yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] drigg:
I think this phone is pretty sleek, even with a case on it.

The aluminum body and front facing speakers give it a premium look and feel.

The huge screen has many iPhone users envious, often asking me what phone this is. Yeah, it's sexy enough to convert users from iOS to Android.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] XDA_RealLifeReview:
Rate this thread to express how you think the ZTE Axon 7 feels in terms of quality. A higher rating indicates that it feels premium and high-quality (attention to detail is high, manufacturing defects don't exist, etc).

Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] XDA_RealLifeReview:
Please, no "that's what she said" jokes. Rate this thread to express how you think the ZTE Axon 7 feels in-hand. A higher rating indicates that it's comfortable to hold for long periods of time, even in one hand. Resist the urge to say "TWSS" just now. Seriously.

Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] XDA_RealLifeReview:
Are you comfortable in your own skin? Is your phone comfortable in its skin? Rate this thread to express how you deem the skin on the ZTE Axon 7. A higher rating indicates that you love it: it adds just the right amount of features, it's visually pleasing, and overall it's additive to the experience. If this is a Nexus phone (you didn't think we hand-wrote all of these prompts, did you?) then use this rating to indicate how the latest version of Android looks to you.

Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] MrWilsonxD:
I like the skin, it's light and doesn't totally bog down the phone like others do. I love the launcher (I almost always download nova prime, haven't even downloaded it to this phone), I really really like the file browser. It's similar to the one Asus has on the play store, but polished a bit better, unlike other skins I feel this phones power saving mode actually makes a difference without destroying performance, the camera app is WAY better than the one from stock Android. I also like the short notification pull down menu. I can access Wi-Fi, data for both Sims, sound and gps. (They can be changed) , AND the voice recorder works extremely well. You can record in mid quality mp3 or high quality WAV. AND you can TRIM after..

The most important things when I'm setting out driving. It's similar to that seem in nougat.

it's missing some simple things like on screen button options, a dark settings option, and it seems like there will be more themes made available than miflavor and stock Android. but coming from touchwiz, I can say I'm very pleased.

One bug I've noticed is while I'm on phone calls, her notification panel goes to garbage. It gets EXTREMELY laggy.. I mean... HORRIBLY laggy. Every other aspect of the phone works no differently than when I'm not on call.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] raw2000j:
how you change themes i went to themes in settings but only 2 available and you cant download anymore
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] canezila:
I would love to see a NIGHT theme.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] puremind:
For me the best dialer because T9 search also finds recently dialed numbers.

Not a big fan of the launcher (Apple like) but I like the menus.

Don't like the DND mode approach, which is burried in menus, though.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] mesonto:
How do you change the theme, that is a good question. since there are only 2 of them I would have also liked a dark mode.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] XDA_RealLifeReview:
Rate this thread to express how well you can see the ZTE Axon 7's display outdoors. In case you've been playing Minecraft for 18 months straight, you might not known how to get outside anymore. Well, find the door and walk through it. A higher rating indicates that it has very high maximum brightness and thus fantastic outdoor visibility in direct sunlight.

Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] MrWilsonxD:
I would give it a 8.5 or 9 out of 10 for outdoor visibility. I live in the desert, it's very hot, dry, and bright out here for about half the year here.

It's much easier to see than my note 4 ( or 3 or 2 for that matter).

I'd say 95% of the time I've been able to read outdoors in the summer with no issues. But there's been like... 3 days icouldn'tseejack because it was dangerously bright and hot outside.. (Shouldn't have been outside those days anyways because the UV index was through the roof)
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] XDA_RealLifeReview:
How well do you know your fifty shades of grey? Rate this thread to express how good the ZTE Axon 7's display contrast is. A higher rating indicates that black is true black, rather than a very dark gray.

Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] canezila:
I am coming from an amoled screen, yet I am amazed at how black the black is on the a7. Using tbo Blacked Out apps are a no brainer.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] Bolandk:
It's an Amoled screen, meaning the pixels are off when displaying black. The blacks are...black.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] borijess:
What are the best color accuracy settings for the display?
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] jlomein:
I'll go against the grain and say I'm mildy disappointed in the Axon 7's blacks. Vividness and high contrast are appealing to the eye, but so much detail is lost.

http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/black.php

Above is a series of tests I use on all my displays. My TV and PC monitor are calibrated to have every black box visible on the above test. My Nexus 5 phone has all but the last box visible. My Axon 7 on the other hand loses six boxes which blend into the background.

I honestly don't think this is a limitation of AMOLED hardware but likely the software configuration. I would be happy if ZTE released an sRGB calibration tool like OnePlus did for their OnePlus 3.

You can watch night scenes from The Dark Knight, B v S, Zero Dark Thirty, etc and really notice how much dark detail you're losing on the Axon 7.

I specifically remember a B v S scene where Batman is in his jet fighting Doomsday. A shot of Batman in his cockpit looks near completely black on the Axon: you lose all the detail of his cowl/mask, and the inside of the cockpit.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] bkores:
Seriously? You used an LCD test for an AMOLED panel? No wonder your results don't make sense at all
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] jlomein:
Your judgement is misguided. The blacks test on the link I provided was not designed for any specific display technology. It says LCD test because it was posted online before AMOLED existed. It shows how the TV salesman trend of pumping up contrast, vividness, and saturation creates deficiencies in picture accuracy.

https://community.zteusa.com/thread/12745

On ZTE community there are several members who observed the same. It's especially noticeable to professionals in film, TV, and photography who are used to having colour/tone accurate displays.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] Filiprino:
If you put brightness to the max, you will see all the squares. With default brightness, near to the minimum, I lose 4-5 boxes (the first row).

That test is brightness dependent.

Ah, and I did it without the ambient being dark.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] jlomein:
For my Axon 7 I don't get the same results: on 100% brightness I still don't see the six boxes in a dark environment. Changing the brightness on this phone has no effect on contrast or gamma.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] XDA_RealLifeReview:
If you're colorblind, please disregard this thread. Rate this thread to express how you deem the color saturation and accuracy of the ZTE Axon 7's display. A higher rating indicates that you think that color accuracy is very high and saturation is excellent.

Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] ScaryBugThing:
Per my other thread, there is a slight blue-shift when the display is viewed off-axis.

http://xdaforums.com/axon-7/help/blue-color-shifting-viewed-little-off-t3443529
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] puremind:
Color accuracy will soon be fixed va CM custom rom. Greyscales are already excellent but color space is too saturated (identical not matter which color mode is being used, only intermediary saturations change).
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] XDA_RealLifeReview:
The ZTE Axon 7 has a crazy crisp display. Just kidding, this is automated text so who knows if this screen is any good. So, you be the judge! A higher rating indicates that it's extremely sharp and clear, and that you cannot see pixels with your naked eye.

Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] XDA_RealLifeReview:
You don't want to give your significant other yet another reason to yell at you while you're reading XDA in bed. Rate this thread to express what you think of the ZTE Axon 7's display minimum dimness. A higher rating indicates that the display can get extremely dim, ideal for reading in very dark environments.

Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] joaste:
Although this is a very old thread, I have noticed that my recent A2017G from Amazon.es has a very high minimum screen brightness. It is in fact binding when checking emails with the stock email app (with its white background) in a dark room.

Do others have the same thing?

My LG g4 can go way darker.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] aLexzkter:
Mine too. Lo compré en Amazon también...
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] Arbelzapf:
I use CF.lumen in combination with Pixel Filter for nighttime reading. This makes the display as dim as I want, and thanks to the AMOLED screen, it actually emits less light as you go dimmer, while the same Apps on an LCD screen will just put more blankets over the backlight that's still blasting right in your face.

Since you can achieve pitch black with CF.lumen alone, Pixel Filter might not be needed. I just use it to save some extra juice by shutting off half of the display entirely.

It would be nice if the regular brightness slider would go a bit dimmer, but the scheduling options of CF.lumen make it very bearable
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] XDA_RealLifeReview:
When you call granny, does she keep saying "Huh?! Wut?!" or does the conversation flow pretty well? Rate this thread to express how you feel about the ZTE Axon 7's call quality. A higher rating indicates that calls are clear and crisp, and that regardless of background noise, you can hear the other party clearly (and with ample volume) and they can hear you.

Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] huntnyc:
Please let us know if calls are clear and how speakerphone sounds and thanks.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] biglilsteve:
Call quality is perfectly fine. Good volume too.

Speakerphone is among the best I've ever used on a smartphone. Good volume and doesn't have that raspy, tinny characteristic that plagues many smartphones.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] erm1001:
On tmobile it is used volte and hd voice. Tested by calling note 5 and nexus 6p.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] huntnyc:
I use TMobile also. How is your signal strength compared to other phones and thanks.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] erm1001:
It is seem fine. Compared to my wife Note 5
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] taijo:
T-Mobile user here. My previous phones all got full service at home, this one - on a brand new nano sim mind you, gets one bar and -116dBm and 24asu. Calls sound poor. Called T-Mobile and they said their system wasn't detecting the phone as an LTE device - but (Settings > About Phone > Status > SIM Status) shows LTE Cellular Network Type!

I've tried with VOLTE both enabled and disabled and received the same signal strength.

When I disable WiFi , my data shows 4G LTE but that doesn't change the signal strength for voice. (Settings > About Phone > Status > SIM Status)

T-Mobile was opening a trouble ticket to check the local tower I am connecting to but I suspect this is a phone radio or firmware issue and not SIM/Carrier related.

Anyone else found setting changes to make optimal signal strength?
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] huntnyc:
I am on TMobile also and want to order this phone but reports of poor signal strength and wifi connection have got me hesitating. Please keep your feedback coming and thanks.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] RaDeN305:
I'm also on T-Mobile and have noticed some issues with signal strength and other radio related problems. I'm actually returning the phone to Newegg today because of the issues I describe below. I definitely think it's software related. The signal strength is mostly fine but it does seem too low in places compared to what my Nexus 6 had.

The major problem I'm having is with incoming calls either not ringing and going straight to "missed" or auto answering without ringing. It's happened at least 4 times where I see a missed call notification despite no ringing or vibrating and I never have my phone on silent. Just straight to missed call.

On several other occasions a call will come through and be answered automatically while in my pocket. It's the strangest thing I've encountered with a phone. The call just comes in without any warning or input on my behalf and I can hear the caller talking before I take the phone out of my pocket. There is an auto answer feature in the settings but it's been disabled. Even if that feature was on it should ring at least once.

I love the phone but these two issues are massive deal breakers. I need to be able to receive calls properly for business and don't want to wait around for a fix or void my warranty trying a new ROM when development picks up.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] mdkathon:
I've used this at home on TMO in Seattle for about a week and did not have the same issues. I also have active AT&T SIM and have not had problems. Other phones I carry with me are Nexus 6, Huawei Ascend Mate 2, LG G4, and RedMi Note 2. Compared to these other devices I did not notice a stark difference with signal strength.

Regarding the "not detected as LTE" on TMO that sounds fishy to me. I'd suggest trying something, go into phone information menu from dialer *#*#4636#*#* and set network to LTE Only. Bounce the radio from the same menu (not required but a good idea). Then check if you're on LTE, if the phone is set to LTE Only and you have signal you're on LTE but to make it easier Google Play has a ton of apps to check this like G-NetTrack Lite or Network Cell Info Lite both will tell you specifically if you're on LTE and show eNB, etc.

If you do set phone to LTE Only you must go back into Settings --> Dual SIM settings --> Network Mode and set back to

LTE/WCDMA/GSM

You'll notice this menu in Network Mode does not have options for "LTE only" or "WCDMA (UMTS "4G" HSPA+) only" which is why the going into the Phone Information menu is required for this.

Right now I am out on business travel and one thing I can say is that the dual SIM is pretty good roaming. I got myself into a bad situation as I set my phone to LTE only for testing a few things and did not switch back. The carrier I am roaming on does not have VoLTE so I broke my voice for a about a day and did not notice until I tried to make an outbound call and it failed.

Regarding call quality I've been using it abroad for about a week making voice calls on WCDMA/UMTS networks (no VoLTE here) with local SIMs and it's been just fine. No signal issues.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] taijo:
mdkathon, Thank you for the detailed reply! Please note below the results:

So I followed your instruction to no additional positive result. Using the two apps you recommended as well as the LTE Discovery app here is what I see:

When I first enable the radio (whether LTE only or LTE/GSM/WCDMA) it comes up on LTE Band 12 and I have excellent signal (about 4 bars) with < -80 db and then about 30 seconds later it will fall over to LTE band 4 and the signal drops to > -110 or worse and I go to 1-2 bars of signal. I have no idea why the LTE band changes on it's own. Maybe I can force it to stay on Band 12 somehow?

I looked up the TMobile frequencies and they are here: Frequencies: Band 2 (1900 MHz), Band 4 (1700/2100 MHz), Band 12 (700 MHz)

The ZTE LTE Band support list is here: LTE: B2/B4/B5/B12/B13/B17/B7/B3/B1/B20/B29/B30/B25/B26/B41

Seems like I should be good. I don't know why a good Band 12 signal would fall back to Band 4 though. Can anyone explain that?

I also noticed in the Testing menu (*#*#4636#*#*) the ability to select from the band menu: USA Band, Band Mode 6 or Band Mode 7. I haven't made any changes there since I cannot tell what the current selection is, nor what the difference between the 3 choices would be. *Edit: This is for GSM/UMTS so I'm not sure if it has any effect*

Of those three LTE analysis apps I am not sure what any of the data is telling me (eNB etc) so if there is a primer for those I have not yet looked for it.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] efendi011:
Has anybody tried the SIGNAL BOOST feature? Is it any good or just a gimmick?:confused:
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] flyer_andy:
Hi - I'm not a cellular engineer so I could be wrong, but I believe T-Mobile's network management itself is the variable in determining which LTE frequency your phone will use. So, even though you have a stronger band 12 signal available, the network will often push you to band 2 or 4 if it can do so as these frequencies yield better throughput in general and will free up spectrum on band 12, which is usually a bit more scarce (low band airwaves are typically more congested, so higher band airwaves like band 2 and 4 are preferred for network management purposes).

The only way to limit your phone to band 12 that I know of is hack into the non-volatile memory via the diagnostic mode and QXDM and manually enable/disable LTE bands 2 and/or 4...but that's probably more trouble than it's worth, especially if you don't want to permanently remove these bands. Plus, diagnostic mode can be super hard to get into on some devices and there are some protections which make it hard to make changes stick permanently, depending on the device.

Also, I should mention that Verizon and AT&T do the exact same thing as T-Mobile in my experience - for instance, band 13 for Verizon seems to only be used when band 4 or 2 are super low strength or completely unavailable. I often find my Verizon SIM sitting at around -115 dBm or so on band 4 and sometimes see it dip into the -120-ish area before switching to band 13.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] GearshiftJB:
Constantly told that It sounds muffled out, I can hardly hear as well... great via bluetooth but that's not always available. .. don't know any solutions right now other than maybe return the device..;.WIND Mobile.. Canada here. Never had any problems with the LG G4
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] dennis96411:
What signal boost feature?
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] efendi011:
See here, right above the "Performance" chapter:

devicespecifications.com/en/editor-review/f9c817

Thought if this can have something to do with the SD 820's TruSignal feature...?
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] dennis96411:
Odd, they removed the menu from the A2017U.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] test878:
As I mentioned in the cell strength review, this phone seems to have a small issue with reception. It is getting worse reception of 5-10db than an old s4, when everything is the same. There is a thread on reddit that has more info about this.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] Reactiv:
Not sure if this specifically for our US chums. But I have to say I am disappointed with my EU version. The call quality is bad. Not so much about network in terms of stuttering/cutting conversations but in terms of the sound quality. There is a clearly audible background buzz and I can only liken the sound to a low quality audio file. By that I mean you can hear it but the 'noise' and subtle distortion is not what I expect. Imagine having an MP3 at 128KB and one at 320KB - I expect the latter and feel like it's the former.

I am wondering if it is software or hardware.

I'm reluctant to send back as I don't want to end up with a 'refurb' packaged and sent as a new one.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] celoxocis:
I compared my A2017G to my older phone using the "Mobil Signal" app from the play store.

My old phone has one of the best receptions signals compared to other OEM. I even confirmed that with two CM devs that have like 15+ devices around and they confirmed that the phone has the best reception signal off all.

I setup the Mobil Signal app and changed the widget to show "percentages" instead of dbm.

Dbm's don't tell me much.

I hit refresh every time I had the chance too on both devices on different locations. Both Sim's are from the same provider both support the same bands.

The Axon 7 _always_ came 5% lower in signal strength than did my old phone. Telling by this results I think the A2017G has no issues in signal strength overall. As I compared it to a phone which is known to have an exception good reception.

I think it is on par with other OEM's.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] ludovicien:
Thanks for that and thanks for taking the trouble to download an app but what you've done there is just another variation on "my phone is ok so yours must be too".

People, including me, are reporting that they are unable to get a signal in places they could with their previous phone and that data on their Axon 7 is unusable at times when phones held by people accompanying them are usable.

But you have an app and thanks to the app that you downloaded you were able to announce that "the A2017G has no issues in signal strength overall" and you it is "on a par with other OEM's."

Again, thanks for your input.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] celoxocis:
Well i did it for myself in the first place. Coming from my old phone which I ported to CyanogenMod and build a custom kernel for it such as optimizing the phone to the edge. It actually runs smoother than my Axon-7. I passed it on to my wife now but will keep maintaining it.

I plan to return the A2017G as the baseband/firmware doesn't support VoLTE and probably never will. I already ordered the A2017U and will test/compare again.

Might even compare it to a A2017G. Keep in mind I'm in Europe our LTE bands are compatible but US providers have different regulations to specific bands. Especially the ones that regulate them self to adjust for weather radar and other radars.

If the world had listened to Tesla 100 years ago we wouldn't have these problems today.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] lfsbtfl:
I'm on A2017G B03. Anyone else experiencing the person on the other end only hearing you after you turn on and off speakers when calling someone?

Any solution or faulty device? Should I return?
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] TP14897:
Signal

ZTE A2017U_7193

Poor reception on Verizon and Att

Att Moto X pure -95 Axon 7 -107

Verizon Moto X pure -99 Axon 7 -120

Never drop calls on Motorola axon 7 worst reception of any phone I ever had
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] bill3508:
No problem with call quality here. My signal is exactly the same as my 6p staying at -95 at the house.
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] XDA_RealLifeReview:
Rate this thread to express how you think the ZTE Axon 7's Wifi performs. A higher rating indicates that it has excellent range, throughput, and signal strength. Like when you're taking a dump in the bedroom upstairs, do your videos have to buffer or do they come through without interruption?

Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
[ZTE Axon 7 Real Life Review] t1328:
Both the Wifi, and cell signals are weaker than the Nexus 6P and the Samsung S7 Edge by a fair margin. With the Wifi, this is most notable when you're on a level of a house other than the level of the router. The Wifi cuts out periodically, and its signal strength is about 1/3rd of the other two phones in the same location.

It's cell signal on T-Mobile is also significantly weaker than the signal with the same sim card in the same location on the 6P and S7 Edge. Difference is -114db (Axon) vs. -101db (Nexus).