Awesome Hack for ZTE Blade A7 Prime

That's awesome info! Once we get this sussed out a bit more we should start a separate post with this info.

I just tried that on my Verizon Prepaid Moto E4 with no luck.

I also tried it on my Moto G4 Play and, curiously, it did not work with the dialing code nor the app.

Also, while the app and the ##3646633## code work on my LG X Charge on T-Mobile, only the app works on my other identical LG X Charge that happens to be on Boost. Both factory unlocked, both bought from the same place with the same model number.

My LG Stylo was a no go with the app and the dialing codes.

Chelle, is your Moto G4 Play a factory-unlocked version? (Mine is.)

That is very strange results on your XCharge stable. I wonder if Sprint is somehow disabling the access while it's on the Sprint network? (Not universal, since my unlocked G4 Play is also currently on Sprint, and can access by code......)

Yes. It's factory unlocked. I bought it from B&H for $89, way back when.

I thought it was strange, too, with the LG phones. I'm just glad I have access, because band 25 is the fastest Sprint band, here, so I keep it locked to that.

Will this hack work for TextNow's problems with Moto E6?
@redrotors, maybe you should try it.

(https://www.nthcircle.com/forum/textnow/3055-textnow-free-service/44645)

It would certainly be worth testing!

I tried it and what I see is that all bands are disabled. I tried to enable them but it doesn't stick.

The APN is also not populated and once again if I input it in it does not stick.

Doesn't seem to be anything the user can do.

I'd intended to check around and see if the (Visible) Moto E6 data issue had been fixed on Sprint MVNO's yet... but hadn't done so. I really thought it would be by now.

Visible is currently out of the ZTE Blade A7 Prime and, incredibly, is offering the ZTE Blade 10 Prime for free, with swap.

I'm hoping that this same hack will work with that phone, as well. I've just ordered one, so I'll know in a few days.

The A10 has
a slightly larger display than the A7 (6.3" vs. 6.1"),
is 1080p rather than 720p,
includes LTE bands 12 and 66,
has 64GB of storage rather than 32GB,
and has NFC.

That's a lot of phone to get for free!

From today's posts on SD thread there are a few claims the ZTE Blade 10 Prime does work on T mobile, but more evidence needed.

"Just got this ZTE Blade 10 Prime this afternoon. Almost same size as ZTE A7 prime. Like ZTE A7 prime, network mode is locked to LTE-only. T-Mobile post-paid sim card works immediately with pretty fast LTE speed (band 12) after created APN setting for T-Mobile. But voice and text are not working until installing network force mode app to use GSM only. When making calls, it falls back to 3G. Hangup the call will be back to 4G LTE for data."

"Were you able to confirm that you were on Band 12 instead of 4?"

"I can't get that LTE data working on ZTE A7 Prime, but on ZTE 10 prime, the 4G LTE is as fast as my iPhone with T-mobile sim, so it has to be band 12"

"You can install "LTE Discovery" App to find out the band."

Question: Does anyone what the name of the "network force mode" app is?

Those scheming, thieving, miserable Slick Dealers who buy 8 phones with single use credit card numbers, or who use single use credit card numbers to avoid being charged when they never send in their swap, really piss me off.

Visible is a great deal for a lot of us-- and people like that are the reason that fine print, stipulations, and red tape get added to transactions with companies like Visible.

And they're the reason that prices go up.

These folks are buying stacks of phones with no intention of even honoring the original swap terms, much less staying with the service.

I tried to sign up a friend, today, who plans to stay with Visible, and there were no swap phones to be had.

It's like watching hogs at the trough. (Sorry Hungry Hog.)

If people want to quit after the first month-- fine.

But if you're buying stacks of phones and/or don't intend to honor the swap agreement, then you're screwing things up for everyone else who wants to become a Visible customer.

I so very much agree! Stacks of phones to then dump on eBay or whatever other online store. Something good for the people and the company quickly gets abused and then - gone. That's effectively what happened with the Moto e6. I am glad I placed the order when I did. Great little phone and still happily active with Visible since December. Good luck Chelle! Hope it works out.

Now to cut that $839.88 per year for internet access alone... I'll give Visible $600.00 instead and have internet access wherever I go with the compromise of lower speeds. Seems doable with two Visible lines. Time will tell.

I understand your frustration about gaming Visible but I think most of the abusers are only violating the spirit, not the letter of the Visible swap deal. If you read the thread on the E6, a lot of discussion was about what kind of phone would Visible accept. What Visible advertised was that you had to send in a working android phone with an IMEI. It became apparent later however, (via chats with Visible customer service reps) that you could send in phones with a broken screen or some other defect, as long as you could power the phone up and use it. Then, people found out that you could send in old android phones with MEIDs but not IMEIs. Then people starting pushing the envelope further by sending in totally defective phones without batteries, claiming that the battery was swollen and not safe to send via mail. Then people starting swapping old iPhones and feature phones. In sum, the universe of eligible swap phones has expanded greatly, to not necessarily include just working Android phones.

The reason why people are using virtual CC numbers for payment is not because they aren't not sending in swaps. They are, but people are sending in arguably ineligible phones and are wary of Visible rejecting them. The thinking seems to be that a swap rejection will be meaningless if Visible can't charge an account any further.

A secondary concern is that people don't want to take a chance on Visible charging for a second month of service. The latter concern is especially prevalent among people who have had bad experiences with other carriers, particularly MetroPCS.

Personally I've done 3 swaps, only one of which fit the exact advertised criteria that Visible set out. One was a Cricket android with IMEI but cracked screen and no battery cover; second one was a good condition Verizon android with MEID, not IMEI; 3rd was a fair condition ATT blackberry imitation Windows phone. I actually have about 6 more old phones that are plausibly eligible for swap, and anther 10 iPhone parts phones that are all icloud locked and/or water damaged, which I would expect to be rejected. However, I'm sure there are lots of people in my position who would have already swapped all those phones to get new phones to re-sell on eBay, especially taking care to use virtual CC #s for the iCloud locked phones. But for me, it would not just be abusive but also wasteful, because I would not be taking advantage of the month of service that I'd still be paying for. So I'm just going to drag things out with the 6 plausibly eligible phones and get a swap every month or two, for as long as Visible allows swaps, and also take actual advantage of the service.

The iPhone SE deal is also just a plain good deal, even without a swap. But virtual CC numbers are certainly not being abused with that deal because the $200 gift card only comes after you've completed two months of service. I predict that Visible is going to either stop that deal or have the SE's locked for 60 days just like Verizon postpaid does now.

The main thing you should keep in mind with any Visible deal is that you have 60 days from the date of your order to activate your SIM. So if you expect that you will need new service within 60 days and you see a new deal come up like the A10, you need to jump on it as soon as it comes back.

Thank you for your frank and honest comment.

When I read the SlickDeals thread there were people specifically asking about using a virtual CC and not sending in a swap, though.

I'm afraid that Visible will do away with swaps, due to so much abuse, and that will create a higher hurdle for people to get onboard with them.

I've signed up two phones, with Visible, but I plan to keep both of those phones active. (I may cancel my unlimited $25 Boost plan, however.)

I hated to have my friend come over yesterday and send him away without signing up for Visible. (We were on my patio and followed appropriate social distancing.) Since he's only wanting the phone for occasional use at his hunting cabin, as internet, he says that he can wait until swaps are available again.

It would seem Visible is aware of certain people using ploys to abuse its deals and it either thwarts or tolerates the shenanigans of some of these people and has factored this untoward behavior into its business plan. Visible appears little concerned about what phones are swapped and probably just recycles them for the precious metals and rare earth elements they contain. If the overwhelming majority of people who take Visible up on its offers stay the course on Visible for at least a few months, then all is well at Visible. This, however, offers little consolation to upright citizens who are nudged out of the deals by the deplorables.

Some more reports on SD today that the Prime phone does work on AT&T and T-Mobile, p. 39,40

Personally, I have no doubt that some folks are using dead-end virtual cards because of concerns about Visible's sometimes random-seeming billing practices. (I prefer to use a real credit card, and deal with my credit card's protection if I suffer from faulty billing and can't get it straightened out with the vendor.)

Personally, I also have no doubt that some folks are running complete scams on Visible, and have no intention of following up in any manner with the requirements, and aren't doing swaps with an intention of giving the service a trial. Honestly, it's sometimes a SlickDeals badge of honor to find a way to make an already excellent deal even better by doing something like that, and SD didn't develop a reputation as a 'horde of locusts' just because they share good deals-- it's because they strip a field bare and leave desolation in their wake.
You don't need any more proof of it than looking for Ebay listings for free-with-swap phones, with individual sellers listing multiple units.

Frankly, if I was Visible, I'd blacklist the IMEIs of free-with-swap phones where the buyer didn't follow through with the basic requirements of the swap.

I did get a Moto E6 on the swap deal-- and I knew I wasn't likely to stay with Visible long term, so in that regard I wasn't following the intent of the offer even tho following the letter: and I felt kind of bad doing it. But I did make the effort to try the service, and to share my mostly positive experience with other potential customers. And, as luck would have it, Visible turned out to be a good fit for at least a temporary (indeterminate length) need here, and I still have an active line..

I haven't heard anything about billing problems with Visible. I'll let y'all know if I experience any of that.

I like the idea of blacklisting IMEIs for phones whose swaps never show up.

Nice phone just got mine just now.

Mine will be here in a little while.

I'm anxious to see if the MTK Engineering Mode app is compatible. That's what will make the phone very useful for me.

Yes it seems to work. Band 12 is unchecked and I was able to check it.

Having issues with getting calls/texts to work consistently with tmobile sim though.

That's great news!

I'm considering using my Blade 10 as a dual SIM Visible/T-Mobile Postpaid phone, since it has 64GB of internal storage (so no need for an SD card). That will free up one of my beloved LG X Charge phones (one of my current T-Mobile phones) for something else.

So I'll definitely be working on getting T-Mobile functional alongside my Visible SIM.