All things Visible ZTE Blade 10 Prime

Just thought I'd start a new thread on this phone rather than it getting lost in the A7 thread.

Other verizon mvnos

Phone works with Boom Verizon. You can activate and calls, texts and data work without any tweaks. So that is a good alternative if you don't want to buy unlimited with Visible.

Tracfone verizon doesn't work (Edit- used an already active sim from a moto E5 - not sure about a clean activation)

Works on T-Mobile and ATT with some settings changes

  1. Add the APN for your carrier
    eg https://www.mintmobile.com/setup-for-android/

  2. Download a force network mode type app and set the preferred network type to GSM auto (PRL)
    eg https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.argus.sava.networkmode&hl=en_US

  3. If you want band 12 you need to install MTK Engineering mode app and manually select band 12 in the band selection. Apparently it doesn't stick on restart so you need to re-enter it each time. Personally I had issues with the phone not switching back to 4g lte after calls when I enabled this so I don't have it enabled.

Case

https://www.nthcircle.com/forum/visible/3184-awesome-hack-for-zte-blade-a7-prime?start=50#45298

mmfacemm writes: "Tracfone verizon doesn't work".
Do you know if the phone using that SIM had VoLTE enabled? Just a thought, since Tracfone SIMs don't seem to enable VoLTE except on activation/registration of a device in Tracfone's system, if the original SIM wasn't VoLTE capable. (i.e., swapping a SIM that didn't have VoLTE enabled into a phone that is VoLTE capable might still result in no VoLTE.)

Possibly. I activated the sim several months ago with the HSN Moto E5 deal. I don't know if that is VoLTE capable or not but it doesn't seem to be on mine. I'm not really knowledgeable about tracfone and the more I use them the more hassle they seem to be. With boom I got the sim, activated and everything just worked. I was impressed. I've seen several reports on slickdeals that tracfone verizon won't work in the blade 10.

FYI: LTE Discovery

Not sure if it's all phones or just this model, but if you use LTE Discovery and you're on Band 66 it will show as Band 0.

No need to troubleshoot anything.

FYI:

If Android 10 is ever made available you will no longer be able to manipulate LTE Bands if you upgrade.

Access to those bands is removed in version 10.

That will be unacceptable, for me, because my phones are absolutely in love with the slowest LTE band, here, and Visible will become useless to me if I can't disable that band.

mvnoresearch on reddit said today that they are likely to get more in 2 weeks but at full price no swap.

Alright, so after playing with the phone for some time, I can say I like the phone itself but I seem to be getting sub par performance on Visible compared to out other line that has the e6. Tried switching bands to see and noticed some changes but it seems inconsistent. Some selection switch over to other deselected bands (maybe that band is not here).

Later when I get a chance, I will try this again. To confirm, what is the best software to use on this specific device for type of soft mod? Any tips will be appreciated.

Stir/Shaken on Verizon/Visible
Saw this report on Reddit today where Visible is blocking or warning about Robo calls. I don't know if this just started happening or if it's been in practice for a while since I've only had the Blade 10 for a short time, but it will be interesting to see how it works in any case.

Since you already have switched bands, I don't know if Chelle's first post and more on the below link about "MTK Engineering Mode" and setting /choosing another band, etc. will help.

https://www.nthcircle.com/forum/visible/3184-awesome-hack-for-zte-blade-a7-prime?start=0

Thanks. That's the post I used. I have not had time to play with that since my last post, but hopefully I can work on that no later than this Saturday, as I want to get that phone to work either as good as the e6 or better.

Edit:

@Isamorph - When you receive the case, would you be so kind as to share your experience with that case? I am strongly considering to purchase it but would love to hear first how well it works for the phone and what your thoughts are on that! Also, if anyone else purchased it, I would certainly love to read your impressions about it. Many thanks!

What is it that isn't working as well as the e6? I have both and the blade has faster download/upload speeds and slightly stronger signal strength.

Will do. I was originally supposed to receive it tomorrow, but tracking now says Saturday. In the meantime, the reviews of this case for the ZTE 7 on Amazon are quite good.

https://www.amazon.com/TUDIA-Merge-Designed-Visible-Metallic/dp/B085FXF91L?th=1

I bought this one and it fits like a glove:

It's a little bulkier than I like. (I prefer very slim fit cases.) But this seems like it would offer very good protection.

For a reason that I have yet to understand, the download speeds on the e6 are better despite the ZTE showing a "stronger" signal. I even got some .01 Mbps upload speeds. Tried switching bands on the fly (did not out too much time to it) and did not get better results. Since, I placed it on my desk since it does not have a case and keep using our other phones. Phone speed / responsiveness and wifi speeds are awesome.

Worst case, I will reach out to Visible if I can't figure it out when I get a chance to actually mess with it.

I received my case/cover for the ZTE Blade 10 Prime, and I am pleased with it and don't see any negatives. Of course, it adds some size to the phone but I find the size just right now. I particularly like the click-like feedback sounds from the buttons since you can hear without looking when turning the phone on and off or increasing or decreasing the volume, which is superior to some cases where one must look to ensure that these tasks have been done. I also like the protective metal-like backing on the case. So IMO, it's worth the $15.

Also, for those who might have missed it, I just received an email from Visible about possible upcoming interruption to service:

Hi Isamorph,

At Visible, part of our mission is to give you, our members, the best possible network experience and features, which is why we’re doing a network upgrade from May 8-21, 2020.

Unfortunately, data may be a bit slower during scheduled maintenance periods, but our engineers will make every effort to avoid disrupting your service by doing upgrades overnight.

We’ll reach out before any of these potential disruptions via text, push notification, and/or email to give you a heads up. After the upgrade, you might need to airplane toggle (aka turn airplane mode on and off) or power cycle (aka restart your phone). Also it’s possible that, if you’re on a call between 2:00-8:00AM Eastern on two particular nights, the call might drop. We’ll let you know the prior evenings.

Thanks for being a Visible member and for your patience during this process. We appreciate you. Read on if you have further questions.

Will you tell me before any potential impacts to service? Yes, we’ll email you two hours before. Depending on your settings, you may also receive a text message and/or a push notification from the Visible app.
Will I be able to pay my bill during the upgrade? Yes
If I wasn’t able to make my payment and my service is shut off, will I be able to resume service during the scheduled maintenance periods? No, but you can resume service the next morning.
Will my data speed be affected during the upgrade? Yes, during the upgrade, members further from the hub may experience higher latency or ping times, so web pages may load a fraction of a second slower. You probably won’t notice a difference unless you’re doing intense, multiplayer online gaming. This would be temporary.
Will Visible refund me for any down time? No, but your interruption will be brief and overnight. Upgrades like this enable us to give our members the world-class network we want you to have.
During the upgrade, will I be able to change my Wi-Fi Calling settings or my e911 address? No, these need to wait until the following morning.

Still need help? Text 99370 or chat with us here.

Thanks again,
Visible

Thanks for the case reviews! I prefer to trust those within this group than the reviews posted. As far as the phone, I got to test it today with more time and the issue seems gone now. Maybe it was because it has just been activated or who knows what. Today while outside of my area (maybe 5 or 7 miles out), I got an upload speed of almost 50 mbps from the phone itself. Too bad in my area that is wishful thinking. Maybe one day!

I've been pleased with my Visible up/down speeds so far, which vary throughout the day from 8mbp to 30mbp down and 5mbp to10mbp up. Speeds may even get better if the local Verizon tower, atop a mountain a few miles away, which was recently vandalized by someone who painted 5G crossed out by an X on the tower and shot at the tower leaving several bullet holes in it causing $100,000 in damages, is fully repaired. The tower wasn't a 5G tower, just 4G.:huh:

One difference I've noticed between the ZTE Blade 10 Prime and the ZTE Blade A7 Prime is that, if you enable or disable LTE bands using the MTK Engineering Mode app, the changes persist through a reboot of the A7 but not the 10.

I am happy to report that sometime after they finished the network upgrades, the ZTE Blade 10 seems to be performing normal (previous data issues). We've keep that line going for another month and see how it compares to the Moto e6 presently with them. If all works out, our cable provider may very well be out of the door.

My phone received a security update, this morning. Everything seems to be fine and as it was.

The ZTE Blade 10 Prime has turned out to be an exceptional phone, in my opinion. The camera is quite good, as well.