yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[General Questions and Answers] ph37rd:
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...
[General Questions and Answers] brandonlee96:
{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.
[General Questions and Answers] nobreak1970:
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.
[General Questions and Answers] brandonlee96:
ive aready done that i did a full format. and yes my windows 7 pc reads it perfecty
[General Questions and Answers] nobreak1970:
Hmmm so if you hit yes on the phone does it finish ?

---------- Post added at 10:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:08 PM ----------

Also is it blank or does it have stuff on it?
[General Questions and Answers] brandonlee96:
yes it finishes but this messahe pops up again
[General Questions and Answers] nobreak1970:
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
[General Questions and Answers] brandonlee96:
but the thing is that the sd card worked before now its not and i did a full format already
[General Questions and Answers] D33PTHAWTE:
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.
[General Questions and Answers] brandonlee96:
like i said ive tried 3 different sd cards
[General Questions and Answers] nobreak1970:
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.
[General Questions and Answers] fototogo:
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...
[General Questions and Answers] nobreak1970:
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
[General Questions and Answers] brandonlee96:
how would i clean thesd card slot good
[General Questions and Answers] nobreak1970:
Read the post of mine and the one right above mine first the two posts right above
[General Questions and Answers] johnb380:
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.
[General Questions and Answers] nobreak1970:
Do this. :thumbup:

---------- 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
[General Questions and Answers] brandonlee96:
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?
[General Questions and Answers] lkchrono:
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.
[General Questions and Answers] xaviercomputers:
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.
[General Questions and Answers] mjsell2:
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.
[General Questions and Answers] Alfa Droid:
Feels like I'm rooted
[General Questions and Answers] shinkinrui:
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 :)
[General Questions and Answers] tech_yeet:
Have you faced this glitch where your touch screen stopes working out of no where or android.keygurad.com as stopped working?
[General Questions and Answers] Velrix:
No but from your signature your device code is Z971? Which device do you have?
[General Questions and Answers] D33PTHAWTE:
Why is that?
[General Questions and Answers] Vyrus69:
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.
[General Questions and Answers] Milly7:
Do you advise against taking the update?
[General Questions and Answers] tech_yeet:
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....
[General Questions and Answers] Velrix:
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 :\
[General Questions and Answers] Alfa Droid:
Look at my notification
[General Questions and Answers] SweetBearCub:
So are you rooted or not?
[General Questions and Answers] D33PTHAWTE:
I see.

How did you manage those changes?
[General Questions and Answers] tech_yeet:
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...
[General Questions and Answers] Velrix:
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.
[General Questions and Answers] DroidisLINUX:
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
[General Questions and Answers] tech_yeet:
Oh no it the charger that came with the phone...
[General Questions and Answers] Vyrus69:
Is that an app you used to change the notification area?
[General Questions and Answers] tech_yeet:
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.
[General Questions and Answers] eddytholland:
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 ----------

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 ^_^
[General Questions and Answers] Velrix:
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.
[General Questions and Answers] johnb380:
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!
[General Questions and Answers] eddytholland:
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 :D
[General Questions and Answers] DroidHackalot:
Is that so??
[General Questions and Answers] Shlickwilly:
Link for this?
[General Questions and Answers] Velrix:
https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us
[General Questions and Answers] clockcycle:
*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!
[General Questions and Answers] Vyrus69:
WTF!!!?? I live in Miami :eek:

---------- Post added at 01:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:46 AM ----------

I don't find those notes anywhere
[General Questions and Answers] jc33777:
Complaint filed
[General Questions and Answers] Alfa Droid:
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.
[General Questions and Answers] Furik:
I'd like to file a complaint but i'm not even sure what to write at this point.
[General Questions and Answers] tech_yeet:
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..
[General Questions and Answers] TJay99:
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?
[General Questions and Answers] Velrix:
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.
[General Questions and Answers] shinkinrui:
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.
[General Questions and Answers] Velrix:
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.
[General Questions and Answers] Summatyme:
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. :rolleyes: Looks like we know what to expect from them now.
[General Questions and Answers] shinkinrui:
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 ;)
[General Questions and Answers] SweetBearCub:
I tweeted John Legere yesterday, using your suggestions. :)
[General Questions and Answers] Velrix:
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.
[General Questions and Answers] DroidHackalot:
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.
[General Questions and Answers] TJay99:
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.
[General Questions and Answers] Milly7:
Disregard
[General Questions and Answers] clockcycle:
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.
[General Questions and Answers] jc33777:
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
[General Questions and Answers] shinkinrui:
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 :)
[General Questions and Answers] Velrix:
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.
[General Questions and Answers] Furik:
I just tweeted this:
[MENTION=259357]Tmobile[/MENTION] [MENTION=228437]xdadevelopers[/MENTION] [MENTION=3404253]ZTE[/MENTION]_USA #FreeMyPhone #UncarrierUnlock #UncarrierRestrictions #FreedomForMyPhone #ZTEZmax

Hopefully this will catch on.
[General Questions and Answers] shinkinrui:
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 :)
[General Questions and Answers] Vyrus69:
Remember we don't need bootloader unlock to have root.

Have patience and I have all the confidence in the world with jcase.
[General Questions and Answers] OHNONONO:
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...
[General Questions and Answers] madjenks16:
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
[General Questions and Answers] Telyx:
SIM unlocking (what #12 talks about) and bootloader unlocking (what we want) are two different things.
[General Questions and Answers] madjenks16:
ahhhhh

Ok, thanks for educating me on this. I was about to get happy. Please excuse my newbieness!! :cyclops:
[General Questions and Answers] Porky munoz:
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
[General Questions and Answers] johnb380:
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.
[General Questions and Answers] Reallionare:
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...
[General Questions and Answers] graysooner:
I'd love to have root also, but I bought the phone for the value.
[General Questions and Answers] DroidHackalot:
Some day and in some way the zmax will be free!

FreeTheZmax!
[General Questions and Answers] Kahuna_Tuna:
Complaint filed.
[General Questions and Answers] gordthedev:
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...
[General Questions and Answers] clockcycle:
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,??
[General Questions and Answers] BB6H22LUDE:
I doubt he'll even care. He just gets on Twitter to talk trash. Probably doesn't read ours lol
[General Questions and Answers] Velrix:
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.
[General Questions and Answers] BB6H22LUDE:
Somebody do it. Lol