TMO carrier would do bootloader unlock.  

That's not what has been shared on this thread so far.  

I will attempt to get TMO or Wally Worlds Family plan to unlock cells sim carrier & post any progress.


----------



## nobreak1970 (Feb 5, 2015)

btzte90 said:


> Found this:
> 
> Upgrade-lollipop.org/mp3-0/zte-zmax-6697.html
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Fake site.


Sent from my HUAWEI Y536A1 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## btzte90 (Feb 5, 2015)

Thank you for the response. Seemed pretty fake to me, especially the comments...a modified code with no bugs, something seemed a bit odd about that. Hopefully ZTE is working on an official upgrade for this phone.


----------



## jc33777 (Feb 5, 2015)

voidcomp said:


> How good is this phone when it comes to bluetooth connectivity?  I have a wireless bluetooth speaker which is recognized by my S3 and N5 but not with the ZMax.

Click to collapse



I have a mini beats pill and it connects Bluetooth no problem

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app


----------



## mhaner (Feb 5, 2015)

voidcomp said:


> How good is this phone when it comes to bluetooth connectivity?  I have a wireless bluetooth speaker which is recognized by my S3 and N5 but not with the ZMax.

Click to collapse



I connect with a ton of devices without issue. Kinivo Bluetooth adapter in one car, Pioneer Bluetooth head unit in another, Pyle Bluetooth speaker, "magic box" jambox clone from Amazon and paired with my LG G Watch. No issues here at all.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## treezy26 (Feb 6, 2015)

Hey guys I know this is off subject, but who here uses T-Mobile refill cards? And if so, does refilling my account before due date bring my data back to normal? You know once you reach a certain GB it slows down.


----------



## DroidisLINUX (Feb 6, 2015)

Does not not unless you upgrade your plan

The $80 plan has unlimited 4g LTE. Get that its the best

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## zmaxfrankie (Feb 6, 2015)

*root pls ZTE zmax Kit Kat 4.4.4 kernel 3.4.0*

Metro pcs unlimited ZTE zmax 127$ brand new awesome deal I e-mailed [email protected] to see if I could get an exploit code for towel root.. I tried all root out there none working yet... I'm trying to root to get my wifi hotspot unlimited and overclocking.. 127$ I'm not worried about bricking my phone I got insurance I'll stomp on it pay 40$deposit for fresh one if that happens lol BUT PLEASE I NEED ROOT SO BAD. run this puppy as home internet lol


----------



## ubigred (Feb 6, 2015)

zmaxfrankie said:


> Metro pcs unlimited ZTE zmax 127$ brand new awesome deal I e-mailed [email protected] to see if I could get an exploit code for towel root.. I tried all root out there none working yet... I'm trying to root to get my wifi hotspot unlimited and overclocking.. 127$ I'm not worried about bricking my phone I got insurance I'll stomp on it pay 40$deposit for fresh one if that happens lol BUT PLEASE I NEED ROOT SO BAD. run this puppy as home internet lol

Click to collapse



Geohot works for Google now. Look elsewhere for help

Sent from my SM-N910P


----------



## treezy26 (Feb 6, 2015)

Has anyone been able to get a 64gb SD card to work with this phone? I have formatted it and tried different ways of formatting but nothing works. Any ideas?


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Feb 6, 2015)

treezy26 said:


> Has anyone been able to get a 64gb SD card to work with this phone? I have formatted it and tried different ways of formatting but nothing works. Any ideas?

Click to collapse



Phone specs indicate a 32GB card can be used.  I had no trouble with the 32GB.  Why are you using a 64gb again?


----------



## mdabeezy (Feb 6, 2015)

It's not compatible with 64GB cards...


----------



## Porky munoz (Feb 6, 2015)

My SD card is compatible  
64 gb format to 32 fats

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Distant1 (Feb 6, 2015)

mdabeezy said:


> It's not compatible with 64GB cards...

Click to collapse



I've seen a few people on here say they used 64gb just fine


----------



## treezy26 (Feb 6, 2015)

Porky munoz said:


> My SD card is compatible
> 64 gb format to 32 fats
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



What kind do you have? I have a 64gb sdxc I believe. Its red. I've formatted it to 32 fats and it won't recognize it.


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Feb 6, 2015)

treezy26 said:


> What kind do you have? I have a 64gb sdxc I believe. Its red. I've formatted it to 32 fats and it won't recognize it.

Click to collapse



It may also be helpful to include the brand of card, the category as well as the size and type.  

Has anyone tried the official SD card format available from the SD card foundation?  I know that the Nintendo DS/3DS will not recognize the full card size unless formatted with that format tool.


----------



## treezy26 (Feb 6, 2015)

http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Mobile-MicroSDXC-Memory-Adapter/dp/B0081EAK34
Its this one.


----------



## stinkbud (Feb 6, 2015)

treezy26 said:


> http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Mobile-MicroSDXC-Memory-Adapter/dp/B0081EAK34
> Its this one.

Click to collapse



I have that one and it works


----------



## JSCinSK (Feb 6, 2015)

treezy26 said:


> Has anyone been able to get a 64gb SD card to work with this phone? I have formatted it and tried different ways of formatting but nothing works. Any ideas?

Click to collapse



I have this card (same item, Samsung 64GB Evo):
Best Buy Link
Amazon Link

I popped it into my phone, straight from the packaging. IIRC, the phone said it was unformatted and asked if I wanted to format it. I pressed OK and voila... it works fine.

Using a file manager, I see Android automatically created 11 folders on the card. In the Settings > Storage area, it shows 58.45 GB of total space.

I haven't really copied anything onto the card personally, but I have no reason to believe that everything is normal.


----------



## mdabeezy (Feb 6, 2015)

After a while it will trip out


----------



## Kahuna_Tuna (Feb 6, 2015)

This setup worked for my Sandisk 64gs SD. I only used the part 1 section, partition SD, with partition ratio modified for different partition sizes.

 If I recall I made the last partition, Linux Swap, at a larger size of 4gb.  

My z970 ZMAX, locked BL, not rooted, recognised the two main partitions.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=37405779

[GUIDE] [FAT32] [EXT4] [SWAP] [2.3+] How to Partition your Android MicroSD Card

***I used the free prescribed Mini Tool Partition Wizard, my favorite. 

http://www.partitionwizard.com/free-partition-manager.html


----------



## treezy26 (Feb 6, 2015)

So what did y'all do to get it to work cuz I can't for the life of me get it working. Idk maybe I'll try that program someone mentioned earlier.

Edit: Idk I give up. I cannot get any sd card to read now. It keeps saying "blank sd card" and "the sd is either blank or unsupported file systems" Idk whats going on...


----------



## DroidisLINUX (Feb 6, 2015)

My 64 GB class 10 works fine

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Feb 6, 2015)

treezy26 said:


> So what did y'all do to get it to work cuz I can't for the life of me get it working. Idk maybe I'll try that program someone mentioned earlier.
> 
> Edit: Idk I give up. I cannot get any sd card to read now. It keeps saying "blank sd card" and "the sd is either blank or unsupported file systems" Idk whats going on...

Click to collapse



Treezy,

Try removing the SD card, turn phone off, install SD card and then turn back on.  I had a tablet that would not recognized the SD card unless it was booted with it inserted.


----------



## Porky munoz (Feb 6, 2015)

treezy26 said:


> What kind do you have? I have a 64gb sdxc I believe. Its red. I've formatted it to 32 fats and it won't recognize it.

Click to collapse



I have a sandisk

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 7, 2015)

So, will it rake root to force the phone to use the SD for apps?


----------



## treIII (Feb 7, 2015)

This is an excellent 100 to 200 dollar phone as its sold. Without root compared to other phones of the same price especially with the hardware it contains such as the huge screen and battery life. Al's it appears that it is going to receive some os updates. I'm not sure if I've ever owned another 200 dollar device that has received an os update. Root would be nice but no one has spent bad money purchasing this phone. Mine performs as intended and its the Walmart variety. 

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Xparent Blue Tapatalk 2


----------



## zmaxfrankie (Feb 7, 2015)

*root pls*

Root pls


----------



## Velrix (Feb 7, 2015)

zmaxfrankie said:


> Root pls

Click to collapse



Sure thing go exploit it.


----------



## clockcycle (Feb 7, 2015)

treezy26 said:


> http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Mobile-MicroSDXC-Memory-Adapter/dp/B0081EAK34
> Its this one.

Click to collapse



Beware of fakes. I have this one as well, has worked on all my devices.


----------



## Ra.burt86 (Feb 7, 2015)

Has anyone had problems with call quality over WiFi calling? How about Google Play Music accessing your tracks on SD card? 

I had one occassion of two system apps closing for no reason. Other than that, phone has been rock solid.


----------



## crewdawg (Feb 7, 2015)

My call quality is very echoey, anyone else have this problem and were you able to find a fix? Using my hands free BT removes the echo.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## alexriio (Feb 7, 2015)

^ Same problem

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Feb 7, 2015)

alexriio said:


> ^ Same problem
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



If you turn off the Dolby sound, it gets better. I do not think it does anything but make the phone louder and more tinny sounding.


----------



## John Laurinaitis (Feb 7, 2015)

Here is my small review: After testing out the device for a few days, i can really say I like this phone... the first thing i did was disable all the apps i know i wouldn't need (Disabled only  because we can not fully uninstall since we don't have root yet) It's really great for the typical busy person, the GPS is great, (using the Los Angeles MetroBus app and Google Maps daily) the battery life is amazing, From about 8am to 6pm with my brightness all the way to 100% and 80% screen usage i have around 60% Battery  I'm almost always browsing using Chrome and using apps like Ebay and Amazon (Multitasking is great thanks to the 2gb's of RAM!). I did notice it does kinda lag while charging. (Guessing because they don't want us using the device while charging? idk) 

Also, if you're a gamer, i wouldn't recommend this phone, I tested out Sonic Dash and GTA San Andreas and they both ran horribly!(I'd say the screen resolution is just too high for the specs) but strangely emulators such as Nintendo64 ran perfect! (Used N64oid 2.7 and played some Super Mario 64 and Mario Kart 64) I didn't really play any 2D games  but i did try out Terraria which ran well! Since i'm not much of a gamer, i don't really mind those few flaws

In short, Great at anything but 3D games!

Also if you don't own this device yet, i'll test things out for you such as apps and games etc...


----------



## DroidHackalot (Feb 7, 2015)

crewdawg said:


> My call quality is very echoey, anyone else have this problem and were you able to find a fix? Using my hands free BT removes the echo.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Maybe it's the NSA spying on you?.. Lol 

THE ZMAX WILL RISE!!


----------



## ubigred (Feb 7, 2015)

DroidHackalot said:


> Maybe it's the NSA spying on you?.. Lol
> 
> THE ZMAX WILL RISE!!

Click to collapse



Doubtful.


----------



## Kahuna_Tuna (Feb 7, 2015)

Pls forgive this side topic of a one day sale for 64g class 10/UHS micro SDs.

   If you are thinking of buying one, I ordered a 3 this morning, liked the reviews & have had good sales with company before.

http://www.usadiscountwarehouse.com/product/new-64gb-micro-sd-card-sd-adapter-free/

---------- Post added at 12:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:58 AM ----------




therealduckie said:


> So, will it rake root to force the phone to use the SD for apps?

Click to collapse



I want to do the same with app links to SD. 
The Link2SD & A2SD linking apps both require a rooted device.
So I am understanding that root is required.

Update: I got my cards today via USPS, in just 3 days.  The cards are in cheap knock off China made packages.  
I quickly put it in. Tried to view with A-partitioner or another SD program after ZTE formated the 64g to 63g. Those programs crashed & were uninstalled.  
ZTE ZMAX did a good format. I ran a write read speed test and got good results shown on captured pic. 

https://imageshack.com/i/p5VGcpuPp

Now hopefully it will last as long as ZMAX.  
I have ZMAX permission to write from esExplorer, that is not being allowed, that another mentioned in our thread here.

https://imageshack.com/i/f0WiHeQJp

Any tips on permission to write from esExplorer app?


----------



## ubigred (Feb 7, 2015)

Kahuna_Tuna said:


> Pls forgive this side topic of a one day sale for 64g class 10/UHS micro SDs.
> 
> If you are thinking of buying one, I ordered a 3 this morning, liked the reviews & have had good sales with company before.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



+/- 2 months before crapping out?


----------



## Vyrus69 (Feb 7, 2015)

Velrix said:


> Just got a call from T-Mobile executive team. They have reached a deal with ZTE and they are releasing a bootloader unlock for the Zmax. So now its a short waiting game! I will post the follow up email when I receive it!

Click to collapse





Kahuna_Tuna said:


> Pls forgive this side topic of a one day sale for 64g class 10/UHS micro SDs.
> 
> If you are thinking of buying one, I ordered a 3 this morning, liked the reviews & have had good sales with company before.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse




When it comes to SD cards and micro sd cards, I've been screwed over more times than most.  Just go to tiger direct, or new egg.  Or the big box store and spend the money for a quality brand version.  Thats the only way you know you're getting something real.

I bought a "kingston" SD card on ebay one that was 32gb and when I formated it, only 8gb was useable.


----------



## 4NDROID4LIFE (Feb 7, 2015)

Guess that guy lied about talking to zte and T-Mobile. Whatever

Sent from my XT1028 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## jrocc28 (Feb 8, 2015)

4NDROID4LIFE said:


> Guess that guy lied about talking to zte and T-Mobile. Whatever
> 
> Sent from my XT1028 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse


----------



## 4NDROID4LIFE (Feb 8, 2015)

Where's that one guy that said hed hunt him down lol. We'll give him some more time cuz he hasn't lied yet maybe

Sent from my XT1028 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mingolianbeef (Feb 8, 2015)

Everyone needs to understand that we aren't dealing with mom and pop companies here. These are multi billion dollar corporations. People, myself included, said that we were emailing about kernel source for months, did you all break out the pitch forks when it didn't happen when you wanted it to? No. Give him a break. I doubt any of you got as far as he did in terms of getting a response, and he did this with his own time, so don't give him all this flack because it makes people not want to work on behalf of you, which is the opposite of what XDA stands for.

He gave us a screenshot of his email to them. Could he have faked it? Maybe. But for what? I have faith in him, and if they put in the letter that they can't do it, then so be it. It just lights more fuel for us to use to fight for what we want like the petition did. We got kernel source, which is the absolute hardest thing to get from an OEM. BL is just going to require some patience. I don't know how much root is riding on the bootloader unlock, but if it's anything like HTC, meaning you had to unlock your phone through htcdev.com in order for root programs to work, then Root will follow. [emoji2] 

Last thing, it is likely that ZTE (or T-Mo) is having to concoct a method to unlock the bootloader in the first place. NO button combination gets us to it, which means its registered as a low level mode that only they probably have access to. They'd have to set up a user friendly way of doing it, kind of like HTC does (using them as a reference again), and even the way devs manipulate Samsung Kies to flash rooted firmware. Its better than nothing. This is not over night. I've only written a script once and it was a headache inducing process. Can you imagine having to reposition employees and dedicate them to creating a GUI for a bootloader unlocking program (or even a website), something I'm sure they didn't factor in at the board meetings, whether its T-Mo or ZTE producing it, just to satisfy customers. They might not be perfect, but they have your money and they have waved the white flag with the kernel source, which shows us they can cooperate. Give them, the FCC, T-Mobile AND ESPECIALLY the guy that even brought these two  conglomerates to the table a break will ya? He doesn't deserve all this doubt, nay say and threatening, because he doesn't get a dime from this unless you find it in your heart to buy him a beer.


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 8, 2015)

It's sad we keep having to remind selfish and impatient people to calm down and have some respect.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## 4NDROID4LIFE (Feb 8, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> It's sad we keep having to remind selfish and impatient people to calm down and have some respect.

Click to collapse



Funny thing is I don't even have this phone lol

Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Furik (Feb 8, 2015)

4NDROID4LIFE said:


> Guess that guy lied about talking to zte and T-Mobile. Whatever
> 
> Sent from my XT1028 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



How do you know?


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 8, 2015)

4NDROID4LIFE said:


> Funny thing is I don't even have this phone lol
> 
> Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



The phone you are using to post from has 3 times the specs of the ZMax. So are you just here to troll and cause drama because you think it is funny?


----------



## mingolianbeef (Feb 8, 2015)

4NDROID4LIFE said:


> Funny thing is I don't even have this phone lol
> 
> Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



That's just... Pathetic. Where's my Troll-Be-Gone. I left the can sitting somewhere...


----------



## stinkbud (Feb 8, 2015)

Mods, maybe its time to clean this thread up.


----------



## Starflare5 (Feb 8, 2015)

*Back to the task at hand.....*

Hey guys,

               I have discovered a few things about this phone that might be helpful....

First of all, if we can find the software, it looks like the ZTE FTM Mode is something similar to Samsung's Odin, however, of course, you may already know this, the Odin software does not work on it, however, I would suspect that there is something out there that does like Odin.   If this is found, possibly that software can be used to unlock the boot loader and root the device, and/or install a custom recovery like we already can on  Samsung devices.  This device also has the basic android recovery on it, so, I would figure that it would not be that hard to write a CWM for it as well.

Anyway, that is just my opinion and, although I'm not a developer, would hope that the developers here would look into this because, I suspect, that is our doorway to rooting this beast.


----------



## Summatyme (Feb 8, 2015)

Some of you guys' behavior has gotten ridiculous. To think its funny to trash talk a guy who dedicated his time for free to get a breakthrough with ZTE and T-Mobile, not just for himself but for ALL of us, is plain pathetic. Trash talking someone who tried to help because you didn't get results quick enough is akin to an impatient 6 year old throwing tantrums. And the mods need to swarm all over this thread because I've seen threats of harm to person and property, as well as unnecessary racial slurs.... Over receiving charity. Its become beyond annoying that some of you can't calm yourselves down and chill out over a $99 phone. All of the above is WAY uncalled for.


----------



## OHNONONO (Feb 8, 2015)

O....k.  Baaaack to worrrrk.


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Feb 8, 2015)

I just wanna see root haha idc just as long as it happens.  Am I losing faith eh yeah a little but I'll never fully loose faith . I didn't really realize how new this phone is.


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 8, 2015)

StonerSteve420 said:


> I just wanna see root haha idc just as long as it happens.  Am I losing faith eh yeah a little but I'll never fully loose faith . I didn't really realize how new this phone is.

Click to collapse



I said it earlier in this thread...

Root does NOT happen overnight. Especially when a device is so new. Pay attention and you will see that those working on root stated it has read/write issues which compound it.

Seriously, the level of impatience is astounding. We are such spoiled rotten brats that we demand anything we want has to be immediate.

How about, instead, we thank those who are working on it and relax?


----------



## Kahuna_Tuna (Feb 8, 2015)

Does anyone have a more effective way t o screen capture?  I have trouble getting volume/power buttons to work.  I few times the capture would have the volume temperature bar on capture.


----------



## BigDaddyE40 (Feb 8, 2015)

Do you happen to have little hands? Lol
All I can say is try to synchronize as best as you can 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mingolianbeef (Feb 8, 2015)

Kahuna_Tuna said:


> Does anyone have a more effective way t o screen capture?  I have trouble getting volume/power buttons to work.  I few times the capture would have the volume temperature bar on capture.

Click to collapse



I had the same problems. My advice is A) take the case off if you have one on and do it, as cases interfere with the button's clickiness. B) press the very bottom of the volume button, not the center of it. Hope this helps lol

---------- Post added at 10:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:40 AM ----------




Starflare5 said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> I have discovered a few things about this phone that might be helpful....
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



I thought this after I saw that ppl used FTM to flash another ZTE phone with this update software they have on the ZTE website (comparable to an HTC Ruu or, like u said, an Odin package). I'm glad I wasn't the only one, great find man!


----------



## DubL~D (Feb 8, 2015)

*32Gb User*



stinkbud said:


> I have a 64gb micro sdxc card in my phone. I am able to copy files to it via file manager but torrent apps only give me read only access. They work fine with internal memory. Anyone using >32gb cards out there care to help confirm? I know I saw 32gb micro SD maximum expansion capability but I have seen that before and the cards always worked in the past with other services that were advertised as max 32gb.

Click to collapse



I have a 32 GB card in mine. And its write access particulars make little sense to me. I say that because I can write any file to my sdcard, but once the file is there I'm restricted from renaming the file. Just seems to be a little nonsensical. I'm only trying to root it because I have a 100 to 200 GB mp3 library that is in some serious need of an Auto Tag Editor. I don't know the facts on all the music I have, but I do know enough to know if an Auto Editor has it right, when I see the tag after edit. And because the Auto Editor that I end up finding (that actually works on multiple files at a time) can't make the improper information on the tags any worse, it database necessarily have to be the most legitimate database source.


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Feb 8, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> I said it earlier in this thread...
> 
> Root does NOT happen overnight. Especially when a device is so new. Pay attention and you will see that those working on root stated it has read/write issues which compound it.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



In what way shape or form did I sound impatient lol. You just like to get on peoples cases huh?


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 8, 2015)

StonerSteve420 said:
			
		

> am I losing faith? Eh yeah a little

Click to collapse



Your words. Can we just get back on track now?


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Feb 8, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> Your words. Can we just get back on track now?

Click to collapse



Followed by "I'll never fully loose faith". You need to get back on track


----------



## melcali (Feb 9, 2015)

Guys.. I gave my zmax to my mother and took back my Z ultra about 3 months ago. I'm totally missing the zmax. The amazing battery life without having to do any power saving tricks, the almost zero lag in everyday use,  quick camera capture and decent pic quality... Miss it all. This thing beats out the moto G for best budget device minus the updates. 

Anyways...  I was looking into other ZTE phones and I think the zmax(including variations) is the only ZTE phone that comes with close to stock android? I think ZTE should do the same for all of their phones.  

Sent from the my Xperia Z ULTRA


----------



## clockcycle (Feb 9, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> I have discovered a few things about this phone that might be helpful....
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Yes it is called ZTEOpen, I posted it earlier in the thread. It works with our phone.


----------



## Starflare5 (Feb 9, 2015)

clockcycle said:


> Yes it is called ZTEOpen, I posted it earlier in the thread. It works with our phone.

Click to collapse



Ok, well then,

                    Now we just need someone to create a root and recovery package for the ZMAX using that. Hello, developers.....  the ZMAX is calling, asking to be rooted!


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## mdabeezy (Feb 9, 2015)

You'd have to have the bootloader unlocked to skip security checks or else the files would have to be signed.


----------



## clockcycle (Feb 9, 2015)

clockcycle said:


> In FTM my win7 only loads USB Composite drivers, but the other two are missing and show up as "Android". Reloaded drivers from virtual CD on phone.
> 
> EDIT:* [warning this is NOT for our phones, it just for research, read at your own peril and risk]* but this looks interesting https://sites.google.com/site/zteopenfirmware/download-mode
> 
> EDIT2: Our phones goes into the same modes as described in that guide, including DFU mode and that APP does see our phone. I am now wondering if we can flash an appropriate recovery like CMW,??

Click to collapse



Here it is again, in case anyone missed it..

Warning still applies...


----------



## Kahuna_Tuna (Feb 9, 2015)

Original post:
Does anyone have a more effective way to screen capture?  I have trouble getting volume/power buttons to work.  I few times the capture would have the volume temperature bar on capture.

  Results:
Down & precise sync, worked. The buttons being in a case has made the down hard to click, but that tip, enabled me to key the down better, while in the case with precise synced power press, to capture screen.
 Thanks for your tips.


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Feb 9, 2015)

Doing some feature surfing on line and some sites indicate that the SD card support is only for microSD and microSDHC, not microSDXC.   The manual also does not list SDXC support.

Maybe this is the issue people are having with SD cards and not size?


----------



## shabbypenguin (Feb 9, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> Ok, well then,
> 
> Now we just need someone to create a root and recovery package for the ZMAX using that. Hello, developers.....  the ZMAX is calling, asking to be rooted!

Click to collapse



Its not that simple. lets say you had a tool similar to odin and could flash images to those partitions, in order to make a boot.img that allows root or a recovery so you can boot into it and then flash supersu I would need a copy of the stock kernel/recovery. How do you get that? all you need to do is use dd and be rooted to use dd to make dumps of the partitions.

So in order to give you guys a "rooting package" someone would need root first. you can compile recovery without that dump and just get it via trial and error but it takes a lot of work on older chipsets, newer ones now with DT.img would take even more work.

And this is of course all assuming that the program even lets you write to those partitions, considering the whirl 2/zinger (i dont recall which one is which) has a way to root but because of the bootloader checks and protection it cant use root to write the needed files to recovery. but in the off chance it does let you write to it i figured id post this as a warning so people dont start flashing random crap to their devices.


----------



## clockcycle (Feb 9, 2015)

shabbypenguin said:


> Its not that simple. lets say you had a tool similar to odin and could flash images to those partitions, in order to make a boot.img that allows root or a recovery so you can boot into it and then flash supersu I would need a copy of the stock kernel/recovery. How do you get that? all you need to do is use dd and be rooted to use dd to make dumps of the partitions.
> 
> So in order to give you guys a "rooting package" someone would need root first. you can compile recovery without that dump and just get it via trial and error but it takes a lot of work on older chipsets, newer ones now with DT.img would take even more work.
> 
> And this is of course all assuming that the program even lets you write to those partitions, considering the whirl 2/zinger (i dont recall which one is which) has a way to root but because of the bootloader checks and protection it cant use root to write the needed files to recovery. but in the off chance it does let you write to it i figured id post this as a warning so people dont start flashing random crap to their devices.

Click to collapse



ZTE support has our kernel source listed and available. You can also find mirror links in this thread, to both tmo and mpcs. As for recovery, no idea.  According to other zte device documentation, there is root access via recovery, ftm and dfu modes, before boot. But someone else mentioned that there seemed to be a different level of security outside of thr norm. That's all beyond me, but none the less interesting.


----------



## shabbypenguin (Feb 9, 2015)

clockcycle said:


> ZTE support has our kernel source listed and available. You can also find mirror links in this thread, to both tmo and mpcs. As for recovery, no idea.  According to other zte device documentation, there is root access via recovery, ftm and dfu modes, before boot. But someone else mentioned that there seemed to be a different level of security outside of thr norm. That's all beyond me, but none the less interesting.

Click to collapse



and thats great for creating a zImage, but you need the ramdisk, zImage, and device tree blobs all packed using the correct offsets and parameters. the kernel source just allows you to make the zImage and dtb's you still need the other half of the equation.

I'm not familiar with ftm, dfu modes so i cnat comment on those but there is no way you have root access via recovery otherwise youd already have root.


----------



## ubigred (Feb 9, 2015)

Sounds daunting


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 9, 2015)

shabbypenguin said:


> and thats great for creating a zImage, but you need the ramdisk, zImage, and device tree blobs all packed using the correct offsets and parameters. the kernel source just allows you to make the zImage and dtb's you still need the other half of the equation.
> 
> I'm not familiar with ftm, dfu modes so i cnat comment on those but there is no way you have root access via recovery otherwise youd already have root.

Click to collapse



Don't you also need the SBK?


----------



## shabbypenguin (Feb 9, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> Don't you also need the SBK?

Click to collapse



The SDK is for developing apps, its not needed for android modding outside of having adb/fastboot binaries.


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 9, 2015)

shabbypenguin said:


> The SDK is for developing apps, its not needed for android modding outside of having adb/fastboot binaries.

Click to collapse



SBK is the secure boot key...not software development kit.


----------



## shabbypenguin (Feb 9, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> SBK is the secure boot key...not software development kit.

Click to collapse



Apologies figured it was a typo.

but yes in order to flash those images youd need their key or something. im not familiar with zte or their bootloader security so it could be something as simple as the data isnt being written "properly" all the way to you need ztes private key to sign it.


all i can say on the subject is they devised this system for a reason, no one invests and spends R&D and workers time making security for no reason. so chances are they will continue to give you the run around because it doesnt make any sense to then roll it back.


----------



## Kahuna_Tuna (Feb 10, 2015)

mingolianbeef said:


> Everyone needs to understand that we aren't dealing with mom and pop companies here. These are multi billion dollar corporations. People, myself included, said that we were emailing about kernel source for months, did you all break out the pitch forks when it didn't happen when you wanted it to? No. Give him a break. I doubt any of you got as far as he did in terms of getting a response, and he did this with his own time, so don't give him all this flack because it makes people not want to work on behalf of you, which is the opposite of what XDA stands for.
> 
> He gave us a screenshot of his email to them. Could he have faked it? Maybe. But for what? I have faith in him, and if they put in the letter that they can't do it, then so be it. It just lights more fuel for us to use to fight for what we want like the petition did. We got kernel source, which is the absolute hardest thing to get from an OEM. BL is just going to require some patience. I don't know how much root is riding on the bootloader unlock, but if it's anything like HTC, meaning you had to unlock your phone through htcdev.com in order for root programs to work, then Root will follow. [emoji2]
> 
> Last thing, it is likely that ZTE (or T-Mo) is having to concoct a method to unlock the bootloader in the first place. NO button combination gets us to it, which means its registered as a low level mode that only they probably have access to. They'd have to set up a user friendly way of doing it, kind of like HTC does (using them as a reference again), and even the way devs manipulate Samsung Kies to flash rooted firmware. Its better than nothing. This is not over night. I've only written a script once and it was a headache inducing process. Can you imagine having to reposition employees and dedicate them to creating a GUI for a bootloader unlocking program (or even a website), something I'm sure they didn't factor in at the board meetings, whether its T-Mo or ZTE producing it, just to satisfy customers. They might not be perfect, but they have your money and they have waved the white flag with the kernel source, which shows us they can cooperate. Give them, the FCC, T-Mobile AND ESPECIALLY the guy that even brought these two  conglomerates to the table a break will ya? He doesn't deserve all this doubt, nay say and threatening, because he doesn't get a dime from this unless you find it in your heart to buy him a beer.

Click to collapse



I was told that tonight on 611 to ZTE tech in India, that the bootloader unlock, would be done as a Over The Air update, as well
Lollipop 5 is too come too. It will be awhile, but both will come via OTA update.   
Time will tell.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mingolianbeef (Feb 10, 2015)

Kahuna_Tuna said:


> I was told that tonight on 611 to ZTE tech in India, that the bootloader unlock, would be done as a Over The Air update, as well
> Lollipop 5 is too come too. It will be awhile, but both will come via OTA update.
> Time will tell.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Ah... Interesting. Would be unexpected but welcomed! Thank you for this info and I would proudly welcome this method


----------



## xdrc45 (Feb 10, 2015)

Kahuna_Tuna said:


> I was told that tonight on 611 to ZTE tech in India, that the bootloader unlock, would be done as a Over The Air update, as well
> Lollipop 5 is too come too. It will be awhile, but both will come via OTA update.
> Time will tell.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Yes very interesting! I'd welcome both in and OTA update... Even a a simple ADB/Fastboot OEM umlock command and bring on the custom recoveries and ROMs and  even OTA Updates. Really root  access alone on this device would be great... But an unlocked bootloader and custom ROMs would be awesome!.


Sent from my Killer Whale


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Feb 10, 2015)

Is anyone else having trouble with voice dialing with a bluetooth headset? It tells me to say  a name and whenever I say it the app crashes


----------



## OHNONONO (Feb 10, 2015)

Okok..the update that we do not want, is labeled '''ZMAX SOFTWARE ENHANCEMENT''' ?  I forgot.

The one pushed from tmo, recently.


----------



## Kahuna_Tuna (Feb 10, 2015)

OHNONONO said:


> Okok..the update that we do not want, is labeled '''ZMAX SOFTWARE ENHANCEMENT''' ?  I forgot.
> 
> The one pushed from tmo, recently.

Click to collapse



I have that update downloaded and would like to find, but can't because we don't root explorer permissions or access.

I did get letter from TMO on my FCC complaint where they say they will not be unlocking bootloader. They say to get a ZMAX from ZTE direct to have a unlocked bootloader.
They seem to think their ZMAX will allow app to be moved to SD & used that defense for not needing to unlock.  I have found the TMO complaint replybyo not be true.  Non of downloaded apps had even the option to move to SD.  SMH
I will refute their argument with another complaint, showing screen captures, showing apks couldn't be moved or run on SD.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 10, 2015)

Only about 20% of Android users root their phones. If that.

There is no financial incentive for corporations to allow it. 

Case in point: google had unlocked phones for sale in the play store. They did not sell well so they all got pulled.

Face it - We are a tiny minority.


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Feb 10, 2015)

Mine is working fine. No crashes at all with the app and headset. It does not rockhouse my voice so the time, but I think that is due to excessive background noise.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Feb 11, 2015)

Kahuna_Tuna said:


> I have that update downloaded and would like to find, but can't because we don't root explorer permissions or access.
> 
> I did get letter from TMO on my FCC complaint where they say they will not be unlocking bootloader. They say to get a ZMAX from ZTE direct to have a unlocked bootloader.
> They seem to think their ZMAX will allow app to be moved to SD & used that defense for not needing to unlock.  I have found the TMO complaint replybyo not be true.  Non of downloaded apps had even the option to move to SD.  SMH
> ...

Click to collapse



So are you saying the guy that got a phone call from T-Mobile saying they are going to unlock the boot loader was lying?


----------



## OHNONONO (Feb 11, 2015)

StonerSteve420 said:


> So are you saying the guy that got a phone call from T-Mobile saying they are going to unlock the boot loader was lying?

Click to collapse



Good question I was scared to ask!


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 11, 2015)

I don't think anyone is lying, but I'd rather a community root option than wait for TMO/Metro. That historically takes a lot longer.


----------



## ph37rd (Feb 11, 2015)

StonerSteve420 said:


> So are you saying the guy that got a phone call from T-Mobile saying they are going to unlock the boot loader was lying?

Click to collapse



Many times people quote the information they know or have been given. Not everyone may have gotten the memo saying yea or nay...

Sent from my LG-D851 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Kahuna_Tuna (Feb 11, 2015)

StonerSteve420 said:


> So are you saying the guy that got a phone call from T-Mobile saying they are going to unlock the boot loader was lying?

Click to collapse



I tried getting as much confirmation from the ZTE guy as I could. 

He wasn't lying, if his information was accurate. 

As far as the tmo rep at the CEO of tmo's office, we may consider her cc mail to me, was a official response to my complaint of unlocking bl and she was responding to the FCC on the complaint.  Note it is dated back on Feb. 4, 2015 .   I believe it was the same time as the other Executive Response email came from other user here.  Also note I left her tmo ceo number showing in attached jpg of her email cc to me.
Here is her c.c. email to FCC attached.


----------



## mingolianbeef (Feb 11, 2015)

*The road for the best things are always hard*

Now I see how people with Verizon phones feel 

Look guys, I'm not gonna sit here and say this is easy to accept, nor will I say it's going to be easy to work around, but this is the time to not get down in the dumps. I've gone back to trying out root methods (with every antivirus software available running lol), but I am reaching out to some old devs I used to be acquainted with in hopes of getting some answers and/or training in this. I'm not giving up on it, and I would be interested in learning a little more for android anyway. Thank you so much for all the work you guys have done, I know it can be daunting to get rejected time and time again, but if you stick with it, when you get it, it's going to be so rewarding!


----------



## stinkbud (Feb 11, 2015)

mingolianbeef said:


> I know it can be daunting to get rejected time and time again, but if you stick with it, when you get it, it's going to be so rewarding!

Click to collapse



As a fan of Cleveland sports, I say that to myself all the time [emoji13] I have a feeling the ZMax will have root before one of the teams I follow wins it all.


----------



## mingolianbeef (Feb 11, 2015)

stinkbud said:


> As a fan of Cleveland sports, I say that to myself all the time [emoji13] I have a feeling the ZMax will have root before one of the teams I follow wins it all.

Click to collapse



I'm a LeBron fan. I was a fan of him when he was at Cleveland the first time, I followed his career with the Heat, and now I root him on all the same now that he's back there lol.


----------



## John Laurinaitis (Feb 11, 2015)

ph37rd said:


> Many times people quote the information they know or have been given. Not everyone may have gotten the memo saying yea or nay...
> 
> Sent from my LG-D851 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Love the profile pic.. SMALL SOLDIERS FOREVER


----------



## Distant1 (Feb 11, 2015)

stinkbud said:


> As a fan of Cleveland sports, I say that to myself all the time [emoji13] I have a feeling the ZMax will have root before one of the teams I follow wins it all.

Click to collapse



Lmao


----------



## Velrix (Feb 11, 2015)

Kahuna_Tuna said:


> I tried getting as much confirmation from the ZTE guy as I could.
> 
> He wasn't lying, if his information was accurate.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse




I got this same email in PDF form before the FCC complaint when I receive the true followup from T-Mobile via snail mail which takes 1-2weeks so roughly 1 week left, I will scan it and upload. I can promise you it will be happening and am actually waiting for the file from ZTE engineering department as we speak. I had a conference with ZTE's tech support and that department earlier today. As I said once and will say again, I have no reason to troll. I will say however if I get one more threat or accusation that says otherwise I will disregard this thread only reply to a few people in this thread that have been here with me from day one. 

Also like to point out root has been obtained on this phone for over 3 weeks. The reason its still to be posted is it being worked into a app and its not perm yet. If you guys can't be patient and support the people fighting and helping you out do not comment or go buy a mainstream phone with more support.


----------



## Porky munoz (Feb 11, 2015)

Thanks for putting in the time and effort. I appreciate it and I hope everyone else does

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## laloufc (Feb 11, 2015)

I also want to thank you for the time and effort and we all patiently waiting you are appreciated thank you


----------



## Distant1 (Feb 11, 2015)

Velrix said:


> I got this same email in PDF form before the FCC complaint when I receive the true followup from T-Mobile via snail mail which takes 1-2weeks so roughly 1 week left, I will scan it and upload. I can promise you it will be happening and am actually waiting for the file from ZTE engineering department as we speak. I had a conference with ZTE's tech support and that department earlier today. As I said once and will say again, I have no reason to troll. I will say however if I get one more threat or accusation that says otherwise I will disregard this thread only reply to a few people in this thread that have been here with me from day one.
> 
> Also like to point out root has been obtained on this phone for over 3 weeks. The reason its still to be posted is it being worked into a app and its not perm yet. If you guys can't be patient and support the people fighting and helping you out do not comment or go buy a mainstream phone with more support.

Click to collapse



Sounds good to me!!!


----------



## brandonlee96 (Feb 11, 2015)

Velrix said:


> I got this same email in PDF form before the FCC complaint when I receive the true followup from T-Mobile via snail mail which takes 1-2weeks so roughly 1 week left, I will scan it and upload. I can promise you it will be happening and am actually waiting for the file from ZTE engineering department as we speak. I had a conference with ZTE's tech support and that department earlier today. As I said once and will say again, I have no reason to troll. I will say however if I get one more threat or accusation that says otherwise I will disregard this thread only reply to a few people in this thread that have been here with me from day one.
> 
> Also like to point out root has been obtained on this phone for over 3 weeks. The reason its still to be posted is it being worked into a app and its not perm yet. If you guys can't be patient and support the people fighting and helping you out do not comment or go buy a mainstream phone with more support.

Click to collapse



i dont get it


----------



## mingolianbeef (Feb 11, 2015)

Velrix said:


> I got this same email in PDF form before the FCC complaint when I receive the true followup from T-Mobile via snail mail which takes 1-2weeks so roughly 1 week left, I will scan it and upload. I can promise you it will be happening and am actually waiting for the file from ZTE engineering department as we speak. I had a conference with ZTE's tech support and that department earlier today. As I said once and will say again, I have no reason to troll. I will say however if I get one more threat or accusation that says otherwise I will disregard this thread only reply to a few people in this thread that have been here with me from day one.
> 
> Also like to point out root has been obtained on this phone for over 3 weeks. The reason its still to be posted is it being worked into a app and its not perm yet. If you guys can't be patient and support the people fighting and helping you out do not comment or go buy a mainstream phone with more support.

Click to collapse



Well then  thank you sir!

---------- Post added at 11:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:31 PM ----------

Okay so if I read that correctly and I'm not dreaming, we should have root and unlocked BL in the near future. So, ROM vote, what does everybody want? CM, PACMan, AOKP? (Or others, it doesn't matter lol)


----------



## OHNONONO (Feb 11, 2015)

R/W permissions, over clocking, a deadly kernel...efficient, powerful, fast.. In control, versatile.,, My ZTE sequent could do anything in the uhh 802.11..!!!

z97∅ · tapatalk


----------



## Porky munoz (Feb 11, 2015)

mingolianbeef said:


> Well then  thank you sir!
> 
> ---------- Post added at 11:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:31 PM ----------
> 
> Okay so if I read that correctly and I'm not dreaming, we should have root and unlocked BL in the near future. So, ROM vote, what does everybody want? CM, PACMan, AOKP? (Or others, it doesn't matter lol)

Click to collapse



Why not all of them 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## lmarisy (Feb 11, 2015)

Thats such great news! thank you so much for your time and effort!! god bless..

Louie


----------



## mdabeezy (Feb 11, 2015)

Thanks velrix


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## Kahuna_Tuna (Feb 11, 2015)

Welcome back Velrix!!!
 The negative comments from participants here, was unfounded, as time will prove.

Sometimes, some people will "kill the messenger", even if the message is
 "GOOD NEWS" & the gospel truth from the horses mouths..lol.

 I am glad you survived that roasting & continued onward, despite the disrespect dished out to you.

People, including myself forget, it is often best, not to jest in written words to unknowns.   Those loose words get misinterpreted. 

I choose to believe the mean WORDS, may have been said in jest.  The results can be misinterpreted & bad feelings created, none the less.

Please try to let it go.  Let your good messages be heard & let them speak louder than anyone's bad words.

Thanks.


Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Furik (Feb 11, 2015)

ROM wise I feel CM would be a good first step. It's nothing to extravagant and possibly easy to deal with. 

It's been so long since I've had a rooted phone (my last phone was locked and the community gave up on it) so I'm not sure ROM wise what is available. 

But I remember CM and PA being great ROMs.


----------



## mcknixy (Feb 11, 2015)

On a lighter note,  I love my new home screen.  It's Go Launcher with glasklart dock icons.


----------



## mingolianbeef (Feb 11, 2015)

Porky munoz said:


> Why not all of them [emoji14][emoji14][emoji14][emoji14]
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Lol I doubt the 60GB partition I just added to my macbook pro can handle all that at once lmao. I was just saying I could build one to get the ball rolling.


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 11, 2015)

I'm less interested in ROMs - I am just looking forward to r/w access in /system/app, moving apps and data to SD, and the ability to install root-capable apps from the store.

To me, that's the real reason for root. Tinkering and playing in the core. The rest is just cake dressing.  

You can get the same toys as almost any ROM by simply installing non-root apps like *NOVA Launcher* and Tasker.

The ONLY difference between ROMs is the kernel, most of the time. Sometimes ROMs don't even have a modded kernel. (See also: MIUI, et al)

That said, I'm curious: who is really here for access and who just wants to be able to make their screenshots look better?


----------



## mcknixy (Feb 11, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> I'm less interested in ROMs - I am just looking forward to r/w access in /system/app, moving apps and data to SD, and the ability to install root-capable apps from the store.
> 
> To me, that's the real reason for root. Tinkering and playing in the core. The rest is just cake dressing.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Could care less about a ROM.  I just want to install Viper4Android.  And some other root-required stuff like Wanam Exposed and other exposed framework stuff.


----------



## Kahuna_Tuna (Feb 11, 2015)

*Losing annoying sound logo*

Nice looking home screen.

May you know if I can change or turn off the opening & closing logo sounds?

  I can deal with the visual animation, but the sound mp4 is annoying, especially in a waiting room somewhere.

I found the mp4s for open or close, didn't try to replace it. 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mingolianbeef (Feb 11, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> I'm less interested in ROMs - I am just looking forward to r/w access in /system/app, moving apps and data to SD, and the ability to install root-capable apps from the store.
> 
> To me, that's the real reason for root. Tinkering and playing in the core. The rest is just cake dressing.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Lol I'm a hopeless flashaholic, and I know ROMs lead to greater interest which leads to people with greater skill sets creating something I can't lol (I.e. the camera tweaks and things like that).

The biggest reason tho, I am a flashaholic, but I can quit when I want darn it!!!!!! [emoji12] [emoji16] 

Oh and +1000 for Viper4Android


----------



## mhaner (Feb 11, 2015)

Great news. I would love a solid CM11 build, CM12 would be amazing but I know that would probably be a lot harder to pull off.  I have gone back to using my 2013 Moto X for now but would go back to my ZMax in a heartbeat if I could root and rom it.


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Feb 11, 2015)

We gotta have a liquid smooth ROM. Nothing tops those guys (Or just guy. Could even be a girl I don't know) I had it on my GS3 and it worked flawlessly.


----------



## mingolianbeef (Feb 11, 2015)

StonerSteve420 said:


> We gotta have a liquid smooth ROM. Nothing tops those guys (Or just guy. Could even be a girl I don't know) I had it on my GS3 and it worked flawlessly.

Click to collapse



Lmao I'm a guy and I've actually never tried that rom


----------



## 4NDROID4LIFE (Feb 11, 2015)

So they're working on making it into an app? And it's not permanent so far only temp root? Didn't you guys have temp root months ago? Or was it a false positive root? 

Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Vyrus69 (Feb 11, 2015)

Velrix said:


> Also like to point out root has been obtained on this phone for over 3 weeks. The reason its still to be posted is it being worked into a app and its not perm yet. If you guys can't be patient and support the people fighting and helping you out do not comment or go buy a mainstream phone with more support.

Click to collapse



Gotta love impatient people.  

As long as we can gain temp root with r/w capabilities, then it might be possible to install a custom recovery and achieve perm root?

Anything is possible, so be a little bit more patient, and the light is at the end of the tunnel.

As far as roms, I'm a fan of Beanstalk and Liquidsmooth myself.


----------



## ph37rd (Feb 11, 2015)

The main reason I would want root would be for backup. Most customization can be achieved with apps and launchers. 

The only other reason I would want root would be upgrading. Right now, the only way for me to upgrade to Lollipop on my G3 is a custom ROM. Knowing that it's coming, I'm content to run stock. Once past End Of Life, upgrades mean custom ROMs.

Sent from my LG-D851 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Velrix (Feb 11, 2015)

Just so you know what I'm waiting on.


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 11, 2015)

ph37rd said:


> *Most customization can be achieved with apps and launchers.*

Click to collapse



Exactly. Us nerds just want root for tinkering and system access.


----------



## laloufc (Feb 11, 2015)

I just want to install custom roms and have root access to all my apps and get rid of all the junk apps can't wait to get root but I will wait as long as it takes this phone is amazing


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Feb 11, 2015)

I'm thinking what makes the most sense is them updating to 5.0 lollipop via OTA. And while they are at it unlocking the bootloader in the same update. It is to practical and the easiest way to do it. Now its just a matter of the waiting game.


----------



## 4NDROID4LIFE (Feb 11, 2015)

Guess no one knows?

Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 11, 2015)

laloufc said:


> I just want to install custom roms and have root access to all my apps and get rid of all the junk apps can't wait to get root but I will wait as long as it takes this phone is amazing

Click to collapse



Umm...what "junk apps"? This thing has like zero bloatware.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## mdabeezy (Feb 11, 2015)

All the useless metro pcs apps


----------



## laloufc (Feb 11, 2015)

Exactly that's what I meant I don't use none of the Metro apps


----------



## 4NDROID4LIFE (Feb 11, 2015)

Can you disable them kind sir?

Sent from my XT1028 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mingolianbeef (Feb 11, 2015)

Kahuna_Tuna said:


> Nice looking home screen.
> 
> May you know if I can change or turn off the opening & closing logo sounds?
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Turn off your volumes before you shut down the phone


----------



## michael-m (Feb 11, 2015)

Can I walk into a MetroPCS store and buy this phone for $99 + tax with no strings attached or do I have to purchase prepaid service?


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 11, 2015)

You do not need root to remove apps. See?


----------



## Vyrus69 (Feb 11, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> You do not need root to remove apps. See?

Click to collapse



Thats only disabled, not removed to open up the memory space on the phone.


----------



## Meep70 (Feb 11, 2015)

> You do not need root to remove apps. See?

Click to collapse



As a matter of course, I remove apps that I do not use (including most of the Google stuff), and disable the ones that I use rarely from autostarting themselves and their services, neither of which can be done without root. Simply being able to disable an app is a start in the right direction, but it doesn't cure my itch to streamline how my device runs. That said, I am probably going to buy one of these, today, and hope that Root happens, soon.


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Feb 11, 2015)

michael-m said:


> Can I walk into a MetroPCS store and buy this phone for $99 + tax with no strings attached or do I have to purchase prepaid service?

Click to collapse



As far as I know yes. But you will not be able to use it on any other network as it is sim locked to metro/ tmo.  My son bought one without a contract.


----------



## laloufc (Feb 11, 2015)

I see thank you guys I would do that into I get root


----------



## 4NDROID4LIFE (Feb 11, 2015)

Lesharoturbo said:


> As far as I know yes. But you will not be able to use it on any other network as it is sim locked to metro/ tmo.  My son bought one without a contract.

Click to collapse



What about if you buy it at Walmart. Can you use AT&T sim or straight talk with big blue's service?

Sent from my XT1028 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 11, 2015)

Vyrus69 said:


> Thats only disabled, not removed to open up the memory space on the phone.

Click to collapse



Yes, and that is only about 40mb worth of space saved if you delete them. With 12gb usable, 40mb is hardly a backbreaker.

Also, disabling them also means they do not run or take system resources (I.e. CPU, memory, etc).

Finally, I cannot even count the number of threads on here begging for filed like this back. You never know when you need something.


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Feb 12, 2015)

4NDROID4LIFE said:


> What about if you buy it at Walmart. Can you use AT&T sim or straight talk with big blue's service?
> 
> Sent from my XT1028 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



That I do not know.


----------



## BigDaddyE40 (Feb 12, 2015)

The Walmart one is locked to T-Mobile too, the family mobile plan uses T-Mobile's network 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Kahuna_Tuna (Feb 12, 2015)

Mine is from Walmart and I know it can only use WMFO sim or TMO sim. Walmart will unlock the sim card for other carriers after 40 days of WMFP use, on request.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Hurricaine (Feb 12, 2015)

I bought my zmax from Walmart. It's a tmo phone in a Walmart box.  I'm running it on metro $60 unlimited.  I also had Walmart price match the $99 dollar price from metropcs. Best $100 phone I ever had.  Lol


----------



## laloufc (Feb 12, 2015)

I bought my ZTE zmax at metro pcs for $99 and I  unlock it for 8 dollars on eBay


----------



## 4NDROID4LIFE (Feb 12, 2015)

laloufc said:


> I bought my ZTE zmax at metro pcs for $99 and I  unlock it for 8 dollars on eBay

Click to collapse



What seems to be the average price for unlocking sim? I know on eBay from unlockcellsolutions I paid $1.85 for LG G3 CODE. Check this out. I had to send it in to be repaired and guess what. I get it back and stick my T-Mobile sim in my phone (at&t phone) and it freaking asks for the sim unlock cuz they reflashed the software. I unroofed it but left twrp and they got rid of it. Thankfully I searched thru my email and found the unlock code and it worked again lol

Sent from my D850 T-Mobile SIM


----------



## laloufc (Feb 12, 2015)

This is where I got mine


----------



## mdabeezy (Feb 12, 2015)

I'm jelly I paid like $220 for mine! The pain of an early adopter lol


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## flablitz (Feb 12, 2015)

Velrix said:


> I got this same email in PDF form before the FCC complaint when I receive the true followup from T-Mobile via snail mail which takes 1-2weeks so roughly 1 week left, I will scan it and upload. I can promise you it will be happening and am actually waiting for the file from ZTE engineering department as we speak. I had a conference with ZTE's tech support and that department earlier today. As I said once and will say again, I have no reason to troll. I will say however if I get one more threat or accusation that says otherwise I will disregard this thread only reply to a few people in this thread that have been here with me from day one.
> 
> Also like to point out root has been obtained on this phone for over 3 weeks. The reason its still to be posted is it being worked into a app and its not perm yet. If you guys can't be patient and support the people fighting and helping you out do not comment or go buy a mainstream phone with more support.

Click to collapse



I just got this phone around a week ago, I have skimmed through this thread and and researched many more. I for one appreciate you and anyone else trying to get development to this phone. Just as any other phone I have had in the past, I always help people when I can and also ask for quite a bit myself. Once again, thanks for everything all the devs and other moral support and community in general for doing all you can to free our androids. I also recommend signing the petition to have the boot loader unlocked, I did at change.org.

Ps I see where you said you'd help the peeps from day 1, but please keep me in the loop. Lol up my profile on android forums and view post and or threads. I also try my best for the noob I am. Lol


----------



## Porky munoz (Feb 12, 2015)

mdabeezy said:


> I'm jelly I paid like $220 for mine! The pain of an early adopter lol

Click to collapse



Shoot man I got mine for almost 270 out the door :|

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## chickenmusket (Feb 12, 2015)

jsteal55 said:


> I had the same problem 2 nights ago I used tethering for about 30 mins and stopped I called tmobile I had a 3gb plan for it it turned out for some reason I had to factory reset my phone  for it to work again I had no more problems

Click to collapse



Did you turn down the tether agreement pop-up on the phone the first time and then try to do it a 2nd time? It did what you described to me (I said no, turned down first time, then tried a 2nd time and it wouldn't tether until factory reset).

---------- Post added at 08:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:31 PM ----------




RaiderWill said:


> Watching some Utubes of Android L.. it looks so cool..
> Knowing we will never get updated to Lollipop 5.0 along with the Root issue sucks.
> I went through this with a Asus Memo Pad FHD 10 it never got off the ground.. and Asus never updated it on time like they promised.

Click to collapse



Updates as being a good thing is an illusion. Destroy your hardware with software designed for later devices (or designed to make your hardware sluggish so you'll buy a new one).


----------



## aSuperSaiyanG0D (Feb 12, 2015)

Hurricaine said:


> I bought my zmax from Walmart. It's a tmo phone in a Walmart box.  I'm running it on metro $60 unlimited.  I also had Walmart price match the $99 dollar price from metropcs. Best $100 phone I ever had.  Lol

Click to collapse



Walmart did that?

What all did you have to show them?

I'm surprised they didn't say "well that's with mail in rebate" lol

Sent from my LG Optimus L90 (D415)

I'm on YouTube,
(aSuperSaiyanG0D Gaming/Android)


----------



## DroidisLINUX (Feb 12, 2015)

Crosses his hands and waits patiently for an unlocked bootloader, or hacked root recovery.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Meep70 (Feb 12, 2015)

Velrix said:


> Also like to point out root has been obtained on this phone for over 3 weeks. The reason its still to be posted is it being worked into a app and its not perm yet. If you guys can't be patient and support the people fighting and helping you out do not comment or go buy a mainstream phone with more support.

Click to collapse




By "not perm yet" I am guessing that root can be achieved, but that upon reboot, the access is lost. For me this would already be a HUGE step in the right direction, and one that I would tinker with, for sure.

I support your efforts, and I must ask why, if you or someone else has found an exploit, it hasn't been shared, so that this can be tackled as a community effort? If it is about the bounty, then give credit where credit is due, get the cash to the winner, then let's make some progress--as a community.

Again, I appreciate all that you are doing, I just want to understand how we can all help each other, since that is why XDA exists.


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 12, 2015)

Meep70 said:


> I must ask why, if you or someone else has found an exploit, it hasn't been shared, so that this can be tackled as a community effort?

Click to collapse



It's because the less tech-inclined would swamp the thread with whining, complaining, and all manner of moaning for support from the devs. 

It's not worth the headache to them and they are right not to release it, yet.


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Feb 12, 2015)

Porky munoz said:


> Shoot man I got mine for almost 270 out the door :|
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Same here. Got mine in October for 272 from tmo. Metro did not even have them yet
99 is a steal


----------



## Meep70 (Feb 12, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> It's because the less tech-inclined would swamp the thread with whining, complaining, and all manner of moaning for support from the devs.
> 
> It's not worth the headache to them and they are right not to release it, yet.

Click to collapse



I get that, but sharing privately among those who ARE technically inclined would certainly help. Also, a clear disclaimer and proper moderation of Dev threads would go far to mitigate problems, by cutting the whiners off at the pass. For example: "This is experimental, and at your own risk. If you brick your phone, it sucks to be you. You have been warned."


----------



## mingolianbeef (Feb 12, 2015)

Meep70 said:


> I get that, but sharing privately among those who ARE technically inclined would certainly help. Also, a clear disclaimer and proper moderation of Dev threads would go far to mitigate problems, by cutting the whiners off at the pass. For example: "This is experimental, and at your own risk. If you brick your phone, it sucks to be you. You have been warned."

Click to collapse



That works 5% of the time with whiners. While I would love to see what the exploit is like, I definitely understand the fact that if they release temp root, then it still won't change the fact that the bootloader is locked, which means no system r/w access. You can have root without it's benefits. And for them to say they are putting it in a more user friendly setup, it must be pretty complicated now, because UF on these kinds of devices on XDA usually consists of some command line work lol


----------



## Meep70 (Feb 12, 2015)

mingolianbeef said:


> That works 5% of the time with whiners.

Click to collapse



Proper moderation=booting/banning those who request support on a Dev thread. Problem solved. We have rules to that effect, already in place.



> While I would love to see what the exploit is like, I definitely understand the fact that if they release temp root, then it still won't change the fact that the bootloader is locked, which means no system r/w access. You can have root without it's benefits.

Click to collapse



A device can be rooted, with all root benefits, and still have a locked bootloader. The Caveat is that with the bootloader locked, there's no custom recovery, and no easy way to do custom roms, though, I have seen custom roms posted for MTK devices, even with a locked bootloader and stock recovery--yes, it CAN be done.  



> And for them to say they are putting it in a more user friendly setup, it must be pretty complicated now, because UF on these kinds of devices on XDA usually consists of some command line work lol

Click to collapse



I was using DOS, before DOS knew what a hard drive was, and am fairly proficient in a Linux shell, as well. Command line is not scary.  It could well be that some fresh eyes on a script that is being worked on could help streamline which command goes where, and make it work. 

Providing excuses why it CAN'T be done is in no way solving the problem.  What will solve the problem is throwing out ideas and testing them--even if they sound absurd, or historically "that hasn't worked in the past."


----------



## Vyrus69 (Feb 12, 2015)

From what I gathered, I wouldn't even call it a temp root...flash root maybe? Blink of an eye root? 

This phone has been a challenge for some people I'm guessing, and they don't want to be defeated.  This phone will be rooted one way or another.


----------



## mingolianbeef (Feb 12, 2015)

*Let me be more specific then, please*

Let me elaborate then, wouldn't want this coming off as "making excuses." Allow me to be more specific



Meep70 said:


> Proper moderation=booting/banning those who request support on a Dev thread. Problem solved. We have rules to that effect, already in place.
> 
> WE are a single thread, not a forum section. We have a couple hundred thousand views and a good bit of posts, but there are single threads in the millions in other devices. If the boot and ban hammer were so strong and prominent, the guys that said they would be tracking IP addresses would have been gone already, or at least had their comments removed... just saying.
> 
> ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse


----------



## Mistress_Sin (Feb 12, 2015)

Porky munoz said:


> Shoot man I got mine for almost 270 out the door :|
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



I paid 200 with mine with new service. I'm pretty sure I got ripped off. I told the guy that I thought the phone was $99 he told me with the 200 prices was activation fees and such. I should have contested or went somewhere else. I'm so weak


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 12, 2015)

Meep70 said:


> I get that, but sharing privately among those who ARE technically inclined would certainly help. Also, a clear disclaimer and proper moderation of Dev threads would go far to mitigate problems, by cutting the whiners off at the pass. For example: "This is experimental, and at your own risk. If you brick your phone, it sucks to be you. You have been warned."

Click to collapse



Problem is --- how do you delineate between the knowledgeable and the Beggers?


----------



## Shlickwilly (Feb 12, 2015)

As far as I know the only true developers working on this are jcase and maybe his team. If you look into his work you'll find out that he offers a software script/app on a pay basis to root phones. It is my belief when he finds a way to permanetly root the phone he will add it into the existing application he offers. He has stated that he offers no information about progress and when it is completed it will just appear if I was in his situation I'm sure I would do the same if there are any other developers working on rooting our phone at the moment I am unaware of it


----------



## mingolianbeef (Feb 12, 2015)

Shlickwilly said:


> As far as I know the only true developers working on this are jcase and maybe his team. If you look into his work you'll find out that he offers a software script/app on a pay basis to root phones. It is my belief when he finds a way to permanetly root the phone he will add it into the existing application he offers. He has stated that he offers no information about progress and when it is completed it will just appear if I was in his situation I'm sure I would do the same if there are any other developers working on rooting our phone at the moment I am unaware of it

Click to collapse



Wow... I didn't know people still seriously charged other people to root their phones...


----------



## ph37rd (Feb 12, 2015)

mdabeezy said:


> I'm jelly I paid like $220 for mine! The pain of an early adopter lol

Click to collapse



That is what's known as opportunity cost in the finance world.

Sent from my LG-D851 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Feb 12, 2015)

Mistress_Sin said:


> I paid 200 with mine with new service. I'm pretty sure I got ripped off. I told the guy that I thought the phone was $99 he told me with the 200 prices was activation fees and such. I should have contested or went somewhere else. I'm so weak

Click to collapse



If you got it from metro, there is usually an activation fee and first month due to front.  Depending on the plan and taxes, it could get closer to $200 out the door


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 12, 2015)

Can we get clarification from a reliable source that jcase charges for root? That sounds odd...and against the ToS of the site.

*EDIT: jcase is a moderator of these forums. I doubt the veracity of those claiming jcase charges for root. Every tool I looked into that he created was offered up for free to the community.

So, let's not jump to conclusions...ONCE AGAIN.*


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## Shlickwilly (Feb 12, 2015)

This is there current offering theroot.ninja IMO they do the work and paid out the cash for a dev phone and he has every right to get something in return for his/ there efforts.


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 12, 2015)

Shlickwilly said:


> This is there current offering theroot.ninja IMO they do the work and played out the cash and he has every right to get something in return for his/ there efforts.

Click to collapse



I don't disagree, as his work is proven, but all this assumption and foreshadowing is poppycock.


----------



## mdabeezy (Feb 13, 2015)

Even if he did he deserves it! When root comes I will happily throw a 20 to the team!


----------



## mcknixy (Feb 13, 2015)

mdabeezy said:


> Even if he did he deserves it! When root comes I will happily throw a 20 to the team!

Click to collapse



+1 
That's $41 so far


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 13, 2015)

There is already a reward thread. It's up to about $500+ US.


----------



## mcknixy (Feb 13, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> There is already a reward thread. It's up to about $500+ US.

Click to collapse



Link?


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 13, 2015)

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3000178


----------



## moosiemooses (Feb 13, 2015)

In for a nifty fifty and a honey hundred for temp root now
Who needs to reboot?
Sent from my Nexus 6 using xda app-developers app


----------



## 4NDROID4LIFE (Feb 13, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> Can we get clarification from a reliable source that jcase charges for root? That sounds odd...and against the ToS of the site.
> 
> *EDIT: jcase is a moderator of these forums. I doubt the veracity of those claiming jcase charges for root. Every tool I looked into that he created was offered up for free to the community.
> 
> So, let's not jump to conclusions...ONCE AGAIN.*

Click to collapse



Sunshine costs 25

Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app

---------- Post added at 01:27 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:24 AM ----------




therealduckie said:


> There is already a reward thread. It's up to about $500+ US.

Click to collapse



The droid turbo has a $10k root and bootloader

Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mingolianbeef (Feb 13, 2015)

Sometimes it amazes me how much money floats around XDA lol


----------



## Vyrus69 (Feb 13, 2015)

Wow that's crazy the size of the bounty out there for the Droid Turbo.

If a mass market phone like that still doesn't have root, thats just crazy that Moto and Verizon lock down their phones so much.

But I have hope for our little corner of Android heaven as we will get something very soon.


----------



## mingolianbeef (Feb 13, 2015)

Vyrus69 said:


> Wow that's crazy the size of the bounty out there for the Droid Turbo.
> 
> If a mass market phone like that still doesn't have root, thats just crazy that Moto and Verizon lock down their phones so much.
> 
> But I have hope for our little corner of Android heaven as we will get something very soon.

Click to collapse



Lol we are with T-Mobile, there is hope


----------



## 4NDROID4LIFE (Feb 13, 2015)

So what is the current state of this device?
Root is achievable in an app being worked on?
Unlockable bootloader coming in the form of an ota? Are these truths z rumors or blatant lies?
What's everyone's thoughts on these subjects. And GO!!!!!

Sent from my D850 T-Mobile SIM


----------



## RaiderWill (Feb 13, 2015)

*Really..?*



chickenmusket said:


> Updates as being a good thing is an illusion.

Click to collapse



Could not believe I was quoted from this thread.. 
I returned this device within my 14 day remorse period ( Whew ) and purchased a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 several months ago.. I can't believe root is still not obtained almost a half-year later..
Hats Off for sticking with this device under these conditions.. :good:


----------



## mingolianbeef (Feb 13, 2015)

4NDROID4LIFE said:


> So what is the current state of this device?
> Root is achievable in an app being worked on?
> Unlockable bootloader coming in the form of an ota? Are these truths z rumors or blatant lies?
> What's everyone's thoughts on these subjects. And GO!!!!!
> ...

Click to collapse



In reference to the app... Yes

Unlockable bootloader: The most concrete answer I can give would be in the context of which this statement was made: "(paraphrase) I am waiting on a file from the engineering team", engineering is in charge of bootloaders, so this "file" is presumably the BL file. Here again just using context clues lol. As far as the OTA, take it with a grain of salt. Not because the guy that said it is a poor source or anything, but because ZTE doesn't have their stuff together. Every branch is clicking on different cylinders. ZTE CN told me that what he said was untrue when I inquired and that they had no knowledge of it, but if he talked to ZTE USA and they are planning that, then it shows you how out of sync they are. It would be even worse if ZTE CN was who we both contacted. Their consensus isn't even department wide.

Thoughts? Its cool because im used to mainstream phones while 10s of thousands of users wait on five guys to crack the code. I like the fact that despite the nay sayers, every time we lose one user, we gain two more ready to shell out emails, tweets, bounty money, etc. In an effort to achieve this. If you did something as simple as tweet or something as major as actually root the darn thing, this cooperation will get us what we want and more. Then again, I'm into that sort of stuff, so I may be the only one who sees slow progression that way lol


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Feb 13, 2015)

mingolianbeef said:


> In reference to the app... Yes
> 
> As far as the OTA, take it with a grain of salt. Not because the guy that said it is a poor source or anything, but because ZTE doesn't have their stuff together. Every branch is clicking on different cylinders. ZTE CN told me that what he said was untrue when I inquired and that they had no knowledge of it, but if he talked to ZTE USA and they are planning that, then it shows you how out of sync they are. It would be even worse if ZTE CN was who we both contacted. Their consensus isn't even department wide.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse


----------



## richm052569 (Feb 13, 2015)

Anyone tried this? http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1886460. I used this method successfully on a MetroPCS Kyocera Hydro Life recently, with grand success


----------



## johnb380 (Feb 13, 2015)

StonerSteve420 said:


> mingolianbeef said:
> 
> 
> > In reference to the app... Yes
> ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse


----------



## brandonlee96 (Feb 13, 2015)

richm052569 said:


> Anyone tried this? http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1886460. I used this method successfully on a MetroPCS Kyocera Hydro Life recently, with grand success

Click to collapse



it dont work i tried it


----------



## nathand.95 (Feb 13, 2015)

*Just talked to ZTE and...*

This was the response I got. Basically, no Lollipop, and no bootloader. 

You said:
I was wondering if ZTE has any ETA for the Android 5.0 Lollipop update?
Rachel said:
I am sorry to inform you that,there is no relevant information available to provide you with at the present time from us and to avoid inaccuracy and confusion, please feel free to check with us or your service provider periodically for updates. If this should become available, it would be posted on our website, or you would be informed by your service provider. 
You said:
Okay...
You said:
And what about the bootloader? I've heard that would be unlocked soon?
Rachel said:
Really sorry to inform you that modifying the programming on your phone through rooting will void the manufactures warranty on your phone. 
You said:
The thing is, the phone was bought outright and I have no insurance on it, so warranty really isn't something I care about *laughs*
You said:
I mean, it is a $99 off-contract phone after all
Rachel said:
I am sorry, being the manufactures we do not support any rooting.
You said:
Well that's a disappointment.
You said:
Thank you, though
Rachel said:
I do understand your concern and I am sorry, I wish I could offer you something else, but as a customer service agent this is out of my hands. 
You said:
I do understand, that, it's not your fault. It's just not fair of the company to block a customer from doing something to a phone they've paid for in full, you know?
You said:
But I know it's not your fault. Thank you.
Rachel said:
Yes, I do understand that. But we are through your service provider. We manufacture the phone as per the service provider request, because the device is sold through them.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 13, 2015)

A CSR is NEVER a reliable source. Always speak to someone in authority or management.


----------



## Mistress_Sin (Feb 13, 2015)

nathand.95 said:


> This was the response I got. Basically, no Lollipop, and no bootloader.
> 
> You said:
> I was wondering if ZTE has any ETA for the Android 5.0 Lollipop update?
> ...

Click to collapse





As someone who does what that CSR does for work I can tell you that we are the last to ever find out anything. No way would someone at our level find out until most likely the day this changes occur. Nor could can we do anything of any importance besides escalate your issue to a different department.


----------



## DroidHackalot (Feb 14, 2015)

Mistress_Sin said:


> As someone who does what that CSR does for work I can tell you that we are the last to ever find out anything. No way would someone at our level find out until most likely the day this changes occur. Nor could can we do anything of any importance besides escalate your issue to a different department.

Click to collapse



Lol 

THE ZMAX WILL RISE!!


----------



## brandonlee96 (Feb 14, 2015)

how can i delete this reply


----------



## brandonlee96 (Feb 14, 2015)

i love my setup


----------



## DroidHackalot (Feb 14, 2015)

brandonlee96 said:


> how can i delete this reply

Click to collapse



You can't really delete just edit.

THE ZMAX WILL RISE!!


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 14, 2015)

*I made a subreddit for the Z MAX on reddit...*

Every body go check it out, if you know to redesign a subreddit or have experience with CSS please come be a MOD and make the sub look more friendy inbox me my name is psvitantifail2...

http://www.reddit.com/r/ZTEZMAX/


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 14, 2015)

Challenge accepted - Subreddit is now themed.


----------



## Reallionare (Feb 14, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> Challenge accepted - Subreddit is now themed.

Click to collapse



I just looked at the work, it looks much better...

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## wroigo (Feb 14, 2015)

*OTG cable*

Has anyone gotten an OTG cable to work on this device?


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 14, 2015)

No. OTG cables are not compatible. 

Perhaps after root we can dig in and try to enable it, but out of the box they are clear it doesn't work.


----------



## Hue Jaynuss (Feb 14, 2015)

*wrong*



therealduckie said:


> No. OTG cables are not compatible.
> 
> Perhaps after root we can dig in and try to enable it, but out of the box they are clear it doesn't work.

Click to collapse



Actually I got my z max to work with a usb controller using an otg cable. So yes it's compatible with otg


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 14, 2015)

I specifically bought 3 different types of OTG cables last year to test multiple devices for a site I used to write for. I know how OTG works.

That said. I tried all 3 cables using different combinations of cord and plug. I also used a USB key, USB drive, USB game pad and Logitech rumble pad. 

None of them worked.

I then contacted ZTE and they said this phone does not have OTG support.

So, I am curious what you have working, which cord and plug it is using and what capabilities it has.


----------



## vons01 (Feb 14, 2015)

I got otg to work with a USB mouse but no thumb drives or other storage devices

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Hue Jaynuss (Feb 14, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> I specifically bought 3 different types of OTG cables last year to test multiple devices for a site I used to write for. I know how OTG works.
> 
> That said. I tried all 3 cables using different combinations of cord and plug. I also used a USB key, USB drive, USB game pad and Logitech rumble pad.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Radio shack otg cable:good:


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 14, 2015)

Hue Jaynuss said:


> Radio shack otg cable:good:

Click to collapse



I asked what you have working, which cord and plug it is using and what capabilities it has. Radio Shack sells many different types of OTG cable. Which one? Does it have the long or short connector? What devices work on it?

Can you expand a bit?

Also, are you using an app to map the buttons from your controller? If so, which one? If not, which controller?


----------



## Ranger1189 (Feb 14, 2015)

*apps to sd*

Is there any way to move any apps to sd?  So far I haven't found any way to move any app.?  Hopefully this thing will get root soon!


----------



## ph37rd (Feb 14, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> I asked what you have working, which cord and plug it is using and what capabilities it has. Radio Shack sells many different types of OTG cable. Which one? Does it have the long or short connector? What devices work on it?
> 
> Can you expand a bit?
> 
> Also, are you using an app to map the buttons from your controller? If so, which one? If not, which controller?

Click to collapse



I'm curious If the OTG Y cables would work, or is it a kernel issue. If the MAX is like my N4, it does not provide power through the USB port. Using the Y cables with a kernel supporting OTG, I've not found anything not working.

Sent from my LG-D851 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Hue Jaynuss (Feb 14, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> I asked what you have working, which cord and plug it is using and what capabilities it has. Radio Shack sells many different types of OTG cable. Which one? Does it have the long or short connector? What devices work on it?
> 
> Can you expand a bit?
> 
> Also, are you using an app to map the buttons from your controller? If so, which one? If not, which controller?

Click to collapse



Check out pen island .com


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 14, 2015)

Not falling for it.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## 4NDROID4LIFE (Feb 14, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> Not falling for it.

Click to collapse



+1

Sent from my D850 T-Mobile SIM


----------



## Hue Jaynuss (Feb 15, 2015)

Ranger1189 said:


> Is there any way to move any apps to sd?  So far I haven't found any way to move any app.?  Hopefully this thing will get root soon!

Click to collapse



U can format ur sd card to fat32.. then cut and paist the obb files of ur big games using es file explorer from sd card 0 (internal) to sd card 1 (external sd) . It might slow down ur games a bit depending on ur sd card.  U can also use 64 or 128gb sd cards using this method. Just format the sd card to fat32.


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Feb 15, 2015)

vons01 said:


> I got otg to work with a USB mouse but no thumb drives or other storage devices
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



I also got a mouse to work, a Logitech wireless mouse. I also got an AZIO wireless keyboard to work with OTG   My USB sticks light up and flag like they are being accessed, but I can't locate them in file explorer


----------



## Hue Jaynuss (Feb 15, 2015)

Hue Jaynuss said:


> U can format ur sd card to fat32.. then cut and paist the obb files of ur big games using es file explorer from sd card 0 (internal) to sd card 1 (external sd) . It might slow down ur games a bit depending on ur sd card.  U can also use 64 or 128gb sd cards using this method. Just format the sd card to fat32.

Click to collapse



The Obb files folder is located under the android folder in ur sd card


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 15, 2015)

*I some one give me there T mobile unlock code?*

Because I did feel like waiting 14 days...


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 15, 2015)

For those of you claiming OTG works, are you on TMO or METRO?

Also, Hue still hasn't answered any of the questions posed.


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Feb 15, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> For those of you claiming OTG works, are you on TMO or METRO?
> 
> Also, Hue still hasn't answered any of the questions posed.

Click to collapse



Mine is Tmo. I just tried it again, post update, and it still works for me.

I will try my sons phone, his is metro.

His works with the mouse and also appears to be accessing the USB stick

Oh, I have a generic cable from Fry's


----------



## vons01 (Feb 15, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> For those of you claiming OTG works, are you on TMO or METRO?
> 
> Also, Hue still hasn't answered any of the questions posed.

Click to collapse



I on tmo

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Reallionare (Feb 15, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> For those of you claiming OTG works, are you on TMO or METRO?
> 
> Also, Hue still hasn't answered any of the questions posed.

Click to collapse



Hello, exactly was is otg? 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## kardeef (Feb 15, 2015)

On The Go ,it basically gives you a USB port on the end of the cable you can plug in a USB hub or device.


----------



## Hue Jaynuss (Feb 15, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> For those of you claiming OTG works, are you on TMO or METRO?
> 
> Also, Hue still hasn't answered any of the questions posed.

Click to collapse



Metro z max. Ps3 rockcandy usb controller. No configuration needed. Unless using emulator you'll need to map the buttons:fingers-crossed:


----------



## TecheTag (Feb 15, 2015)

I have 1 of those OTG cables got mines from Amazon for $4... Very useful.. 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Feb 15, 2015)

What is the possibility of this phone getting a waterproof case?


----------



## TecheTag (Feb 15, 2015)

I just purchased the black wallet case it's nice to see my money and my phone in the same place

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## flablitz (Feb 15, 2015)

Just wanted to throw it there my price since unseen a few others. The metro website lists at 99$ with mail in rebate. I got mine from a metro authorized dealer without the rebate for 117$ 167$ with 50$ promo plan out the door with case and screen protector.

My main thing about not having root is I want to tether. Is there a no root tether that works with this phone?


----------



## perrisiam (Feb 15, 2015)

flablitz said:


> My main thing about not having root is I want to tether. Is there a no root tether that works with this phone?

Click to collapse




you don't need root to tether, just get june fabrics pda.net which will allow undetectable tether, you can try it for free but can't go to secure sites, the paid version is the best investment I have made as far as apps


----------



## mussio (Feb 15, 2015)

I've been using easytether with no issues at all ... using it on Ubuntu to watch Netflix and  Hulu no prob... I've always had probs with disconnecting on other devices but on the ZMAX none.


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Feb 15, 2015)

No luck on a waterproof case huh??


----------



## flablitz (Feb 16, 2015)

perrisiam said:


> you don't need root to tether, just get june fabrics pda.net which will allow undetectable tether, you can try it for free but can't go to secure sites, the paid version is the best investment I have made as far as apps

Click to collapse



Right, I understand that part, but thanks for the reply. I should have explained myself a little better. I need to WiFi tether really and havnt found 1 that works without root. I'm trying to accomplish a few things. 
Let my sons tablet and phone to connect to it for Netflix and YouTube.
Mainly the next.
My wife just rent to owned a Toshiba 50L3400u TV and of course with WiFi I can do a variety of things. Mobile Hotspot(not on my plan) connects the TV, but ofc doesn't actually have internet connection. I've tried plugging the phone in USB, but no mass storage option on phone (I tried MTP). I was hoping something similar to ftp or some type of folder view. I have Mediashare. It supports IMG, music and videos USB. All I have to work with right now is the TV my phone and a non WiFi desktop. No VGA cord or I'd do it like that. Possible to USB tether to desktop and go from Ethernet port to TVs Ethernet port? It has the option for wired or wireless connection on TV.  I know this is a lil a bout phone support and TV support, but I know there is a lot of helpful and knowledgeable people here at the XDA community.

Extra note The TV is a POS and am trading it in. Only good thing about RTO programs. Was just trying to watch Netflix tonight.


----------



## kardeef (Feb 16, 2015)

I know if you go to settings you can't elect  WiFi hotspot,but if you put down the notifications and select the icon on top right if you select WiFi hotspot it will come on.metro zmax


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## mingolianbeef (Feb 16, 2015)

StonerSteve420 said:


> No luck on a waterproof case huh??

Click to collapse



Like everything else lol, not impossible but very unlikely. Unless the phone really picked up traction, I don't a manufacturer would invest those kinds of resources, but anything is possible.

I just looked on Amazon, didn't see anything


----------



## Hue Jaynuss (Feb 16, 2015)

*hmmm...*



StonerSteve420 said:


> No luck on a waterproof case huh??

Click to collapse



U can always waterproof ur phone as long as u don't plan to swim with it. http://www.liquipel.com/  <<====


----------



## flablitz (Feb 16, 2015)

kardeef said:


> I know if you go to settings you can't elect  WiFi hotspot,but if you put down the notifications and select the icon on top right if you select WiFi hotspot it will come on.metro zmax

Click to collapse



As mentioned above I tried that. The tablet, phone and TV shows connected, but none gets internet. The phone actually shows the T-Mobile hotspot page.


----------



## Hurricaine (Feb 16, 2015)

kardeef said:


> I know if you go to settings you can't elect  WiFi hotspot,but if you put down the notifications and select the icon on top right if you select WiFi hotspot it will come on.metro zmax

Click to collapse



I am trying this now and my zmax is broadcasting WiFi signal and I am able to connect to it with my moto g. But, the moto g won't load any websites or anything else. Can anyone else try this?

Edit: Didn't read throughly. One post above States data isn't working via drop down menu button trick. I guess I'm just confirming it doesn't work.


----------



## John Laurinaitis (Feb 16, 2015)

loonycgb2 said:


> 1. Install an app that creates activity shortcuts
> 2. Locate settings drop down in activity shortcuts app and find advanced ap settings
> 3. change hotspot settings (ssid and passcode for ssid encryption)
> 4. Download foxfi and have installed and ready.
> ...

Click to collapse





Hurricaine said:


> I am trying this now and my zmax is broadcasting WiFi signal and I am able to connect to it with my moto g. But, the moto g won't load any websites or anything else. Can anyone else try this?
> 
> Edit: Didn't read throughly. One post above States data isn't working via drop down menu button trick. I guess I'm just confirming it doesn't work.

Click to collapse



Have you tried this out from earlier post? i never got to test it since im paying for the hotspot feature


----------



## DroidHackalot (Feb 16, 2015)

When you run out of gigs for hotspot usage does it slow down bad or can you even notice it on metro? Since we have 4g and all.. because  I used to use it back on cricket when 3g was still around and used to play online on my ps3 and it hardly lagged on cricket when I would run out of gigs for hotspot.

THE ZMAX WILL RISE!!


----------



## DroidisLINUX (Feb 16, 2015)

I have the T-Mobile unlimited plan, WiFi tether works great, but after 5 GB of tether only other androids will connect using WiFi tether hack for unlimited tethering using the APN mod. I think if you get the Firefox browser to change browser to android type it might work,but I can't confirm that. I get the T-Mobile tether page after I use up 5 GB on my Xbox one, and computer, only my tablet will connect and work after I use my 5gb hope that helps

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## John Laurinaitis (Feb 16, 2015)

DroidHackalot said:


> When you run out of gigs for hotspot usage does it slow down bad or can you even notice it on metro? Since we have 4g and all.. because  I used to use it back on cricket when 3g was still around and used to play online on my ps3 and it hardly lagged on cricket when I would run out of gigs for hotspot.
> 
> THE ZMAX WILL RISE!!

Click to collapse



For now, my speeds aren't  bad. I'm getting around 20mb according to speedtest.net with my lte, I am close to reaching my 2.5gb tethering limit. I read somewhere that they do not slow you down, you only get redirected to a tmobile/metro asking you to buy more tethering data. If this does happen, I might cancel the tethering and try out the method i quoted and test out fiddler to bypass the upsell page on my pc lol... but for gaming consoles and such, i'd try out a vpn.


----------



## kardeef (Feb 16, 2015)

Sigh was playing with the phone ,but didn't get a chance to verify


----------



## DroidHackalot (Feb 16, 2015)

Ohh well I'll just wait till we get root  for unlimited hotspot usage lol

THE ZMAX WILL RISE!!


----------



## reefdog87 (Feb 16, 2015)

has any one root and bricked there zte zmax? Just asking because I tried like 8 different root apps an to no success.


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 16, 2015)

Read the thread please.


----------



## mingolianbeef (Feb 16, 2015)

reefdog87 said:


> has any one root and bricked there zte zmax? Just asking because I tried like 8 different root apps an to no success.

Click to collapse



Read the last 163 pages, it should answer your question


----------



## smallyetzon (Feb 16, 2015)

Anyone having issues with screenshots after update??? Mine wont work anymore 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Feb 16, 2015)

Not to bad for a $100 dollar phone.


----------



## mjsell2 (Feb 16, 2015)

smallyetzon said:


> Anyone having issues with screenshots after update??? Mine wont work anymore
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Just took one


Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 16, 2015)

Just took this one. Running Android 4.4.4 on Metro


----------



## smallyetzon (Feb 17, 2015)

mjsell2 said:


> Just took one
> 
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



I fixed it!! It was my sd card full ? 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

---------- Post added at 03:01 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:00 AM ----------




therealduckie said:


> Just took this one. Running Android 4.4.4 on Metro

Click to collapse



Nice!! What launcher??

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Planterz (Feb 17, 2015)

John Laurinaitis said:


> For now, my speeds aren't  bad. I'm getting around 20mb according to speedtest.net with my lte, I am close to reaching my 2.5gb tethering limit. I read somewhere that they do not slow you down, you only get redirected to a tmobile/metro asking you to buy more tethering data. If this does happen, I might cancel the tethering and try out the method i quoted and test out fiddler to bypass the upsell page on my pc lol... but for gaming consoles and such, i'd try out a vpn.

Click to collapse



Tethering is part of your plan. Don't change your plan either, because you won't be able to change back. When I signed up, I was with the $70 Unlimited plan with 2.5gb tetherhing. I changed to a plan with more tethering (before I figured out how to make it unlimited), and when I wanted to change back they had done away with the $70/2.5gb plan so I had to go with the $80/5gb plan.


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 17, 2015)

smallyetzon said:


> Nice!! What launcher??
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Nova Launcher - my own theme to match my computer


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Feb 17, 2015)

I have a friend that wants to get the zmax but has sprint. Is it compatible basebands?


----------



## billb23ok (Feb 17, 2015)

StonerSteve420 said:


> I have a friend that wants to get the zmax but has sprint. Is it compatible basebands?

Click to collapse



Sprint, Verizon are CDMA 
AT&T and T-Mobile are gsm
totally different


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Feb 17, 2015)

billb23ok said:


> Sprint, Verizon are CDMA
> AT&T and T-Mobile are gsm
> totally different

Click to collapse



So that's a no gotcha


----------



## Meep70 (Feb 17, 2015)

StonerSteve420 said:


> No luck on a waterproof case huh??

Click to collapse



You have gotten no answer, because not everyone can check the forum every minute of the day. When you ask a question, please be patient for an answer, or try this:

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=zte+zmax+waterproof

The best I can tell, the answer is a fuzzy "No."


----------



## rfunderburk39 (Feb 17, 2015)

StonerSteve420 said:


> What is the possibility of this phone getting a waterproof case?

Click to collapse



http://www.liquipel.com/


----------



## D33PTHAWTE (Feb 17, 2015)

Is there any way to remove the system update notification.
I am not taking the update for various reasons, and the constant notification is driving me crazy.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## AndroidSystemDeveloper (Feb 17, 2015)

*Root Exploit*

Does anyone got an idea of who is working on a exploit for this device?


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 17, 2015)

No one. They gave up. After the questionable post about ZTE possibly releasing an unlock, the only person working on it stopped.

---------- Post added at 09:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:47 AM ----------




D33PTHAWTE said:


> Is there any way to remove the system update notification.
> I am not taking the update for various reasons, and the constant notification is driving me crazy.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Long press the notification and choose 'app info' then uncheck 'notifications'.


----------



## D33PTHAWTE (Feb 17, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> No one. They gave up. After the questionable post about ZTE possibly releasing an unlock, the only person working on it stopped.
> 
> ---------- Post added at 09:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:47 AM ----------
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Many thanks.
I did not expect it to be Google Play Services...

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Feb 17, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> No one. They gave up. After the questionable post about ZTE possibly releasing an unlock, the only person working on it stopped.
> 
> ---------- Post added at 09:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:47 AM ----------
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Did I miss something?  I have been watching this thread for months and I don't remember anyone staying they stopped working on root. My understanding is jcase is quietly working in the background. Did this change?  I have not seen a post from jcase indicating he gave up.


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 17, 2015)

Lesharoturbo said:


> Did I miss something?  I have been watching this thread for months and I don't remember anyone staying they stopped working on root. My understanding is jcase is quietly working in the background. Did this change?  I have not seen a post from jcase indicating he gave up.

Click to collapse



He said so on his twitter, sadly.

Justin Case (@TeamAndIRC) tweeted at 10:43 PM on Fri, Feb 13, 2015: @Fate_Zero998 yes progress, no to release, as ive been informed that they are unlocking the bootloader officially
(https://twitter.com/TeamAndIRC/status/566442623506710528?s=02)


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Feb 17, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> He said so on his twitter, sadly.
> 
> Justin Case (@TeamAndIRC) tweeted at 10:43 PM on Fri, Feb 13, 2015: @Fate_Zero998 yes progress, no to release, as ive been informed that they are unlocking the bootloader officially
> (https://twitter.com/TeamAndIRC/status/566442623506710528?s=02)

Click to collapse



Thanks for the update. I don't use stalker systems like twitter so I did not know. Thanks for posting it here.


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 17, 2015)

Stalker system? What?


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Feb 17, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> Stalker system? What?

Click to collapse



Twitter. Instagram. Glorified stalking. After all you get "followers" right?  Some are people you don't even know. And you tell them all about your life and what you are doing.


----------



## ubigred (Feb 17, 2015)

Lesharoturbo said:


> Twitter. Instagram. Glorified stalking. After all you get "followers" right?  Some are people you don't even know. And you tell them all about your life and what you are doing.

Click to collapse



Stalker is a bit much. Appropriate term is social media.

Stalker Lmao

---------- Post added at 12:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:32 PM ----------

Jcase gave up. Now I'm giving up. Root will never come.


----------



## kardeef (Feb 17, 2015)

I thought they had a root that wasn't sticking...plz do not tell me they gave up..if they did could they release what they have so far..I am waiting for ROOT  patiently ..don't the all me they gave up.,. I can wait as long as its coming...


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Feb 17, 2015)

ubigred said:


> Stalker is a bit much. Appropriate term is social media.
> 
> Stalker Lmao
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Just calling it as I see it. Changing the name does not change what it is .


----------



## treezy26 (Feb 17, 2015)

Do you guys have issues unlocking the phone? Whenever I press the power button to unlock, it can sometimes take up to 10 secs to unlock. Anyone else have this issue?


----------



## DarkFireBrah (Feb 17, 2015)

timba123 said:


> What system update? I'm on Metropcs and no update has popped up.

Click to collapse



Probably an update for t-mobile devices.

---------- Post added at 12:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:55 AM ----------




kardeef said:


> I thought they had a root that wasn't sticking...plz do not tell me they gave up..if they did could they release what they have so far..I am waiting for ROOT  patiently ..don't the all me they gave up.,. I can wait as long as its coming...

Click to collapse



Hearing that jcase has stopped trying to get root is a let down.. Let's hope these rumors of ZTE unlocking the bootloader officially are true. If they aren't then jcase might continue his work.


----------



## clockcycle (Feb 17, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> He said so on his twitter, sadly.
> 
> Justin Case (@TeamAndIRC) tweeted at 10:43 PM on Fri, Feb 13, 2015: @Fate_Zero998 yes progress, no to release, as ive been informed that they are unlocking the bootloader officially
> (https://twitter.com/TeamAndIRC/status/566442623506710528?s=02)

Click to collapse



He says since they are officially unlocking bootloader, he stopped working on root. No need to work on it anymore since we get it done officially and can then use any rooting app that already exists...







ubigred said:


> Stalker is a bit much. Appropriate term is social media.
> 
> Stalker Lmao
> 
> ...

Click to collapse











DarkFireBrah said:


> Probably an update for t-mobile devices.
> 
> ---------- Post added at 12:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:55 AM ----------
> 
> ...

Click to collapse


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 17, 2015)

Name one time in history any corporation upheld their word and did so in a timely manner.

Just one.


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Feb 17, 2015)

treezy26 said:


> Do you guys have issues unlocking the phone? Whenever I press the power button to unlock, it can sometimes take up to 10 secs to unlock. Anyone else have this issue?

Click to collapse



No issues here. Check your Apps, some like to use a lot of resources


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 17, 2015)

Furthermore, there is no official word...just CSRs in emails posted to this thread that are, in fact, dubious at best.


----------



## richm052569 (Feb 17, 2015)

Let's see where this goes http://dottech.org/174796/how-to-unroot-zte-zmax-guide/#comment-1027991 I'm the "Rich" in the comments...


----------



## mingolianbeef (Feb 17, 2015)

Root is being worked on, I spoke with a vulrix I think is his name. The root process is not one click, and it doesn't stick. Its not even user friendly and its kind of pointless since the bootloader lock forbids it from being permanent.

Short answer, root is being worked on... Its a game of patience.


----------



## Alfa Droid (Feb 17, 2015)

*Root*

Honestly I found work arounds for just about everything I need root for. Even unlimited tethering. And custom status bar like in xposed and 3 mint. Lastly having my Zmax working with Samsung Galaxy gear. What do you guys need root for?


----------



## billb23ok (Feb 17, 2015)

I went to ZTE website but couldn't find a firmware. anyone know we're to get it?

---------- Post added at 03:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:39 PM ----------




Alfa Droid said:


> Honestly I found work arounds for just about everything I need root for. Even unlimited tethering. And custom status bar like in xposed and 3 mint. Lastly having my Zmax working with Samsung Galaxy gear. What do you guys need root for?

Click to collapse



what did you do for tethering? I would like to know since it's only 2.5 g
I just used t-mobiles apn settings


----------



## mingolianbeef (Feb 17, 2015)

billb23ok said:


> I went to ZTE website but couldn't find a firmware. anyone know we're to get it?
> 
> ---------- Post added at 03:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:39 PM ----------
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



[The download] doesn't exist. They haven't put it up there


----------



## brandonlee96 (Feb 18, 2015)

Alfa Droid said:


> Honestly I found work arounds for just about everything I need root for. Even unlimited tethering. And custom status bar like in xposed and 3 mint. Lastly having my Zmax working with Samsung Galaxy gear. What do you guys need root for?

Click to collapse



what is all the ways to get a custom status bar without root?


----------



## johnb380 (Feb 18, 2015)

I hope my taxes come quick since well probably never see a perm root or temp one for that... O well Nexus 6 here I come!

I guess I'll just keep this phone for a backup.

If @jcase stopped working on root because some random guy got a Chinese CSR that said were gonna get an unlocked boot loader then root is hopeless now. As he was our best shot. I can't believe whoever even took the CSR word as truth as they will say anything to get you off the phone. I mean come on seriously so guy got an operator to say were gonna unlock the boot loader that's not proof of **** people. That CSR may not of even known wtf they were talking about honestly.
O well at Tmobile I can get the N6 for 270 or 280 down and the rest as 24 monthly payments so that's not to bad. I just gotta wait another month for money. This phone isn't to bad without root anyways.

Good luck everyone I've officially lost any reason to follow this thread so see ya later people.


----------



## jcase (Feb 18, 2015)

I was informed it was in response to FCC complaints, and complaints to tmobile. They were pretty sure of it, to the point that I went on to other projects



johnb380 said:


> I hope my taxes come quick since well probably never see a perm root or temp one for that... O well Nexus 6 here I come!
> 
> I guess I'll just keep this phone for a backup.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse


----------



## brandonlee96 (Feb 18, 2015)

jcase said:


> I was informed it was in response to FCC complaints, and complaints to tmobile. They were pretty sure of it, to the point that I went on to other projects

Click to collapse



why cant you come out with temp root for now till bootloader comes out the release the perm-root i rather have a temp root than no root just saying?


----------



## jcase (Feb 18, 2015)

brandonlee96 said:


> why cant you come out with temp root for now till bootloader comes out the release the perm-root i rather have a temp root that no root just saying?

Click to collapse



im waiting on you to come out with one


----------



## brandonlee96 (Feb 18, 2015)

jcase said:


> im waiting on you to come out with one

Click to collapse



can you give us a reasonable answer in why not realease the temp root for now cause we heard you got the temp root working on it?


----------



## jcase (Feb 18, 2015)

brandonlee96 said:


> can you give us a reasonable answer in why not realease the temp root for now cause we heard you got the temp root working on it?

Click to collapse



a) I dont think i made any such announcement
b) I release things on my own schedule, sometimes that is instantly, in some cases ive waited years before doing so.
c) I dont currently have time, I have more important things for myself to be doing right now


----------



## brandonlee96 (Feb 18, 2015)

jcase said:


> a) I dont think i made any such announcement
> b) I release things on my own schedule, sometimes that is instantly, in some cases ive waited years before doing so.
> c) I dont currently have time, I have more important things for myself to be doing right now

Click to collapse



im sorry i guess theres a little troll on this forum then.have you had any luck on the zmax we all would love to know.what is the status with the root for the zmax?


----------



## DarkFireBrah (Feb 18, 2015)

jcase said:


> a) I dont think i made any such announcement
> b) I release things on my own schedule, sometimes that is instantly, in some cases ive waited years before doing so.
> c) I dont currently have time, I have more important things for myself to be doing right now

Click to collapse



Everyone else in here was being a little rude.. Thanks for trying to root the ZMAX! Hopefully ZTE does unlock the bootloader officially so we won need a hack around it.


----------



## mingolianbeef (Feb 18, 2015)

Why are devs being interrogated...


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Feb 18, 2015)

jcase said:


> a) I dont think i made any such announcement
> b) I release things on my own schedule, sometimes that is instantly, in some cases ive waited years before doing so.
> c) I dont currently have time, I have more important things for myself to be doing right now

Click to collapse



I seriously laughed so hard haha


But anyway just wondering what's going on with this phone. I'm not asking where your at or the ETA but what have you seen or found. Have you ever seen something like this before. Is it different coding what's keeping the root and bootloader unlock from happening. I know its something to do with the R/W but I just like a little more info. Nothing extravagant just like to know. If its not to much to ask.


----------



## DarkFireBrah (Feb 18, 2015)

mingolianbeef said:


> Why are devs being interrogated...

Click to collapse



Seems like people really and I mean REALLY want root.. haha


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## mingolianbeef (Feb 18, 2015)

DarkFireBrah said:


> Seems like people really and I mean REALLY want root.. haha

Click to collapse



Lol were gonna look up and people will start using CIA torture tactics for it lmao


----------



## Alfa Droid (Feb 18, 2015)

billb23ok said:


> I went to ZTE website but couldn't find a firmware. anyone know we're to get it?
> 
> ---------- Post added at 03:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:39 PM ----------
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Like you the t-mobile apn as well as foxfi.  Make sure you add the pdanet to the desk or laptop. Dotvpn to a chrome browser.


----------



## John Laurinaitis (Feb 18, 2015)

Probably getting myself a oneplus one now. Since they are selling in Tuesdays with no invitr


----------



## nobreak1970 (Feb 18, 2015)

StonerSteve420 said:


> I seriously laughed so hard haha
> 
> 
> But anyway just wondering what's going on with this phone. I'm not asking where your at or the ETA but what have you seen or found. Have you ever seen something like this before. Is it different coding what's keeping the root and bootloader unlock from happening. I know its something to do with the R/W but I just like a little more info. Nothing extravagant just like to know. If its not to much to ask.

Click to collapse



Legit questions


Sent from my HUAWEI Y536A1 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## billb23ok (Feb 18, 2015)

Alfa Droid said:


> Like you the t-mobile apn as well as foxfi.  Make sure you add the pdanet to the desk or laptop. Dotvpn to a chrome browser.

Click to collapse



is it working on a tablet with no VPN? Foxfi gives an error when starting so I am not using it and am only using native. the account and phone are with metro pcs. no real need to use a desktop.


----------



## DarkFireBrah (Feb 18, 2015)

mingolianbeef said:


> Lol were gonna look up and people will start using CIA torture tactics for it lmao

Click to collapse



I wouldn't be surprised if that started happening haha.


----------



## johnb380 (Feb 18, 2015)

jcase said:


> a) I dont think i made any such announcement
> b) I release things on my own schedule, sometimes that is instantly, in some cases ive waited years before doing so.
> c) I dont currently have time, I have more important things for myself to be doing right now

Click to collapse



Well thank for your time @jcase... I now know why so many REAL DEVS turn their backs on projects now. You people here are disgustingly rude and inconsiderate. I can't believe this is the community of people we have for this phone. And I don't understand how you guys can be so demanding and judgemental and so greedy to this guy who was literally our only hope at getting any headway toward root.

It amazes me, it truly does, to see the lack of home training and accusatory tone toward our only ally on the Dev front on XDA. I bet we won't get another Real Dev to help this community again. Thank you guys for truly sealing our fate of no root before BL unlock (if that really does EVER HAPPEN)!
@jcase let me apologize for the rude and overzealous folks in here seriously I'm sorry!
With that I say 
GOOD DAY SIR...

(PAUSE)

 I SAID GOOD DAY!


----------



## mingolianbeef (Feb 18, 2015)

johnb380 said:


> Well thank for your time @jcase... I now know why so many REAL DEVS turn their backs on projects now. You people here are disgustingly rude and inconsiderate. I can't believe this is the community of people we have for this phone. And I don't understand how you guys can be so demanding and judgemental and so greedy to this guy who was literally our only hope at getting any headway toward root.
> 
> It amazes me, it truly does, to see the lack of home training and accusatory tone toward our only ally on the Dev front on XDA. I bet we won't get another Real Dev to help this community again. Thank you guys for truly sealing our fate of no root before BL unlock (if that really does EVER HAPPEN)!
> @jcase let me apologize for the rude and overzealous folks in here seriously I'm sorry!
> ...

Click to collapse



I was serious... Until the end, had to laugh lol


----------



## billb23ok (Feb 18, 2015)

johnb380 said:


> Well thank for your time @jcase... I now know why so many REAL DEVS turn their backs on projects now. You people here are disgustingly rude and inconsiderate. I can't believe this is the community of people we have for this phone. And I don't understand how you guys can be so demanding and judgemental and so greedy to this guy who was literally our only hope at getting any headway toward root.
> 
> It amazes me, it truly does, to see the lack of home training and accusatory tone toward our only ally on the Dev front on XDA. I bet we won't get another Real Dev to help this community again. Thank you guys for truly sealing our fate of no root before BL unlock (if that really does EVER HAPPEN)!
> @jcase let me apologize for the rude and overzealous folks in here seriously I'm sorry!
> ...

Click to collapse



+1


----------



## voidcomp (Feb 18, 2015)

Great news.  Now the trolls (who have resurfaced unsurprisingly) can go elsewhere and we can enjoy the phone for what it most ably provides.


----------



## brandonlee96 (Feb 18, 2015)

im sorry that i was ambushing jcase with questions about root for the zmax i though we all would of liked to know

---------- Post added at 12:10 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:06 AM ----------




Alfa Droid said:


> Honestly I found work arounds for just about everything I need root for. Even unlimited tethering. And custom status bar like in xposed and 3 mint. Lastly having my Zmax working with Samsung Galaxy gear. What do you guys need root for?

Click to collapse



what are all the ways to get custom status bar without root


----------



## D33PTHAWTE (Feb 18, 2015)

After reading this thread over the course of the past two months and seeing what everyone likes about it, I'd like to recommend a different phone: the Huawei Ascend Mate 2 4G.
I owned it before an unfortunate accident that led me to purchase the zmax. Please don't misunderstand, the zmax is a good device. It's a real shame about root, but it has a nice display and very good battery life. But what the zmax does well, the Ascend Mate 2 does even better. Bigger battery, on- screen nav keys, and root!
There still aren't any custom roms for it, but many xposed modules work great. It's carrier unlocked from the manufacturer. Gets great 4G LTE reception and is just a super nice device. You can buy it directly from Huawei so there is no carrier bloat. I've owned many Androids and it is by far my favorite. 
I've gone for 3+ days on a single charge!
I just thought it worth mentioning.


Anyone want to buy my ZMAX 


Sent from my LG-V410 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## brandonlee96 (Feb 18, 2015)

D33PTHAWTE said:


> After reading this thread over the course of the past two months and seeing what everyone likes about it, I'd like to recommend a different phone: the Huawei Ascend Mate 2 4G.
> I owned it before an unfortunate accident that led me to purchase the zmax. Please don't misunderstand, the zmax is a good device. It's a real shame about root, but it has a nice display and very good battery life. But what the zmax does well, the Ascend Mate 2 does even better. Bigger battery, on- screen nav keys, and root!
> There still aren't any custom roms for it, but many xposed modules work great. It's carrier unlocked from the manufacturer. Gets great 4G LTE reception and is just a super nice device. You can buy it directly from Huawei so there is no carrier bloat. I've owned many Androids and it is by far my favorite.
> I've gone for 3+ days on a single charge!
> ...

Click to collapse



how much?


----------



## D33PTHAWTE (Feb 18, 2015)

brandonlee96 said:


> how much?

Click to collapse



What? To buy the Huawei or my ZMAX?
The Huawei is $299 directly from Huawei website but you can often get bonus items when ordering.
As far as my Zmax goes I wouldn't want to get cited for posting an item for sale in the wrong place + I guess I better hang on to it as a backup.

Sent from my LG-V410 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Alfa Droid (Feb 18, 2015)

*Super status bar*

U





brandonlee96 said:


> im sorry that i was ambushing jcase with questions about root for the zmax i though we all would of liked to know
> 
> ---------- Post added at 12:10 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:06 AM ----------
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



I have endless fun with this. More of my screen shots on the Google plus forum.


----------



## ben7337 (Feb 18, 2015)

D33PTHAWTE said:


> After reading this thread over the course of the past two months and seeing what everyone likes about it, I'd like to recommend a different phone: the Huawei Ascend Mate 2 4G.
> I owned it before an unfortunate accident that led me to purchase the zmax. Please don't misunderstand, the zmax is a good device. It's a real shame about root, but it has a nice display and very good battery life. But what the zmax does well, the Ascend Mate 2 does even better. Bigger battery, on- screen nav keys, and root!
> There still aren't any custom roms for it, but many xposed modules work great. It's carrier unlocked from the manufacturer. Gets great 4G LTE reception and is just a super nice device. You can buy it directly from Huawei so there is no carrier bloat. I've owned many Androids and it is by far my favorite.
> I've gone for 3+ days on a single charge!
> ...

Click to collapse



As someone who's watched this thread on and off since hearing of the Zmax, it's nice to know there are other large screen format options out there for cheap. Sadly it seems the 5" screen crowd won't find any such luck, and unfortunately for the huawei ascend mate 2, it is pretty limited in the sense that it doesn't support band 12, which the zmax is supposed to do, and which is one of the big draws to getting it, as so few phones, least of all affordable ones, support all of tmobile's lte bands.

Also the ascend costs $100, over 50% more.


----------



## brandonlee96 (Feb 18, 2015)

Alfa Droid said:


> U
> 
> I have endless fun with this. More of my screen shots on the Google plus forum.

Click to collapse



i found out how to get custom status but my status bar is nice and simple but customize without root


----------



## Milly7 (Feb 18, 2015)

brandonlee96 said:


> i found out how to get custom status but my status bar is nice and simple but customize without root

Click to collapse



What app are you using to customize the status bar?


----------



## kardeef (Feb 18, 2015)

Could you plz tell me what app or loader u r using to get more then 4 apps on the bottom launch bar


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 18, 2015)

kardeef said:


> Could you plz tell me what app or loader u r using to get more then 4 apps on the bottom launch bar

Click to collapse



..


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 18, 2015)

Nova Launcher - you can have up to 7 without root. Here is an example:


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 18, 2015)

I will buy it for 50$...

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## brandonlee96 (Feb 18, 2015)

Milly7 said:


> What app are you using to customize the status bar?

Click to collapse



color status bar from google play store heres the link 


https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.thirstystar.colorstatusbar


----------



## kardeef (Feb 18, 2015)

Thankie


----------



## rfunderburk39 (Feb 18, 2015)

http://bgr.com/2015/02/18/us-carrier-unlocking-scorecard/


----------



## T3mpr1x (Feb 18, 2015)

rfunderburk39 said:


> http://bgr.com/2015/02/18/us-carrier-unlocking-scorecard/

Click to collapse



Isn't that referring to a SIM unlock, though, and not necessarily bootloader?


----------



## rfunderburk39 (Feb 18, 2015)

T3mpr1x said:


> Isn't that referring to a SIM unlock, though, and not necessarily bootloader?

Click to collapse



I'm not sure, which is why I shared it.


----------



## kardeef (Feb 19, 2015)

Bought the nova launcher... Incredible. Hate to ask a nub question. If anyone has the time could ya explain how to  do  screen shot, thanks in advance


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 19, 2015)

T3mpr1x said:


> Isn't that referring to a SIM unlock, though, and not necessarily bootloader?

Click to collapse



They have to be talking about carriers unlocking, but on that case Verizon sucks because you can't really use it on other carriers in the US...

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## gizmo72163 (Feb 19, 2015)

kardeef said:


> Bought the nova launcher... Incredible. Hate to ask a nub question. If anyone has the time could ya explain how to  do  screen shot, thanks in advance

Click to collapse



Press and hold power and volume  down button at the same time for screen shot.


----------



## DkjDroid (Feb 19, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> They have to be talking about carriers unlocking, but on that case Verizon sucks because you can't really use it on other carriers in the US...
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Actually I have 2 Verizon phones that came with unlocked bootloaders that I am able to use on T-Mobile/Metro.  Galaxy S5 and LG G2.  However I was extremely surprised the bootloaders  we're unlocked.  They were sim unlocked too just popped in a T-Mobile sim card and it worked.


----------



## jcase (Feb 19, 2015)

DkjDroid said:


> Actually I have 2 Verizon phones that came with unlocked bootloaders that I am able to use on T-Mobile/Metro.  Galaxy S5 and LG G2.  However I was extremely surprised the bootloaders  we're unlocked.

Click to collapse



Bootloader locks have nothing to do with baseband locks. Consumer Verizon s5 certainly came with a locked bootloader


----------



## DkjDroid (Feb 19, 2015)

jcase said:


> Bootloader locks have nothing to do with baseband locks. Consumer Verizon s5 certainly came with a locked bootloader

Click to collapse



Yes I meant sim unlock, that's why I edited the post.... G2 didn't have locked bootloader though. My bad on the S5.


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 19, 2015)

Take a look at my set up AH!

EDIT: sorry for the Quality I could not find the screen shot folder....


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 19, 2015)

Oh...


----------



## brandonlee96 (Feb 19, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> Take a look at my set up AH!
> 
> EDIT: sorry for the Quality I could not find the screen shot folder....

Click to collapse



what phone are you using because i noticed you have cpu tuner running and this is a zte forum and as far as i know there is no root to run cpu tuner


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 19, 2015)

I like having apps like that installed so when I do get root I will be ready, I did the solame thing with my moto g till I found the mod string that rooted (yes I was the first find the mod string to the moto g) ...


----------



## brandonlee96 (Feb 19, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> I like having apps like that installed so when I do get root I will be ready, I did the solame thing with my moto g till I found the mod string that rooted (yes I was the first find the mod string to the moto g) ...

Click to collapse



what music app are you using?


----------



## clockcycle (Feb 19, 2015)

Themes on zte zmax using launcher 8 free


----------



## misterrmac (Feb 19, 2015)

*Strange issues with ZMAX*

I just got this phone a week ago and so far love it... but I have ran into three distinct and strange problems. The one I'm after a fix/solution for has to do with Bluetooth.
Main problem: Bluetooth connects and plays in my car without any issues however none of the skip/advance/pause/play buttons in the car work on any music app (I have tried with Pandora, Spotify and the default "Music" app). The controls in the app work fine and I don't think it's a car issue as I previously had an LG with 4.2 paired to my car and everything worked just fine. The only noted difference here being it appears the ZMAX controls the pairing (supplies the pass code) where as with the LG I had to enter the pass code supplied by the car. any help here would be appreciated; not being able to use the car's controls is frustrating.

These other two issues were able to be worked around:
1. The first ever WIFI connection made fails. The phone connects to the wireless router but does not shut off the mobile connection and there is no internet. Deleting and re-adding the same connection does not work. Clearing cash and resetting the phone does not fix it. Only setting a static IP for that router or connecting to a second (different) router seems to resolve the problem. I have tried this with two totally different WIFI routers, each time immediately after a phone reset and had the same problem each time.
2. On two separate attempts (due to phone resets) the very first app I installed (Spotify) crashed when launching right after installing it. Other apps worked fine and Spotify worked fine after a restart of the phone.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 19, 2015)

Well in the screenshot the built in ZTE one I was playing Miss America by J Cole, mainly I use iHeartRadio because t mobile dose not throttle it...


----------



## drbones (Feb 19, 2015)

brandonlee96 said:


> i found out how to get custom status but my status bar is nice and simple but customize without root

Click to collapse



Hi BrandonLee96,
What are you using for an app for the quick toggles in the notification drawer?
Thanks!
DrB


----------



## Alfa Droid (Feb 19, 2015)

Here are a few more themes i put together tablet mode on my Zmax.


----------



## brandonlee96 (Feb 19, 2015)

drbones said:


> Hi BrandonLee96,
> What are you using for an app for the quick toggles in the notification drawer?
> Thanks!
> DrB

Click to collapse



https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.j4velin.notificationToggle


----------



## OHNONONO (Feb 19, 2015)

Aahman

z97∅ · tapatalk


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 20, 2015)

brandonlee96 said:


> i found a modded apk file to pandora radio for unlimited skips,no ads,pandora one,etc without having to have root and it works great i can give a link out to it

Click to collapse



Found it wow its so much better, I did not know that that was possible I thought that would be server controlled and not through the app! ☺

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

---------- Post added at 01:22 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:21 AM ----------




Alfa Droid said:


> Here are a few more themes i put together tablet mode on my Zmax.

Click to collapse



Nice.?

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 20, 2015)

Here goes my notification bar quick settings....


----------



## DosCadenaz (Feb 20, 2015)

I got the ZMax a week ago from MetroPCS. I had been waiting for root. After today I no longer need root acess. I'm now able do everything I wanted without it.  I can tether and have Spotify tablet mode on my phone. :victory:


----------



## vanessaem (Feb 20, 2015)

Hello all,

Thread cleaned.
I don't know where some of you think you are but this type of vulgar language and assorted profanity has no business on this website. Please get back on topic and be more respectful to one another. If you find that is something you'll have trouble doing, perhaps this site may not be the best place for you.

Regards


----------



## kardeef (Feb 20, 2015)

Thanks for the info for doing the screenshots..now to find it... Lol


----------



## BigDaddyE40 (Feb 20, 2015)

Why was my message deleted, it didn't even use profanity. I was commemorating everyone for keeping the forum alive 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Ranger1189 (Feb 20, 2015)

I'm convinced we are never going to get root.


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Feb 20, 2015)

Ranger1189 said:


> I'm convinced we are never going to get root.

Click to collapse



You are more than welcome to experiment yourself. There is really no need to wait around for someone else to do it for you.


----------



## k2kevinnn (Feb 20, 2015)

DosCadenaz said:


> I got the ZMax a week ago from MetroPCS. I had been waiting for root. After today I no longer need root acess. I'm now able do everything I wanted without it.  I can tether and have Spotify tablet mode on my phone. :victory:

Click to collapse



How'd you get tablet mode working ?


----------



## brandonlee96 (Feb 20, 2015)

k2kevinnn said:


> How'd you get tablet mode working ?

Click to collapse



a launcher


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 20, 2015)

Lesharoturbo said:


> You are more than welcome to experiment yourself. There is really no need to wait around for someone else to do it for you.

Click to collapse



Yeah I have been experimenting like hell trust me you never know what you are able to found out as a I say in a pervious post, I rooted the moto g using towel root and no body though it was possible...

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## smilesintears77 (Feb 20, 2015)

Just got metropcs zmax for $60 from Craigslist. unlocked it and now using with cricket wireless. works perfectly and I must say it is very impressive phone for the price. 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 20, 2015)

vanessaem said:


> Hello all,
> 
> Thread cleaned.
> I don't know where some of you think you are but this type of vulgar language and assorted profanity has no business on this website. Please get back on topic and be more respectful to one another. If you find that is something you'll have trouble doing, perhaps this site may not be the best place for you.
> ...

Click to collapse



Reddit is tho...

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## k2kevinnn (Feb 20, 2015)

brandonlee96 said:


> a launcher

Click to collapse



Can you give steps on how please?


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 20, 2015)

I believe we are, in my eyes its just a other phone running android KitKat. not some government "unhackable" smartphone which its not its a phone from ZTE they just put some more sh** on it to make it more "secure" thats it, 
I bet if we got that guy that fixed the HOLE entire Internet it would have been root with unlocked bootloader with in a 2 days time but to bad he was other more important thing to do?, So all hail jcase!
Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## richm052569 (Feb 20, 2015)

Ah well, disturbing answer to my tweet to ZTE_USA inquiring about bootloader unlock plans...


----------



## richm052569 (Feb 20, 2015)

Forwarded same to Justin Case, told him we're all hoping his sources are better than ours.


----------



## 4NDROID4LIFE (Feb 20, 2015)

richm052569 said:


> Ah well, disturbing answer to my tweet to ZTE_USA inquiring about bootloader unlock plans...

Click to collapse



Disappointing. Not unexpected though along with root. 

Sent from my D850 T-Mobile SIM


----------



## DosCadenaz (Feb 20, 2015)

k2kevinnn said:


> How'd you get tablet mode working ?

Click to collapse


http://forum.xda-developers.com/android/general/mod-spotify-tablet-mode-t3006191


----------



## k2kevinnn (Feb 20, 2015)

DosCadenaz said:


> http://forum.xda-developers.com/android/general/mod-spotify-tablet-mode-t3006191

Click to collapse



Thank you , it works perfect


----------



## voidcomp (Feb 20, 2015)

Velrix said:


> Just so you know what I'm waiting on.

Click to collapse



Velrix, you've been quiet.  What's your take?


----------



## Velrix (Feb 20, 2015)

voidcomp said:


> Velrix, you've been quiet.  What's your take?

Click to collapse



I am still awaiting a proper response from T-Mobile regarding the discission we had. They told me two weeks and only last week closed the FCC request. So I would assume by next week I will have the letter in my mailbox. In the interim I spoke with ZTE China and had conflicting information regarding what was discussed as they said T Mobile would provide the update and not ZTE. Until I can get rock hard evidence of either all I can say is someone is lying and not sure which.


----------



## ubigred (Feb 20, 2015)

Velrix said:


> I am still awaiting a proper response from T-Mobile regarding the discission we had. They told me two weeks and only last week closed the FCC request. So I would assume by next week I will have the letter in my mailbox. In the interim I spoke with ZTE China and had conflicting information regarding what was discussed as they said T Mobile would provide the update and not ZTE. Until I can get rock hard evidence of either all I can say is someone is lying and not sure which.

Click to collapse



Corporate shenanigans.


----------



## Alfa Droid (Feb 21, 2015)

*Spidy Theme*

Meanwhile... here is my spidy theme.


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 21, 2015)

Do any of you know how to port apps? I have a power saving app from a other ZTE device the X max + but it gives me the "app not install error" I tryed to port it myself but that end up in failure...
http://xbehome.com/leo5111/Power.apk
Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## brandonlee96 (Feb 21, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> Do any of you know how to port apps? I have a power saving app from a other ZTE device the X max + but it gives me the "app not install error" I tryed to port it myself but that end up in failure...
> http://xbehome.com/leo5111/Power.apk
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



i got the same error


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 21, 2015)

brandonlee96 said:


> i got the same error

Click to collapse



Do you have any hacking experience?

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## brandonlee96 (Feb 21, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> Do you have any hacking experience?
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



like what?


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 21, 2015)

brandonlee96 said:


> like what?

Click to collapse



Moding apks , I do just alittle tho I do simple text edits add/delete files I do not know how to code them tho...

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## brandonlee96 (Feb 21, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> Moding apks , I do just alittle tho I do simple text edits add/delete files I do not know how to code them tho...
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



sorry i dont know how but youtube is always the anwser i wish i did though


----------



## richm052569 (Feb 21, 2015)

Try this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2476050


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 21, 2015)

Any body know where I can find the drivers to the ZTE Z max?

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## billb23ok (Feb 21, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> Any body know where I can find the drivers to the ZTE Z max?
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



maybe here
https://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-15713#drivers

or here
http://www.downloads.techdiscussion.in/smartphones/zte-zmax-pc-suite-and-usb-driver/


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 21, 2015)

Lol the drivers are built into the phone. Plug in the USB to your computer and choose driver mode.

Wow.


----------



## Exconvict (Feb 21, 2015)

Lol

Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## treezy26 (Feb 21, 2015)

And here's me...


----------



## John Laurinaitis (Feb 21, 2015)

Well damn, I used all my 2.5gb of hotspot data.. Nothing works now lol so I canceled the service. Tested out fiddler and it was a no go. Neither was changing the UA string or a VPN/Proxy.  Anyone know a way for passing that awful upsell page

Edit: Adding that "dun" in the APN settings seems to have allowed me to use a UA string and fiddler!


----------



## DroidisLINUX (Feb 22, 2015)

The dun APN hack should allow for tethering to other androids, but I haven't gotten it to work for desktop, what UA string did you use, and how do you you fiddler.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## enesha (Feb 22, 2015)

*Zmax Drivers*



tech_yeet said:


> Any body know where I can find the drivers to the ZTE Z max?
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Ok so on my phone when I connect the device to the pc (mac), it opens the "Connect to PC Menu" where you can choose Media Device (MTP)  The option above that however is "Install Driver" so it says it will install if unavailable.  Suppose you can always give that a try 

---------- Post added at 01:53 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:35 AM ----------




brandonlee96 said:


> tech_yeet said:
> 
> 
> > (Edit:NEVERMIND I FOUND IT THANKS)
> ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse


----------



## John Laurinaitis (Feb 22, 2015)

DroidisLINUX said:


> The dun APN hack should allow for tethering to other androids, but I haven't gotten it to work for desktop, what UA string did you use, and how do you you fiddler.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



I used "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_9) AppleWebKit/537.71 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/7.0 Safari/537.71" as a custom UA using a chrome extension called "Ultimate User Agent Switcher, URL sniffer" And i use "Fiddler" for programs that can't use a UA changer but i probably don't need that anymore seeing how the hulu and Netflix apps from the Windows 8 store still work without the hotspot service.


----------



## enesha (Feb 22, 2015)

*Rooting*



tech_yeet said:


> Yeah I have been experimenting like hell trust me you never know what you are able to found out as a I say in a pervious post, I rooted the moto g using towel root and no body though it was possible...
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



      Rooting using TowelRoot (or any other fine tool made by a dev) isn't really what we are talking about here.  Those are pre-made solutions.  You root your phone by pressing a button and viola, you have root.  The part that comes before that, and that the devs are working on, is probing the system, identifying a potential method of exploit to trick the kernel into giving us root access and then figuring out how to make that stick.   Personally I use the premade solutions, and doubt I would be able to process an exploit at this point.  However please recognize that for the devs out there, it isn't just as simple as pressing a button that says root me now.  It's tough work and we should definitely give props and respect to those who can do it.  Just remember guys, and it seems to come up on here every couple of pages, if towelroot (thanks geohot and his rain making), or any of the other methods would work right now, WE WOULD BE USING THEM.

Anyway, thank you devs.  Please don't abandon us, lol.  Some of us give you the love your deserve and check back on here every other day, if not daily, in hopes of the grand announcement lol.
Thanks, and that's my two cents lol

---------- Post added at 02:10 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:03 AM ----------




tech_yeet said:


> I believe we are, in my eyes its just a other phone running android KitKat. not some government "unhackable" smartphone which its not its a phone from ZTE they just put some more sh** on it to make it more "secure" thats it,
> I bet if we got that guy that fixed the HOLE entire Internet it would have been root with unlocked bootloader with in a 2 days time but to bad he was other more important thing to do, So all hail jcase!
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



As far as I undertsnd they didn't put anything on it, really, to make it "secure" as you say.  That's not really the case for root (the locked bootloader might be something different and a subject for another discussion)  The problem lies in the kernel, which is the sort of master brain of the system.  The kernel gets compiled from the src by the manufacturer when the customize their phones.  In doing so they generally will close some of the common root exploit methods, if they care.  They do this for a simple reason - tech support.  If you have root, you can do things that could really harm your system, if you don't know what you are doing.  You could even manage to delete full directories of  the system or anything else if you were so minded to (usually done by someone using the very dangerous rm -rf *  lol) so you can easily break various software on the phone, or even brick it.  Without root they know what you can do and can (hopefully) not do something that would turn your phone into a paper weight.

As far as some guy that "fixed the HOLE entire Internet"....well I am just at a loss of a reply to that.  I am not sure if you're making a joke I didn't get, or what, lol.

Peace

---------- Post added at 02:16 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:10 AM ----------




tech_yeet said:


> Do any of you know how to port apps? I have a power saving app from a other ZTE device the X max + but it gives me the "app not install error" I tryed to port it myself but that end up in failure...
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



You can try BatteryGuru.    Made by Qualcomm specifically to do power saving on snapdragon devices.  LEarns your habits and tries to improve from there.  Side note tho, I can usually get 2 days between charges with moderate usage and some video streaming.


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 22, 2015)

enesha said:


> Rooting using TowelRoot (or any other fine tool made by a dev) isn't really what we are talking about here.  Those are pre-made solutions.  You root your phone by pressing a button and viola, you have root.  The part that comes before that, and that the devs are working on, is probing the system, identifying a potential method of exploit to trick the kernel into giving us root access and then figuring out how to make that stick.   Personally I use the premade solutions, and doubt I would be able to process an exploit at this point.  However please recognize that for the devs out there, it isn't just as simple as pressing a button that says root me now.  It's tough work and we should definitely give props and respect to those who can do it.  Just remember guys, and it seems to come up on here every couple of pages, if towelroot (thanks geohot and his rain making), or any of the other methods would work right now, WE WOULD BE USING THEM.
> 
> Anyway, thank you devs.  Please don't abandon us, lol.  Some of us give you the love your deserve and check back on here every other day, if not daily, in hopes of the grand announcement lol.
> Thanks, and that's my two cents lol
> ...

Click to collapse



I know what we are talking about here I was just saying and I know what root can do all to well I hard bricked my moto g trying to unlock the bootloader using a samsung app? I was so damn stupid! Had video of my dead grand father on that damn phone! And I do not have the equipment to JTAG it back to life.
And that guy that fixed the net thing I was just saying that this thing would have been root already because its not invincible and he is a super genius.
Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## DroidisLINUX (Feb 22, 2015)

John Laurinaitis said:


> I used "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_9) AppleWebKit/537.71 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/7.0 Safari/537.71" as a custom UA using a chrome extension called "Ultimate User Agent Switcher, URL sniffer" And i use "Fiddler" for programs that can't use a UA changer but i probably don't need that anymore seeing how the hulu and Netflix apps from the Windows 8 store still work without the hotspot service.

Click to collapse



I will have to give this a try thanks

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## enesha (Feb 22, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> I know what we are talking about here I was just saying and I know what root can do all to well I hard bricked my moto g trying to unlock the bootloader using a samsung app I was so damn stupid! Had video of my dead grand father on that damn phone! And I do not have the equipment to JTAG it back to life.
> And that guy that fixed the net thing I was just saying that this thing would have been root already because its not invincible and he is a super genius.
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Again it seems to echo what I was saying.  You're trying to use pre-built tools, and don't necessarily understand the underlying principals (I could always be wrong), or you might not have used a low level samsung tool on a motorola (tho the qualcomm tool can work on many brands).  You even seem to mix the two things up, rooting your moto g (or any device) has NOTHING to do with the bootloader.  Tho you only mentioning using towelroot in the original message and how you used it and everyone thought it was impossible.  If towelroot supported it, I am not sure who said it was impossible, unless you mean haters that said geohot couldn't create initial hacks.  GeoHot is definitely Wile-E-Coyote Super Genius.  Has been for years.  He made it rain on more than one ios device that I used.  I was simply pointing out that using those tools doesn't elevate to the level of a developer.  I use them (not for this obviously) and will willingly admit I am not a developer.  I have not coded an exploit because I am not, frankly, sure I would be able to.  That's where props to the developers goes.  I think GeoHot gave up on us for now, and has not updated towelroot for newer kernels.  Maybe he doesn't have time or doesn't care, I still salute him for his great work past present and hopefully future 
You broke a cardinal rule there, never mod or hack a device you are unwilling to lose, or that has irreplaceable content.  It's a shame you lose your video though, my sympathies on losing that part of your grandfather.

I am still unsure what you mean about the guy who fixed the "hole" internet.  Maybe I just missed a name or a reference earlier.  I will say that saying things like if x, y, or z had worked on it we'd have root already, is probably counter productive.  It's close to saying that the devs here just don't work hard enough or whatever or they would have done something for us.  Something they do out of the goodness of their hearts (and maybe a little bit for recognition and little bit like climbing the mountain because it's there.)   Sounds a little ungrateful, but i'll admit that's just my opinion and reading the pulse of the messages.

Cheers to the Devs


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 22, 2015)

enesha said:


> Again it seems to echo what I was saying.  You're trying to use pre-built tools, and don't necessarily understand the underlying principals (you are wrong I knew the principles I was just being stupid? ), or you might not have used a low level samsung tool on a motorola (tho the qualcomm tool can work on many brands).  You even seem to mix the two things up, rooting your moto g (?no I'm not, I tried unlocking the bootloader so that I would have system wirth access) has NOTHING to do with the bootloader.  Tho you only mentioning using towelroot in the original message and how you used it and everyone thought it was impossible(ALOT of people tried it with ALOT of different mod strings and it never worked so it seemed impossible).  If towelroot supported it, I am not sure who said it was impossible, unless you mean haters that said geohot couldn't create initial hacks.  GeoHot is definitely Wile-E-Coyote Super Genius.  Has been for years.  He made it rain on more than one ios device that I used.  I was simply pointing out that using those tools doesn't elevate to the level of a developer.  I use them (not for this obviously) and will willingly admit I am not a developer.  I have not coded an exploit because I am not, frankly, sure I would be able to.  That's where props to the developers goes.  I think GeoHot gave up on us for now, and has not updated towelroot for newer kernels.  Maybe he doesn't have time or doesn't care, I still salute him for his great work past present and hopefully future
> You broke a cardinal rule there, never mod or hack a device you are unwilling to lose, or that has irreplaceable content.  It's a shame you lose your video though, my sympathies on losing that part of your grandfather(?yes I did).
> 
> I am still unsure what you mean about the guy who fixed the "hole" internet.  Maybe I just missed a name or a reference earlier.  I will say that saying things like if x, y, or z had worked on it we'd have root already, is probably counter productive.  It's close to saying that the devs here just don't work hard enough or whatever or they would have done something for us(?was not try to say that but I see how that could be taken that way).  Something they do out of the goodness of their hearts (and maybe a little bit for recognition and little bit like climbing the mountain because it's there.)   Sounds a little ungrateful, but i'll admit that's just my opinion and reading the pulse of the messages.
> ...

Click to collapse




Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Starflare5 (Feb 22, 2015)

*Not to rain on anyone getting off topic, but.....*

Hey guys,

                I stated about 25 pages ago that there must be a way to root and unlock this thing through File Transfer Mode.  Why has no one tried developing around this yet?  Besides, isn't that how other ZTE phones would be rooted in the past?  Anyway, that's just a theory that many seem to keep forgetting, but, I personally think it might be the gateway to get root like the newer Samsung devices.


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 22, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> I stated about 25 pages ago that there must be a way to root and unlock this thing through File Transfer Mode.  Why has no one tried developing around this yet?  Besides, isn't that how other ZTE phones would be rooted in the past?  Anyway, that's just a theory that many seem to keep forgetting, but, I personally think it might be the gateway to get root like the newer Samsung devices.

Click to collapse



You obviously don't understand how root works. FTM is not, and has never been, a viable means to root.


----------



## setenforce_0 (Feb 22, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> I stated about 25 pages ago that there must be a way to root and unlock this thing through File Transfer Mode.  Why has no one tried developing around this yet?  Besides, isn't that how other ZTE phones would be rooted in the past?  Anyway, that's just a theory that many seem to keep forgetting, but, I personally think it might be the gateway to get root like the newer Samsung devices.

Click to collapse




SELINUX is enabled.  Anyone know anything about how to set it to permissive or disable it ?   If disabled we can get root access.


----------



## 4NDROID4LIFE (Feb 22, 2015)

setenforce_0 said:


> SELINUX is enabled.  Anyone know anything about how to set it to permissive or disable it ?   If disabled we can get root access.

Click to collapse



You need root access to disable it. 

Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## setenforce_0 (Feb 22, 2015)

4NDROID4LIFE said:


> You need root access to disable it.
> 
> Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



That's what I've noticed.  Anyone know if modifying the config file for selinux would be possible?  Then reinstall the kernel...


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 22, 2015)

4NDROID4LIFE said:


> You need root access to disable it.
> 
> Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



 it dose not seem like it...
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-gILDzs5fkbeDBuVVMweUJwWWs/edit?usp=docslist_api


----------



## Exconvict (Feb 22, 2015)

Dope

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Exconvict (Feb 22, 2015)

Battery "won't stop, can't stop" lol. Other phones would've been at 90%

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 22, 2015)

Exconvict said:


> Battery "won't stop, can't stop" lol. Other phones would've been at 90%
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



OK dragon ball z...

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Exconvict (Feb 23, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> OK dragon ball z...
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Bad boy actually... 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 23, 2015)

Exconvict said:


> Bad boy actually...
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Oh...


Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mingolianbeef (Feb 23, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> Oh...
> 
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Your name isn't by any chance based on the "yeet" dance is it lol?


----------



## enesha (Feb 23, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> it dose not seem like it...

Click to collapse



Um... That means nothing.  Echo will simply throw back at you whatever text you used when you typed echo.  Like hearing an echo Nothing more, nothing less.


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 23, 2015)

mingolianbeef said:


> Your name isn't by any chance based on the "yeet" dance is it lol?

Click to collapse



Yes it is I dance at my high school they call me tech yeet the geek here is a simple... http://i.instagram.com/mattstevenson_3/ there is a video of me dancing on this man page...
And here is my I page http://instagram.com/p/qxYAtTryzl/
Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

---------- Post added at 04:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:56 PM ----------




enesha said:


> Um... That means nothing.  Echo will simply throw back at you whatever text you used when you typed echo.  Like hearing an echo Nothing more, nothing less.

Click to collapse



G damn it Dose, I guess that article was wrong...

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 23, 2015)

mingolianbeef said:


> Your name isn't by any chance based on the "yeet" dance is it lol?

Click to collapse



Thanks for the follow bruh...

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mingolianbeef (Feb 23, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> Thanks for the follow bruh...
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



No probs :good::good: thanks for the followback!


----------



## treezy26 (Feb 23, 2015)

OK...I'm gonna throw this out there. My phone is making a "dooing" sound when I shake it. Idk why. Its almost as if the gyro has a notification tone when set off. Anybody!!!???


----------



## BigDaddyE40 (Feb 23, 2015)

Oh wowwww!!! It does do that

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 23, 2015)

I know how to use the power saver know!!!
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-gILDzs5fkbd0wtcU10dWJRQkU/edit?usp=docslist_api

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-gILDzs5fkbalhqMWJrb04tUmM/edit?usp=docslist_api

Download this app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.szalkowski.activitylauncher
Then scroll down to the power saver app make a short cut them open and them tap on the white bar above and bang you get the powersaver features!
Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## brandonlee96 (Feb 23, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> I know how to use the power saver know!!!
> https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-gILDzs5fkbd0wtcU10dWJRQkU/edit?usp=docslist_api
> 
> https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-gILDzs5fkbalhqMWJrb04tUmM/edit?usp=docslist_api
> ...

Click to collapse



how do u do it again i dont understan how to get the power saver app it give me an error when i try to install it


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 23, 2015)

brandonlee96 said:


> how do u do it again i dont understan how to get the power saver app it give me an error when i try to install it

Click to collapse



No I'm useing the one thats build in to the Z max all ready not that one...

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## brandonlee96 (Feb 23, 2015)

nice great find


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Feb 23, 2015)

Its not a very useful power saving mode. It just shuts off your WiFi and data dims the screen. The second you change those it turns off.


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 24, 2015)

StonerSteve420 said:


> Its not a very useful power saving mode. It just shuts off your WiFi and data dims the screen. The second you change those it turns off.

Click to collapse



It so decreases the frequency of your screen that is very useful for increasing on screen time!

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## DosCadenaz (Feb 24, 2015)

A few things I don't like about the ZMax, that I don't know to fix. most likely will need root t change it. I don't know if its just my phone or they're all like this.

1. When I have the phone on silent/ vibrate and I take a screenshot you can hear the capture sound. 
2.  When switching to video recording it starts automatically and also makes that shutter sound even when the phone is on silent/ vibrate mode. Theres no to option to turn it off. Ive tried another video camera app and I get the same results.

I don't use either very often, but when I do I find the sound annoying. since I always have my phone on vibrate.


----------



## DroidisLINUX (Feb 24, 2015)

DosCadenaz said:


> A few things I don't like about the ZMax, that I don't know to fix. most likely will need root t change it. I don't know if its just my phone or they're all like this.
> 
> 1. When I have the phone on silent/ vibrate and I take a screenshot you can hear the capture sound.
> 2.  When switching to video recording it starts automatically and also makes that shutter sound even when the phone is on silent/ vibrate mode. Theres no to option to turn it off. Ive tried another video camera app and I get the same results.
> ...

Click to collapse



You need to check no sound in settings of camera and bam! No sound easy fix, Not sure if screen capture can be taken off though

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## smallyetzon (Feb 24, 2015)

I just love my Phablet! Gotta friend with a iphone 6 and runs out of battery half day of use hahaha i dont care about root or any other complains about this awsome phone man, 5.0 update will be nice!!


----------



## brandonlee96 (Feb 24, 2015)

(Deleted)


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 24, 2015)

(Deleted)


----------



## DosCadenaz (Feb 24, 2015)

DroidisLINUX said:


> You need to check no sound in settings of camera and bam! No sound easy fix, Not sure if screen capture can be taken off though
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



I have shutter tone (off) on camera, but theres no option to turn it off for the video camera (silence camcorder is so it doesn't record sound).


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## brandonlee96 (Feb 24, 2015)

(Deleted)


----------



## therealduckie (Feb 24, 2015)

Brandon, your penchant for swearing, sharing and discussing pirated software, horrendous spelling, argumentativeness, and complete lack of knowledge of what root is, let alone what file browsers do, is not only annoying...but most of it is against this site's ToS.

Just hush for a bit, OK? We get that you require attention, but there are pokemon forums for people your age (and speed) elsewhere that will fulfill your youthful exuberance.

It's cute that you learned peanut butter and jelly go well together...but everyone has been eating peanut butter and jelly for a hundred years. We don't need a historical re-enactment of your journey.


----------



## brandonlee96 (Feb 24, 2015)

what if i told you i did a full backup of the root filesystem.


----------



## biledigger (Feb 24, 2015)

Making a backup of your own root fs is a good thing. Comes in handy for when the time comes and you somehow botch your phone is some unknowingly manner. You can push the stock files back to it for repairs. Almost everything is trial and error as well as self ran testing.


----------



## Lightfeather (Feb 24, 2015)

I just upgraded to the ZTE z970 from the LG Motion. Almost double the screen size! My old phone is like a tic-tac compared to this one and I love it. However, with all the research I did about camera quality and other internal hardware specs, I never bothered to see if I could root it or not. I figured it had been out long enough that someone must have figured something out...

Much to my distress, this is not the case.

I feel in limbo between two phones. One, that is rooted and has xprivacy installed so I can hamstring all the privacy hogging social media apps and games I like to use. (Why the hell do they need access to half the stuff they ask for when they can run perfectly fine without it?!? There's no reason my child's coloring app needs access to my contact list or my camera and microphone. That's just ****ing creepy. Anyhow...) And the other, which is far superior in every way, save for the fact that I can't install most of the apps I like to use on it due to their liberal use of permissions that I do not want to give.

I know there's nothing to be done but wait for some kind and generous soul to donate their time and expertise  in order to crack this nut, but I just wanted to throw my hat into the ring as someone who is eagerly waiting for root.

I've been looking for a permission controller that doesn't require root, and I can't seem to find anything. It's pretty frustrating.

http://www.xda-developers.com/protecting-your-privacy-app-ops-privacy-guard-and-xprivacy/


----------



## rumitg2 (Feb 24, 2015)

Is anyone having lots of crashes on the device? YouTube and twitch force close on me multiple times a day, mangafox hangs on animations frequently, music apps are unresponsive. Its gotten so bad that I'm back in my nexus 5. I've tried doing a reset but to no avail. Anyone else having similar performance?

Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## BigDaddyE40 (Feb 24, 2015)

I've had none except for the music becoming unresponsive for some seconds.....but that's probably because of my 850 songs

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 24, 2015)

Lightfeather said:


> I just upgraded to the ZTE z970 from the LG Motion. Almost double the screen size! My old phone is like a tic-tac compared to this one and I love it. However, with all the research I did about camera quality and other internal hardware specs, I never bothered to see if I could root it or not. I figured it had been out long enough that someone must have figured something out...
> 
> Much to my distress, this is not the case.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



There is a app that controls the permission of a app with out root its  called Lucky patcher it but its consider a BAD here on XDA app because it let's people steal IAP's on most games and that's bad for developers...

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Lightfeather (Feb 24, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> There is a app that controls the permission of a app with out root its  called Lucky patcher it but its consider a BAD here on XDA app because it let's people steal IAP's on most games and that's bad for developers...
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



I really don't want to use anything other than xprivacy, mostly because it took me a while to really get to know it, and now that I do I really want to stick with it. It has amazing and robust controls. I always start out blocking all permissions and then launch the permission-laden app. Of course it doesn't launch but I pop into xprivacy and see all the ways it tried to access the phone and internet and slowly start releasing innocuous permissions until the program runs fine. 

I bought so many apps that I can't install  because of the rootless nature of my new phone. I do love it though. It's nice to hold and I love watching Netflix on it. The processing power is so much better than my old phone... I just feel, incomplete, without root.

I'm tenacious though. I'm sure it will be rooted soon. Now that more carriers are supplying this phone, it will increase the pool of people pushing for a solution. Though, I'm also prone to wishful thinking...


----------



## kardeef (Feb 25, 2015)

I used to do a lot of coding. Mostly in C and a lot to C++ even a lot of scripts in Have. I have made a lot of Dos and Windows utilities some system level. I haven't done any coding in like ten years. I would like to start again , to make apps or something to root my ZMAX. Could someone point me in the right direction or recommend some books . I want to learn the same execution order and flow for the android phones. Everything I have seen looks like Java is the way Togo, but can you write apps in C or C++ ? Thanks in advance for any info you can throw my way. If you do not want to post anything my mail address is [email protected] .

---------- Post added at 01:27 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:23 AM ----------

That should had bee  "scripts in Java" not "scripts in have" , I hate the autocorrect sometimes , lol


----------



## Exconvict (Feb 25, 2015)

Anyone tried "eroot"
I would but don't have a windows computer

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## 4NDROID4LIFE (Feb 25, 2015)

Exconvict said:


> Anyone tried "eroot"
> I would but don't have a windows computer
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



They've tried everything and nothing works and no app like that will ever work. Someone has to find am exploit and build off that. Thank you milady have a great night beautiful. 

Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mingolianbeef (Feb 25, 2015)

kardeef said:


> I used to do a lot of coding. Mostly in C and a lot to C++ even a lot of scripts in Have. I have made a lot of Dos and Windows utilities some system level. I haven't done any coding in like ten years. I would like to start again , to make apps or something to root my ZMAX. Could someone point me in the right direction or recommend some books . I want to learn the same execution order and flow for the android phones. Everything I have seen looks like Java is the way Togo, but can you write apps in C or C++ ? Thanks in advance for any info you can throw my way. If you do not want to post anything my mail address is [email protected] .
> 
> ---------- Post added at 01:27 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:23 AM ----------
> 
> That should had bee  "scripts in Java" not "scripts in have" , I hate the autocorrect sometimes , lol

Click to collapse



Have you ever looked on stackoverflow.com? Or even the Development forums on here. Its just a start but I learned a lot on here and I'm no where near where you are. I'm sure there are books that give far greater detail, but XDA is vast with knowledge on the Android specific level.


----------



## brandonlee96 (Feb 25, 2015)

Exconvict said:


> Anyone tried "eroot"
> I would but don't have a windows computer
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



it did not work just tried i got this error that i dont understand


----------



## mingolianbeef (Feb 25, 2015)

brandonlee96 said:


> it did not work just tried i got this error that i dont understand

Click to collapse



If its anything like the other Chinese program, it probably says something along the lines of "Your phone is unrootable" or "root failed". I know that comes off a bit satirical, but seriously, I used the camera feature on Google translate, and I think it was Kingo root that said the first one.


----------



## auburn2eugene (Feb 25, 2015)

I have a family plan with T-Mobile. My wife had the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, and jumped into the zmax. I myself chose the HTC ONE m8. My wife loved her phone, so after my 6 months with the m8, I jumped into the zmax myself. We both love it. We have not had any issues at all with the device. 

The same day I got my zmax, we also left with a free tablet. At first the tablet was never used, because well, I love my phablet. Then I started looking into rooting everything. I rooted both my kids tablets, my sons Galaxy SII, and the Alacatel tablet I got for free the other day. Imagine my surprise when I discovered our phones can't be rooted... 

I really REALLY hope someone will come up with an exploit so we can get this guy rooted.  I would do it if I had ANY knowledge of how Android works...


----------



## brandonlee96 (Feb 25, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> I know how to use the power saver know!!!
> https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-gILDzs5fkbd0wtcU10dWJRQkU/edit?usp=docslist_api
> 
> https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-gILDzs5fkbalhqMWJrb04tUmM/edit?usp=docslist_api
> ...

Click to collapse



I noticed you are useing google drive for your cloud storage which only give you 15  GB for free.I just want to let you know of a better cloud storage service called mega which gives you 50 Gb for free. very great cloud storage service!!!!


----------



## mingolianbeef (Feb 25, 2015)

This is old news at this point but hopefully it can help someone. If you are a student like me, and your school uses Google appa for education, then you get "unlimited" cloud storage (10TB is the cap based on my Drive for OSX app, yes that is terabytes) with your .edu email with no work on your end. Already got 60GB worth of stuff on my Mac backed up ??? Just a tip for anyone with a college email address who didn't want to shell out money for lots of cloud storage!


----------



## kardeef (Feb 25, 2015)

Didn't know about stack overflow.com..lol didn't even think to look here . thank you


----------



## jc33777 (Feb 25, 2015)

DroidisLINUX said:


> The dun APN hack should allow for tethering to other androids, but I haven't gotten it to work for desktop, what UA string did you use, and how do you you fiddler.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



I connect my phone via usb and use pdanet+ and on my computer I use firefox and have a ua switcher that's a firefox extension and I go into the switcher and delete everything in all the fields and use it that way and it's fully unlocked and lte speed

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Feb 25, 2015)

It seems that the possibility of root for us is withering away. Is anyone even trying anymore? Jcase hasn't responded to the recent people who have said they where told T-Mobile or zte will not unlock the boot loader and the gentleman still hasn't posted a picture of the letter in the mail. I'm so sad. All I want is lollipop  CM12 looks amazing


----------



## DroidisLINUX (Feb 25, 2015)

StonerSteve420 said:


> It seems that the possibility of root for us is withering away. Is anyone even trying anymore? Jcase hasn't responded to the recent people who have said they where told T-Mobile or zte will not unlock the boot loader and the gentleman still hasn't posted a picture of the letter in the mail. I'm so sad. All I want is lollipop  CM12 looks amazing

Click to collapse



I think the same, I bought this phone hoping it had root specifically, cause of the size and battery life so good I hope someone finds something

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## smilesintears77 (Feb 25, 2015)

How do you turn off connection vibration? it's driving me nuts.! it vibrates once every time when my phone connects and disconnects...

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Feb 25, 2015)

Has anyone figured out or know of a way to add an app to the blacklist for the task manager so it doesn't close the app when I hit close all. Messes with my lock screen app. 

Or maybe a different task manager app that doesn't hog memory or fish through my personal stuff lol

---------- Post added at 09:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:44 PM ----------




smilesintears77 said:


> How do you turn off connection vibration? it's driving me nuts.! it vibrates once every time when my phone connects and disconnects...
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



I've been looking to no avail


----------



## brandonlee96 (Feb 25, 2015)

StonerSteve420 said:


> Has anyone figured out or know of a way to add an app to the blacklist for the task manager so it doesn't close the app when I hit close all. Messes with my lock screen app.
> 
> Or maybe a different task manager app that doesn't hog memory or fish through my personal stuff lol
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



what close all button.how do have a close all button in app switcher


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Feb 25, 2015)

brandonlee96 said:


> what close all button.how do have a close all button in app switcher

Click to collapse



In the built in task manager app my friend


----------



## brandonlee96 (Feb 25, 2015)

StonerSteve420 said:


> In the built in task manager app my friend

Click to collapse



wow im stupid


----------



## mingolianbeef (Feb 25, 2015)

If you are a Google Play Music user, you can now upload 50,000 songs instead of 20,000!


----------



## Exconvict (Feb 26, 2015)

D fuq? Mediatek low quality phones that arent even available in USA (kazam phones) get their own forum but zmax doesn't?! WOW

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 26, 2015)

Exconvict said:


> D fuq? Mediatek low quality phones that arent even available in USA (kazam phones) get their own forum but zmax doesn't?! WOW
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



It be like that some times...

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mingolianbeef (Feb 26, 2015)

Exconvict said:


> D fuq? Mediatek low quality phones that arent even available in USA (kazam phones) get their own forum but zmax doesn't?! WOW
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Lol this isn't the same mediatek they were. Back in my day, MTK was the evil villain of the Android world. Then, they found the GPL God lol. Now they have root kits, kernel source, and a thriving community lol


----------



## flablitz (Feb 26, 2015)

smilesintears77 said:


> How do you turn off connection vibration? it's driving me nuts.! it vibrates once every time when my phone connects and disconnects...
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



I am looking for the same thing.  Everything I make a phone call and when the person answers or the voice-mail picks up it vibrates.  It is annoying to me and the person on the other end. Not sure, but it seems to make the call drop too.  That's another issue I am having is dropped calls,  mostly at the beginning, like mentioned above.  I've had reports of people calling and going Strait to VM when the phone is right by me with full lte and full bars. I mean there are quite a few bugs on this phone to warrant a update of some kind. Which I guess firmware is fully updated and only update we would get would be L? (Which we know that's not gonna happen carrier or manufacturer.)  I don't know how that stuff works. 

With all that rambling, back to my main reason for posting. Is there a way to disable this? - "I am looking for the same thing.  Everything I make a phone call and when the person answers or the voice-mail picks up it vibrates.  It is annoying to me and the person on the other end." 

Which while posting made me think of the call dropping or going Strait to VM issue. Anyone else experiencing the same? Fixed it? Maybe PRL update? 

Overall though,  I like this phone and even without development it works pretty good and battery life is awesome.  I,  like everyone else, would love root for the full greatness of the phone. Kinda hard to believe, especially a steal for 99$, that there isn't much.  I'm sure lots of people have this phone. Can GravityBox and Xposed work with this phone?  I'm sure we can find some tweaks and make some positive and fun progression in this thread till root. 
*rambled again* lol
Thanks to all the Devs and all the people that do what they do!!

*edit* I have a fairly decent smart TV.  I can hook the tablet up and go right to smart share and played file,  but the ZMAX won't because of modes.  Tablet you can manually turn on mass storage, but ZMAX does mtp  and no mass storage screen/options. Mtp connect be won't work at all. I've looked for apps.  Anyone else know a app or work around please.  I have to keep switch SD cards between those 2 devices.


----------



## DosCadenaz (Feb 26, 2015)

Honestly I hadn't noticed that it vibrated when calls connect and disconnect until y'all brought it up


----------



## Planterz (Feb 26, 2015)

flablitz said:


> Can GravityBox and Xposed work with this phone?  I'm sure we can find some tweaks and make some positive and fun progression in this thread till root.

Click to collapse



Xposed requires root. I'm surprised you don't know this.


----------



## flablitz (Feb 26, 2015)

smilesintears77 said:


> How do you turn off connection vibration? it's driving me nuts.! it vibrates once every time when my phone connects and disconnects...
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse





Planterz said:


> Xposed requires root. I'm surprised you don't know this.

Click to collapse



I was pretty sure, just didn't know if there was a modded or light version or maybe a community member knows a alternative app or method. Thanks for the quick reply.


----------



## DosCadenaz (Feb 26, 2015)

I'm with MetroPCS. Does anybody know how to get tether to work on PS3? I get no internet connection and when I go to the browser the upsell page comes up


----------



## flablitz (Feb 26, 2015)

DosCadenaz said:


> I'm with MetroPCS. Does anybody know how to get tether to work on PS3? I get no internet connection and when I go to the browser the upsell page comes up

Click to collapse



I added the mobile hot-spot to my plan for now. Mainly to test some stuff out with TV connections ect. Hot-spot doesn't last one to be honest cause you'll need to top up before you know it. I wish I knew a wireless way my self.  You on other hand maybe able to easy tether to PC and run Internet via ethernet or router and not get throttled.  I don't know.  Good luck and let me know how it goes because I'm trying some different connections myself.


----------



## Lightfeather (Feb 26, 2015)

Is there any legitimacy to the claim on this site to have unlocked the bootloader?

Edit: apparently since I don't have ten posts I can't post the link. It's at unlock-bootloader .info

And here is the rest: /mp3-0/zte-zmax-6697.html


----------



## SweetBearCub (Feb 26, 2015)

Lightfeather said:


> Is there any legitimacy to the claim on this site to have unlocked the bootloader?
> 
> Edit: apparently since I don't have ten posts I can't post the link. It's at unlock-bootloader .info
> 
> And here is the rest: /mp3-0/zte-zmax-6697.html

Click to collapse



Seeing as people in this thread would be all over that if we could unlock the bootloader and/or upgrade to Lollipop (as the site supposedly talks about), I'm going to say no.

These sites are blatant click-bait with cut/pasted phone models. Notice how they say at the beginning that they took this info from XDA, yet notice how they do not link back to it. That's because, as far as I know, such information does not exist for this phone yet.


----------



## Lightfeather (Feb 26, 2015)

I see.  =( I figured as much but was desperately scrounging for any new info. I love this phone but lack of root is driving me nuts. Sorry for the dead end.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## DroidisLINUX (Feb 26, 2015)

flablitz said:


> I am looking for the same thing.  Everything I make a phone call and when the person answers or the voice-mail picks up it vibrates.  It is annoying to me and the person on the other end. Not sure, but it seems to make the call drop too.  That's another issue I am having is dropped calls,  mostly at the beginning, like mentioned above.  I've had reports of people calling and going Strait to VM when the phone is right by me with full lte and full bars. I mean there are quite a few bugs on this phone to warrant a update of some kind. Which I guess firmware is fully updated and only update we would get would be L? (Which we know that's not gonna happen carrier or manufacturer.)  I don't know how that stuff works.
> 
> With all that rambling, back to my main reason for posting. Is there a way to disable this? - "I am looking for the same thing.  Everything I make a phone call and when the person answers or the voice-mail picks up it vibrates.  It is annoying to me and the person on the other end."
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



The Zmax has cast screen under display,  in your settings check it and it should connect to your smart tv.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Vee63b (Feb 26, 2015)

DosCadenaz said:


> I'm with MetroPCS. Does anybody know how to get tether to work on PS3? I get no internet connection and when I go to the browser the upsell page comes up

Click to collapse



Dunno if this'll work on MetroPCS, but on T-Mobile it does. I had hit my Hotspot cap of 5gb and was gonna bypass the upsell my usual method.

On T-Mo models, it seems that the Native Hotspot app on the ZMAX takes the usual route and defaults to the APN "pcweb.t-mobile.com", so I figured for $#!ts and giggles I'd add some different "APN TYPES" so I could set up my VPN network. Needless to say, I did; but forgot to set up the VPN before I started my hotspot. To my surprise full inter-webz and no upsell page. I even tested the 360 to see if it would work and it did. So in theory, on the ZMAX, the native hotspot app defaults to the pcweb APN when and IF the APN TYPE doesn't specify to use "fast.t-mobile.com".

This is what I did:

--
1: Turn off Data

2: Go to settings > mobile networks > APN/Access Point Name

3: Click on your one available APN and copy all the fields and their values. I just screenshot them personally.

4: Create a new APN with all of the same info, but make sure to update the "APN TYPE" field to: "default,supl,mms,admin,dun"
See screenshot below.

5: Select the newly created APN.

6: Reboot and double check the APN is still selected.

7: Start up the Native Hotspot.

8: Enjoy!


----------



## Meep70 (Feb 26, 2015)

Vee63b said:


> Dunno if this'll work on MetroPCS, but on T-Mobile it does. ....

Click to collapse



I just gave it a quick test on my MetroPCS version, and it works, as far as I can tell.

Pertinent changes from your screenshot, for MetroPCS:

APN
fast.metropcs.com

MMSC
http ://metropcs. mmvno. com/mms/wapenc (remove the spaces, of course)

APN type
default,supl,mms,hipri,dun


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 26, 2015)

*best camera for the zte z max is the CyanogenMod camera!*

The auto focus is way faster then the google camera and you get more features then the stock one.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-gILDzs5fkbbk9kN0dMblJRazA/edit?usp=docslist_api


----------



## brandonlee96 (Feb 27, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> The auto focus is way faster then the google camera and you get more features then the stock one.
> https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-gILDzs5fkbbk9kN0dMblJRazA/edit?usp=docslist_api

Click to collapse



thats nice great find sir im useing it?


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 27, 2015)

So nobody has this problem? Where the Z max heats up like this and which to 300MHz on all cores? It happens for like 10 minute and the phone is slow as hell!


https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-gILDzs5fkbSlhMUk44bGl0VmM/edit?usp=docslist_api


----------



## DroidisLINUX (Feb 27, 2015)

https://sites.google.com/site/zteopenfirmware/download-mode

So no one has tried this yet, and if not a Dev and knowledge don't try, also would probably need more info on the ROM you flash the one in the post is for a different phone, but the phone in the post also has a locked boatloader. And yet they have achieved root threw FTM or (field test mode) we have field test mode so I was just thinking we might be able to achieve root threw it

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## John Laurinaitis (Feb 27, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> So nobody has this problem? Where the Z max heats up like this and which to 300MHz on all cores? It happens for like 10 minute and the phone is slow as hell!
> 
> 
> https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-gILDzs5fkbSlhMUk44bGl0VmM/edit?usp=docslist_api

Click to collapse



I had experienced the same thing as you


----------



## johnb380 (Feb 27, 2015)

I'm starting to hear rumors that the next Nexus may come from maybe ZTE or a big Chinese phone manufacturer!
That would be amazing to see a ZTE Nexus!
http://m.pocketnow.com/2015/02/26/chinese-manufactured-nexus

Anyone else think that'd be awesome?


----------



## 4NDROID4LIFE (Feb 27, 2015)

johnb380 said:


> I'm starting to hear rumors that the next Nexus may come from maybe ZTE or a big Chinese phone manufacturer!
> That would be amazing to see a ZTE Nexus!
> http://m.pocketnow.com/2015/02/26/chinese-manufactured-nexus
> 
> Anyone else think that'd be awesome?

Click to collapse



Xiaimi>ZTE

Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mdabeezy (Feb 27, 2015)

You mean Xiaomi?


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 27, 2015)

John Laurinaitis said:


> I had experienced the same thing as you

Click to collapse



 I knew i could not be the only one....


----------



## nobreak1970 (Feb 27, 2015)

Huawei baby!! 

Sent from my HUAWEI Y536A1 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 27, 2015)

Can someone optimize this camera app for the ZTE because this app can take some very good pics it's unstable as hell tho. http://d-h.st/gDu


----------



## DroidisLINUX (Feb 27, 2015)

https://sites.google.com/site/zteopenfirmware/download-mode

So no one has tried this yet, and if not a Dev and knowledge don't try, also would probably need more info on the ROM you flash the one in the post is for a different phone, but the phone in the post also has a locked boatloader. And yet they have achieved root threw FTM or (field test mode) we have field test mode so I was just thinking we might be able to achieve root threw it


Anyone?

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Mizoah24 (Feb 27, 2015)

Hey, I just got this phone a few weeks ago after my Nexus took a nosedive after an unfortunate tailwhip from the dogs. Anyway, I've been following this post for a few days now and I'm just as anxious as everyone else at the possibility of rooting this phone. I did see one person ask about a waterproof case and I couldn't find a good one, however, the case I ordered from amazon (I can't post the link but search for MPERO IMPACT X Series Kickstand Case for ZTE ZMAX - Glow in the Dark Green) is durable and the glow in the dark makes it quite handy to find at night. It also makes the buttons waaaaay easier to push. The few days I had without the case I felt the giant thing was going to fly out of my hands because of how slick it was. Anyway, for $11, it's hard to beat this case. Also...



tech_yeet said:


> The auto focus is way faster then the google camera and you get more features then the stock one.
> LINK

Click to collapse



I got this camera app and it is considerably faster than stock. I've had a lot of problems before with the camera, especially in lowlight, with graininess. I noticed it did help to keep the ISO high in low light. Stay away from Google's camera app if you can. I couldn't ever get it to focus on the right things.



tech_yeet said:


> So nobody has this problem? Where the Z max heats up like this and which to 300MHz on all cores? It happens for like 10 minute and the phone is slow as hell!
> 
> 
> LINK

Click to collapse



I haven't had this happen before. Even while playing heavy graphic games for an hour or longer. Do you have the T-Mobile or Metro PCS version? Have you noticed it doing that at specific times?


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 27, 2015)

Mizoah24 said:


> Hey, I just got this phone a few weeks ago after my Nexus took a nosedive after an unfortunate tailwhip from the dogs. Anyway, I've been following this post for a few days now and I'm just as anxious as everyone else at the possibility of rooting this phone. I did see one person ask about a waterproof case and I couldn't find a good one, however, the case I ordered from amazon (I can't post the link but search for MPERO IMPACT X Series Kickstand Case for ZTE ZMAX - Glow in the Dark Green) is durable and the glow in the dark makes it quite handy to find at night. It also makes the buttons waaaaay easier to push. The few days I had without the case I felt the giant thing was going to fly out of my hands because of how slick it was. Anyway, for $11, it's hard to beat this case. Also...
> 
> 
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



While I'm useing it on the charger... Oh yeah and it's the T mobile version...


----------



## javelinanddart (Feb 27, 2015)

Has anyone seen this?
http://theunlockr.com/2015/01/20/how-to-root-the-zte-zmax/
Does it actually work???
I highly doubt it from what I've read in this thread but is it worth a shot to try again


----------



## clockcycle (Feb 27, 2015)

javelinanddart said:


> Has anyone seen this?
> http://theunlockr.com/2015/01/20/how-to-root-the-zte-zmax/
> Does it actually work???
> I highly doubt it from what I've read in this thread but is it worth a shot to try again

Click to collapse



Fake. Towelroot does not work on our device.


----------



## Mizoah24 (Feb 27, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> While I'm useing it on the charger...

Click to collapse



Oh, yeah that could cause a problem. I read somewhere a while back that a few people have had cell phones way overheat while they talked on the phone and charged it at the same time. I always charge it up before doing something that is processor heavy because of that and I've had no issues, even with the big case.  I don't think every phone has this problem but it sounds like this one probably does.

Also, to javelinanddart (sorry, I am adding this and couldn't figure out how to quote you properly), I tried all the mainstream roots and like what has been said, none work. It just says "device not compatible" or something to that effect. Is there anyway to ask cyanogenmod to look at making the ZTE compatible?


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Feb 27, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> While I'm useing it on the charger...

Click to collapse



Well that's why. When the phone is charging the processor can't preform like usual due to the electrical current running through it. Every phone I've had lags like **** while charging.


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 27, 2015)

StonerSteve420 said:


> Well that's why. When the phone is charging the processor can't preform like usual due to the electrical current running through it. Every phone I've had lags like **** while charging.

Click to collapse



My moto g and Lumia 630 did not do that at and they had the same chip set aswell....


----------



## Mizoah24 (Feb 27, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> My moto g and Lumia 630 did not do that at and they had the same chip set aswell....

Click to collapse



I think it really depends what you are doing while it is charging. Web surfing and other low processor type actions will be just fine but starting up GTA while charging is probably going to be a different story. At least, that's what I've noticed with this phone and the Nexus 5 (which would overheat for me while charging if I tried to do anything fancy).


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Feb 27, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> My moto g and Lumia 630 did not do that at and they had the same chip set aswell....

Click to collapse



My gs3 lg g2  tablets I've had lg optimus all of them have lagged while heavily using while charging


----------



## Summatyme (Feb 27, 2015)

Can we please stop posting links and promoting the fake rooting sites for others to fall prey to? Do your due diligence in research folks, and you will see that they have been covered on this thread many times already and none of them work. If anything DOES work, it would be breaking news and will likely come from here anyway. Pumping those links drives them more traffic and is tantamount to spam.


----------



## Mizoah24 (Feb 27, 2015)

I am curious if anyone has been able to find a good, working lockscreen for this phone. I miss having the notifications right there on the lock screen. I have to admit that I hated the press to unlock but it has sort of grown on me lately. it's a lot easier than sliding for how big the phone is. I tried Echo but it glitched out a lot and didn't seem to work well. Also, I started using Nova Launcher (just the free version) and I swear the phone runs smoother. I'm not really sure how that is possible, but it does. The color notifications was an interesting app but with no way to make it translucent at the top kind of ruined it for me. Plus the other notification drawer is still there just waiting to be called down which glitched out for me a few times.


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Feb 27, 2015)

Mizoah24 said:


> I am curious if anyone has been able to find a good, working lockscreen for this phone. I miss having the notifications right there on the lock screen. I have to admit that I hated the press to unlock but it has sort of grown on me lately. it's a lot easier than sliding for how big the phone is. I tried Echo but it glitched out a lot and didn't seem to work well. Also, I started using Nova Launcher (just the free version) and I swear the phone runs smoother. I'm not really sure how that is possible, but it does. The color notifications was an interesting app but with no way to make it translucent at the top kind of ruined it for me. Plus the other notification drawer is still there just waiting to be called down which glitched out for me a few times.

Click to collapse



Try snap lock or L Lockscreen


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 27, 2015)

StonerSteve420 said:


> My gs3 lg g2  tablets I've had lg optimus all of them have lagged while heavily using while charging

Click to collapse



The SGS 3 all ways lags LOL.


----------



## Exconvict (Feb 27, 2015)

Try Hi locker


----------



## Planterz (Feb 27, 2015)

StonerSteve420 said:


> My gs3 lg g2  tablets I've had lg optimus all of them have lagged while heavily using while charging

Click to collapse



Thermal throttling. You're charging and discharging at the same time. Creates a lot of heat. The processor automatically throttles itself to prevent overheating. Either play games off the charger, or only play it for a bit at a time. It's also very bad for the battery. Keep it up and soon your phone will have a bulge where the battery is expanding. On my old Droid Razr Maxx, the battery expanded so badly that not only did it bulge out the kevlar back, it pushed the screen off; it was literally hanging on by the digitizer cable and a bit of glue. The warranty replacement soon had this problem too, but I got it replaced before the screen popped off. All from playing games while charging. Wifi tethering too. I just replaced the battery in my Galaxy Light because it started expanding because I torrented and wifi tethered too much. If you need to tether and use a lot of data, it's best USB tether - this doesn't take a lot of juice and won't heat the phone up.


----------



## vayiayia (Feb 27, 2015)

*Syncing Facebook to Phone Contacts*

Greetings,

I did a search to see if this topic was covered and came up with nothing.
Has anyone had success with syncing their Facebook acct to their phone contacts? The thought of adding photos to my large phone contact list seems daunting. The phone's contact directory is quite boring.

I've looked through every possible menu on my ZMax and even attempted from Facebook while logged-in on my phone.

Thanks!


----------



## treezy26 (Feb 28, 2015)

Has anyone been able to use the tmobile zmax on metropcs? And if so, how?


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Feb 28, 2015)

treezy26 said:


> Has anyone been able to use the tmobile zmax on metropcs? And if so, how?

Click to collapse



Tmo phones are not locked for use on metro. Just take it to a store for activation or use the Walmart sim card for metro If you can find one and you do not have a metro account.


----------



## Mizoah24 (Feb 28, 2015)

Just take the phone into a metro pics store. They should be able to use it for your account. Both are owned my T-Mobile. 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## treezy26 (Feb 28, 2015)

I already have a metro account. I tried putting the Sim card in but it couldn't read it.


----------



## smilesintears77 (Feb 28, 2015)

metropcs needs to have ur phone info in the system.  you can call them or go into the store. 

Sent from my Z970 using xda premium


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Feb 28, 2015)

treezy26 said:


> Has anyone been able to use the tmobile zmax on metropcs? And if so, how?

Click to collapse



Mine is a Tmo phone in metro. I just took it to the store and they were able to activate it.


----------



## flablitz (Feb 28, 2015)

vayiayia said:


> Greetings,
> 
> I did a search to see if this topic was covered and came up with nothing.
> Has anyone had success with syncing their Facebook acct to their phone contacts? The thought of adding photos to my large phone contact list seems daunting. The phone's contact directory is quite boring.
> ...

Click to collapse



Try clearing data and force stopping on Facebook through manage apps. It will make you log back in, and I believe you will have the option after logging back in. Not sure though.


----------



## DroidHackalot (Feb 28, 2015)

Mizoah24 said:


> I am curious if anyone has been able to find a good, working lockscreen for this phone. I miss having the notifications right there on the lock screen. I have to admit that I hated the press to unlock but it has sort of grown on me lately. it's a lot easier than sliding for how big the phone is. I tried Echo but it glitched out a lot and didn't seem to work well. Also, I started using Nova Launcher (just the free version) and I swear the phone runs smoother. I'm not really sure how that is possible, but it does. The color notifications was an interesting app but with no way to make it translucent at the top kind of ruined it for me. Plus the other notification drawer is still there just waiting to be called down which glitched out for me a few times.

Click to collapse



ZUI lock screen all day! 

THE ZMAX WILL RISE!!


----------



## DroidHackalot (Feb 28, 2015)

the zmax will rise!!


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 28, 2015)

How much ram do you guys have normally?

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## DroidHackalot (Feb 28, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> how much ram do you guys have normally?
> 
> Sent from my z970 using xda free mobile app

Click to collapse





the zmax will rise!!


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 28, 2015)

DroidHackalot said:


> View attachment 3187043
> 
> the zmax will rise!!

Click to collapse



https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-gILDzs5fkbTXpCNW9LcFp1bE0/edit?usp=docslist_api

I disabled a lot of apps and I have normally 1.3-1.4GB of RAM...

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-gILDzs5fkbZmszMTN2Nk55VDA/edit?usp=docslist_api

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-gILDzs5fkbMDdVYUlDWm05c28/edit?usp=docslist_api

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-gILDzs5fkbTVBCNV93QWFFU0E/edit?usp=docslist_api

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-gILDzs5fkbSjM2SnZETG9NTXM/edit?usp=docslist_api

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-gILDzs5fkbOU9MbERQNUtxcDA/edit?usp=docslist_api





Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## DroidHackalot (Feb 28, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-gILDzs5fkbTXpCNW9LcFp1bE0/edit?usp=docslist_api
> 
> I disabled a lot of apps and I have normally 1.3-1.4GB of RAM...
> 
> ...

Click to collapse




Those are the only ones that I disabled. Maybe t-mobile has more bloat on it??

THE ZMAX WILL RISE!!


----------



## OHNONONO (Feb 28, 2015)

z97∅ · tapatalk


----------



## Mizoah24 (Feb 28, 2015)

This is pretty usual for me. 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Mizoah24 (Feb 28, 2015)

DroidHackalot said:


> View attachment 3187079
> 
> Those are the only ones that I disabled. Maybe t-mobile has more bloat on it??
> 
> THE ZMAX WILL RISE!!

Click to collapse



These are what I've disabled (I use a different camera, sms and calendar app than stock apps). I have the tmobile version, as you can see.

Although, I have a SD card but none of the apps have the option to move to SD, anyone know why this could be?

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## OHNONONO (Feb 28, 2015)

Mizoah24 said:


> These are what I've disabled (I use a different camera, sms and calendar app than stock apps). I have the tmobile version, as you can see.
> 
> Although, I have a SD card but none of the apps have the option to move to SD, anyone know why this could be?
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse







z97∅ · tapatalk


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 28, 2015)

Mizoah24 said:


> These are what I've disabled (I use a different camera, sms and calendar app than stock apps). I have the tmobile version, as you can see.
> 
> Although, I have a SD card but none of the apps have the option to move to SD, anyone know why this could be?
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



That's because Google had smoked a Crack rock While making kit kat...


Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## clockcycle (Feb 28, 2015)

After accidentky taking the tmo update in my pocket..


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Feb 28, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> The auto focus is way faster then the google camera and you get more features then the stock one.
> https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-gILDzs5fkbbk9kN0dMblJRazA/edit?usp=docslist_api

Click to collapse



For some reason the flash does not work on mine and the camera connection has issues. Did you have to remove the Google camera to get these to work properly?


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 28, 2015)

Lesharoturbo said:


> For some reason the flash sites not work on mine and the camera connection has issues. Did you have to remove the Google camera to get these to work properly?

Click to collapse



No.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Feb 28, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> No.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Figured it out. It was in HDR mode. Silly me.


----------



## OHNONONO (Feb 28, 2015)

Lesharoturbo said:


> For some reason the flash does not work on mine and the camera connection has issues. Did you have to remove the Google camera to get these to work properly?

Click to collapse



My flashlight is 5-10 seconds late both on and off. 

Ummm what else...

z97∅ · tapatalk


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 28, 2015)

*A even better camera!*

http://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-one/themes-apps/app-cameranext-modded-t2999275

Down load the one that said modded Nextcamera.apk
You can turn on digital image stabilization for videos!!!
And there are other features as well but panoramic mode still doesn't work...
EDIT: DO NOT USE CLEAR IMAGE IT requires root and it will make the APP crash and you will have to delete the data...


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 28, 2015)

With this camera you can do HDR selfies!


----------



## stinkbud (Feb 28, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> The auto focus is way faster then the google camera and you get more features then the stock one.
> https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-gILDzs5fkbbk9kN0dMblJRazA/edit?usp=docslist_api

Click to collapse



I like this camera but I'm noticing that it doesn't like saving pictures to my SD card. This is gonna kill my internal memory and I'm already having issues of apps not installing without clearing space.


----------



## tech_yeet (Feb 28, 2015)

stinkbud said:


> I like this camera but I'm noticing that it doesn't like saving pictures to my SD card. This is gonna kill my internal memory and I'm already having issues of apps not installing without clearing space.

Click to collapse



EDIT:nevermind...

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Feb 28, 2015)

We must continue bombarding the companies till our voice is heard!!!!


----------



## tech_yeet (Mar 1, 2015)

stinkbud said:


> I like this camera but I'm noticing that it doesn't like saving pictures to my SD card. This is gonna kill my internal memory and I'm already having issues of apps not installing without clearing space.

Click to collapse



 you can use the build in file manager to move video and pics to the SD Card...



Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

---------- Post added 1st March 2015 at 12:03 AM ---------- Previous post was 28th February 2015 at 11:48 PM ----------

Also what is this?
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-gILDzs5fkbbnNITmNCdzNVbk0/edit?usp=docslist_api
A diagnostic app or something?
Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## mingolianbeef (Mar 1, 2015)

StonerSteve420 said:


> We must continue bombarding the companies till our voice is heard!!!!

Click to collapse



Don't hold your breath. Bombarding them is going to get you the same results as the last 100 bombarding emails. They fulfilled their prerequisites by releasing kernel source, that's it. They aren't obliged to unlock anything else.


----------



## dongarritas (Mar 1, 2015)

*Facebook sync*



vayiayia said:


> Greetings,
> 
> I did a search to see if this topic was covered and came up with nothing.
> Has anyone had success with syncing their Facebook acct to their phone contacts? The thought of adding photos to my large phone contact list seems daunting. The phone's contact directory is quite boring.
> ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse


----------



## brandonlee96 (Mar 1, 2015)

(deleted)


----------



## brandonlee96 (Mar 1, 2015)

i've got to say that the hi lockscreen replacement from the play store is a great lock screen for this zmax!


----------



## Reallionare (Mar 1, 2015)

Is anyone having issues with the XDA app. when opening and logging in it goes to games in the play store?

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## BigDaddyE40 (Mar 1, 2015)

I believe it might be an ad, happens to me sometimes 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## tech_yeet (Mar 1, 2015)

Reallionare said:


> Is anyone having issues with the XDA app. when opening and logging in it goes to games in the play store?
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Yes thats why sometimes I just use the browser...

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 1, 2015)

I think I'm going to sell my zmax If no root Comes out soon... I wish I could do something to help get the zmax rooted.. 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## tech_yeet (Mar 1, 2015)

TecheTag said:


> I think I'm going to sell my zmax If no root Comes out soon... I wish I could do something to help get the zmax rooted..
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



It would be better for you to just wait on a root for it you will not get much off it... 
EDIT: then again you could sell it and enough off of it to buy a LG L90 which you can use towel root on to root but that is a sizeable step down from the z max no pun intended...
Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## OHNONONO (Mar 1, 2015)

L90 is booboo

z97∅ · tapatalk


----------



## John Laurinaitis (Mar 1, 2015)

Oneplus one selling every tuesday.. all i have to say lol


----------



## Mistress_Sin (Mar 1, 2015)

And the Huawei Mate 2 is going for around 280 on Amazon.

What do you guys think is reasonable sale price for this? I'm done


----------



## Mizoah24 (Mar 1, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> It would be better for you to just wait on a root for it you will not get much off it...
> EDIT: then again you could sell it and enough off of it to buy a LG L90 which you can use towel root on to root but that is a sizeable step down from the z max no pun intended...
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



That's funny you mention that because I had the L90 for a day before taking it back to get this. Nice phone but only 4gb on internal storage just seemed ridiculous. 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## tech_yeet (Mar 2, 2015)

Mizoah24 said:


> That's funny you mention that because I had the L90 for a day before taking it back to get this. Nice phone but only 4gb on internal storage just seemed ridiculous.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



I was thinking about get that phone because it had root and the knock on code, but then I looked at the ZTE z max and loved how the 5.7in screen, 3400mAh battery, 2GB of RAM, 16GB internal storage and the 8 megapixel camera told the truth to me OH! 
(Yes I had a drake moment ?)

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 2, 2015)

Mizoah24 said:


> That's funny you mention that because I had the L90 for a day before taking it back to get this. Nice phone but only 4gb on internal storage just seemed ridiculous.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



LGs are really crappy phones.... 4gb of internal space but you only get to use 1.5gb..lol where my other 2.5gb at..:thumbdown: 2 lg

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## tech_yeet (Mar 2, 2015)

TecheTag said:


> LGs are really crappy phones.... 4gb of internal space but you only get to use 1.5gb..lol where my other 2.5gb at..:thumbdown: 2 lg
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



No they are not crappy you think that phone is crappy then cleary you never owned a Samsung Galaxy discover/Centura... ( seriously go buy one that phone is literally from hell think I'm playing.)


Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

---------- Post added at 12:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:50 AM ----------




Mistress_Sin said:


> And the Huawei Mate 2 is going for around 280 on Amazon.
> 
> What do you guys think is reasonable sale price for this? I'm done

Click to collapse



About 45-90$ 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## voidcomp (Mar 2, 2015)

John Laurinaitis said:


> Oneplus one selling every tuesday.. all i have to say lol

Click to collapse



No Band 12 and that's all I have to say


----------



## RaiderWill (Mar 2, 2015)

*The Time Has Come...*



TecheTag said:


> I think I'm going to sell my zmax

Click to collapse





Mistress_Sin said:


> What do you guys think is reasonable sale price for this? I'm done

Click to collapse





tech_yeet said:


> About 45-90$

Click to collapse



The Quote of " $45.00 to $90.00 is not true... 
They are selling for a lot more in "Mint Condition" here.... :good:
http://swappa.com/buy/zte-zmax-tmobile


----------



## tech_yeet (Mar 2, 2015)

RaiderWill said:


> The Quote of " $45.00 to $90.00 is not true...
> They are selling for a lot more in "Mint Condition" here.... :good:
> http://swappa.com/buy/zte-zmax-tmobile

Click to collapse



Oh I was thinking since you can get one for 100$ at metro pcs it would but worth less...

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## sbrockferren (Mar 2, 2015)

*The zte zmax requires no root because it comes factory rooted.*

I discovered this using the app called CM File Manager (Explorer) from Google play store.  I'm amazed that such an inexpensive phone has this technology. It has an emulated file which in computing means hardware or software that enables one computer system called the host to behave like another computer system called the guest and emulator typically enables the host system to run software or use peripheral devices design for the guest system so that means everything loads to the sdcard if one is installed and they have included a mount file (emulated) so this phone does rooting, mounting and transferring for you. That's why it is so fast and seems to have so much internal storage. Think of it like this... If you put a USB drive into a computer it will ask you what you want to do with it and one of the choices is use it to optimize your computer make your computer faster which means they use that storage to put more space on a computer there doing the same thing with this phone you have more room when you have the SDcard in there and the phone works a lot faster.  Read this 





perrisiam said:


> Have my zmax for a few days now, would like to post my review;
> 
> Metro version, paid 250 but got a 50 buck rebate
> 
> ...

Click to collapse


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## sbrockferren (Mar 2, 2015)

Furik said:


> Shared the petition on Facebook.
> 
> Also, is anyone else having trouble moving stuff to an SD card? I know we have a decent amount of storage internally but I can't seem to move anything to the SD card. Also, when downloading torrents, they cannot write externally either.  I have to download on the phone storage before moving to the SD card.

Click to collapse



The ZTE ZMAX from Tmobile is rooted,mounted an emulated already.
I discovered this using the app called CM File Manager (Explorer) from Google play store.  I'm amazed that such an inexpensive phone has this technology. It has an emulated file which in computing means hardware or software that enables one computer system called the host to behave like another computer system called the guest and emulator typically enables the host system to run software or use peripheral devices design for the guest system so that means everything loads to the sdcard if one is installed and they have included a mount file (emulated) so this phone does rooting, mounting and transferring for you. That's why it is so fast and seems to have so much internal storage. Think of it like this... If you put a USB drive into a computer it will ask you what you want to do with it and one of the choices is use it to optimize your computer make your computer faster which means they use that storage to put more space on a computer there doing the same thing with this phone you have more room when you have the SDcard in there and the phone works a lot faster.


----------



## SweetBearCub (Mar 2, 2015)

The way that the external storage is handled on later versions of Android *is not the same as rooting a device*, ie, getting system permissions. Also, why post virtually the same post twice in a row, with small edits?




sbrockferren said:


> The ZTE ZMAX from Tmobile is rooted,mounted an emulated already.
> I discovered this using the app called CM File Manager (Explorer) from Google play store.  I'm amazed that such an inexpensive phone has this technology. It has an emulated file which in computing means hardware or software that enables one computer system called the host to behave like another computer system called the guest and emulator typically enables the host system to run software or use peripheral devices design for the guest system so that means everything loads to the sdcard if one is installed and they have included a mount file (emulated) so this phone does rooting, mounting and transferring for you. That's why it is so fast and seems to have so much internal storage. Think of it like this... If you put a USB drive into a computer it will ask you what you want to do with it and one of the choices is use it to optimize your computer make your computer faster which means they use that storage to put more space on a computer there doing the same thing with this phone you have more room when you have the SDcard in there and the phone works a lot faster.

Click to collapse


----------



## sbrockferren (Mar 2, 2015)

SweetBearCub said:


> The way that the external storage is handled on later versions of Android *is not the same as rooting a device*, ie, getting system permissions. Also, why post virtually the same post twice in a row, with small edits?

Click to collapse



Doesn't really matter how something gets from point a to point b there will always be someone who can't understand how or why it got there. Your rude comments don't effect me cause your opinion means nothing to me. But thanks for showing the world where you are on the food chain. And it's my post.


----------



## Meep70 (Mar 2, 2015)

sbrockferren said:


> The ZTE ZMAX from Tmobile is rooted,mounted an emulated already.
> I discovered this using the app called CM File Manager (Explorer) from Google play store.

Click to collapse



Yes, the file system is emulated, or at least parts of it are. This was done in recent versions of Android, so user profiles could be set up, with each user having their own preferences. It has nothing to do with root access.

To verify that your phone is indeed NOT rooted

1. Go to the  /system folder using your file manager (or Root Explorer, or ES File Explorer, etc.)  
2. Create a file in the /system folder.

You can't. The file system is read-only, and it will not allow you to create or edit anything in that folder, THUS your device does not have root access. THAT is the access that we are seeking, here.  Good luck!


----------



## KEMC2k6 (Mar 2, 2015)

My Zmax gas a dead pixel :crying: Anyone else?


----------



## valve timing (Mar 2, 2015)

Has anyone figured out how to correctly sync contacts with Facebook and Google I can't seem to get all my contact pics within my contacts.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mhaner (Mar 2, 2015)

valve timing said:


> Has anyone figured out how to correctly sync contacts with Facebook and Google I can't seem to get all my contact pics within my contacts.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse




I use an app called sync.me from the playstore

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.syncme.syncmeapp


----------



## ubigred (Mar 2, 2015)

Root is officially dead for this phone.


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 2, 2015)

ubigred said:


> Root is officially dead for this phone.

Click to collapse



Noooooo don't say that....whats the hold up anyways... Money, time,equipment , zte... Y can't we get root for this phone.... I've played around with adb and fastboot.. Tried to reboot bootloader phone just restarts... But boots into recovery.... Has anybody tried to flash through either of them? 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## vayiayia (Mar 2, 2015)

*ZMax Google Syncing Error - Anyone Else???*

I am about to rip my hair out!

This is my second ZMax.  I returned the first phone because I thought it was a "phone" issue causing it not to sync with Google.
Brought the second one home; same problem. Did a master reset, which contrary to what T-Mobile's Tech Dept told me and my better judgement, wiped my contacts. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

It temporarily fixed the Google sync issue for 3 days; I had just gotten all my contacts back and synced with Facebook via the App, Sync-Me, and now I'm back to square one with a Google sync error message under the settings. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Even hours on the phone with Google tech support and they can't figure it out. They had me remove my Gmail account, and add it again AND MY CONTACTS ARE GONE AGAIN, and still no Google sync.

Grrrrrrrr!

I tried turning off data usage and turning off the phone, then turning both on again;  Nothing!!!

I'm almost sorry I gave up my Windows phone. I've spent 2 weeks working on Google bugs, and haven't enjoyed the phone or Android experience one bit.
Even the text messages get split into smaller multiple messages and blow up recipient's phones.

What have I gotten myself into???


----------



## tech_yeet (Mar 2, 2015)

vayiayia said:


> I am about to rip my hair out!
> 
> This is my second ZMax.  I returned the first phone because I thought it was a "phone" issue causing it not to sync with Google.
> Brought the second one home; same problem. Did a master reset, which contrary to what T-Mobile's Tech Dept told me and my better judgement, wiped my contacts. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
> ...

Click to collapse



So you never just try to factory reset the phone at all did you?

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

---------- Post added at 10:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:07 PM ----------




ubigred said:


> Root is officially dead for this phone.

Click to collapse



Yeah no its not, you do know that we have Jcase working on this right? Do you know of all the work he did in the past on other phones that were hard to root? We will get root for this device just be patient dude finding exploits and coding is a hard task and HE dose have a LIFE out side of XDA like we all do (or should have?...) ☺

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Mar 2, 2015)

vayiayia said:


> I am about to rip my hair out!
> 
> This is my second ZMax.  I returned the first phone because I thought it was a "phone" issue causing it not to sync with Google.
> Brought the second one home; same problem. Did a master reset, which contrary to what T-Mobile's Tech Dept told me and my better judgement, wiped my contacts. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
> ...

Click to collapse



A friend had a similar issue. It was one of his contacts that had been either non supported characters or other format issues. We still are not sure.  Every time we did a phone backup, it would not sync. Finally we deleted the contacts and synced from Google. The others that were not synced had to be manually added.


----------



## richm052569 (Mar 2, 2015)

[/COLOR]

Yeah no its not, you do know that we have Jcase working on this right? Do you know of all the work he did in the past on other phones that were hard to root? We will get root for this device just be patient dude finding exploits and coding is a hard task and HE dose have a LIFE out side of XDA like we all do (or should have?...) ☺


Justin Case has said he's not working further on the ZMAX, in expectation of the fact that ZTE is planning to release an unlock...then again, ZTE denies this thru official channels I've tried...so it may very well be that this phone will not achieve root.


----------



## vayiayia (Mar 2, 2015)

*ZMax Google Syncing Error - Anyone Else???*



tech_yeet said:


> So you never just try to factory reset the phone at all did you?
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Yes, as I explained in my post, I did a Master Reset (Factory Reset), which wiped all my contacts and SD card. It synced to Google for 3 days and then I had the same problem AGAIN.

---------- Post added at 05:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:36 PM ----------




tech_yeet said:


> So you never just try to factory reset the phone at all did you?
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app
> 
> ...

Click to collapse





Lesharoturbo said:


> A friend had a similar issue. It was one of his contacts that had been either non supported characters or other format issues. We still are not sure.  Every time we did a phone backup, it would not sync. Finally we deleted the contacts and synced from Google. The others that were not synced had to be manually added.

Click to collapse



I BELIEVE I MAY HAVE FIGURED THE PROBLEM OUT. WHEN I WENT INTO SETTINGS, GOOGLE, CLICKED OM MY EMAIL ADDRESS, AND ALL THE RELATED GOOGLE ACCTS CAME UP WITH THE CHECK BOXES; I UNCHECKED EACH ONE INDIVIDUALLY, ONE AT A TIME AND THEN CHECKED THE GOOGLE SYNC.  PICASSA WEB ALBUMS IS SNAGGING AND WHAT'S CAUSING THE PROBLEM. 

I HAVE ANOTHER IDENTICAL PHONE THAT I PURCHASED FOR MY DAUGHTER, ITS HAD NO PROBLEMS SYNCING.  I LOOKED IN THE SETTINGS LIST, TAPPED HER EMAIL AND, FUNNY THING, NO  PICASSA WEB ALBUMS IN HER LIST.

Now, what to do about it? What other apps will be effected by me unchecking the PICASSA WEB ALBUMS box? What can Picassa be replaced it with. Will my camera malfunction, or photos not be stored?

Ugggg!


----------



## Meep70 (Mar 2, 2015)

> I BELIEVE I MAY HAVE FIGURED THE PROBLEM OUT. WHEN I WENT INTO SETTINGS, GOOGLE, CLICKED OM MY EMAIL ADDRESS, AND ALL THE RELATED GOOGLE ACCTS CAME UP WITH THE CHECK BOXES; I UNCHECKED EACH ONE INDIVIDUALLY, ONE AT A TIME AND THEN CHECKED THE GOOGLE SYNC.  PICASSA WEB ALBUMS IS SNAGGING AND WHAT'S CAUSING THE PROBLEM.

Click to collapse



I had a similar problem, in the past. This is not an issue with the phone, but a Google issue. In my case, a corrupt contact. I used this app to clean up my contacts, and it fixed the problem. Note, this app will only fix CONTACTS, and not other  sync issues.


----------



## vietpolo (Mar 3, 2015)

Mizoah24 said:


> I am curious if anyone has been able to find a good, working lockscreen for this phone. I miss having the notifications right there on the lock screen. I have to admit that I hated the press to unlock but it has sort of grown on me lately. it's a lot easier than sliding for how big the phone is. I tried Echo but it glitched out a lot and didn't seem to work well. Also, I started using Nova Launcher (just the free version) and I swear the phone runs smoother. I'm not really sure how that is possible, but it does. The color notifications was an interesting app but with no way to make it translucent at the top kind of ruined it for me. Plus the other notification drawer is still there just waiting to be called down which glitched out for me a few times.

Click to collapse



I use NiLS lockscreen notifications with the stock lockscreen for one main reason. I like a patterned/PIN lockscreen and haven't found anything else where Google Navigation sits on top of the lockscreen, without needing to unlock it every I want to look at the directions. When I drive, I usually keep the phone face down so Gravity Screen turns the screen off and it'll turn on when I pick it up.

The notifications could use a redesign to look like Lollipop, but they get the job done and allow me to interact with them such as a quick reply to a text or return a call without unlocking the phone.


----------



## therealduckie (Mar 3, 2015)

I seem to recall jcase stating on Twitter he was no longer working on root for this phone. Even when I posted a link to that tweet he responded to the thread but made no specific mention of being back on board.


----------



## valve timing (Mar 3, 2015)

mhaner said:


> I use an app called sync.me from the playstore
> 
> https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.syncme.syncmeapp

Click to collapse



Sync me kept crashing cause some error 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## tech_yeet (Mar 3, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> I seem to recall jcase stating on Twitter he was no longer working on root for this phone. Even when I posted a link to that tweet he responded to the thread but made no specific mention of being back on board.

Click to collapse



Link?

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

---------- Post added at 02:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:42 AM ----------




clockcycle said:


> He says since they are officially unlocking bootloader, he stopped working on root. No need to work on it anymore since we get it done officially and can then use any rooting app that already exists...

Click to collapse



Oh...

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## OHNONONO (Mar 3, 2015)

Why can't you paste a godam number in a SMS recipient. It copies but won't paste anything into field!!

z97∅ · tapatalk


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## mussio (Mar 3, 2015)

OHNONONO said:


> Why can't you paste a godam number in a SMS recipient. It copies but won't paste anything into field!!
> 
> z97∅ · tapatalk

Click to collapse



Paste it in the message box and copy it again and it will paste in recipient box.


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 3, 2015)

OHNONONO said:


> Why can't you paste a godam number in a SMS recipient. It copies but won't paste anything into field!!
> 
> z97∅ · tapatalk

Click to collapse



You can in Go SMS Pro

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Mizoah24 (Mar 3, 2015)

vietpolo said:


> I use NiLS lockscreen notifications with the stock lockscreen for one main reason. I like a patterned/PIN lockscreen and haven't found anything else where Google Navigation sits on top of the lockscreen, without needing to unlock it every I want to look at the directions. When I drive, I usually keep the phone face down so Gravity Screen turns the screen off and it'll turn on when I pick it up.
> 
> The notifications could use a redesign to look like Lollipop, but they get the job done and allow me to interact with them such as a quick reply to a text or return a call without unlocking the phone.

Click to collapse



Thanks! I actually started using ZUI locker and I'm impressed with it and would recommend it. Very customizable and I've had virtually no glitches or freezing issues with it at all.


----------



## smallyetzon (Mar 3, 2015)

I installed the camera next but pictures come out blank! Any ideas?


----------



## tech_yeet (Mar 3, 2015)

smallyetzon said:


> I installed the camera next but pictures come out blank! Any ideas?

Click to collapse



Turn off store on SD card in the app settings...

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## OHNONONO (Mar 3, 2015)

Mizoah24 said:


> Thanks! I actually started using ZUI locker and I'm impressed with it and would recommend it. Very customizable and I've had virtually no glitches or freezing issues with it at all.

Click to collapse



Better Camera is what I use.  


tech_yeet said:


> Turn off store on SD card in the app settings...
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse




z97∅ · tapatalk


----------



## clockcycle (Mar 4, 2015)

Front facing cam has dust collecting under glass.. Anyone else? How to remove without cracking it open?


----------



## tech_yeet (Mar 4, 2015)

Not I...

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## DroidisLINUX (Mar 4, 2015)

I found that turning on and off sync for data greatly increased battery life, I turn it on when on WiFi,but off on 4g unless I am looking or using phone has added at least 8-12 he's on my running time

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## ce321 (Mar 4, 2015)

for camera app i personally use open camera. it takes way better pictures than the stock camera and it has way better options than stock. the only i don't  like is that it makes noise every time I  take a picture.


----------



## dabneto (Mar 4, 2015)

*Root method?*

Any update on a root method? I really want root for this thing.


----------



## tech_yeet (Mar 4, 2015)

ce321 said:


> for camera app i personally use open camera. it takes way better pictures than the stock camera and it has way better options than stock. the only i don't  like is that it makes noise every time I  take a picture.

Click to collapse



The modded next camera apk I posted takes better pics and then open camera apk and has digital image stabilization for video recording...


Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 4, 2015)

dabneto said:


> Any update on a root method? I really want root for this thing.

Click to collapse



You and me both

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## ubigred (Mar 4, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> I seem to recall jcase stating on Twitter he was no longer working on root for this phone. Even when I posted a link to that tweet he responded to the thread but made no specific mention of being back on board.

Click to collapse



Yep.  He ,himself, said he stopped working on it.

 Time to accept reality.


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 4, 2015)

I need to talk to jcase... Cause I would be happy to pickup where he left off... Anything to get this phone rooted and booted... 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## voidcomp (Mar 4, 2015)

TecheTag said:


> I need to talk to jcase... Cause I would be happy to pickup where he left off... Anything to get this phone rooted and booted...

Click to collapse



We all would but most just don't have the dev skills.  You're saying you do?  If so, great.


----------



## Dennis21220 (Mar 4, 2015)

This was zte response to bootloader unlock release via Facebook.
Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## dabneto (Mar 4, 2015)

TecheTag said:


> I need to talk to jcase... Cause I would be happy to pickup where he left off... Anything to get this phone rooted and booted...
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Yes please do! This phone is so good for the price and deserves root :victory:


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 4, 2015)

voidcomp said:


> We all would but most just don't have the dev skills.  You're saying you do?  If so, great.

Click to collapse



No...I don't have any dev skills but im reading into it... Im a pretty good self teacher and quick learner

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## dmeeks72 (Mar 5, 2015)

*Rhapsody*

I had problems with Rhapsody force closing when trying to do things such as add stations so I loaded in an older version that worked.  I noticed they had a newer update out and tried it out.  It has fixed the earlier problems I had and is working without an issues.

This is on the TMobile ZTE ZMax.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## Distant1 (Mar 5, 2015)

TecheTag said:


> I need to talk to jcase... Cause I would be happy to pickup where he left off... Anything to get this phone rooted and booted...
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



That would b awesome instead of developing as a community for sum reason he was doing everything in secret but would b great if someone with dev skills could get in touch with him


----------



## ubigred (Mar 5, 2015)

TecheTag said:


> No...I don't have any dev skills but im reading into it... Im a pretty good self teacher and quick learner
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



With all due respect, Jcase is one of the best. He also has years of experience. Rooting a secured device like this isn't simple.


----------



## Rusell (Mar 5, 2015)

I got my phone bricked... 
But i learned a lot through the way


----------



## tech_yeet (Mar 5, 2015)

Rusell said:


> I got my phone bricked...
> But i learned a lot through the way

Click to collapse



What did you do??
Did you get root then tryed booting it or you did something and it bricked instantly?
Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Rusell (Mar 5, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> What did you do??
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



I did soo many commands i forgot tbh.
I just try rebooting and... nothing, i even tried charging
good thing i have insurance


----------



## ce321 (Mar 5, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> The modded next camera apk I posted takes better pics and then open camera apk and has digital image stabilization for video recording...
> 
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



can you send the link of it. i cannot seem  to find it. ill appreciate it


----------



## enesha (Mar 5, 2015)

brandonlee96 said:


> im sorry that i was ambushing jcase with questions about root for the zmax i though we all would of liked to know

Click to collapse




What we would like, is to have devs not be harassed.  If you want to know what's going on...try...i dunno..reading the 160+ pages of posts?  Everything is there, and so are all of jcases replies and original posts.  But demanding answers to things, and putting pressure on people will NOT get you what you want.  Please go read a copy of How to win friends and influence people.   

As for you jcase, thanks for the work you've done so far.  Lets hope they unock this bootloader sooner rather than later, but until then Have some patience and act with some decorum and gratitude people.  Dammmn

---------- Post added at 02:38 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:25 AM ----------




sbrockferren said:


> Doesn't really matter how something gets from point a to point b there will always be someone who can't understand how or why it got there. Your rude comments don't effect me cause your opinion means nothing to me. But thanks for showing the world where you are on the food chain. And it's my post.

Click to collapse



Why, yet another moron claiming to know root or have some magic system that means their phone is rooted.  Because in 190+ pages, with thousands of posts and (probably) 100+ posters, we have ALL missed that root was available right?  We are all sitting around like morons when you just discover that your phone comes pre rooted.  RME.  Same as the other who told us to try towelroot, or the blog posts that show instructions that never worked on our phones.

I hate trolls

---------- Post added at 02:43 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:38 AM ----------




ubigred said:


> Root is officially dead for this phone.

Click to collapse



Who said that?  At the very least, jcase said he was paused waiting for them to offer their (aparently) promised unlocked bootloader.  Are you another dev who started and stopped, or just someone making a declaration?


----------



## tech_yeet (Mar 5, 2015)

ce321 said:


> can you send the link of it. i cannot seem  to find it. ill appreciate it

Click to collapse



http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=59143660 I posted it a couple pages back...

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## ce321 (Mar 5, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=59143660 I posted it a couple pages back...
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



ohh ok thank you for sending me the link of the camera app. ill test it when i get home from class


----------



## voidcomp (Mar 5, 2015)

ubigred said:


> With all due respect, Jcase is one of the best. He also has years of experience. Rooting a secured device like this isn't simple.

Click to collapse



THIS. 

Jcase can't and shouldn't be bothered with dev wannabees who haven't proven they have a sincere interest.  Talk is cheap.  Learn first, then contact.


----------



## ubigred (Mar 5, 2015)

enesha said:


> What we would like, is to have devs not be harassed.  If you want to know what's going on...try...i dunno..reading the 160+ pages of posts?  Everything is there, and so are all of jcases replies and original posts.  But demanding answers to things, and putting pressure on people will NOT get you what you want.  Please go read a copy of How to win friends and influence people.
> 
> As for you jcase, thanks for the work you've done so far.  Lets hope they unock this bootloader sooner rather than later, but until then Have some patience and act with some decorum and gratitude people.  Dammmn
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Face reality.  Jcase has moved on.


----------



## ph37rd (Mar 5, 2015)

voidcomp said:


> THIS.
> 
> Jcase can't and shouldn't be bothered with dev wannabees who haven't proven they have a sincere interest.  Talk is cheap.  Learn first, then contact.

Click to collapse



I'm kind of glad that Julius Lilienfeld didn't have you around back in 1925. We wouldn't have these phones to play with.

I wonder what @jcase first phone rooted was and if he had any experience rooting phone before attempting it...

Sent from my LG-D851 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## jcase (Mar 5, 2015)

I'm not going to read all those posts above.

So here is what i ahve to say,

I was told over and over that an unlock was coming out.
I've been battling multiple lung infections since late december.
I have work, family etc.
I was just in an car accident (my poor truck!, hopefully i get it back monday!)
I have other things I have to complete at this time (SunShine3)


----------



## loner6996 (Mar 5, 2015)

jcase said:


> I'm not going to read all those posts above.
> 
> So here is what i ahve to say,
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



We truly appreciate everything you have done don't let those ungrateful jerks bring you down. Get well.


----------



## jcase (Mar 5, 2015)

4NDROID4LIFE said:


> All I hear are excuses lol
> 
> Sent From D850 ILLUSION 6

Click to collapse



Here you go, people, this is why I release fewer and fewer things, and when I do I charge for them.

FYI my zMax is rooted, and at this time I have zero intentions of releasing for this device due to these kinds of posts.

Don't bother contacting or mentioning me in regards to this phone, I will not be working on it.


----------



## DroidisLINUX (Mar 5, 2015)

At least there is hope for us if it has been rooted.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## smilesintears77 (Mar 5, 2015)

jcase said:


> Here you go, people, this is why I release fewer and fewer things, and when I do I charge for them.
> 
> FYI my zMax is rooted, and at this time I have zero intentions of releasing for this device due to these kinds of posts.
> 
> Don't bother contacting or mentioning me in regards to this phone, I will not be working on it.

Click to collapse



i feel you jcase.  and you have every right to charge if you choose too.  in fact i hope you do! 

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 5, 2015)

*I need to chime in here because too many....*

Ok,

              I'm sorry, but too many of you are being way more childish about this than any of you have any right to be.  First of all, jcase, while I do understand your feelings on the subject, you charging for a way to root this device is the same as Apple charging for MACOS when we all know it's Linux which is a completely free and open OS... just like Android.  If you need further clarification, please look up the GNU Public Licensing and rules and laws.

Also, please, fully understand, that when you purchase an Android device, you are only paying for the device and not the OS, so, saying you've got root, and then not telling anyone how you got it in a free and open forum is somewhat false advertising and a tease not only to the good people who own this device (or know of people that own this device and want to root it), but, also your fellow developers, and even the moderators themselves.

Now while there have been a few here that have been trolling, there are many here that definitely did not deserve for you to act like a child and basically give the equivalent of "I've got the secret formula, but, I'm not going to give it to you because some people were mean to me."

Now to both the trollers and jcase, Grow up.  Start treating each other some respect for once and start acting like you've got some sense before I start finding and reporting to some moderators.

Now I'm probably going to get flamed for this, and I don't care because it is not I who is acting like selfish and spoiled little brats.

Now, I do not even own this device, my boyfriend does, and I got him to switch from iPhone to Android, and he loves this device, but, wants to root it so bad so he can get rid of the T-Mobile crapware and customize it.  Now I myself have been an Android user for years and know all the benefits of rooting among other things.

Now please, grow up, and stop ruining this forum's experience for all of us.

Have I made myself clear?

Starflare5.

---------- Post added at 06:11 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:58 AM ----------

Also, sorry if I sounded like a total witch but, if I have to be the Captain Janeway to get something done around here, I'm going to do it.  Now where's my God damn coffee?


----------



## clockcycle (Mar 5, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> Starflare5.
> 
> ---------- Post added at 06:11 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:58 AM ----------
> 
> Also, sorry if I sounded like a total witch, but, if I have to be the Captain Janeway to get something done around here, I'm going to do it.  Now where's my God damn coffee?

Click to collapse



**spoiler** Janeway dies...


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 5, 2015)

clockcycle said:


> **spoiler** Janeway dies...

Click to collapse



Haha, funny.  I like you.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## smilesintears77 (Mar 5, 2015)

let's just forget about rooting this phone. problem solved. 

Sent from my Z970 using xda premium


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 5, 2015)

jcase said:


> Here you go, people, this is why I release fewer and fewer things, and when I do I charge for them.
> 
> FYI my zMax is rooted, and at this time I have zero intentions of releasing for this device due to these kinds of posts.
> 
> Don't bother contacting or mentioning me in regards to this phone, I will not be working on it.

Click to collapse



Sooooo how much for the info on root for zmax....I know how it is with working and kids and trying to do a hobby at the same time... I work and run a business and take care of my twins myself....so I'm not asking for freebees...Whats the price? 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## richm052569 (Mar 5, 2015)

Thread /unsubscribed. I love the phone, it won't be rooted, I can be at peace with it all. No point in following the blame game back and forth anymore. Good luck all.


----------



## Exconvict (Mar 5, 2015)

Been fun. I'm out as well. Getting a mediatek.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Distant1 (Mar 5, 2015)

*wow this I cannot believe*

Well I been following this forum for long time n it sucks that a select few ruined it for the rest of us but it is was it its...jcase thank u for ur time n effort glad or ok n if u do decide to release it please pm me get well soon


----------



## smilesintears77 (Mar 5, 2015)

R. I. P ZTE ZMAX 

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk


----------



## mingolianbeef (Mar 5, 2015)

A mod is probably gonna clean this thread like its nobody's business (if not completely shut it down), but for those looking into alternatives with a spare ~$250, the G3 is going on that down payment right now, and its only $450 outright (absolute STEAL), SD801, 3GB Ram, 2k screen, 32GB storage w/ SD Card slot (up to 128GB support),  13MP cam, and so much more. This phone was ahead of its time and will easily compete with new flagship's through next year. The 5.5 inch screen is slightly smaller than the ZMAX's, and the phone feels so much smaller since it has smaller bezels. Not to mention, they have a pretty active dev community and Lollipop!!! For under 3 big ones, you can't go wrong with this


----------



## voidcomp (Mar 5, 2015)

mingolianbeef said:


> Its been a ride guys. We've run off all the devs that gave a rats behind about the device. Hopefully you guys find root, but I'm going to get a G3 in a week or two. Its been a ride. Best of luck!

Click to collapse



Quite a change from the 'unlocked everything around the corner post' lol.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=57624877&postcount=483


----------



## mingolianbeef (Mar 5, 2015)

voidcomp said:


> Quite a change from the 'unlocked everything around the corner post' lol.
> 
> http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=57624877&postcount=483

Click to collapse



Lol I was content up until this week. My programming professor said he will let anyone who source builds an Android ROM with cherry picks skip the final exam. I have already gotten out of 2 other exams doing extra credit type stuff, he's the last darn one!!! Lol. I can be optimistic, but at this point I have to be realistic. I can't ROM without root lol.

Outside of that, no good comes out of a community with trolls who slam devs. Do I necessarily agree with charging for root? Nah, especially since there's a $500 root bounty for the ZMAX anyway, but no dev deserves to be disrespected. Medical conditions and accidents are serious! He could be dead right now *knocks on wood*, but he isn't thankfully. I know for a fact that even if a dev manages to squeeze out root, the phone will die ultimately because there's such a bad taste in most dev's mouths and there won't be anything beyond... Root. Its sad, but its true.

I'll end on this note: there's a dev who's talking about missing wife in the G3 forums. Idk if she's in the army and went AWOL or something, or if she was kidnapped (dead serious, can't make this up). Users were sending him prayers, THATS how you respond to someone's tragedy, not with some self-righteous, judgemental "sounds like excuses to me" response. Never sit in the seat of judgement because you never know where you could end up after saying stuff like that. At least that's how I was raised . Every rabbit to his own habit I guess...


----------



## Furik (Mar 5, 2015)

Well, this sucks. I've been following this thread since the fall. I'm no dev at all, just a user looking forward to customizing the phone. It sucks - we were all pretty much a nice family inn this thread until recently. I guess things change when newer users get impatient. I like the phone and plan to keep it for a while. I'm not moving on to anything. I guess if this thread does die, there's always the Google+ and Reddit community.


----------



## Vyrus69 (Mar 5, 2015)

There should absolutely be a minimum age requirement to sign up for these boards.
@jcase 

I would hope that you find it in your heart to release the rooting method to those who have been respectful and patient in getting root.

Don't forget the bounty that a bunch of us did put together, I'm sure that'll help fix up some stuff on your truck or add to it.

Please, if you find it in your heart to release it, ALL of us who have been waiting would be more than grateful.

And for those of you who keep talking about growing up and saying open source this and that, just let it go.  All I've said was to have patience, so now the petition I created, multiple emails, tweets and online chats are gone to waste because a few absolute immature morons.

Just can't believe a phone this good and solid will now never see any root.


----------



## tech_yeet (Mar 5, 2015)

Vyrus69 said:


> There should absolutely be a minimum age requirement to sign up for these boards.
> 
> @jcase
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Yeah it's not far to penalize ever body else because of that one troll...


Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 5, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> Yeah it's not far to penalize ever body else because of that one troll...
> 
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



That's how they do in the military.. Boot camp style 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## jugjug (Mar 5, 2015)

Ahahahahaha

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mingolianbeef (Mar 5, 2015)

jugjug said:


> Ahahahahaha
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



I was hoping I wasn't the only one that found "boot camp style" oddly funny lol


----------



## jugjug (Mar 5, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> Yeah it's not far to penalize ever body else because of that one troll...
> 
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



He does not have it. Just saying.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## vanessaem (Mar 5, 2015)

Hello everyone,

Some light cleaning was done. Mostly of those quoting disrespectful posts and unnecessary uses of profanity. Just a reminder, that's not allowed here so please try not to use it.
Moving on...
Please remember no one is entitled to anything. If the conditions for creating the latest mod don't suit you, then you don't have to use it or you can create your own.
There were some rather nasty and insensitive posts made on here and for what? A phone mod? You're able to use what you like on your devices and no one is forcing you to use anything. None of the personal insults and flaming were necessary.
Please relax.

Regards


----------



## stinkbud (Mar 5, 2015)

It looks like there are only one or two active trolls. They are screwing things up for all of us here and they seem to be enjoying it. Is there any way to ban them? They have added nothing constructive to this thread.


----------



## clockcycle (Mar 5, 2015)

mingolianbeef said:


> Lol I was content up until this week. My programming professor said he will let anyone who source builds an Android ROM with cherry picks skip the final exam. I have already gotten out of 2 other exams doing extra credit type stuff, he's the last darn one!!! Lol. I can be optimistic, but at this point I have to be realistic. I can't ROM without root lol.
> 
> Outside of that, no good comes out of a community with trolls who slam devs. Do I necessarily agree with charging for root? Nah, especially since there's a $500 root bounty for the ZMAX anyway, but no dev deserves to be disrespected. Medical conditions and accidents are serious! He could be dead right now *knocks on wood*, but he isn't thankfully. I know for a fact that even if a dev manages to squeeze out root, the phone will die ultimately because there's such a bad taste in most dev's mouths and there won't be anything beyond... Root. Its sad, but its true.
> 
> I'll end on this note: there's a dev who's talking about missing wife in the G3 forums. Idk if she's in the army and went AWOL or something, or if she was kidnapped (dead serious, can't make this up). Users were sending him prayers, THATS how you respond to someone's tragedy, not with some self-righteous, judgemental "sounds like excuses to me" response. Never sit in the seat of judgement because you never know where you could end up after saying stuff like that. At least that's how I was raised . Every rabbit to his own habit I guess...

Click to collapse



There was this in the atrix hd forum. Ends up dev died (was a lie) everyone wished well. Suddenly son took over, mentioning he would carry on his dads work, talks of promise. Mods find out, locked threads and accnt. Ends up guy was just trying to ride the hype.

Another at the cuspid of major updated release in beta testing. It included everything, all was fixed, it would be the miracle ROM to bring new life device. Dev gets sick, no trolls no trash talk all well wishes and prayers. Another very well-known kernel, rom, recovery dev offers to continue to work on the project. All is good, suddenly no replies, yet dev still active elsewhere.

Poof..

Hope is the dream killer. Expect nothing, never be disillusioned.


----------



## ubigred (Mar 5, 2015)

jcase said:


> I'm not going to read all those posts above.
> 
> So here is what i ahve to say,
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



As I said before:

Time to face reality. Jcase has moved on.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## jcase (Mar 5, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> Now to both the trollers and jcase, Grow up.  Start treating each other some respect for once and start acting like you've got some sense before I start finding and reporting to some moderators.

Click to collapse



Grow up? I've been more than respectful, and invested plenty of time (and money) into working this. What I do with my time, money and results of my investment are entirely my business.

Threatening to report me to my fellow moderators because I don't have the time (nor the care) to work on somethings leaves me lost for words.


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 5, 2015)

jcase said:


> Grow up? I've been more than respectful, and invested plenty of time (and money) into working this. What I do with my time, money and results of my investment are entirely my business.
> 
> Threatening to report me to my fellow moderators because I don't have the time (nor the care) to work on somethings leaves me lost for words.

Click to collapse


@jcase you know you got the juice...no need to waste your time with these peons...
@youpeons the man said he done wit it so yall need to leave him alone... If Yall want root so bad use your own brain power and find it yourself instead of waiting on someone else to do it for you...

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## ph37rd (Mar 5, 2015)

This thread has jumped the shark and run its course.

Sent from my LG-D851 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 5, 2015)

jcase said:


> Grow up? I've been more than respectful, and invested plenty of time (and money) into working this. What I do with my time, money and results of my investment are entirely my business.
> 
> Threatening to report me to my fellow moderators because I don't have the time (nor the care) to work on somethings leaves me lost for words.

Click to collapse



I understand your feeling were hurt, however, you need to understand that even though there were people trolling you, there is no reason for you to make other good people suffer here.

Also, please, look up the GNU Public license on the OS and that a root is basically a crack into a factory OS and boot strings, and you want to charge for a crack or hack into the OS and make others suffer?

Think about this for a minute, and remember, you're talking to a person that has worked with computers for over 25 years.

Thank you.


----------



## coppertop2000 (Mar 5, 2015)

*any real devs here?*

Hey...I actually might be able to help out.  I'm not a dev, but I have an 'in' with some people at ZTE.  If there are any actual devs here who can provide me with what they need to create a root tool/exploit (and don't say unlocked bootloader because as stated by ZTE, that ain't happening right now...and besides, it's not needed for root access), let me know and I can try to get the ball rolling.

I'm familiar with root access, and like having it on my phones....but I have no idea how to achieve it without instructions.  But I do genuinely have an 'in', and a way to get some info, but I don't want to waste my time with guesses.


----------



## jcase (Mar 5, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> I understand your feeling were hurt, however, you need to understand that even though there were people trolling you, there is no reason for you to make other good people suffer here.
> 
> Also, please, look up the GNU Public license on the OS and that a root is basically a crack into a factory OS and boot strings, and you want to charge for a crack or hack into the OS and make others suffer?
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



I'm not hurt (beyond my back), im busy and annoyed. No one is suffering because of me, if someone feels like they are suffering by not having root then they need to look into their priorities, and possibly look at buying a device they know can be rooted. I devoted time and money to work on something, I stopped because multiple people came to me and told me ZTE is releasing an unlock (why waste my time). I no longer have time to work on it, and now people won't stop harassing me or acting a fool over it.

Also, please actually look up the license that Android is under, and how this license applies here (hint it does not apply in any way shape or form). Android is licensed under Apache License V2, not GNU. Neither GPL nor Apache apply to anything I write, unless I decide to license under them. You don't have a grasp of what a root is, its not simply "a crack into a factory OS and boot strings", and yes I do often charge for them, not as often as I give them away, but it still happens. They take money and time to make.

You are talking to a person who has devoted his whole professional career, and much of his "free time' to mobile security. I have a greater than average grasp of this field.


----------



## loner6996 (Mar 5, 2015)

jcase said:


> I'm not hurt (beyond my back), im busy and annoyed. No one is suffering because of me, if someone feels like they are suffering by not having root then they need to look into their priorities, and possibly look at buying a device they know can be rooted

Click to collapse



Some people are just unbelievable. Just know that there are people here in this thread as well on xda who truly appreciate everything you and I've sent you a little token of my appreciation.  It's really to bad some some people insist on screwing things up.


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 5, 2015)

jcase said:


> I'm not hurt (beyond my back), im busy and annoyed. No one is suffering because of me, if someone feels like they are suffering by not having root then they need to look into their priorities, and possibly look at buying a device they know can be rooted. I devoted time and money to work on something, I stopped because multiple people came to me and told me ZTE is releasing an unlock (why waste my time). I no longer have time to work on it, and now people won't stop harassing me or acting a fool over it.
> 
> Also, please actually look up the license that Android is under, and how this license applies here (hint it does not apply in any way shape or form). Android is licensed under Apache License V2, not GNU. Neither GPL nor Apache apply to anything I write, unless I decide to license under them. You don't have a grasp of what a root is, its not simply "a crack into a factory OS and boot strings", and yes I do often charge for them, not as often as I give them away, but it still happens. They take money and time to make.
> 
> You are talking to a person who has devoted his whole professional career, and much of his "free time' to mobile security. I have a greater than average grasp of this field.

Click to collapse



So you're basically going to ruin the experience for many and you simply do not care?  I thank you for your time.


----------



## smilesintears77 (Mar 5, 2015)

ultimately it is mr jcase's decision to do whatever he wants to do with his work. Period! Jcase made a choice and we like it or not, it is what it is.  one thing though sir jcase.. you said you don't want to discuss about zmax so lets not anymore.. please just ignore these people who talk [email protected]@t. reason im asking is everytime i see your name here.. it makes me have my hopes up again.. so let's all stop. 

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk


----------



## jcase (Mar 5, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> So you're basically going to ruin the experience for many and you simply do not care?  I thank you for your time.

Click to collapse



I apologize if my illness, and busy life inconveniences you, and ruins your experience. I understand now that it is my sole duty to fix things for you, to your liking. I truly apologize that you are unhappy with the circumstances.


----------



## hroark13 (Mar 5, 2015)

jcase said:


> I apologize if my illness, and busy life inconveniences you, and ruins your experience. I understand now that it is my sole duty to fix things for you, to your liking. I truly apologize that you are unhappy with the circumstances.

Click to collapse



dude, hope you feel better, rest and get well


----------



## DroidisLINUX (Mar 5, 2015)

I still love this device regardless of what
Happens root or not.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 5, 2015)

jcase said:


> I apologize if my illness, and busy life inconveniences you, and ruins your experience. I understand now that it is my sole duty to fix things for you, to your liking. I truly apologize that you are unhappy with the circumstances.

Click to collapse



I apologize that you're sick and sorry you hurt your back.  I hope you get well soon, however, you can't simply get ahold of a laptop, make a nandroid backup, compress it to a zip file, and upload it so that other developers can play with the fact that it's rooted and even figure out how you rooted it and develop from there?

Seriously, that takes about an hour (If you backup your OS as it is, do a factory reset, make a backup of that, zip that backup, upload it, and then reload your OS back).

Seriously, that's pretty much all anyone really wants so that you can help the community make it toward root of this device.

Now, I personally do not have the time to tear apart a Linux/Android/Z970 kernel at this time as my career mostly involves Windows Server and Windows in general (I hope you understand my pain), however, many other developers around here do and would more than love to.

Now, I'm sorry, but stating that you have root and then stating that you're not going to give it to anyone is like a child stating that "You're not nice to me, so, I'm taking my toys and going home."

Also, you've caused upon yourself no one believing that you've actually obtained root with this device because of that.

Also, you can actually take a moment to help a developer or 2 here for this device that has become extremely popular.

Now, can we please get some other developers in here also please, because, maybe others can come up with other methods of rooting before anyone has a look at jcase's that may even be easier than the method he/she may have used?

Also, jcase, I've been meaning to ask you, is this a surface root (rooted by an app that is required to stay on the device in order to keep root), or an actual root?

Also, can you load a custom ROM unto your device if there was one available?  In other words, did you achieve unlocking the boot loader as well or just root?

I personally suspect that the locked boot loader on this device is similar to the way locked bootloaders are done on Samsung devices, however, even though it has an ODIN, or file transfer mode, cannot seem to find a way to get into a fastboot mode, unless, like a Samsung, it's being overcovered by something in the LAF.

Could the FTM mode be covering fastboot?

Can you clarify?

Thank you.


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 5, 2015)

Woooow so you talk down on the guy... Then you ask him for something.... Get real dude...

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 5, 2015)

TecheTag said:


> Woooow so you talk down on the guy... Then you ask him for something.... Get real dude...
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Are you a developer?  Slow your roll and quit trolling and lets get some work done please.  I'm simply trying to get information because, well, no one actually believes him because of the way he's acting, and, quite frankly, you're not helping any with your attitude.

Also, do you yourself have an answer to any of the questions I've asked?  If you do not, then research and learn those answers and see if you can help yourself rather than trolling.

Thank you.


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 5, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> Are you a developer?  Slow your roll and quit trolling and lets get some work done please.  I'm simply trying to get information because, well, no one actually believes him because of the way he's acting, and, quite frankly, you're not helping any with your attitude.
> 
> Also, do you yourself have an answer to any of the questions I've asked?  If you do not, then research and learn those answers and see if you can help yourself rather than trolling.
> 
> Thank you.

Click to collapse



Actually I do have answers to those question but I don't have to answer to you or anyone else on this forum... And no im not a developer  but I've been doing some reading and  and messing around with Linux but im learning....and your the troll,  you the 1 round here tryna suck info off of somebody... How about you some do research and find the answer to your questions....

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app



Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## voidcomp (Mar 5, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> Are you a developer?  Slow your roll and quit trolling and lets get some work done please.  I'm simply trying to get information because, well, no one actually believes him because of the way he's acting, and, quite frankly, you're not helping any with your attitude.
> 
> Also, do you yourself have an answer to any of the questions I've asked?  If you do not, then research and learn those answers and see if you can help yourself rather than trolling.
> 
> Thank you.

Click to collapse



I believe him.  Stop being a ****.


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 5, 2015)

TecheTag said:


> Actually I do have answers to those question but I don't have to answer to you or anyone else on this forum... And no im not a developer  but I've been doing some reading and  and messing around with Linux but im learning....and your the troll,  you the 1 round here tryna suck info off of somebody... How about you some do research and find the answer to your questions....
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app
> 
> ...

Click to collapse




I do not condone nor do I support yours or anyone's childish behavior in this matter.  You're actually not helping at all by not sharing and keeping that attitude, and, therefore, make yourself completely appear as if you have no idea what you're talking about when you may seem to.

Do you understand?  By the way you're acting, no one believes you or jcase?


----------



## jcase (Mar 5, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> I apologize that you're sick and sorry you hurt your back.  I hope you get well soon, however, you can't simply get ahold of a laptop, make a nandroid backup, compress it to a zip file, and upload it so that other developers can play with the fact that it's rooted and even figure out how you rooted it and develop from there?
> 
> Seriously, that takes about an hour (If you backup your OS as it is, do a factory reset, make a backup of that, zip that backup, upload it, and then reload your OS back).
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Build me a functioning, flashable recovery image, and I'll take a nandroid backup. It will offer no one any insight and would merely be a waste of time, mostly the time of whomever builds the recovery (you?).

I could not careless if someone believed me or not.


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 5, 2015)

*I'm done with this thread..  too many...*

I decided that I'm not completely done now that jcase actually stated that he will help in a way that he doesn't even realize yet.... by making a backup that someone can tear apart the kernel on, more can be learned from it....


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 5, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> I'm done with this thread....  I'm sorry, but there are too many that don't want to help others and wants to keep everything for themselves......  And I'm getting trolled for being the adult here.... You all can have at it all you want and act like the children you are being and fight amongst yourselves.......  I'm done.

Click to collapse



BYE BYE SEE YOU LATER

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## rfunderburk39 (Mar 5, 2015)

I believe the hope of root, and a unlocked boot loader will never happen without the method via ZTE to unlock the loader. I find it highly unlikely any developer will come on board. I've witnessed the most disrespect to a developer in this one thread, I'm amazed. 

These people that help out and give up there time, resources, knowledge, etc... To make demands like you are entitled to a root/custom ROM, someone's work, shock me.


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 5, 2015)

jcase said:


> Build me a functioning, flashable recovery image, and I'll take a nandroid backup. It will offer no one any insight and would merely be a waste of time, mostly the time of whomever builds the recovery (you?).
> 
> I could not careless if someone believed me or not.

Click to collapse



Now jcase, first of all, thank you... I'm done with people like TechTag by the way.  By the way, by giving a nandroid backup, someone can actually tear apart the kernel and find out more about how you achieved root, and, that helps tremendously more than you know.

Now, going a somewhat CWM route would be nice, but, have you unlocked the bootloader also?  I just figured that it would be easier to load a custom recovery with that unlocked.

---------- Post added at 05:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:21 PM ----------




rfunderburk39 said:


> I believe the hope of root, and a unlocked boot loader will never happen without the method via ZTE to unlock the loader. I find it highly unlikely any developer will come on board. I've witnessed the most disrespect to a developer in this one thread, I'm amazed.
> 
> These people that help out and give up there time, resources, knowledge, etc... To make demands like you are entitled to a root/custom ROM, someone's work, shock me.

Click to collapse



Thank you for being good spirited at least about this.  I'm trying to figure out if this phone has a fastboot that is covered by FTM or something... if we can get to that someway, maybe we can unlock the bootloader via a fastboot on PC.


----------



## tech_yeet (Mar 5, 2015)

@Starflare5what dose j case got lie for? I mean really the guy has rooted/help root many phones before this one and he's a mobile security expert.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 5, 2015)

*Clockworkmod....*

Can we please get one of the Clockworkmod developers in here to look into this as well?  Come one people, let's get together on this.

---------- Post added at 05:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:29 PM ----------




tech_yeet said:


> @Starflare5what dose j case got lie for? I mean really the guy has rooted/help root many phones before this one and he's a mobile security expert.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



jcase has pretty much stated that he's not lying and seems willing to help, even with what little he can do at this time....  Now, can we get some more developers in here on this to help...  I think with what jcase has, and what other developers can do with it, we can all not only achieve root across the thousands of people that own this device, but, unlocked bootloader, and, get some developers to start looking into custom ROMS finally for a great device.


----------



## 4NDROID4LIFE (Mar 5, 2015)

I made a fun joke, he the great one was not able to root it and he got butt hurt cuz of my joke and then just had a tantrum. He gave a list of reasons aka excuses and pulled a famous jcase tantrum so sorry everyone. Yes I do not own this phone. I would like to but was waiting for some kind of root/development but it was never coming. Signing out peons. 

Sent From D850 ILLUSION 6


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 5, 2015)

4NDROID4LIFE said:


> I made a fun joke, he the great one was not able to root it and he got butt hurt cuz of my joke and then just had a tantrum. He gave a list of reasons aka excuses and pulled a famous jcase tantrum so sorry everyone. Yes I do not own this phone. I would like to but was waiting for some kind of root/development but it was never coming. Signing out peons.
> 
> Sent From D850 ILLUSION 6

Click to collapse



Seriously, I hate to be a ***** here, but, you really did not help matters at all, because, you actually did not know if he achieved root unless you have his rooted ROM yourself.

Now, as jcase has pointed out, he asked for a custom recovery which may pretty much may point to the fact that he has achieved root....

So, my take on the situation is why don't we get a clockworkmod developer in here so that the developers can get ahold of his rooted ROM and tear it apart, learn how he achieved root, and find other methods of doing so...

Now, if you think jcase is lying, that's your prerogative, however, by calming down and actually being adult about it and answering some questions, he has shown me that he may have actually achieved it, and, others will be able to learn from that.

Now, how about you look into some development options also? Also, see if we have someone out there willing to help more rather than not believing people.  Also, make jokes, but, also, ask more questions next time.


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Mar 5, 2015)

I say we all stop bickering whoever has no life can stop talking down to @jcase let the actual developers do their work everyone focus on their own damn life and stop being children. Is it that much of an ego boost to say stupid immature comments that get us no where and make you look like a 10 year old? Seriously there are thousands of other forums and countless other website to troll on like Facebook. Please for the sake of those who want root just shut up and let the developers do their work god I'm tired of people thinking they are hot stuff because they have a damn screen in between them and the developers. You trolls are killing my damn buz here


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 6, 2015)

*Now, TecheTag...*

So, TecheTag,

                    Are you ready to actually participate and help get more development going, get some work done, and have some fun, or, are you just going to continue on your previous path?

Because, I would very much appreciate it if you were one of the people to get ahold of jcase's rooted ROM, and look into some ROM development for it.. maybe even gat some help from the Cyanogenmod developers for starters and we can get the many, many other great developers on this forum to expand on that from there.

---------- Post added at 06:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:04 PM ----------




StonerSteve420 said:


> I say we all stop bickering whoever has no life can stop talking down to @jcase let the actual developers do their work everyone focus on their own damn life and stop being children. Is it that much of an ego boost to say stupid immature comments that get us no where and make you look like a 10 year old? Seriously there are thousands of other forums and countless other website to troll on like Facebook. Please for the sake of those who want root just shut up and let the developers do their work god I'm tired of people thinking they are hot stuff because they have a damn screen in between them and the developers. You trolls are killing my damn buz here

Click to collapse




Stoner, you stated in a rather interesting way exactly what I was saying in short.....  Thank you.


----------



## loner6996 (Mar 6, 2015)

What can we do to help?


----------



## hroark13 (Mar 6, 2015)

jcase said:


> Build me a functioning, flashable recovery image, and I'll take a nandroid backup. It will offer no one any insight and would merely be a waste of time, mostly the time of whomever builds the recovery (you?).
> 
> I could not careless if someone believed me or not.

Click to collapse



just curious, does this mean that an un-signed recovery would boot on this phone ?


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 6, 2015)

loner6996 said:


> What can we do to help?

Click to collapse



Well, hhhmmmmm......  How would you like to help?

jcase pretty much stated that he needs a custom recovery to created a nandroid backup of his rooted ROM, and, I think something based off of clockworkmod would be best.

Maybe you can also look into possible development of a cyanogenmod based custom ROM....  Lollipop might be best for this device just FYI.

Oh, and suggestion, please look into moving apps to SD.  My boyfriend would appreciate that very much so.

Also, @jcase, have you unlocked the bootloader as well?  We need to know this.

Ok, let's do this people.  I have to leave, so, I'm done rallying for a little while, but, let's get this done....

Thank you by the way everyone who's actually willing to participate.


----------



## totlth (Mar 6, 2015)

I'm not a dev. But I have built cm builds and clockwork recoveries for other devices. Mainly an older zte phone. I have this device so I was thinking of setting up another build box if we get root. I've never worked on root. I'm just throwing my hat in for cwm and cm builds when the time comes.

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk


----------



## dongarritas (Mar 6, 2015)

Wow....I've never seen such whining and disrespect on XDA. The closest I have seen to this is on the OnePlusOne forums before invites. Yes, I would like root on this device, honestly just to block ads and use a few root apps, but in the scheme of things it is just a blip on the radar. This device has almost no bloat, and what there is can be disabled. Theming can be accomplished through a launcher such as next, same with lockscreen. Unlimited tethering can be done by creating a new APN. I'm just an end user and enthusiast, but if you don't know what I am talking about for customization and creating an APN, you probably have no business rooting your phone anyway. Enjoy the freedom $200 will buy you, or go get yourself an iPhone.


----------



## stinkbud (Mar 6, 2015)

All ZTE and Tmo need to do is hook us up with unlocked bootloader and root and all this childish bickering will go away. 

Sigh, this thread has really gone downhill fast.


----------



## Vyrus69 (Mar 6, 2015)

For the people who are nice and friendly and actually care about this phone just know jcase will NEVER release for this phone.  Too many people were too stupid so its never going to come out.  I got some tidbits from him which I'm appreciative of but that's probably all we will get. 

The root he achieved was not through an unlocked bootloader otherwise he wouldn't ask for a recovery to make a backup.  Secondly he said that it was not a releasable method, so its something much more complicated then fastboot, adb, etcc

So lets all please move on from him and start working on this ourselves and figure it out.


----------



## Vyrus69 (Mar 6, 2015)

Just got more information and yea...unless Zte releases a bootloader unlock, I doubt root is achieved.

Put it this way there is currently no exploit out there that will root the Zmax.

So for all of the trolls that decided to be children and feel like they are cool by acting how you did, you LITERALLY ruined any chance of this phone being rooted.

Its no wonder so many devs don't pay attention to xda.


----------



## stinkbud (Mar 6, 2015)

Too bad. This phone has so much potential.


----------



## 4NDROID4LIFE (Mar 6, 2015)

Vyrus69 said:


> Just got more information and yea...unless Zte releases a bootloader unlock, I doubt root is achieved.
> 
> Put it this way there is currently no exploit out there that will root the Zmax.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



I'm confused. Did jcase root it or not? I think not. Where's the pudding?

Sent from my D850 T-Mobile SIM


----------



## DroidisLINUX (Mar 6, 2015)

4NDROID4LIFE said:


> I'm confused. Did jcase root it or not? I think not. Where's the pudding?

Click to collapse



Yea we get it your gay have a nice day

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## Vyrus69 (Mar 6, 2015)

Yes his own personal zmax is fully rooted through a brand new exploit he created. 

So unless he ever needs that exploit for any other phone it will never be released.

Our only hope now is a boot loader unlock from Zte.


----------



## stinkbud (Mar 6, 2015)

4NDROID4LIFE said:


> I'm confused. Did jcase root it or not? I think not. Where's the pudding?
> 
> Sent from my D850 T-Mobile SIM

Click to collapse



He did. Thanks to you he isn't going to release it. Please go now.


----------



## thereal_antiHackmasta (Mar 6, 2015)

@jcase I'm willing to pay for the exploit. I think you deserve that for your time and effort. Let me know if that's something you would be willing to do.


----------



## hroark13 (Mar 6, 2015)

stinkbud said:


> He did. Thanks to you he isn't going to release it. Please go now.

Click to collapse



jcase probably has an exploit that can root any phone. He probably uses this to get access to the phone and search for any vulnerabilities that can be exploited on that particular phone, and then made public without revealing his secrets.

It is his personal back door to Android, so to say.

If he were to release his back door for this one phone, or a general root for a bunch of phones, the manufacturers would soon patch this, and his backdoor would be gone. He would no longer be able to find and release stuff that is releasable.

So I would not be quick to blame anybody for him not releasing his root method, but pestering jcase and insulting him will definitely make him not want to spend any time looking for a releasable exploit on this phone.

From what I know of ZTE I can probably guess a couple of things.

1. The bootloader requires recoveries and kernels to be signed with ZTE's private key, this means no CWM or TWRP unless the bootloader gets unlocked or some type of LOKI exploit is made.

2. The partitions are write protected by the bootloader, this means even if you get temp root, you can not install permanent root files, there are a bunch of ZTE phones that are like this.

So even if he did release what he has, it would be unusable by most people as a root solution.

Now I may be wrong about all this, but I would be willing to bet a beer I am pretty close to it.


So my suggestion is to continue to pester T-Mobile and ZTE about releasing a bootloader unlock, doubt it will get you any where, but it is probably the only chance you have.

hK.


----------



## D33PTHAWTE (Mar 6, 2015)

Recommendations:
Huawei Ascend Mate 2
Alcatel OneTouch Hero 2+ (soon to be released)

Good luck folks.

Mod, for the love of mercy, just delete this entire thread. 
I know I'm not the only one who would like to forget.

Sent from my LG-V410 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mingolianbeef (Mar 6, 2015)

TL;DR

Root is temp root. Root doesn't stick. Its "root" without all the perks. That's not because the devs are bad, its the limitations of the lack of r/w system access. That's coming from Velrix who was actively working on others with root. Whether or not he was collabing with jcase, idk.


----------



## therealduckie (Mar 6, 2015)

Good lord. I leave this thread for a while to take care of my mother, who just had 2 heart attacks, and also deal with my own major health issues, to a bunch of whining, disrespect and childishness?

My apologies to @jcase for mentioning his name. Seems everyone decided their angst and frustration was an excuse to attack him. How is that even remotely how you get someone's support? That is the very opposite of logic.

Shame on all of you, including everyone who sat back and allowed it.

"_This is why we can't have nice things_" - Just remember, you all did this to yourselves and all the other patient, respectful and rational ZTE owners who will now have to live without root because you couldn't restrain your selfishness.

Thanks a lot.


----------



## Planterz (Mar 6, 2015)

As the OP of this thread, I'm tempted to ask a mod to close this thread or even have it removed. I'm disgusted by the behavior of some of the trolls in this thread. If I actually owned this phone, I'd be even more pissed at those people. I "disowned" this thread long ago because I'll never bother with this phone (root or not), but the way some people have acted is disgraceful and disrespectful, and it irks me to see people behaving in such ways in something that I started. I thank the mods for cleaning it up (again and again) from such nonsense.
@jcase

Illegitimis non carborundum. Glad you weren't hurt in the accident. And I can definitely sympathize with back pain.

If you do ever decide to share root, perhaps there's a way to only share it with those that pledged donations in the bounty thread. Maybe even require that the phone be mailed too you. I'm not trying to persuade you towards anything, I'm just saying that there's a decent chunk of change that'd be yours. Something to keep in your back pocket, should the need or desire arise.

As for me, I just got my tax refunds, and I'm getting a OnePlus One.


----------



## kardeef (Mar 6, 2015)

I have seen this before, Thanks jcase for looking into root. Thanks you trolls for ruining it again for the other 95% of is


----------



## graysooner (Mar 6, 2015)

*Enough!*

Sounds like a kindergarten class here.


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Mar 6, 2015)

The funny (ironic) thing is that most people think this phone is good the way it is. I to would like root and maybe a custom ROM.  I did like CM11 on my gnex.  I just do not understand all of the fracas that is going on. 

I really appreciate all the work that has gone into this phone. Hopefully, we can get something rolling without ticking any more people off.

I wish I could help, but I do not have the skills or time.   Yep, I am just a wannabe!


----------



## Mizoah24 (Mar 6, 2015)

Well...this all escalated quickly. @jcase I envy your abilities. I'm from Washington myself and miss the green everyday (the deserts of California are...well, not as nice). Anyway, thanks for entertaining us and sorry that things vomited everywhere.

For everyone else, regardless of root this is a good phone. Thank God it has at least 11 gb of internal usable storage so it's not like we'll die without root. There are a lot of customizations we can do just from the play store and I've had a lot of fun with that so I suggest checking out things like Nova Launcher (or Smart Launcher 2 Pro), swiftkey, the many different browsers out there, Next Cam, ZUI Locker, color notifications, etc. Also, is there a way we can email cyranogenmod and request for the ZMAX to be added? I've heard real good things about them.


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 6, 2015)

*Why when jcase advised when....*

Why when jcase advised that he was going to release, right after I left, people went and trolled and said he wasn't?  Seriously, please read the interactions people and get to work......


----------



## valve timing (Mar 6, 2015)

Well hey at least you tried

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 6, 2015)

Vyrus69 said:


> Just got more information and yea...unless Zte releases a bootloader unlock, I doubt root is achieved.
> 
> Put it this way there is currently no exploit out there that will root the Zmax.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Instead of being negative about it, why don't you get ahold of a developer, or see what you can do and actually help?  Seriously, the negativity of people like you is horrible.  Either work together and help, or leave.....


We started to have a good thing going here again, and people like you seem hell bent on destroying it....

---------- Post added at 12:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:04 PM ----------

I'm just going to say it.....

                      No More Negativity On This Thread......  Either Help Or Leave.

---------- Post added at 12:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:10 PM ----------




mingolianbeef said:


> TL;DR
> 
> Root is temp root. Root doesn't stick. Its "root" without all the perks. That's not because the devs are bad, its the limitations of the lack of r/w system access. That's coming from Velrix who was actively working on others with root. Whether or not he was collabing with jcase, idk.

Click to collapse



Thank you, so a surface root then,

            Ok, now we need to figure out how to get the actual Fastboot of the phone itself.  Any ideas? I keep thinking that somehow the LAF on this phone needs to be cleared.


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Mar 6, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> Instead of being negative about it, why don't you get ahold of a developer, or see what you can do and actually help?  Seriously, the negativity of people like you is horrible.  Either work together and help, or leave.....
> 
> 
> We started to have a good thing going here again, and people like you seem hell bent on destroying it....
> ...

Click to collapse



Hopefully you don't get mad and leave. At least someone is trying to get the ball rolling


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 6, 2015)

StonerSteve420 said:


> Hopefully you don't get mad and leave. At least someone is trying to get the ball rolling

Click to collapse



Thank you StonerSteve

---------- Post added at 12:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:29 PM ----------

Not too far back, someone advised me that there was a ZTE tool similar to Odin that could be used with the FTM of the phone.  Maybe, if we can get ahold of that tool, we can use that to clear the LAF and allow fastboot so we can unlock the bootloader.

It's a stretch I know, but, it might work.

---------- Post added at 12:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:32 PM ----------

I so wish I had this device myself......   

Is there anyone out there willing to try a few things? (caution, what I'm about to suggest may brick your device).

There is this fastboot and ADB tool, I'll try and find it, that might be able to be used to clear the LAF while the phone is booted......  However, I have no idea what affect clearing the LAF will have on the phone, however, with that surface root applied, at least ADB can get access to the partition.

So, @jcase, with this collaboration, we can probably root this device with an even better method and get the bootloader unlocked, so, what are your thoughts?


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Mar 6, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> Thank you StonerSteve
> 
> ---------- Post added at 12:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:29 PM ----------
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



There is a tool for updating the phone. Is this what you mean? You connect the phone to the computer it connects to the phone and you can upgrade or downgrade the software. Could this program be modified to help us out?


----------



## jcase (Mar 6, 2015)

I'm not seeing anything there, but im eager to see what you can produce.

FYI no such thing as surface root, or temproot or any of this. There is just root. You can have root in a variety of selinux contexts (typically you want it in init or kernel context). You can have root through a su binary installed on system, or through another mechanism. All in all, root is root.



Starflare5 said:


> Thank you StonerSteve
> 
> ---------- Post added at 12:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:29 PM ----------
> 
> ...

Click to collapse


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 6, 2015)

*Unfortunately....*

Unfortunately, for all this, we may need some "sacrificial lambs" to get it done.  We also need someone willing to go in and a get dirty with it (minds out of the gutter please).

Here's the important thing to remember:  There is a tool out there to restore the device, and, probably, the worst you can do hopefully is just soft-brick it.


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Mar 6, 2015)

jcase said:


> I'm not seeing anything there, but im eager to see what you can produce.
> 
> FYI no such thing as surface root, or temproot or any of this. There is just root. You can have root in a variety of selinux contexts (typically you want it in init or kernel context). You can have root through a su binary installed on system, or through another mechanism. All in all, root is root.

Click to collapse




Anytime I see you reply I get so thankful to the root gods. I hope you are feeling much better sir!!


----------



## Vyrus69 (Mar 6, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> Instead of being negative about it, why don't you get ahold of a developer, or see what you can do and actually help?  Seriously, the negativity of people like you is horrible.  Either work together and help, or leave.....
> 
> 
> We started to have a good thing going here again, and people like you seem hell bent on destroying it....
> ...

Click to collapse




First and foremost starflare I've been the one preaching patience the most since the beginning.

I created the change.org petition that got kernel source released.  

I contacted shabbypenguin who stated ZTE phones are next to impossible to root.  

I trolled emailed, facebooked, tweeted, live chatted zte to the point they won't respond to me anymore.

The exploit was CUSTOM created for this phone and he WILL NOT release it unfortunately he's told us.

So don't you dare speak to me about being negative or shouldn't be on this thread.  Know who you are speaking to before thinking I'm some child on here trolling.

I'm still all for trying to get root for this phone and I will not stop harassing ZTE until we get bootloader unlock.


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Mar 6, 2015)

Vyrus69 said:


> First and foremost starflare I've been the one preaching patience the most since the beginning.
> 
> I created the change.org petition that got kernel source released.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



I had a ZTE Warp and ZTE Warp Sequent both had root easily. Lots of ROMS The warp sequent is even Cyanogenmod supported


----------



## Vyrus69 (Mar 6, 2015)

Yea some do the older phones were rootable easier but lately they've made it harder.


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Mar 6, 2015)

Vyrus69 said:


> Yea some do the older phones were rootable easier but lately they've made it harder.

Click to collapse



I've heard framaroot works on a lot of ZTE phones I'm nervous to try it lol


----------



## Vyrus69 (Mar 6, 2015)

Most of the known root methods have been tried.


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 6, 2015)

jcase said:


> I'm not seeing anything there, but im eager to see what you can produce.
> 
> FYI no such thing as surface root, or temproot or any of this. There is just root. You can have root in a variety of selinux contexts (typically you want it in init or kernel context). You can have root through a su binary installed on system, or through another mechanism. All in all, root is root.

Click to collapse



Yes, but, without an unlocked bootloader, we don't have a good way to get other things loaded onto the device, like a custom recovery.  I mean, there are ways, LG has proven that to us.  I think we all should remember the L9, however, there was a way around that thing's crazy locked bootloader later as well.

Also, with an unlocked bootloader, we can actually look into an actual init, or kernel context root.

Now it's great that you have an SU type root that will help.  With that, we can possibly use that to unlock the bootloader.  

That's what we meant by the difference between temp root and actual root, even though, they are pretty much the same thing, with the other type, even if SuperSu get's deleted or removed, your device may still be detected as rooted, where as with a surface or temp root, it will not be.


----------



## jcase (Mar 6, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> Yes, but, without an unlocked bootloader, we don't have a good way to get other things loaded onto the device, like a custom recovery.  I mean, there are ways, LG has proven that to us.  I think we all should remember the L9, however, there was a way around that thing's crazy locked bootloader later as well.
> 
> Also, with an unlocked bootloader, we can actually look into an actual init, or kernel context root.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



I've not clarified for anyone exactly what I have, its not how i work. Generally I don't mention having root until I've decided what to do with it, let alone specifics of it. 

I'm sorry you are not correct on the specifics of what root is, and the differences in how you gain root.


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 6, 2015)

StonerSteve420 said:


> There is a tool for updating the phone. Is this what you mean? You connect the phone to the computer it connects to the phone and you can upgrade or downgrade the software. Could this program be modified to help us out?

Click to collapse



Yes, exactly, thank you.


----------



## Vyrus69 (Mar 6, 2015)

jcase said:


> I've not clarified for anyone exactly what I have, its not how i work. Generally I don't mention having root until I've decided what to do with it, let alone specifics of it.
> 
> I'm sorry you are not correct on the specifics of what root is, and the differences in how you gain root.

Click to collapse



Just add it to your sunshine root app and charge for it.  Then you can get something in return for dealing with some of these idiots here


----------



## jcase (Mar 6, 2015)

Vyrus69 said:


> Just add it to your sunshine root app and charge for it.  Then you can get something in return for dealing with some of these idiots here

Click to collapse



Very possible, but the time required to do that is great.


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 6, 2015)

jcase said:


> I've not clarified for anyone exactly what I have, its not how i work. Generally I don't mention having root until I've decided what to do with it, let alone specifics of it.
> 
> I'm sorry you are not correct on the specifics of what root is, and the differences in how you gain root.

Click to collapse



Well then, please clarify and enlighten us.  

I've also asked you a few times if you've unlocked the bootloader?


----------



## Vyrus69 (Mar 6, 2015)

jcase said:


> Very possible, but the time required to do that is great.

Click to collapse




Maybe a minimum donation of 5 to 10 bucks to get whatever method you might have?  I want you to profit for your work and headaches.


----------



## jcase (Mar 6, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> Well then, please clarify and enlighten us.
> 
> I've also asked you a few times if you've unlocked the bootloader?

Click to collapse



and I've ignored it. I dont enjoy conversing with you, and have no reason to share details with you. I've already said if you got me a functioning recovery, I would make a nandroid. Other than that, you have no info coming from me.


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 6, 2015)

Vyrus69 said:


> Just add it to your sunshine root app and charge for it.  Then you can get something in return for dealing with some of these idiots here

Click to collapse




Ok, here's what we're trying to do here.....

We're trying to get something deeper going than an app, however, the app can be used to achieve that.  In otherwords, complete root without an app, except of course, SuperSU must be there.

And, please, do not be calling people idiots.  Seriously.

---------- Post added at 01:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:12 PM ----------




jcase said:


> and I've ignored it. I dont enjoy conversing with you, and have no reason to share details with you. I've already said if you got me a functioning recovery, I would make a nandroid. Other than that, you have no info coming from me.

Click to collapse



You may not enjoy conversing with me, but, I'm the only one here collaborating people with you to get the work done and get this phone officially and fully root along with an unlocked bootloader.  Now, I was able to get people wiling to work with you, and you need to be willing to communicate and work with them.


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Mar 6, 2015)

Vyrus69 said:


> Maybe a minimum donation of 5 to 10 bucks to get whatever method you might have?  I want you to profit for your work and headaches.

Click to collapse



I'm willing to pay. Begging for root since its damn near impossible than saying I won't pay for it would be stupid. You can't have both lol


----------



## jcase (Mar 6, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> Ok, here's what we're trying to do here.....
> 
> We're trying to get something deeper going than an app, however, the app can be used to achieve that.  In otherwords, complete root without an app, except of course, SuperSU must be there.
> 
> And, please, do not be calling people idiots.  Seriously.

Click to collapse




The app he speaks of is an app I sell that unlocks the bootloader and gains root on roughly 150 variants of HTC and Motorola phones.



Starflare5 said:


> You may not enjoy conversing with me, but, I'm the only one here collaborating people with you to get the work done and get this phone officially and fully root along with an unlocked bootloader.  Now, I was able to get people wiling to work with you, and you need to be willing to communicate and work with them.

Click to collapse



I've not collaborated with anyone in this thread on this phone (there are a couple I've worked with on past ZTEs, but not this one), nor received such offers beyond people wanting to test things for me, which isn't something I do unless I don't have the phone here.


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 6, 2015)

*Now, back to business.....*

Now, moving on.....

We need to get that bootloader unlocked one way or another.......

Also, @jcase, I'm not sure if you've ever had an LG L9, but, your app sounds similar to the first way that device was ever rooted.  If there are other's here that remember, can you please explain it to him better than I can?


----------



## jcase (Mar 6, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> Now, moving on.....
> 
> We need to get that bootloader unlocked one way or another.......
> 
> Also, @jcase, I'm not sure if you've ever had an LG L9, but, your app sounds similar to the first way that device was ever rooted.  If there are other's here that remember, can you please explain it to him better than I can?

Click to collapse



I rooted the LG L9, and that whole generation of LG (and the next couple generations). SunShine is far from similar to anything that rooted that phone. SunShine is an application that gains root, unlocks the bootloader, and uninstalls itself.


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 6, 2015)

jcase said:


> The app he speaks of is an app I sell that unlocks the bootloader and gains root on roughly 150 variants of HTC and Motorola phones.
> 
> 
> 
> I've not collaborated with anyone in this thread on this phone (there are a couple I've worked with on past ZTEs, but not this one), nor received such offers beyond people wanting to test things for me, which isn't something I do unless I don't have the phone here.

Click to collapse



Ok, thank you.  Ok, well, in order to even give you what you want, you're going to have to let some test what you have and then use it back and forth to get a standardized method of rooting this device achieved.

Um, now, this app, have you used it on your device, and, did it unlock the bootloader on it?  If not, then, we may all have to find a way to do it or around it.

Also, just curious, why does the app delete itself?


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## jcase (Mar 6, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> Ok, thank you.  Ok, well, in order to even give you what you want, you're going to have to let some test what you have and then use it back and forth to get a standardized method of rooting this device achieved.

Click to collapse




No, I need nothing from you or anyone. I'm not looking for help.

Half your comments regarding root are exceedingly confusing and make no sense to me.


----------



## totlth (Mar 6, 2015)

jcase said:


> No, I need nothing from you or anyone. I'm not looking for help.
> ........

Click to collapse



If that's the case,
Why do you keep posting in here?

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk


----------



## Ranger1189 (Mar 6, 2015)

jcase said:


> No, I need nothing from you or anyone. I'm not looking for help.
> 
> Half your comments regarding root are exceedingly confusing and make no sense to me.

Click to collapse



Starflare5.  Please just leave jcase alone.  You seem to just be an annoyance.  Most would agree.  Thanks.


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 6, 2015)

jcase said:


> No, I need nothing from you or anyone. I'm not looking for help.
> 
> Half your comments regarding root are exceedingly confusing and make no sense to me.

Click to collapse



Um, you seem to understand me just fine.....

You're not from the US, are you?  It's ok, we're not really looking to just help you.  We're looking for you to help others including yourself.

Now, have you reprogrammed or added to this app for the ZMAX and used it to root and unlock the bootloader, or did you only achieve root?

...and why does it delete itself?

---------- Post added at 01:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:40 PM ----------




Ranger1189 said:


> Starflare5.  Please just leave jcase alone.  You seem to just be an annoyance.  Most would agree.  Thanks.

Click to collapse



You're not helping or contributing, thank you.


----------



## jcase (Mar 6, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> Um, you seem to understand me just fine.....
> 
> You're not from the US, are you?  It's ok, we're not really looking to just help you.  We're looking for you to help others including yourself.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



I am from the US. No what im saying is the terms, the context you are using, and your general understanding of what root is and how it works is wrong.

I have no need to help myself here, as I'm done for now. My goal was reached.

No, I've not added ZTE to this app, the bring up time for an OEM is in the "months of work" range. I'm currently bringing it up for HTC's latest builds, part of the reason im short on time.

It deletes itself because why not? After it is done, it doesnt need to exist any longer.


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 6, 2015)

*General question....*

Just how evil is the bootloader on the ZMAX Z970?  Has anyone else tried to figure out a work around or how to get to it?


----------



## Ranger1189 (Mar 6, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> Um, you seem to understand me just fine.....
> 
> You're not from the US, are you?  It's ok, we're not really looking to just help you.  We're looking for you to help others including yourself.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



At least I'm not a hindrance, as you seem to be.


----------



## Vyrus69 (Mar 6, 2015)

totlth said:


> If that's the case,
> Why do you keep posting in here?
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk

Click to collapse




Dont start with that again.  Let him be he is speaking to him specifically not in general.






Starflare5 said:


> Um, you seem to understand me just fine.....
> 
> You're not from the US, are you?  It's ok, we're not really looking to just help you.  We're looking for you to help others including yourself.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Bro!!! Let it go!  He's not going to tell you!  How difficult or dense are you?  You seen to be the type of person that if a woman says they don't wanna sleep with you, you keep asking a different way.  You're being the little that keeps going "but whyyyyy???"

It deletes itself because once it does what its meant to do there is no need for it to be on your phone.

He does not have to explain himself to you or anyone else.

Now back to topic..He has a method and we should all be willing to compensate him for that.  I would be willing to pay $20 for root.  Who else is with me? I know we have some people who pledged in the bounty thread too.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## totlth (Mar 6, 2015)

Vyrus69 said:


> Dont start with that again.  Let him be he is speaking to him specifically not in general.
> 
> Start what? I merely asked a question.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



If the woman keeps coming back giving you the illusion that there is a chance, then any GUY is gonna keep trying.

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk


----------



## Vyrus69 (Mar 6, 2015)

Treat a woman with respect and you'll get so much farther then you could ever imagine.

But jcase is not a woman..he's someone who dedicates time and resources to doing this.


----------



## totlth (Mar 6, 2015)

Vyrus69 said:


> Treat a woman with respect and you'll get so much farther then you could ever imagine.
> 
> But jcase is not a woman..he's someone who dedicates time and resources to doing this.

Click to collapse



I'm not coming down on anyone. Just calling it like I see it. A tease is a tease with or without respect. He's not a woman, but right now he's acting like a premadonna. " I got what y'all want. But I got butt hurt by a few peoples comments so y'all can't have it. But I'll keep coming around to show you what you can't have."
I simply asked why he was doing that. Just in simpler terms.

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk


----------



## Vyrus69 (Mar 6, 2015)

Maybe he wants to see if those of us who are respectable and patient would be willing to share with those and calling names like butt hurt and etc... You're not helping


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 6, 2015)

jcase said:


> I am from the US. No what im saying is the terms, the context you are using, and your general understanding of what root is and how it works is wrong.
> 
> I have no need to help myself here, as I'm done for now. My goal was reached.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Ok, well, that's interesting, and, thank you for answering.  So basically, you achieved root on the ZMAX by other means.  

Unfortunately, this may take us all back to the drawing board.  The reason is that even though you have root, there is still the issue of the locked bootloader which also leads to the issue of creating a recovery.


----------



## totlth (Mar 6, 2015)

Vyrus69 said:


> Maybe he wants to see if those of us who are respectable and patient would be willing to share with those and calling names like butt hurt and etc... You're not helping

Click to collapse



You seem to take my comments as insults. Let me explain that butt hurt just means upset. Focus on the context of my comments not just one word or phrase. I haven't been disrespectful in the least. Anytime I see someone saying no but acting the opposite, my brain poses the question why?

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk


----------



## nobreak1970 (Mar 6, 2015)

This is like watching a great TV show to the point where you love it but you know in your heart it's run its course.

Sent from my HUAWEI Y536A1

---------- Post added at 02:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:16 PM ----------




Vyrus69 said:


> Treat a woman with respect and you'll get so much farther then you could ever imagine.
> 
> But jcase is not a woman..he's someone who dedicates time and resources to doing this.

Click to collapse



Wife saw his pic... she thinks he is cute.  =-O

I digress. 

Sent from my HUAWEI Y536A1


----------



## tak_flow (Mar 6, 2015)

How do you turnoff connection vibration on the zmax?


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 6, 2015)

**Bangs Head Against Wall**

Ok, stop with the drama, because now we know what we're working with here. @jcase, you have achieved root, but, it may not help as much as we had hoped, but, thank you for your input thus far.

I'm open to suggestions from others.....

---------- Post added at 02:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:25 PM ----------




Ranger1189 said:


> At least I'm not a hindrance, as you seem to be.

Click to collapse



I'm one of the few people attempting to get collaboration, where as you're hell bent on negativity.  Now either help or go.


----------



## tak_flow (Mar 6, 2015)

can you  help me starflare5? how do i turn off connection vibration?  my phone zmax vibrates once when it connects and disconnects..


----------



## Ranger1189 (Mar 6, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> Ok, stop with the drama, because now we know what we're working with here. @jcase, you have achieved root, but, it may not help as much as we had hoped, but, thank you for your input thus far.
> 
> I'm open to suggestions from others.....
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



You're nothing short of delusional.


----------



## smilesintears77 (Mar 6, 2015)

tak_flow said:


> How do you turnoff connection vibration on the zmax?

Click to collapse



+1

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 6, 2015)

tak_flow said:


> can you  help me starflare5? how do i turn off connection vibration?  my phone zmax vibrates once when it connects and disconnects..

Click to collapse



Tak, as in all Android devices, that's in settings> sounds> alerts and notifications.  Toward the bottom, there should be a selection for "Play sound when plugged into charger" and a check box for vibration as well.  Uncheck that box.

I don't have this device in front of me right now, but, I also understand your pain as even the manual does not tell you how to do it.

---------- Post added at 02:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:51 PM ----------




Ranger1189 said:


> You're nothing short of delusional.

Click to collapse



Is there a way to block you, or do I need to go get ahold of a moderator?

---------- Post added at 02:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:52 PM ----------

Hey people, I have to go take care of some things......  I will comeback.  Please, do not let Trolls like Ranger1189 discourage you.

Thank you all who have been helping...  You've been amazing.

Starflare5.


----------



## smilesintears77 (Mar 6, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> Tak, as in all Android devices, that's in settings> sounds> alerts and notifications.  Toward the bottom, there should be a selection for "Play sound when plugged into charger" and a check box for vibration as well.  Uncheck that box.
> 
> I don't have this device in front of me right now, but, I also understand your pain as even the manual does not tell you how to do it.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



unfortunately there is no such menu under sound setting.. any others with this phone having same issues? 

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 6, 2015)

*Before I go....*



smilesintears77 said:


> unfortunately there is no such menu under sound setting.. any others with this phone having same issues?
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk

Click to collapse



This is exactly one of the reasons why we need root, and unlocked bootloader, and a custom rom.


----------



## smilesintears77 (Mar 6, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> This is exactly one of the reasons why we need root, and unlocked bootloader, and a custom rom.

Click to collapse



I have called zte usa tech support and they have no solution regarding this vibration bug.  They said just use the phone as is or return it to metropcs. 

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk

---------- Post added at 09:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:11 PM ----------

maybe my phone is a defect? 

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 6, 2015)

smilesintears77 said:


> I have called zte usa tech support and they have no solution regarding this vibration bug.  They said just use the phone as is or return it to metropcs.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk

Click to collapse



So basically, they're leaving it completely up to outside developers (like here) to fix these bugs.....  UGH!

Ok people, now we hav an even bigger reason to crack this thing. ZTE themselves does not appear to want to help or even figure out their own issues with this device.


----------



## Ranger1189 (Mar 6, 2015)

Has anyone else here tried to google  "Starflare5"?


----------



## totlth (Mar 6, 2015)

Ranger1189 said:


> Has anyone else here tried to google  "Starflare5"?  Nuff said.  I'm done.  See ya. :laugh:

Click to collapse



Haha! Touché!

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 6, 2015)

Ranger1189 said:


> Has anyone else here tried to google  "Starflare5"?  Nuff said.  I'm done.  See ya. :laugh:

Click to collapse



Ok, I'm only going to do this once and break my professional demeanor.....

Stop trolling dumbass and leave the thread.


----------



## nobreak1970 (Mar 6, 2015)

I hate to jump in here but Perhaps a neutral post can help. @jcase got root here.  He said he is done with the phone. 

Some seem to keep trying to get @jcase to "give up the secret"
He said no.  He has reasons.  It is what it is. Its over.
For both sides. (I include jcase in this because what's done is done even for him. Time to go help get sunshine updated.)


A couple of posts above this one someone posted a legit question.  1 Person acknowledged it.
For all that is holy someone make a new thread for people that want real help with this device.  Poor guy just stumbled into a hornets nest!!!



Sent from my HUAWEI Y536A1


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 6, 2015)

totlth said:


> Haha! Touché!
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk

Click to collapse



...and you can stop trolling as well....

---------- Post added at 03:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:27 PM ----------




nobreak1970 said:


> I hate to jump in here but Perhaps a neutral post can help. @jcase got root here.  He said he is done with the phone.
> 
> Some seem to keep trying to get @jcase to "give up the secret"
> He said no.  He has reasons.  It is what it is. Its over.
> ...

Click to collapse



Here's the thing, he achieved root, but, not an unlocked bootloader, and is asking for a custom recovery.....  Now, I know that there are ways around a locked bootloader, but, nothing that can really help us here.....  Also, as just pointed out, ZTE is not really willing to help it's customer's even and is basically leaving it up to outside development.

But, yes, I am actually all for a completely new thread and I second you on that one.


----------



## totlth (Mar 6, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> ...and you can stop trolling as well....

Click to collapse



I surf the internet for info and entertainment. Sometimes when looking for info I find entertainment. As far as I know I am using the internet the way it was intended. When I post I do so with thick skin. Meaning: I don't take personal every comment made. You should try this method.
Basically I'm saying (in my best neener-neener voice) " if I'm a troll, you're a troll".

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 6, 2015)

*We need a new thread on this device.....*

We need a new thread on this device..... who should start it?


----------



## nobreak1970 (Mar 6, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> ...and you can stop trolling as well....
> 
> ---------- Post added at 03:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:27 PM ----------
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



I don't recall him ever directly asking for help regarding that.  He eluded to it only to make his point.
That's how i read it.


Sent from my HUAWEI Y536A1


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 6, 2015)

nobreak1970 said:


> I don't recall him ever directly asking for help regarding that.  He eluded to it only to make his point.
> That's how i read it.
> 
> 
> Sent from my HUAWEI Y536A1

Click to collapse



He actually did answer in an indirect way....  He stated that he has not added the ZTE to the sunshine app, which roots and unlocks the bootloader, however, stated that he had achieved root and that unlocking the bootloader would take "months of development" which he does not have time for.


----------



## totlth (Mar 6, 2015)

I'm following this thread because I have this device. I had a zte avid a while back. For that device I built cwm and cm. I would like to do that for this device. It gives me something to do. I have never worked on root but have been looking into it and have tried a few things to no avail. I'm just putting it out there so if anyone finds a method that they don't wanna try, send it over and I'll give it a go.

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk


----------



## nobreak1970 (Mar 6, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> He actually did answer in an indirect way....  He stated that he has not added the ZTE to the sunshine app, which roots and unlocks the bootloader, however, stated that he had achieved root and that unlocking the bootloader would take "months of development" which he does not have time for.

Click to collapse



We shall agree to disagree. 

Sent from my HUAWEI Y536A1


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 6, 2015)

nobreak1970 said:


> I don't recall him ever directly asking for help regarding that.  He eluded to it only to make his point.
> That's how i read it.
> 
> 
> Sent from my HUAWEI Y536A1

Click to collapse



Basically, I hope jcase understood, that if he indeed wants a custom recovery, the bootloader must be unlocked first.  There can be a custom recovery created around a locked bootloader, but, that can get rather tedious.


----------



## nobreak1970 (Mar 6, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> Basically, I hope jcase understood, that if he indeed wants a custom recovery, the bootloader must be unlocked first.  There can be a custom recovery created around a locked bootloader, but, that can get rather tedious.

Click to collapse



Believe me he understands. 

Sent from my HUAWEI Y536A1


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 6, 2015)

*Also....*

This is also the reason we need someone willing to erase their LAF and can do it safely to allow fastboot to load to unlock the bootloader without bricking their device.
@jcase, have you tried anything like this yet with your own device?  This way we can get a custom recovery for you.

Please understand, that if you want a custom recovery, your bootloader must be unlocked.


----------



## jcase (Mar 6, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> He actually did answer in an indirect way....  He stated that he has not added the ZTE to the sunshine app, which roots and unlocks the bootloader, however, stated that he had achieved root and that unlocking the bootloader would take "months of development" which he does not have time for.

Click to collapse



No, I said adding another OEM to SunShine would be months of development, please dont put words into my mouth


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 6, 2015)

*Another general question......*

Did anyone make unlocking the bootloader a priority on this device first, and, if so, what did you discover?

---------- Post added at 04:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:00 PM ----------




jcase said:


> No, I said adding another OEM to SunShine would be months of development, please dont put words into my mouth

Click to collapse



Thank you, ok, then ugh.........  ok....  we create a new thread, figure out if there is a way to unlock the bootloader before root, or, figure out how to put a custom recovery in with a locked bootloader possibly after root.


----------



## jcase (Mar 6, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> This is also the reason we need someone willing to erase their LAF and can do it safely to allow fastboot to load to unlock the bootloader without bricking their device.
> 
> @jcase, have you tried anything like this yet with your own device?  This way we can get a custom recovery for you.
> 
> Please understand, that if you want a custom recovery, your bootloader must be unlocked.

Click to collapse



Dude, this is a ZTE phone, not an LG phone. There is no "LAF" partition. (For those that dont know, LAF is an additional ramdisk/kernel used in LG devices, wiping it on LG devices will expose fastboot.) Completely wrong OEM.

No, bootladaer doesnt have to be unlocked to boot a custom recovery, just has to be to flash. Multiple ways have been found to boot one without unlocking the bootloader. See CVE-2014-4325 that I found in the OnePlus as an example.



Starflare5 said:


> This is also the reason we need someone willing to erase their LAF and can do it safely to allow fastboot to load to unlock the bootloader without bricking their device.
> 
> @jcase, have you tried anything like this yet with your own device?  This way we can get a custom recovery for you.
> 
> Please understand, that if you want a custom recovery, your bootloader must be unlocked.

Click to collapse



LAF is a proprietary LG feature, it does not exist on ZTE devices.


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 6, 2015)

jcase said:


> Dude, this is a ZTE phone, not an LG phone. There is no "LAF" partition. (For those that dont know, LAF is an additional ramdisk/kernel used in LG devices, wiping it on LG devices will expose fastboot.) Completely wrong OEM.
> 
> No, bootladaer doesnt have to be unlocked to boot a custom recovery, just has to be to flash. Multiple ways have been found to boot one without unlocking the bootloader. See CVE-2014-4325 that I found in the OnePlus as an example.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Ok, well, then does it have a fastboot, or is it covering it up?

And, since he jcase states that the bootloader is unlocked, can someone look into building a clockworkmod based recovery for him and all of us.


----------



## smilesintears77 (Mar 6, 2015)

Greetings from Atlanta. Lets keep it cool. im just glad it's spring break. grab a yuengling and relax ???


Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 6, 2015)

*I gotta go.....*

Ok, I have to run.. please, work together people.


----------



## jcase (Mar 6, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> And, since he jcase states that the bootloader is unlocked, can someone look into building a clockworkmod based recovery for him and all of us.

Click to collapse



Seriously stop putting words into my mouth.


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 6, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> Ok, well, then does it have a fastboot, or is it covering it up?
> 
> And, since he jcase states that the bootloader is unlocked, can someone look into building a clockworkmod based recovery for him and all of us.

Click to collapse



No the Zmax no  fastboot but has some FTM mode and adb doesnt recognize the device in FTM mode...  you cant push any files to the phone 
and you cant remount the system...I was looking into modifying the default.prop..or do you have to already have root to do that .. im new at this trying to gain root thing and i really dont know if im going in the right direction...


----------



## ottisdwood (Mar 6, 2015)

Picked up this phone around x-mas. Put it to the test everyday and never have more than a small keyboard lag. I didn't like the fact of limited sdcard use until I figured out how to manually move movies, pictures, songs to SD.... Love 5.7 inches any day, the hotspot and tether but the battery life on high demand functions is what makes this phone a great bang for your buck. No reason why this phone wouldn't be better with root and I for one thank any person that work on bootloaders, unlocks, roots for no pay. Its a lot of work and endlessly repeating the process on new phone for ppl that want, no... Ppl that need the most out of their phones. Hope you guys are making progress. I'll be willing to put some $ on the cause or my phone to test. Good luck

Sent from my Z970


----------



## treewalkr (Mar 7, 2015)

*zmax*



Planterz said:


> Sorry to pester you with questions, but how about an Antutu test? The only review I've found is on CNET and they only did a Quadrant test.

Click to collapse



this is late, i know, but dont forget the gorilla glass...i spent a week looking online for a screen protector and finally ended up on a site where they chat with you,and they informed me that the gorilla glass is so strong u dont need one..
im ALSO looking  for a way to root the phone (warranty be damned) and i had a conversation with a tech guy from tmobile about it and he said it can be rooted, just didnt divulge the information about it, just went in to the whole it will voind ur bla bla bla..i hung up on him..if u have come across a way to do it id love to know


----------



## therealduckie (Mar 7, 2015)

Can I just say, again, how much I miss when this site was smart people and users with manners and not permeated by selfish 15 yr olds who demand instant gratification?

RIP good ole days


----------



## Furik (Mar 7, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> We need a new thread on this device..... who should start it?

Click to collapse



We don't need another thread at all - this one just need heavily cleaned up.


----------



## Shlickwilly (Mar 7, 2015)

Please  please please stop quoting starflare...... He is completely ignorant about the way an android OS is layer out and has nothing to contribute.


----------



## hroark13 (Mar 7, 2015)

jcase said:


> No, bootladaer doesnt have to be unlocked to boot a custom recovery, just has to be to flash. Multiple ways have been found to boot one without unlocking the bootloader. See CVE-2014-4325 that I found in the OnePlus as an example..

Click to collapse



So I take this as meaning that the recovery.img does not have to be signed to boot on this phone, and when I say boot I mean booting from the recovery partition after it has been flashed

Am I wrong ?


----------



## tech_yeet (Mar 7, 2015)

Shlickwilly said:


> Please  please please stop quoting starflare...... He is completely ignorant about the way an android OS is layer out and has nothing to contribute.

Click to collapse



Don't you mean she?

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Rusell (Mar 7, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> Don't you mean she?
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Humiliation on XDA won't get us NO WHERE! If y'all really want this device rooted, lets just keep this thread simple and dedicated to it. This is one of the reasons a developer might not even bother to look over this device

Rusell


----------



## Ranger1189 (Mar 7, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> Don't you mean she?
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



I don't believe starflare5 is a she.  Try and google starflare5.  How many people do you think could be using that same screen name?

---------- Post added at 02:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:03 PM ----------




Shlickwilly said:


> Please  please please stop quoting starflare...... He is completely ignorant about the way an android OS is layer out and has nothing to contribute.

Click to collapse



I couldn't agree more.  He's done more harm than good here.  He is doing nothing more than harassing those who can actually accomplish root on this phone.


----------



## tech_yeet (Mar 7, 2015)

Ranger1189 said:


> I don't believe starflare5 is a she.  Try and google starflare5.  How many people do you think could be using that same screen name?
> 
> ---------- Post added at 02:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:03 PM ----------
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



I remember seeing a post from starflar5 abont boy friend... Thats why I said that...

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Rusell (Mar 7, 2015)

Guys, I think that talking about how this thread is full of **** is making this thread in relevant to what it is supposed to be about. Let's try forgetting everything and go to our main objective : 
Root the ZTE ZMAX (Z970)
I am no developer to justify how hard that will be.

Rusell


----------



## jabarel (Mar 7, 2015)




----------



## smilesintears77 (Mar 7, 2015)

The fact is JCASE IS DONE WITH THIS PHONE. water has been spilled it's too late. close this thread. 

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## totlth (Mar 7, 2015)

smilesintears77 said:


> The fact is JCASE IS DONE WITH THIS PHONE. water has been spilled it's too late. close this thread.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk

Click to collapse



Everyone that's wants this thread closed. Pretend that it is and stop posting. 
I'm still working on root and I'm sure others are as well. ( I'm not a dev)

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk


----------



## Vyrus69 (Mar 7, 2015)

I'm still going to pester ZTE with messages regarding a boot unlock.  Gotta keep pushing.


----------



## voidcomp (Mar 7, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> Ok, I have to run.. please, work together people.

Click to collapse



Lol, you stir everything up with your delusional, ill-tempered rantings then call for unity.

What a piece of work.

Now we can proceed ... with your absence.


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 7, 2015)

*Please go away if you're not....*



voidcomp said:


> Lol, you stir everything up with your delusional, ill-tempered rantings then call for unity.
> 
> What a piece of work.

Click to collapse



If you're not going to say or do something constructive and helpful, please go away, and I'm only going to ask nicely once....


----------



## totlth (Mar 7, 2015)

I thought I read a few posts back about phone not being recognized by pc when in ftm. I have got my pc to recognize my phone while in ftm. Still got no permissions tho. Not trying to contradict or start anything. Just letting it be known.
I've been messing with adb shell a bit so any ideas on that route are welcome as well.

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 7, 2015)

**Scratches Head* Conflicting stories......*



Vyrus69 said:


> I'm still going to pester ZTE with messages regarding a boot unlock.  Gotta keep pushing.

Click to collapse




Ok, half the posters (including jcase) state that the bootloader is unlocked, while the other half state that it isn't.  Which is it?


----------



## Meep70 (Mar 7, 2015)

> Ok, half the posters (including jcase) state that the bootloader is unlocked, while the other half state that it isn't. Which is it?

Click to collapse



I have followed this thread, from the beginning, and I do not recall ANYONE, at any time, saying that the bootloader is unlocked. It has been mentioned that ZTE talked about releasing an unlocked bootloader, but that appears to be either rumor or vaporware.


----------



## Ranger1189 (Mar 7, 2015)

Meep70 said:


> I have followed this thread, from the beginning, and I do not recall ANYONE, at any time, saying that the bootloader is unlocked. It has been mentioned that ZTE talked about releasing an unlocked bootloader, but that appears to be either rumor or vaporware.

Click to collapse



Correct.  No one said that the bootloader was unlocked.


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 7, 2015)

TecheTag said:


> No the Zmax no  fastboot but has some FTM mode and adb doesnt recognize the device in FTM mode...  you cant push any files to the phone
> and you cant remount the system...I was looking into modifying the default.prop..or do you have to already have root to do that .. im new at this trying to gain root thing and i really dont know if im going in the right direction...

Click to collapse





Thank you TecheTag, so it is extremely  similar to a Samsung, but, still in a weird ZTE way.... We need to first get ahold of the ZTE restore software like ODIN and work from there.

---------- Post added at 04:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:09 PM ----------




totlth said:


> I thought I read a few posts back about phone not being recognized by pc when in ftm. I have got my pc to recognize my phone while in ftm. Still got no permissions tho. Not trying to contradict or start anything. Just letting it be known.
> I've been messing with adb shell a bit so any ideas on that route are welcome as well.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk

Click to collapse



There is a piece of software from ZTE that works like Odin for emergency recovery of the phone.. I'm trying to find it.  That would probably be where we need to start.


----------



## totlth (Mar 7, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> Thank you TecheTag, so it is extremely  similar to a Samsung, but, still in a weird ZTE way.... We need to first get ahold of the ZTE restore software like ODIN and work from there.
> 
> ---------- Post added at 04:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:09 PM ----------
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



That would probably help get back to stock once we start flashing. But I don't believe it will help with root. We can't start flashing until bootloader unlock or Loki or something to get around bootloader. For root I think we need something like safestrap that will allow us to interrupt boot sequence to have write permissions to add su binary to the xbin folder. I may be off on something, but this is what my research is telling me.

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk


----------



## Meep70 (Mar 7, 2015)

totlth said:


> That would probably help get back to stock once we start flashing. But I don't believe it will help with root.

Click to collapse



It might help in that a stock ROM image could be modified (i.e. R/W access to /system, or the SU binary added), signed, and then installed by this method.


----------



## Meep70 (Mar 7, 2015)

Has anyone tried building an update.zip file and seeing if that can somehow install SU binaries?


----------



## totlth (Mar 7, 2015)

Meep70 said:


> It might help in that a stock ROM image could be modified (i.e. R/W access to /system, or the SU binary added), signed, and then installed by this method.

Click to collapse



The software I know of for zte doesn't let you choose what to flash. If there is one that is truly like Odin, I'm not aware of any, I guess it could help with root.

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk


----------



## Rusell (Mar 7, 2015)

Meep70 said:


> Has anyone tried building an update.zip file and seeing if that can somehow install SU binaries?

Click to collapse



It needs to be signed by ZTE codes. I don't know where we can find a way to "sign: this zips so we can flash them using Stock Recovery.
Although it is possible as I remember an Chinese tablet that i owned was rooted using Stock Recovery and a .zip


----------



## Meep70 (Mar 7, 2015)

Rusell said:


> It needs to be signed by ZTE codes. I don't know where we can find a way to "sign: this zips so we can flash them using Stock Recovery

Click to collapse



True, but it is another approach to be explored. The more ideas we throw at this thing, the more likely we are to reach the goal that we are all after, here. ¿Verdad?


----------



## biledigger (Mar 7, 2015)

Would this be of any help?
https ://sites.google.com/site/zteopenfirmware/download-mode


----------



## Rusell (Mar 7, 2015)

Meep70 said:


> True, but it is another approach to be explored. The more ideas we throw at this thing, the more likely we are to reach the goal that we are all after, here. ¿Verdad?

Click to collapse



Si  I already set up my Ubuntu environment, I just don't know what to do afterward. I look up how to root a device and it rather gives me apps and guides instead of teaching me how to ACTUALLY root a device without any root method available yet. Maybe any developer without the device willing to guide me through?


----------



## Meep70 (Mar 7, 2015)

biledigger said:


> Would this be of any help?
> https ://sites.google.com/site/zteopenfirmware/download-mode

Click to collapse



I have looked at that and wondered, as well. It appears to be for a specific model of phone, other than the one we have, but it could give insight to someone more knowledgeable than me.


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Mar 7, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> Thank you TecheTag, so it is extremely  similar to a Samsung, but, still in a weird ZTE way.... We need to first get ahold of the ZTE restore software like ODIN and work from there.
> 
> ---------- Post added at 04:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:09 PM ----------
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



http://ukblog.im-mobility.com/using-zte-android-software-update-tool


----------



## totlth (Mar 7, 2015)

Meep70 said:


> I have looked at that and wondered, as well. It appears to be for a specific model of phone, other than the one we have, but it could give insight to someone more knowledgeable than me.

Click to collapse











Rusell said:


> Si  I already set up my Ubuntu environment, I just don't know what to do afterward. I look up how to root a device and it rather gives me apps and guides instead of teaching me how to ACTUALLY root a device without any root method available yet. Maybe any developer without the device willing to guide me through?

Click to collapse



I ran into that also. Got more info when I searched " android root exploits"

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## Meep70 (Mar 7, 2015)

Rusell said:


> Si  I already set up my Ubuntu environment, I just don't know what to do afterward. I look up how to root a device and it rather gives me apps and guides instead of teaching me how to ACTUALLY root a device without any root method available yet. Maybe any developer without the device willing to guide me through?

Click to collapse



I am not a developer, and I have never played one, on TV. That said, what needs to be done is figuring out how to make the /system folder writeable--even if only long enough to copy a few files, then make it read-only, again. 

Study permissions on a Linux system (Ubuntu is fine) and get to know your way around, and that is a step in the right direction.


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 7, 2015)

biledigger said:


> Would this be of any help?
> https ://sites.google.com/site/zteopenfirmware/download-mode

Click to collapse



THANK YOU!!!!


----------



## Rusell (Mar 7, 2015)

StonerSteve420 said:


> http://ukblog.im-mobility.com/using-zte-android-software-update-tool

Click to collapse



Great finding, I see it requires an Internet connection to proceed to flash, this might prevent us to flash any modified image to the phone. Best we can do of that is to patch it to work offline and directly skip to "Flashing" in the device.


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 7, 2015)

StonerSteve420 said:


> http://ukblog.im-mobility.com/using-zte-android-software-update-tool

Click to collapse



THANK YOU!!!!! Also StonerSteve


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Mar 7, 2015)

I just wanna help


----------



## Vyrus69 (Mar 7, 2015)

Regardless the issue still stands that this phone has NO exploits.  Jcase had to CREATE an exploit just to root his phone. 

Zte built this phone super secure.  All of these methods won't work, you need to think out of the box.  Basically how can we push a file into the root of the system folder that will create an exploit in the phone.

All known 4.4 exploits are patched on this phone.


----------



## totlth (Mar 7, 2015)

Vyrus69 said:


> Regardless the issue still stands that this phone has NO exploits.  Jcase had to CREATE an exploit just to root his phone.
> 
> Zte built this phone super secure.  All of these methods won't work, you need to think out of the box.  Basically how can we push a file into the root of the system folder that will create an exploit in the phone.
> 
> All known 4.4 exploits are patched on this phone.

Click to collapse



That's what I'm looking into. Interrupting boot and pushing a file thru adb. 

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 7, 2015)

StonerSteve420 said:


> I just wanna help

Click to collapse



And you have......  Here's an actual direct link to the tool itself under Software Downloads.....

http://www.zteusa.com/media/wysiwyg...oftware_Online_Upgrade_Tool_EXE_-_26.6MB_.zip

It may look like it's specific for the Warp, however, every search leads to this same exact tool for all ZTE phones...

This software might have a proxy workaround to make it not connect to the internet, however, the update tool does look like it actually let's you choose your firmware to install.....  So, now, their may have to be written a root in a ZTE firmware update package similar to the MD5's developers make for Samsung devices......


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 7, 2015)

I also got my Linux up and running but I was looking into modifying the default.prop..... I just can't figure out how extract the boot.img..or do we have to be root to do this.... 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Starflare5 (Mar 8, 2015)

*What is the ZTE.....?*

I know this is going to sound like a really stupid question, but, what is the ZTE update package file format?  Is it something proprietary to ZTE only that has to be converted, or, something we can unzip and extract things like the boot.img from?

---------- Post added at 06:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:56 PM ----------




Vyrus69 said:


> Regardless the issue still stands that this phone has NO exploits.  Jcase had to CREATE an exploit just to root his phone.
> 
> Zte built this phone super secure.  All of these methods won't work, you need to think out of the box.  Basically how can we push a file into the root of the system folder that will create an exploit in the phone.
> 
> All known 4.4 exploits are patched on this phone.

Click to collapse



This particular device may not be as secure as anyone thinks.  Yes, every other previous method has failed that uses methods from older devices or an app, however, there is software that recognizes the phone when connected to a PC from the outside......

Think about this for a second..... How secure would we think a Samsung phone is if we hadn't learned about or to work with Odin?

None of the other methods will work on this phone because, it looks as if ZTE was following the best Android phone maker out there in their own proprietary way, or, at least, made it look proprietary.

This is why we need to figure out ZTE's update file format.  We already know that this phone has a basic android zip file recovery on it, so, maybe we can also use that to our advantage as well....

In fact, ZTE sent out an update for this phone a about a month and a half ago in the zip file format.  Was anyone able to copy that zip file?


----------



## therealduckie (Mar 8, 2015)

Ranger1189 said:


> Doubt that.  I'm older than you and have been working in the computer/technology field since 1983.  Just sayin'.

Click to collapse



Had my first computer, a TRS-80, in 1978.

Do I win?


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 8, 2015)

Starflare5 said:


> And you have......  Here's an actual direct link to the tool itself under Software Downloads.....
> 
> http://www.zteusa.com/media/wysiwyg...oftware_Online_Upgrade_Tool_EXE_-_26.6MB_.zip
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



It doesnt work for or phones because it was made like 3 years ago....it needs to read our phone In FTM mode but debugging doesnt work in FTM mode......also when i try select another model number our model number is not listed.....


----------



## totlth (Mar 8, 2015)

TecheTag said:


> It doesnt work for or phones because it was made like 3 years ago....it needs to read our phone In FTM mode but debugging doesnt work in FTM mode......also when i try select another model number our model number is not listed.....

Click to collapse



I'm not sure how you were trying FTM with adb, but I've been doing just that all day long. Trying to find anyway around the permissions. I haven't succeeded but adb definitely works on FTM.

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk


----------



## Dennis21220 (Mar 8, 2015)

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## tech_yeet (Mar 8, 2015)

Dennis21220 said:


> View attachment 3199445
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Ew.???


----------



## dongarritas (Mar 8, 2015)

Vyrus69 said:


> Regardless the issue still stands that this phone has NO exploits.  Jcase had to CREATE an exploit just to root his phone.
> 
> Zte built this phone super secure.  All of these methods won't work, you need to think out of the box.  Basically how can we push a file into the root of the system folder that will create an exploit in the phone.
> 
> All known 4.4 exploits are patched on this phone.

Click to collapse



I am totally not a dev, just trying to use logic, and perhaps help those that are WAY more qualified than me. Seems to me that if anyone could get ahold of the first official update zip and open it for modification, that would certainly be a way to create an exploit. Also, as far as the ZTE tool needing internet access, it would seem to me that it would be easy enough to spoof ip address and connect to another device(s).
P.S. Just for s**ts and giggles and waving tech phallus around, I was in a private school outside of Austin during 1973-1975, and we were hooked up to UT's mainframe via teletype...punch cards and mag tapes. Basic, Fortran, Cobal(memory a little foggy on that one) were languages of the day. Thousands of square feet of UT hardware could be systematically shut down by a simple input of "0 divided by 0).   Anyway, thanks to all with a curious mind, and a talented brain! :good:


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 8, 2015)

Power volume down to get into FTM.. Adb devices. I get devices:????????  No Permission 
.... Have you tried to make a backup in Adb?

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## johnb380 (Mar 8, 2015)

Has anyone got command prompt to work with adb try oem-unlock that seems to be what most OEMS use for their command for boot loader unlock. But I don't have a PC right now.

---------- Post added at 09:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:35 PM ----------

oem_unlock


----------



## q12er5 (Mar 8, 2015)

no root? sorry i just got this phone


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Mar 8, 2015)

What if it was that easy haha

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## Ranger1189 (Mar 8, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> Had my first computer, a TRS-80, in 1978.
> 
> Do I win?

Click to collapse



You win by a couple of years.  My first computers were TRS-80 model 3's.


----------



## totlth (Mar 8, 2015)

TecheTag said:


> Power volume down to get into FTM.. Adb devices. I get devices:????????  No Permission
> .... Have you tried to make a backup in Adb?
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



I have tried pulling files but it gives me permissions error.
I get numbers where you get ???????? When I do adb devices.
When I do adb shell I get draconis which I assume is the board or chipset.

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk

---------- Post added at 09:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:50 PM ----------

I was able to push an exhaustion exploit to /data/local/tmp and change permission on it and run it. The exploit ran fine but no root was achieved.

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk

---------- Post added at 09:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:52 PM ----------

I gotta setup cygwin to compile fresh binary. The one I tried was  a lil old.

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk


----------



## Mizoah24 (Mar 8, 2015)

q12er5 said:


> no root? sorry i just got this phone

Click to collapse



I mean this in the most polite way but read through the thread. Seriously. Just read it. Honestly, just from the current comments you can see the answer is right in front of you. 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Meep70 (Mar 8, 2015)

TecheTag said:


> Power volume down to get into FTM.. Adb devices. I get devices:????????  No Permission
> .... Have you tried to make a backup in Adb?
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



If you are doing it in Linux, you have to be root or use sudo before your adb (or fastboot) commands. In windows you MAY have to run your command prompt with administrator rights.


----------



## mingolianbeef (Mar 8, 2015)

Ranger1189 said:


> You win by a couple of years.  My first computers were TRS-80 model 3's.

Click to collapse



You might as well be talking about dinosaurs because I have absolutely no idea what any computer was before the win98 Gateway lol. I'm only 20 tho, that would probably be the reason


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 8, 2015)

*Been Up Working On This*

So I been Up Most of the night trying to get some form of root....i got as far as pushing su , busybox and superuser.apk into /data/local/tmp.its not root but i belive its something....i also found out where the our imgs. are for our phone, boot, kenerl, recovery, etc.....when i wake up in about 5 to 6 hours im going to be back at it again...if anybody has any ideas on getting root throw them out...Im not a developer.....so maybe someone with more exp. can point me in a new direction. Have A Good Night...And Lets Work Together to get this phone rooted..


----------



## nobreak1970 (Mar 8, 2015)

One : Vic-20


Sent from my HUAWEI Y536A1 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## therealduckie (Mar 8, 2015)

I'll believe it when you can push to /system


----------



## dabluze (Mar 8, 2015)

*way past my knowledge base*

gonna keep the zte around,but since I do need root for a few things,I picked up an htc one max for $239.00 on ebay.hope the zte gets rooted,but unless there's someone out there with jcase skills,I doubt it.


----------



## clockcycle (Mar 8, 2015)

tak_flow said:


> How do you turnoff connection vibration on the zmax?

Click to collapse



Hi, I tried "nook color tools" apk on xda written by ben47 long ago. It gives access to several hidden menu options. But none with options to disable call connection vibration option. Ive seen the ability to do so on other devices. None on the zte zmax so far.


----------



## smilesintears77 (Mar 8, 2015)

clockcycle said:


> Hi, I tried "nook color tools" apk on xda written by ben47 long ago. It gives access to several hidden menu options. But none with options to disable call connection vibration option. Ive seen the ability to do so on other devices. None on the zte zmax so far.

Click to collapse



thanks for the information. i guess only the root is the answer ?

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk


----------



## clockcycle (Mar 8, 2015)

clockcycle said:


> In FTM my win7 only loads USB Composite drivers, but the other two are missing and show up as "Android". Reloaded drivers from virtual CD on phone.
> 
> EDIT:* [warning this is NOT for our phones, it just for research, read at your own peril and risk]* but this looks interesting https://sites.google.com/site/zteopenfirmware/download-mode
> 
> EDIT2: Our phones goes into the same modes as described in that guide, including DFU mode and that APP does see our phone. I am now wondering if we can flash an appropriate recovery like CMW,??

Click to collapse



Once again, this is the tool others have used with different model(s) zte phone(s)..

YMMV.


----------



## tech_yeet (Mar 8, 2015)

http://www.xda-developers.com/qualcomm-security-exploit-djrbliss/
I know he did not release the exploit
But he did release a summary so maybe one of you have enough skill?
Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 8, 2015)

This is the boot.img that I'm trying to unpack so I can modify the default.prop 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## jcase (Mar 8, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> http://www.xda-developers.com/qualcomm-security-exploit-djrbliss/
> I know he did not release the exploit
> But he did release a summary so maybe one of you have enough skill?
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Neither the exploits I used mentioned in that article, nor the one's by dan are applicable to this device.


----------



## thereal_antiHackmasta (Mar 8, 2015)

Has anyone tried sigmakey to unlock the bootloader? It seems to have worked for many other devices including ZTE.


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 8, 2015)

thereal_antiHackmasta said:


> Has anyone tried sigmakey to unlock the bootloader? It seems to have worked for many other devices including ZTE.

Click to collapse



Nope but ill try it when  I get done smoking this cig

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

---------- Post added at 07:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:00 PM ----------




thereal_antiHackmasta said:


> Has anyone tried sigmakey to unlock the bootloader? It seems to have worked for many other devices including ZTE.

Click to collapse



It requires some device that you have to buy 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## brandonlee96 (Mar 8, 2015)

TecheTag said:


> Nope but ill try it when  I get done smoking this cig
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



yup and its like $170


----------



## thereal_antiHackmasta (Mar 8, 2015)

I'm gonna ask their customer support some questions about the device and if it suits our needs I would be will to contribute to the cost. Also thanks for looking into this for the community. I haven't lost hope for this phone yet let's be the ones to make a difference. [emoji3]


----------



## nobreak1970 (Mar 8, 2015)

Worth it? 

Sent from my HUAWEI Y536A1 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## tech_yeet (Mar 8, 2015)

I found this interesting little file called verify.zip and it has some stuff that looks like it could help make a custom recovery....


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 8, 2015)

*Has anybody Seen This?*

So I was searching more into the DFU mode and I found this....  http://androidxda.com/flash-stock-rom-using-dfu


----------



## thereal_antiHackmasta (Mar 8, 2015)

That is for broadcom devices. However, I found some flash tools for qualcomm and one I am unfamiliar with. http://gsmsolution24.blogspot.com/2013/11/all-qualcomm-android-flash-tools.html?m=1
http://androidxda.com/download-emmc-dl-tool

---------- Post added at 06:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:18 PM ----------

@jcase is any of this helpful to the cause? Bootloader unlock or otherwise? I'm sorry to pester you but, any help would be appreciated I'm willing to donate as well.


----------



## Daveyoung300 (Mar 9, 2015)

Velrix said:


> I got this same email in PDF form before the FCC complaint when I receive the true followup from T-Mobile via snail mail which takes 1-2weeks so roughly 1 week left, I will scan it and upload. I can promise you it will be happening and am actually waiting for the file from ZTE engineering department as we speak. I had a conference with ZTE's tech support and that department earlier today. As I said once and will say again, I have no reason to troll. I will say however if I get one more threat or accusation that says otherwise I will disregard this thread only reply to a few people in this thread that have been here with me from day one.
> 
> Also like to point out root has been obtained on this phone for over 3 weeks. The reason its still to be posted is it being worked into a app and its not perm yet. If you guys can't be patient and support the people fighting and helping you out do not comment or go buy a mainstream phone with more support.

Click to collapse



Thx


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 9, 2015)

Daveyoung300 said:


> Thx

Click to collapse



I'm willing to wait....

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## King Ice (Mar 9, 2015)

I might have a method to unlock boot loader but have tet to try. I'll try to put link up in a minute.

---------- Post added at 04:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:31 AM ----------

I have to do 9 more posts b4 I can post link.


----------



## totlth (Mar 9, 2015)

King Ice said:


> I might have a method to unlock boot loader but have tet to try. I'll try to put link up in a minute.
> 
> ---------- Post added at 04:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:31 AM ----------
> 
> I have to do 9 more posts b4 I can post link.

Click to collapse



Did it work?

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk


----------



## King Ice (Mar 9, 2015)

Haven't had a chance to try, been at work all day.

---------- Post added at 05:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:59 AM ----------

Just got off, gotta finish posting, 6 more

---------- Post added at 05:37 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:33 AM ----------

5 more


----------



## Rusell (Mar 9, 2015)

King Ice said:


> Haven't had a chance to try, been at work all day.
> 
> ---------- Post added at 05:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:59 AM ----------
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Google drive? 

Rusell


----------



## biledigger (Mar 9, 2015)

Put a space between http and the semi colon ":" <--- its how I did it. Works like a charm.


----------



## King Ice (Mar 9, 2015)

file:///storage/emulated/0/../../../../data/data/com.google.android.apps.docs/files/fileinternal/00750519348b2671dc062c5bc0491338/ZTE%20Zmax%20Unlock%20Bootloader%20Tutorial OK, here it is.


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Mar 9, 2015)

That does not help me. It looks like that is the path on your device and not an external link?

Unless I am missing something!


----------



## King Ice (Mar 9, 2015)

That's google drive, I can't post an external link yet.


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Mar 9, 2015)

Access denied!

I think that path is for you device, not Google drive on the web.

---------- Post added at 12:30 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:25 PM ----------




TecheTag said:


> This is the boot.img that I'm trying to unpack so I can modify the default.prop
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Can't see it for some reason.


----------



## King Ice (Mar 9, 2015)

Naw, it won't let the link post. Need a couple more posts and then I can.


----------



## nobreak1970 (Mar 9, 2015)

Post 2x somewhere then come back.  

Sent from my HUAWEI Y536A1 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Mar 9, 2015)

Or keep responding here

So how is the weather there?


----------



## King Ice (Mar 9, 2015)

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9z9S4Q6ZVAeT0N1WmRvaWdlbG8/edit?usp=docslist_api try it this way then.


----------



## therealduckie (Mar 9, 2015)

Is someone going to post something from their C drive, next?

"Hurr durr hey guys check out this pix!!

C:\Users\NoviceComputerUser\Desktop\image.jpg"


----------



## nobreak1970 (Mar 9, 2015)

Here some new root exploit information for KitKat. I have no idea if its anything related to your phone but I'm just putting it out there.

http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/130112/android-root.zip


Sent from my HUAWEI Y536A1 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## therealduckie (Mar 9, 2015)

King Ice said:


> https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9z9S4Q6ZVAeT0N1WmRvaWdlbG8/edit?usp=docslist_api try it this way then.

Click to collapse



Delete this spam link, now.


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Mar 9, 2015)

King Ice said:


> https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9z9S4Q6ZVAeT0N1WmRvaWdlbG8/edit?usp=docslist_api try it this way then.

Click to collapse



Did you try this?  My guess is it is a click bait site and not real. The first clue is the bold print that it is a repost from XDA. So far, we have not unlocked the boot loader or attained permanent root access. Otherwise, it would be here!


----------



## sleepingturtle (Mar 9, 2015)

The link that King Ice put up refers to Modaco Superboot.  May work., although i doubt it.  I can't test because I'm at work so no access to a computer at the moment.  
Here's the direct link: http://www.unlock-bootloader.info/mp3-0/zte-zmax-6697.html


----------



## DroidisLINUX (Mar 9, 2015)

Let's just keep posting links of all the other root methods how does that sound? 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## nobreak1970 (Mar 9, 2015)

Lollipop ?

Ummm really.
Fake gotta be.


Sent from my HUAWEI Y536A1 using XDA Free mobile app

---------- Post added at 12:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:30 PM ----------

Sent from my HUAWEI Y536A1 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## SweetBearCub (Mar 9, 2015)

sleepingturtle said:


> The link that King Ice put up refers to Modaco Superboot.  May work., although i doubt it.  I can't test because I'm at work so no access to a computer at the moment.
> Here's the direct link: http://www.unlock-bootloader.info/mp3-0/zte-zmax-6697.html

Click to collapse



I think it's fairly obvious if you read the link that this "unlock" method is a scam.

*One*, it's on a site that claims to have methods for several phones, suggesting that our phone model was copied and pasted.

*Two*, the poster claims to have lifted the method from XDA, with no attribution to the original post. I haven't seen a method posted here, has anyone else? There you go.

*Three*, the poster speaks of the requirement of having "ADT" files installed. Ummm.. Does he/she mean ADB? There's no way to know, but even so, if they can make such a rookie mistake, they can surely screw up our phones easily.

*Four*, this is at least the second time this laughable "site" has been posted in this thread, and this is the second time I have debunked it as a lie. This shows that people are not reading the thread before they post.


----------



## sleepingturtle (Mar 9, 2015)

SweetBearCub said:


> I think it's fairly obvious if you read the link that this "unlock" method is a scam.
> 
> *One*, it's on a site that claims to have methods for several phones, suggesting that our phone model was copied and pasted.
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



As I said I doubt the method would work, but Modaco Superboot is a real exploit method.  I did some research and it doesn't appear to have a build for the Zmax. Another bad lead.
I have read the thread and didn't see any reference to Superboot


----------



## DroidisLINUX (Mar 9, 2015)

The root-android.zip might work if we have it as Ann app, but I don't know how to make it an app

Yea it says boot into bootloader and we don't have bootloader to do an oem_unlock

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Reallionare (Mar 9, 2015)

Have anyone read the latest post in the zmax bounty thread, someone mentioned some devs. that has did things for the other ZTE phones and suggested Zmax  community contact those devs. 2 names are given for assistance...I wouldn't know what to ask for my knowledge of phones is noob..

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 9, 2015)

I just sent both of those developers a message....I also sent them a link to the page.....just wanting on a respond now.....


----------



## imhumanoid (Mar 9, 2015)

*Zmax*

I've been following this thread for a good while now. I myself also own a Zmax.

If there is anyway I can help, please let me know. I want to see this phone rooted just as much as most of you do.


----------



## valve timing (Mar 9, 2015)

Man I need root I have so many apps that self restart . any solution for this ?

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## tech_yeet (Mar 9, 2015)

valve timing said:


> Man I need root I have so many apps that self restart . any solution for this ?
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Wut?

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## thereal_antiHackmasta (Mar 9, 2015)

valve timing said:


> Man I need root I have so many apps that self restart . any solution for this ?
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Use greenify not as automated as with root but accomplishes the goal.


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 9, 2015)

Here is that picture  of the boot.img location I was tryna send

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5XMO1OvJybWMExZeFhGcDFoVkU/edit?usp=docslist_api

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

---------- Post added at 08:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:43 PM ----------




TecheTag said:


> Here is that picture  of the boot.img location I was tryna send
> 
> https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5XMO1OvJybWMExZeFhGcDFoVkU/edit?usp=docslist_api
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Also has anybody (that's working on achieving root) gained shell root can't seem to gain root in shell.....

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## totlth (Mar 9, 2015)

TecheTag said:


> Here is that picture  of the boot.img location I was tryna send
> 
> https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5XMO1OvJybWMExZeFhGcDFoVkU/edit?usp=docslist_api
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



Can't do that until we achieve root.

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk


----------



## brandonlee96 (Mar 9, 2015)

i found this very nice case  with a stand on amazon for $6 for this zmax and im loving it so i wanted to share it it comes with many differnt colors heres the amazon link http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00ONECKX4?vs=1


----------



## tech_yeet (Mar 9, 2015)

brandonlee96 said:


> i found this very nice case  with a stand on amazon for $6 for this zmax and im loving it so i wanted to share it it comes with many differnt colors heres the amazon link http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00ONECKX4?vs=1

Click to collapse



Damn that thing looks like a VCR tape!

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## nobreak1970 (Mar 9, 2015)

Major protection.  Roof drop test....now!!!!!

Sent from my HUAWEI Y536A1 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## brandonlee96 (Mar 10, 2015)

tech_yeet said:


> Damn that thing looks like a VCR tape!
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



it fits in my jeans pocket,its a nice case i like it


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## thereal_antiHackmasta (Mar 10, 2015)

I have the same one I like it, just a bit bulky.


----------



## DroidisLINUX (Mar 10, 2015)

What port is that next to the microphone jack, cause my micro usb is on bottom not by the jack

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 10, 2015)

DroidisLINUX said:


> What port is that next to the microphone jack, cause my micro usb is on bottom not by the jack
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Are you talking about the lil small hole Above the back camera.? If so I think that's a mic

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 10, 2015)

So I have been reading a lot of other zte  newer phone topics on XDA and from the looks of it mostly all zte newer phones are the same write protection, no bootloader, no fastboot,  adb working .. a whole bunch crap modes that we can do anything with....

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## thereal_antiHackmasta (Mar 10, 2015)

TecheTag said:


> So I have been reading a lot of other zte  newer phone topics on XDA and from the looks of it mostly all zte newer phones are the same write protection, no bootloader, no fastboot,  adb working .. a whole bunch crap modes that we can do anything with....
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



You mean modes we can't do anything with? Can you post some links to the topics. I'm interested [emoji106]


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 10, 2015)

thereal_antiHackmasta said:


> You mean modes we can't do anything with? Can you post some links to the topics. I'm interested [emoji106]

Click to collapse



http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3035439

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2938192

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2661408

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3047588

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2482640

All these topics are different zte devices trying to get root....  at ZTE
Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## valve timing (Mar 10, 2015)

Thanks man I'll check it out right now


Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mingolianbeef (Mar 10, 2015)

I don't wanna be "that bandwagon guy that left (even though I still have my ZMAX)" but I just wanted to say that the level of group effort is truly amazing and if no one else has said it, you all are doing a great job at putting your heads together for a solution.

I have a book about Linux exploits that may be of assistance to anyone interested. It's a bit on the broader end of the spectrum but maybe its a step in the right direction for someone who needs that info. PM me if you think this will help you


----------



## King Ice (Mar 10, 2015)

That is a pretty nice case


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 10, 2015)

mingolianbeef said:


> I don't wanna be "that bandwagon guy that left (even though I still have my ZMAX)" but I just wanted to say that the level of group effort is truly amazing and if no one else has said it, you all are doing a great job at putting your heads together for a solution.
> 
> I have a book about Linux exploits that may be of assistance to anyone interested. It's a bit on the broader end of the spectrum but maybe its a step in the right direction for someone who needs that info. PM me if you think this will help you

Click to collapse



I downloaded a book a program last night on exploit development... I gonna start reading it this morning on my 45 min trip to work....then when I get off work and get home I'll do a little hands on training....

Zmax


----------



## Ranger1189 (Mar 10, 2015)

King Ice said:


> That is a pretty nice case

Click to collapse



I have this one.  Very nice case, not bulky.  Well built.   http://www.amazon.com/Evocel®-Layer...26001030&sr=8-1&keywords=zte+zmax+evocel+case


----------



## d16soda (Mar 10, 2015)

Man here I am with this sweet phone and no root. Where are we at with all this?

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## graysooner (Mar 10, 2015)

Best answer:  read the thread.


----------



## Ranger1189 (Mar 10, 2015)

Phone call quality is generally great with this phone, however when my wife calls me from her zmax it sounds like she is talking through a tin can.  I wonder if this is true with all HD calls on the zmax.  So far I think her calls are the only ones that come up with the "HD" symbol so I don't have any other HD calls to compare it to.  It's just weird that HD calls sound worse than regular calls.


----------



## johnb380 (Mar 10, 2015)

d16soda said:


> Man here I am with this sweet phone and no root. Where are we at with all this?
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



There's no root and no progress just a bunch of people with no idea what they are doing or where to start! Myself included in that! Honestly if you need root you better buy a different phone and not another ZTE! 

In other news, Hawueii (sp?) is making the next Nexus phone! I'm buying the Nexus 6 in a few weeks myself. 

If you can be happy with this phone stock then be happy and save your time and data and move on!


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 10, 2015)

johnb380 said:


> There's no root and no progress just a bunch of people with no idea what they are doing or where to start! Myself included in that! Honestly if you need root you better buy a different phone and not another ZTE!
> 
> In other news, Hawueii (sp?) is making the next Nexus phone! I'm buying the Nexus 6 in a few weeks myself.
> 
> If you can be happy with this phone stock then be happy and save your time and data and move on!

Click to collapse



I'm not giving up... Its true a lot of us don't know what we're doing but... Going through this I have learned a lot with permissions and working with Linux...with that being said if you not going to help with getting this phone rooted or your not discussing anything about this phone y are you here... Ijs

Zmax


----------



## Ranger1189 (Mar 10, 2015)

johnb380 said:


> There's no root and no progress just a bunch of people with no idea what they are doing or where to start! Myself included in that! Honestly if you need root you better buy a different phone and not another ZTE!
> 
> In other news, Hawueii (sp?) is making the next Nexus phone! I'm buying the Nexus 6 in a few weeks myself.
> 
> If you can be happy with this phone stock then be happy and save your time and data and move on!

Click to collapse



Yes, i am happy even without root.   I intend to have this phone a long time so I have hope that eventually it will get root.  Also can't believe that Huawei is making a Nexus device.  It appears that hasn't been confirmed yet.


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 10, 2015)

Im not happy without root I need it bad I have to keep deleting apps just to fit more on my phone... And I just purchased Star wars Knights of the old Republic... Thats 2 gigs by itself... 

Zmax


----------



## biledigger (Mar 10, 2015)

Hey @jcase. Since your model is rooted. Would you mind installing gravitybox and reporting whether or not it is worthwhile on the zmax? Thanks in advance.


----------



## Ranger1189 (Mar 10, 2015)

TecheTag said:


> Im not happy without root I need it bad I have to keep deleting apps just to fit more on my phone... And I just purchased Star wars Knights of the old Republic... Thats 2 gigs by itself...
> 
> Zmax

Click to collapse



I'm not a big gamer so space isn't an issue, yet.  The games I do play are small and stupid, like Crossy Road


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## imhumanoid (Mar 10, 2015)

@jcase, is the root you speak of able to be uploaded in any way as is? Could you release it so maybe another dev could pick up on it and continue developing a stable/working root for this phone? As well as a custom recovery?

Hopefully I am not asking to much. Thank you in advance.


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 10, 2015)

Anybody else phone sounds a little low when I play it thorough my car radio it sounds lower then my wife's Samsung Galaxy Light played thorough the radio

Zmax


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Mar 10, 2015)

Bluetooth or auxiliary jack?

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 10, 2015)

StonerSteve420 said:


> Bluetooth or auxiliary jack?
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Aj

Zmax


----------



## Darth (Mar 10, 2015)

Hi all!

Just did some light cleaning here. (I retract that.....29 posts exactly)  Lets keep discussions respectful and constructive, shall we?   

If you don't like what someone has said, ignore it, ignore them in your settings and/or report the post.  Engaging them leads to drama.  Drama leads to problems for everyone.

Subscribed now.......going back to my supper!  :good:

Thanks,

Darth
Forum Moderator


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 10, 2015)

Darth said:


> Hi all!
> 
> Just did some light cleaning here.   Lets keep discussions respectful and constructive, shall we?
> 
> ...

Click to collapse



May the force be with you... :thumbup:

Zmax


----------



## smilesintears77 (Mar 10, 2015)

Thank you all for trying to root the zmax.  noobie like me really appreciate it. I am positive it will happen. I can wait. ?

Sent from my Z970


----------



## voidcomp (Mar 11, 2015)

johnb380 said:


> There's no root and no progress just a bunch of people with no idea what they are doing or where to start! Myself included in that! Honestly if you need root you better buy a different phone and not another ZTE!
> 
> In other news, Hawueii (sp?) is making the next Nexus phone! I'm buying the Nexus 6 in a few weeks myself.
> 
> If you can be happy with this phone stock then be happy and save your time and data and move on!

Click to collapse



Lol true and needed to be said, especially for those new ones who pop up here seemingly every day asking if it's rooted yet.

You have to admire the effort but it's better to state the facts than get everyone's hopes up.


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Mar 11, 2015)

Hmm I haven't used the auxiliary jack except for one time in my girlfriends car which has two 12s and a 1000 watt amp so everything's loud in it  try getting a air can and cleaning it out. If that doesn't work tinker with the Dolby app. I've noticed sometimes when I'm listening to music with the speaker Pandora is way quieter than the music app. 

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## kardeef (Mar 11, 2015)

Thank you Darth


----------



## dongarritas (Mar 11, 2015)

Thankya Cheesus!!!


----------



## King Ice (Mar 11, 2015)

Im working on a root method and or unlock for the boot loader, I'll keep u guys informed of what I come up with.


----------



## Meep70 (Mar 11, 2015)

Has anyone played with the ZTE-provided version of ADB, which is on the driver CD partition of our devices?  It appears to be partially stripped, compared to the stock SDK version.  

It is 1.2mB vs 1.3mB for the SDK (SDK for KitKat in Linux)
The SDK version includes a remount switch, which remounts /system as r/w(!) but I haven't been able to get that to work--yet. The ZTE provided version has no such switch.

Tiny clues, but clues, nonetheless.  Carry on and keep digging!


----------



## Meep70 (Mar 11, 2015)

I am finding no love via ADB, either their version (1.0.31) or the latest version that I am aware of (1.0.32).

In my wanderings, I have been thinking there might be another way to approach ZTE regarding this, not to gain root (though this will help us get there), but to install a security application. 

One of the many reasons I have for wanting root access is for Cerberus to be able to perform all of its functions for me. I do not want another security app, because I have paid for this one, and it has served me well, for years. If its APK were to reside in /system/priv-app, it would gain the necessary permissions to do more of what I would like it to do. Complete system access would, of course, require SU binaries getting installed as well, but as far as ZTE is concerned, that is not our goal.

The thing is, if we can get one app there--for whatever reason, the same method can be used to get another one (or more) there, such as superuser, busybox... AND you see where I am going with this.

On the MetroPCS version Lookout is installed there, already. adb shell file listing:

```
[email protected]:/system/priv-app $ ls
BackupRestoreConfirmation.apk
BackupRestoreConfirmation.odex
Bluetooth.apk
Bluetooth.odex
BluetoothExt.apk
BluetoothExt.odex
CalendarProvider.apk
CalendarProvider.odex
ConfigUpdater.apk
ContactsProvider_ZTE.apk
ContactsProvider_ZTE.odex
Contacts_ZTE.apk
Contacts_ZTE.odex
DefaultContainerService.apk
DefaultContainerService.odex
Dialer_ZTE.apk
Dialer_ZTE.odex
DownloadMgr.apk
EmailZTE.apk
ExchangeZTE.apk
ExternalStorageProvider.apk
ExternalStorageProvider.odex
Filer.apk
Filer.odex
FusedLocation.apk
FusedLocation.odex
GalleryZTE.apk
GmsCore.apk
GoogleBackupTransport.apk
GoogleFeedback.apk
GoogleLoginService.apk
GoogleOneTimeInitializer.apk
GooglePartnerSetup.apk
GoogleServicesFramework.apk
IPService.apk
IPService.odex
IQ-tmobile.apk
IQToggle.apk
IQ_OOB.apk
InCallUI.apk
InCallUI.odex
InputDevices.apk
InputDevices.odex
Launcher2.apk
LockScreen_ZTE.apk
LockScreen_ZTE.odex
Lookout.apk
MediaProvider.apk
MediaProvider.odex
Mms.apk
Mms.odex
MusicFX.apk
MusicFX.odex
MusicPlayer.apk
NotesPad.apk
OOBEAssist.apk
Phonesky.apk
PhotoEditor.apk
ProxyHandler.apk
ProxyHandler.odex
Recorder.apk
Settings.apk
Settings.odex
SettingsProvider.apk
SettingsProvider.odex
SetupWizard.apk
SharedStorageBackup.apk
SharedStorageBackup.odex
Shell.apk
Shell.odex
SystemUI.apk
SystemUI.odex
TeleService.apk
TeleService.odex
Velvet.apk
VideoPlayer.apk
VpnDialogs.apk
VpnDialogs.odex
WallpaperCropper.apk
WallpaperCropper.odex
WiFiShare.apk
WiFiShare.odex
ZTE_Camera.apk
ZTE_Camera.odex
gba-service.apk
ims-service.apk
ims-service.odex
```

This tells me that the type of access Cerberus needs, can be had, but I do not wish to use Lookout, and I am unable to install Cerberus.

With all that out of the way, I plan to see if this approach will ease our way into something we are looking for.

Before I do that, because the Customer Service grunts will surely be baffled by the request, are there any suggested contacts at ZTE?  Any other thoughts, along those lines?


----------



## Planterz (Mar 11, 2015)

Darth said:


> Engaging them leads to drama.  Drama leads to problems for everyone.

Click to collapse



Problems lead to hate. Hate leads to suffering.


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Mar 11, 2015)

Planterz said:


> Problems lead to hate. Hate leads to suffering.

Click to collapse



The dark side. It all ends there


----------



## cars2014 (Mar 11, 2015)

I'm a complete noob when it comes to android but I figure even throwing out ideas might be of some assistance to the actual developers.

But could there be a way to use find an exploit through lookout? If lookout is already installed in the system folder then could it be possible to trick the phone into thinking that an app installed to gain root is the lookout app?

I'm sure there is something that is wrong with this idea because of my low level of android dev knowledge but I just wanted to throw that out there.


----------



## web3221 (Mar 11, 2015)

brandonlee96 said:


> i found this very nice case  with a stand on amazon for $6 for this zmax and im loving it so i wanted to share it it comes with many differnt colors heres the amazon link http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00ONECKX4?vs=1

Click to collapse



I have this case, yes it is a bit bulky but I want the protection, as I am a bit clumsy and drop things when I am working in my business also with big pockets nowadays, it is very easy to carry. I do not trust myself to carry it unprotected 
this is the best inexpensive phone I have ever owned PERIOD, great storage, and works flawlessly, superb battery life, still would like root, found a person on the web that says that root is available, and the shortcut is on my desktop, I will research it later, although probably understand it, so I will leave it up to you folks to see if it is possible, I doubt it, but I have bugs to kill with my company and company dog, if promising I will update, however I am skeptic, we will see....

back on topic, I hope will be able to root this device, It ain't looking so good for now, poop
darn I want root capabilities, however I can live without it, but I would like it NOW, oh well we will see, been looking since the fall 2014


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 11, 2015)

Has anybody owned a zte before.. Because this my first zte and I've been with Android since this first G1 and ive never seen DFU Mode on any other Android device.... Actually the on devices I ever seen with dfu mode was Iphones... 

Zmax


----------



## StonerSteve420 (Mar 11, 2015)

I had the warp and warp sequent

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## biledigger (Mar 12, 2015)

Has anybody tried this to seebif it can possibly root the phone? http ://forum.xda-developers.com/android/development/intel-android-devices-root-temp-cwm-t2975096


----------



## King Ice (Mar 12, 2015)

Still working on ideas myself


----------



## Meep70 (Mar 12, 2015)

biledigger said:


> Has anybody tried this to seebif it can possibly root the phone? http ://forum.xda-developers.com/android/development/intel-android-devices-root-temp-cwm-t2975096

Click to collapse



That's for devices with Intel processors. It might be worth a shot, but highly doubtful.


----------



## biledigger (Mar 12, 2015)

I was just wondering because it says it temp boots it through your pc instead of rightboff the phone. They mentioned that it is used to get past locked bootloaders. So I figured someone might give it a shot.


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 12, 2015)

biledigger said:


> Has anybody tried this to seebif it can possibly root the phone? http ://forum.xda-developers.com/android/development/intel-android-devices-root-temp-cwm-t2975096

Click to collapse



Your link is all broken up.... Lol you might want to fix it... You can't click on it because your httpis spa  ced from the link... Lol

Zmax


----------



## biledigger (Mar 12, 2015)

I did that because I don't have enough overall posts to add links yet.


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 12, 2015)

So 1 of my customers in crack there zmax screen.... guess what I get to do... Break it down and see them guts...going to order the whole lcd+frame $50

Zmax


----------



## totlth (Mar 12, 2015)

biledigger said:


> Has anybody tried this to seebif it can possibly root the phone? http ://forum.xda-developers.com/android/development/intel-android-devices-root-temp-cwm-t2975096

Click to collapse



I'm gonna try this. I read thru the post and it said adb root shell is working. Maybe it'll get me somewhere.

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 12, 2015)

totlth said:


> I'm gonna try this. I read thru the post and it said adb root shell is working. Maybe it'll get me somewhere.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk

Click to collapse



Doesn't work tried all 3 option... Just kept rebooting... Im surprised I didn't brick it... Hands shaking bad before every selection 

Zmax


----------



## biledigger (Mar 12, 2015)

Yay! 9 posts. I can post links now. http://forum.xda-developers.com/android/development/intel-android-devices-root-temp-cwm-t2975096

---------- Post added at 03:14 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:10 AM ----------




TecheTag said:


> Doesn't work tried all 3 option... Just kept rebooting... Im surprised I didn't brick it... Hands shaking bad before every selection
> 
> Zmax

Click to collapse



Well. Maybe there is a way to change parameters or settings in the app to somewhat work with the zmax. You may have to tell it to send the files to a different location on the phone. I was just trying to toss that out there with the hopes of someone possibly getting it to work since it says it bypasses the locked bootloader.


----------



## Meep70 (Mar 12, 2015)

TecheTag said:


> So 1 of my customers in crack there zmax screen.... guess what I get to do... Break it down and see them guts...going to order the whole lcd+frame $50
> 
> Zmax

Click to collapse



nice! I I have been looking for teardown pics, to see what is hiding in there. I wonder if there is a connection port (more likely empty pads on the circuit board, of sorts that might be able to be exploited. Perhaps, there's something like on the HTC EVO 3D where you could use a paperclip or other stiff wire to short across two contacts and get past the locked bootloader. 

There's always a chance. Keep us posted!


----------



## DroidisLINUX (Mar 12, 2015)

totlth said:


> I'm gonna try this. I read thru the post and it said adb root shell is working. Maybe it'll get me somewhere.
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk

Click to collapse



Did you get root shell on zmax, or just read they have root shell on the topic you read, because if you have root shell then you would have either su in system, or adb root permissions on your computer either way you would have root, and be able to use SuperSU, if you have root shell can you tell us what you did.

Sent from my Z970 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## therealduckie (Mar 12, 2015)

*Wall of text incoming!!!*

I think I understand better why this thread keeps getting derailed & why very few are willing to help us achieve root. so if you will bear with me, here are a few facts and thoughts on the matter and *how I think we can fix it*.

1st, the majority of those purchasing this phone are not the usual educated, seasoned XDA members who seek out the best deals with the best hardware and the most options. The ZMax is primarily being purchased by people who saw a sign for a low price at a discount dealer. It's almost always a spur of the moment purchase after they went to the store looking for a new phone. Admittedly, I was one of them. I went from a Galaxy device to this when I saw the price. 
 I personally verified my findings with 3 separate phone stores(TMO and Metro), asking no less than 10 sales reps. It's a very common thread.

2nd, those coming here, as you can see in their post numbers, are new to XDA. In fact, they are new to rooting in general. Most have little to no experience in it, very little understanding of it, and are the least technical grouping of any phone owners on this site. 
 Look at everyone's post numbers. They are very low. Also, look at what they are posting. It's usually elementary-level understanding and steps most older XDA members took when rooting began with the G2. Nothing is new. It's all a rehash of the past.

3rd, the average age of users is either really young or really old. No one in between. Therefore, it points to the 2nd (above) answer in education. I am 45, but have been rooting and modding phones since the early 2000's. However, most people my age are luddites or not very tech-savvy. The younger users have an excited exuberance, but they lack the discipline and long-term involvement in the rooting community.  The missing majority of seasoned members in their 20s means a lack of seriousness and knowledge in the thread.
 Some in this thread have shown off how old they are, either by putting their obvious birth year in their username or by admitting to working with BBS's and old computer hardware, while the younger ones have been the most vocal, edgy and volatile.

So, how can we fix it? How can we stop from the emotional outbursts? How can we keep on track and get back on target?

The best way is to acknowledge the above is true. Accept that most everyone here was just looking for a cheap phone and feels oddly entitled to root. Then, we move past that and educate ourselves. 
Next, we apologize to those in the community who were willing to help us in the beginning but our actions and ignorance ran them off. We accept that we were harsh, disrespectful & pushy.
Finally, we re-read the rules of the forum. Better acquaint ourselves with the proper way to post, the proper way to respond, and not repeat ourselves or post for attention.

When I put up a post to defend the abuse and outright nonsense that was pointed at jcase, many of you clicked 'thanks'.  When I posted to defend the powerless, I was summarily pummeled and then had the first post in my 3 year history deleted. That moment showed me how emotionally everyone is taking this thread. We're obviously allowing it to overcome rational thought - me included.  Let's all check those emotions. It's just a phone, not a primary bodily organ. Let's be reasonable, too. Being prone to outbursts, selfishness & poppycock is only going to push the better members and rooters away. We have a long road ahead of us if we want to earn their trust again. That journey begins with the first step.

So, we should all educate ourselves a bit more on the community and the phone. Maybe not hit "Submit Reply" before we think through our posts.

Thanks to the 5 of you who will actually read this. Sorry to those of you who think it is crass. I was extremely specific in my wording to avoid generalizations.
___________________________________________

On that note - AND BACK ON TOPIC...    I know @Planterz said he was probably done with this thread, but - Can we append the top post with all the common fallacies, fakery, nonsense, jibberish and questions we're all tired of answering for the 20th time? As a first step, mentioning all the links to fake roots like "unlockr" will stop the many "Has anyone tried this yet?" posts that seem to permeate this thread.
We can also add all the other common items that keep getting repeated by those who do not (or are unable to) read the entire thread...which, to be fair, is 46 pages at 50 replies per page. We can not just assume everyone has the hours needed to go through that many posts. A summary of items would help everyone. 
tl;dr - New person comes in asking a question we have had 20 times, we reply with a link to the first post -- and done.

Cheers


----------



## TecheTag (Mar 12, 2015)

We already on topic where did that come from⬆⬆⬆⬆....thats the stuff that gets thing stirred backup... Ridiculously long nonsense post like that...
?????

Zmax


----------



## Meep70 (Mar 12, 2015)

Or, we could simply start a new thread, specifically titled to indicate that it is about exploring root options for this device, and perhaps other ZTE devices that use a similar security scheme.  That might expand our audience, a bit.


----------



## Planterz (Mar 12, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> On that note - AND BACK ON TOPIC...    I know @Planterz said he was probably done with this thread, but - Can we append the top post with all the common fallacies, fakery, nonsense, jibberish and questions we're all tired of answering for the 20th time? As a first step, mentioning all the links to fake roots like "unlockr" will stop the many "Has anyone tried this yet?" posts that seem to permeate this thread.

Click to collapse



If someone wants to write up a FAQ or device guide or whatever, I'd be happy to add it to the original post. Obviously writing it all myself isn't something I'm interested in doing. 

A better idea might be to start a new "Development and Discussion" thread, with said FAQ/guide in the OP, which I'll link to in the first post in this thread, then ask that this thread be locked down. The person who starts that thread should be someone willing to be the custodian of FAQ/Guide in the first post (like, perhaps, someone who actually _owns_ the phone). This thread hasn't been "mine" for a long time now.

This has certainly been one crazy thread. It started with me - only because noone else had - asking for anybody's opinions of this phone, on behalf of a friend. 2300 posts later (probably 2400 if you count the ones that got "cleaned") and I think it has kinda run full circle. No closer to root, everybody just scratching their heads wondering what to do - what they _can_ do. Believe it or not, 2300+ posts, and I've read every one, although I unsubscribed a few weeks ago (the constant notifications were keeping me awake). 

As for me, I ordered a OnePlus One on Tuesday. Already have some ROMs and kernels downloaded and ready to flash. Good luck with the ZMAX.


----------



## monark88 (Mar 12, 2015)

I've been closesly watching this thread... Hoping for a root or some progress..
I have a ZTE but not a zMax, but similar set up, locked boot loader, towel root fails, the like.

I would like a new thread focused on development, and definitely not so off topic.

I was hopeful when i found how active this thread is, and then it degraded...


----------



## ubigred (Mar 12, 2015)

Start date: 9-28-2014
Current date: 3-12-2015
Progress: 0


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Mar 12, 2015)

ubigred said:


> Start date: 9-28-2014
> Current date: 3-12-2015
> Progress: 0

Click to collapse



Untrue. We have made progress. Not one of the current root methods out there ( that are publicly available) seem to work. That is progress!  I put progress at about 40%. Maybe less.


----------



## 4NDROID4LIFE (Mar 12, 2015)

If @jcase has root why isn't he sharing? Has there been any proof? I don't get why he won't share his exploit. 

Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


----------



## Lesharoturbo (Mar 12, 2015)

4NDROID4LIFE said:


> If @jcase has root why isn't he sharing? Has there been any proof? I don't get why he won't share his exploit.
> 
> Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



Mostly because people keep bugging him by contacting him directly.  Read back in the thread to understand the issue. He has nothing to prove.


----------



## johnb380 (Mar 12, 2015)

4NDROID4LIFE said:


> If @jcase has root why isn't he sharing? Has there been any proof? I don't get why he won't share his exploit.
> 
> Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse


@jcase already stated that in its current state his method of root is non transferable and unusable for any other phones.  It's the way he went about it that is difficult and it is not possible to do on any phone that is not in his hands. Some exploits are difficult to reproduce that's just a fact. And he also stated that to make it user friendly, well say, and incorporate it in his app would take a month or more of work which is time and effort that he is not willing to put forth for a phone he cares nothing about. 
And I'm sure the rude and degrading posts didn't help in persuading him to help us at all! 

At least that is what I got out of his posts a week or so ago when he stated that he obtained root. But I am obviously inferring some of the above but I believe I'm correct in my assumptions.

Also most of you think that root is this one click easy method of exploiting the phone to obtain root and it can be yet not always is. 

And all of you calling for a new thread will get the same result as this thread. This phone, this community does not have anyone that remotely knows what they are doing or even where to start in obtaining root functions for the Zmax. So I really don't see a need for another thread as you will just be starting over and end up going through all of the same exact things this thread has already gone though. Until we get a true DEVELOPER to get to work on this thing we won't be achieving root. And to believe other wise is just an exercise in futility. This thread is a general help thread and that's all it will ever be, plain and simple. 

Sometimes the truth hurts but someone has to say this stuff because the level of fantasy and hope here is just not realistic. 

Because Flat out you guys, whomever it was, that pissed off @jcase and the one guy who actually believed a CSR that ZTE was gonna unlock the bootloader to this phone, those are the people that screwed this whole thread and all its followers over! So be sure to thank them when you get mad about no root everyone!


----------



## Meep70 (Mar 12, 2015)

johnb380 said:


> And I'm sure the rude and degrading posts didn't help in persuading him to help us at all!

Click to collapse



Not to mention being tagged in many of the posts--still--even after clearly washing his hands.


----------



## jcase (Mar 12, 2015)

4NDROID4LIFE said:


> If @jcase has root why isn't he sharing? Has there been any proof? I don't get why he won't share his exploit.
> 
> Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app

Click to collapse



I've been dealing with serious medical issues, ive even ended up in the hospital because of them. I release things on my own time, and since they are my own no one is entitled to them. What i have for the ZTE is working but it is not in a release state, would still require a few hours of work to get it into that state that just anyone could run it and get root. I don't have the energy, nor at this point the care to do it when people are rude.

Instead of understanding that I am dealing with things more serious and important than a phone in life, people wanted to be rude. Last time people wanted to be rude while waiting for me to get stuff done was the Sony Z1s, my response was to send the details to Sony, and get myself on their security "hall of fame". I have no reason to release things when it stops being fun for me, as it did in this case. I did release it, after about 8 months or so, long after Sony patched it.

Proof? What proof do you want? Video/photo of root checker? I could patch the apk and fake that. Dump of something? Its well known i have emmc read/write hardware, I could just hook the phone up and dump everything, or even install su through that! The only valid proof is a proof of concept, period, and im not releasing that.


----------



## John Laurinaitis (Mar 12, 2015)

Sorry for not wanting to see if you guys said this yet but... Now that the open source is out for the ZMAX (Z970), is there nothing we can do with that?


----------



## johnb380 (Mar 12, 2015)

John Laurinaitis said:


> Sorry for not wanting to see if you guys said this yet but... Now that the open source is out for the ZMAX (Z970), is there nothing we can do with that?

Click to collapse



Its been out and that doesn't help in the least with root. That helps in building Rom and kernels depending on if it's kernel source or Aosp source. Which well never get Rom source for this phone so. Unless I'm wrong and don't know about the latter.
But either way it doesn't help for root M8!


----------



## dongarritas (Mar 12, 2015)

jcase said:


> I've been dealing with serious medical issues, ive even ended up in the hospital because of them. I release things on my own time, and since they are my own no one is entitled to them. What i have for the ZTE is working but it is not in a release state, would still require a few hours of work to get it into that state that just anyone could run it and get root. I don't have the energy, nor at this point the care to do it when people are rude.
> 
> Instead of understanding that I am dealing with things more serious and important than a phone in life, people wanted to be rude. Last time people wanted to be rude while waiting for me to get stuff done was the Sony Z1s, my response was to send the details to Sony, and get myself on their security "hall of fame". I have no reason to release things when it stops being fun for me, as it did in this case. I did release it, after about 8 months or so, long after Sony patched it.
> 
> Proof? What proof do you want? Video/photo of root checker? I could patch the apk and fake that. Dump of something? Its well known i have emmc read/write hardware, I could just hook the phone up and dump everything, or even install su through that! The only valid proof is a proof of concept, period, and im not releasing that.

Click to collapse



 So sorry about your health troubles brother....And even more sorry for the immature, rude and disparaging remarks, demands, and sense of entitlement that way too many people have posted. I honestly don't understand why the moderators have even allowed this thread to continue. Perhaps the low price of this device has attracted those of low character rarely seen ,or tolerated in other forums. I truly hope for your speedy recovery, as that is what is most important. I'TS JUST A DAMN PHONE PEOPLE!


----------



## Darth (Mar 12, 2015)

Look after you @jcase   !! 

Hope everything is alright!? 

This thread giving me Moto X bootloader flashbacks.   :silly:


----------



## biledigger (Mar 12, 2015)

*@jcase*

I wish you the best in your struggles and recovery mate. I've dealt with medical issues myself and am still doing so 3 years later. My suggestion is relax and try your best to heal up and get your body back into tip top shape. Get well soon @jcase and get back into actions of life. Take care mate.


----------



## ubigred (Mar 12, 2015)

johnb380 said:


> @jcase already stated that in its current state his method of root is non transferable and unusable for any other phones.  It's the way he went about it that is difficult and it is not possible to do on any phone that is not in his hands. Some exploits are difficult to reproduce that's just a fact. And he also stated that to make it user friendly, well say, and incorporate it in his app would take a month or more of work which is time and effort that he is not willing to put forth for a phone he cares nothing about.
> And I'm sure the rude and degrading posts didn't help in persuading him to help us at all!
> 
> At least that is what I got out of his posts a week or so ago when he stated that he obtained root. But I am obviously inferring some of the above but I believe I'm correct in my assumptions.
> ...

Click to collapse



GREAT post. Reality.


----------



## therealduckie (Mar 12, 2015)

I have started formatting the new FAQ/Guide thread. I am going to go through every page of this thread for all the root options people tried, all the helpful advice, etc and add it to that thread's lead post. I will post it here once it is "live".

Cheers and thanks


----------



## StevCano (Mar 12, 2015)

I just purchased this phone and I gotta admit I like it a lot especially for the price it just sucks that there is no root available at the moment. I really appreciate anything that any devs can do to bring root to the zte zmax. and I am willing to donate as i am sure many othere are so don't let other people discourage you from doing what you do best


----------



## therealduckie (Mar 12, 2015)

Planterz said:


> If someone wants to write up a FAQ or device guide or whatever, I'd be happy to add it to the original post...

Click to collapse



Here is the preliminary page: http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066

I have to leave for a bit to deal with family. I will be back late tonight to add more content, but this should be a good start.

Cheers and thanks!


----------



## totlth (Mar 12, 2015)

Has anyone tried the Qualcomm route? Just wondering cuz that's which way I'm heading.

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk


----------



## 4NDROID4LIFE (Mar 12, 2015)

jcase said:


> I've been dealing with serious medical issues, ive even ended up in the hospital because of them. I release things on my own time, and since they are my own no one is entitled to them. What i have for the ZTE is working but it is not in a release state, would still require a few hours of work to get it into that state that just anyone could run it and get root. I don't have the energy, nor at this point the care to do it when people are rude.
> 
> Instead of understanding that I am dealing with things more serious and important than a phone in life, people wanted to be rude. Last time people wanted to be rude while waiting for me to get stuff done was the Sony Z1s, my response was to send the details to Sony, and get myself on their security "hall of fame". I have no reason to release things when it stops being fun for me, as it did in this case. I did release it, after about 8 months or so, long after Sony patched it.
> 
> Proof? What proof do you want? Video/photo of root checker? I could patch the apk and fake that. Dump of something? Its well known i have emmc read/write hardware, I could just hook the phone up and dump everything, or even install su through that! The only valid proof is a proof of concept, period, and im not releasing that.

Click to collapse



OK didn't know about medical issues sorry. Hope you're doing OK. I had it wrong I thought you were rubbing it in people's noses that you had root and Cuz some people said dumb things to you that you were going to let the rest suffer. Take your time. If you release something that's great. I plan to get this phone as a backup to my g3 Cuz of band 12 support

Sent from my LG-D850 using XDA Free mobile app


----------



## mdabeezy (Mar 12, 2015)

Bye bye. Zmax! Hello LG G3 (D851)


----------



## mingolianbeef (Mar 13, 2015)

*ZTE ZMAX Discussion Thread FAQ!*

@Planterz

TL; DR for those that don't want to read: Use common sense in this thread.

FAQ (Please add to OP if it qualifies)

1. Do We Have Root/Bootloader Unlock/Kernel Source
No, No Yes

2. I'm a noob, don't flame me, do we have root...
WHO LOST MY FLAMETHROWER!!! (Comedic Relief), but no... we don't... neee-oooo-bbbb

3. Maybe we can ask [Dev name here for help]...
If you manage to find a dev that hasn't scanned the thread (usually for information about progress on development, only to find that other recruited devs have been flamed to smithereens by entitled know-it-alls), please, by all means, have them pay this device a visit!

4. What if we used the root app/exploit from [Phone/Tablet/Device Name Here]?
Nine times out of ten, if it's on the internet, it's been tried. Anything American, Chinese, Russian, German and alien has been run on this device in an attempt to root, ALL without success.

5. What if we set up a root bounty?
Already been tried, no bites

6. What if we petition ZTE?
Already been done... a hundred times... it took us months just to get kernel source. They have made it clear that cooperating with us in terms of bootloader unlocking and root are not something they are interested in.

7. This guy made me cry when he said something that hurt my feelings...
Get over it

8. I don't give a [explicit] about that [explicit] son of a [explicit] that is keeping root from us, stupid [explicit]...
All of our representatives are currently assisting other customers. Care meter: 0%... 1%... 2%... it appears our servers are experiencing technical difficulties with your request for us to care... goodbye.

9. I'm a dev (with no posts on XDA) that's super good at rooting and stuff, I'm here to save the day!
Put up or shut up (I mean that nicely). The adolescents in this thread don't take nicely to being led on and tend to become very disrespectful very quickly.

10. Have you seen this website that says it can root our device.
If it was true, there wouldn't be a thread discussing root. "The Unlockr" and "Unlock-bootloader.org" or something have verified spam links that do NOT root the device.
For all of you that were like me and thought "I Used to use The Unlockr back in the day, it's legit!" It used to be, it's just a click bait ad farm now that generates money off of its reputation, now.

11. I don't have all the experience in the world, but I'm willing to do the research it takes to root the device.
We welcome you.

12. [Dev name here] said he rooted this device, maybe if we sweet talk him, he'll release it...
Please don't start up this discussion...

13. FLLAAAMMMEEE WAAARRRR!!!!!
Fire extinguisher beats flame war. Go back to your cave... troll.

14. What if I have questions?
BEFORE YOU ASK IT IN THIS THREAD!!!! Google it, search on XDA, search within this thread, and read this FAQ. If it doesn't come up, then you ask your question. 

15. If feel like something should be added to this FAQ.
Please consult the OP. I am simply providing the foundation.


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## thereal_antiHackmasta (Mar 13, 2015)

therealduckie said:


> I think I understand better why this thread keeps getting derailed & why very few are willing to help us achieve root. so if you will bear with me, here are a few facts and thoughts on the matter and *how I think we can fix it*.
> 
> 1st, the majority of those purchasing this phone are not the usual educated, seasoned XDA members who seek out the best deals with the best hardware and the most options. The ZMax is primarily being purchased by people who saw a sign for a low price at a discount dealer. It's almost always a spur of the moment purchase after they went to the store looking for a new phone. Admittedly, I was one of them. I went from a Galaxy device to this when I saw the price.
> I personally verified my findings with 3 separate phone stores(TMO and Metro), asking no less than 10 sales reps. It's a very common thread.
> ...

Click to collapse



This sums up perfectly what has gone on in this thread. Thanks for getting us backbone track.


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## 4NDROID4LIFE (Mar 13, 2015)

mdabeezy said:


> Bye bye. Zmax! Hello LG G3 (D851)

Click to collapse



Yeah I'm loving my d850. Currently running cm12 with a bomb over clock kernel. 

Sent from my D850 T-Mobile SIM


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## mdabeezy (Mar 13, 2015)

4NDROID4LIFE said:


> Yeah I'm loving my d850. Currently running cm12 with a bomb over clock kernel.
> 
> Sent from my D850 T-Mobile SIM

Click to collapse



I'm about to purpledrake this bish... @jcase thanks for your talents in purpledrake and everywhere else in the scene... We appreciate your hard work mang!


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## Planterz (Sep 28, 2014)

ATTENTION: Discussion about this device has moved.

Please direct further discussion to this thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066


ORIGINAL POST:


I just came across this phone on T-Mobile's website, released earlier this week.

5.7" 720x1280 (258ppi) TFT screen
Quad core Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz, Adreno 305
*2GB RAM*
16GB built-in storage, microSD card up to 32GB
8MP camera, 1080p video
Android 4.4.2
LTE on band 4 and T-Mo's upcoming band 12 (and a couple other bands used by other companies in North America)

All for $252 off-contract (or $10.50/mo over 2 years).

I gotta say, I'm intrigued by this new phone. There's some obvious drawbacks/shortcuts; it's big for the screen size, the camera isn't fantastic, the screen is a bit dim/bland (according to a cnet review), no NFC, etc. But it's got a frugal, adequate processor with a big battery, runs a lightly skinned, nearly stock Android, has LTE (and T-Mo's LTE speeds here are amazing) and best of all, 2GB RAM, so it shouldn't lag or stutter.

I'm somewhat interested in this phone for myself, but I'll probably just wait to get a Nexus Shamu. But a friend (who's broke) of mine wants a bigass phone to watch Netflix on and play some games and emulators. Obviously the lowish pixel density is a drawback, but for what he'd use it for, it's perfectly fine.

For $252, this seems like an amazing bargain. Where else are you going to find a phablet with LTE at this price? But I'm not very familiar with ZTE. Build quality, longevity, software stability, updates, etc, are all in question for me.

Has anyone picked one up yet, or checked one out at a T-Mobile store? What have been your impressions on other ZTE devices?


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## King Ice (Mar 13, 2015)

I have personally had and android phone since the T-Mobile Samsung Vibrant. I've also had the Galaxy s 2, 3, 4, Galaxy S relay 4g, Note 2, 3, my touch 4g, lg my touch, and now the Zmax. All of them were rooted. I understand rooting just fine and couldn't remember my old account so I made a new in order to post. I personally am not new to this scene by far. So not everyone coming here are new, majority, maybe.


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## totlth (Mar 13, 2015)

Forgive me for possible dumb question. I'm just and older dude and I was wondering what purpledrake is? Googled it but no help for me.

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk


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## johnb380 (Mar 13, 2015)

WOW JUST WOW...  SERIOUSLY... THIS MESSAGE IS FOR WHOMEVER IT CONCERNS, NOT ANYONE ELSE, 

SOME ONE is so butt hurt by my earlier POSTING, AKA the TRUTH, that they are sending me vulgar and intimidating  hangouts messages. 
Lmmfao! Really bro? You really have that little to do in your life?

That is really funny and pathetic  idk who Don Dbag or Dan Droopynuts is but he just got put in his place. 

I apologize to all the respectful and non aholish people here that have to read this. But before you message me WITH SOME BS KNOW THAT I'M A GROWN MAN AND I HAVE AN OPINION OF MY OWN AND A FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHT TO SAY WHATEVER I WANNA SAY.  AND If you don't like IT you go cry to your mommy not me! Cuz I don't wanna hear it! Mmm Kay! 

THANK YOU! 

(NOW BACK TO YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING! )


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## totlth (Mar 13, 2015)

Don't forget I asked about purpledrake first. Anyone?

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk


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## Darth (Mar 13, 2015)

Hmmmm...... I may move this thread to off topic?    :silly:

Guys,  as said many times, many places.... * Don't feed the trolls! * 

Enough of the flame wars.    And sorry,  but rants about off-site happenings is definitely very off-topic.    

Let's keep things constructive and simply ignore or report anything you feel should be ignored or reported. 

Do we have a deal?      There's not much to talk about root wise at the moment.... Let's not turn on each other cause we're bored.     Again,  honestly... Off topic threads aren't generally allowed outside of the off topic section.... Or battleground threads.    

Thanks for your understanding..... I have apple pie to get back to.    

Darth 
Forum Moderator


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## Planterz (Mar 13, 2015)

Darth said:


> Hmmmm...... I may move this thread to off topic?    :silly:

Click to collapse



Actually, I was about to update my OP with links to the new thread, and ask that this thread be closed.


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## mingolianbeef (Mar 13, 2015)

totlth said:


> Don't forget I asked about purpledrake first. Anyone?
> 
> Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk

Click to collapse



Don't feel bad man. I'm 20 and an avid hip-hop music lover and have absolutely no idea what "purpledrake" is lol.

If I had to guess, it's "chopped and screwed" drake music lmao (a form of music by canadian rap artist drake in which the pitch and tempo are severely slowered and mixed in a choppy fashion. Very popular amongst weed heads and people who drink "lean" lol)


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## Darth (Mar 13, 2015)

Planterz said:


> Actually, I was about to update my OP with links to the new thread, and ask that this thread be closed.

Click to collapse



  I was thinking of messaging you about the same idea.  Good call I think.  :good:

Members, please move to this new thread,

http://forum.xda-developers.com/general/general/zte-zmax-z970-guide-faq-discussion-t3053066

Let's try to keep the new thread clean.   

* Thread Closed at OP request.  *


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