I've got the Zenfone 3 Ultra, you've got questions, let's do the thing

[Tom Westrick]

Hey guys,

Just got my Ultra in the mail, and just finished filming an unboxing video. I'll link the the video once I get it processed. I want to know what questions you all have about the device specifically.

-Right off the bat, there's limited network support for the US, Canada and Europe. I'm going to use this method to see if I can get it working.

-The size is very manageable. I'm a 5 ft 10 average sized dude, and it fit fine in my jean and gym short pockets. There's not room for much else in those pockets, but that's fine by me. The size is near perfect for a thumb typer like me.

-The fingerprint sensor supports up to 4 fingerprints.

-I had a bug fix update out of the box.

-Most of Asus's "bloat" in unistallable, and there are plenty of themes to choose from. If you want it to look like AOSP, it doesn't take more than a few minutes.

 

[B. Diddy]

How's the build quality? The ZenFone 2 was quite plasticky.

I'll be interested to see how the camera is. I always felt the ZenFone 2's camera was pretty good, although some of the color processing was a bit too aggressive.

I liked how customizable the ZenUI Launcher was, including the ability to change the system font easily. Is that still possible?

 

[Tom Westrick]

Build quality is great, the metal feels nicer than the metal on the Nexus 6P, to be honest. Buttons are nice and clicky, and the screen is clear too even though it's "only" 1080P.

Onto some other points I've discovered over the last day:

-Reception is surprisingly great. My theory is that the few antenna bands it does have aren't congested since they aren't AT&T's main bands, and it seems like network speeds are actually faster than they are on my properly banded 6P. I'm still going to unlock the other antenna bands when a root method is available, but I could totally use the phone as is. Keep in mind this is just my experience in my area.

-No NFC. I rarely used Android Pay, so it doesn't hurt me to be honest.

- Works with Android Auto (and the screen is larger than my head unit, which is hilarious).

If you're on AT&T and are looking at this phone, it might work out well for you. I'd say buy from a site that has a good return policy and give it a try.

Also, here's the unboxing video. Meant to upload it last night but I got busy with school work.

 

[dmm96452]

Do you mind sharing where you got yours? Also, now that you've had it for a few weeks how do you like it?

Never mind about where you got it. Caught it on the unboxing video.

 

[MisterSavage]

Thanks Tom. I'm wondering what your feeling is about the phone now after using it more. Are you going to try and open up the North American bands?

 

[Tom Westrick]

Thanks Tom. I'm wondering what your feeling is about the phone now after using it more. Are you going to try and open up the North American bands?

It's been surprisingly great. I'll post my full written review in a few days, but it's completely usable where I live and visit. The bands it uses aren't congested since no other phones here use those bands, so real world performance is great. I can stream YouTube/Netflix, download music from Play Music, and tether my laptop (not all of those at once, mind you) without any hiccups

I can't unequivocally say it will work in any other areas though. My recommendation is buy it from a site with a good return policy, and hold onto your current phone until you're 100% sure you can use the Zenfone everywhere you go.

As for unlocking the rest of the cellular bands, Asus has not published a bootloader unlock tool for the Zenfone 3 Ultra, so it's not possible to root yet. Any site that advertises a root unlock method is trying to load spyware on your device.

 

[skibnik]

Unfortunately Asus has no plans to release the bootloader utility for the ultra I contacted Asus and this was their reply.

 

[dgorrd]

Expansys says they are no longer selling to new US customers. Where else can I buy one of these with a return policy?

 

[antomic]

I have the Asus Zenfone 3 ultra on Metro by T-Mobile (formerly MetroPCS) and it works fine on HSPA since it cannot work with 4G LTE. I am considering changing my current unlimited plan (4 lines for $100.00 without hotspot) to the new $60.00 unlimited plan with 15 GB hotspot on each line which will cost me a total of $150.00.

My question is, will the hotspot work on the Zenfone 3 ultra? Will I be able to connect other devices using the Zenfone as hotspot?

I can see from the above posts that you are on AT&T and you were able to tether your laptop. I suppose that meant you connected your laptop using your Zenfone's hotspot? I know this thread is 2 years old but I would appreciate it if anyone could enlighten me on this issue.

Thanks in advance.