ASUS - ZenFone Live with 16GB Memory Cell Phone (Unlocked) - Midnight Black

Recently I had lost an HTC Smart phone when I was grocery shopping. And I didn't expect to have to buy another phone. I was looking for an unlocked Google Pixel or Google Pixel 2 phone since it was on my wishlist. But I could only afford what was on my budget. I found that this Asus Zenfone was at that time was under $100 unlocked. So I think I got a pretty good deal, since most of the phones at BestBuy would cost as much as a laptop or desktop PC. Atleast it was the 2nd or 3rd cheapest phone I found. For my 1st time setup of this phone I did have a little trouble setting up the Sim Card. Since there were two slots, I had to make sure that I put the Sim on slot (1). Cause before that, for some reason the phone was force shutting itself. But once I followed basic instructions from the manual, it was a sigh of relief for me. After switching from 2G, 3G to 4G & updating the Asus firmware, the Asus phone was ready for use. So far, I haven't had any issues with this phone since I've only had it for almost 2 weeks since Feb. 7th. P.S. I want to inform Asus that Lycamobile Sim card is also compatible with this phone since I haven't had any issues so far! Thx Asus, you've got me as one satisfied customer! ;)

I'd like to start by addressing the SIM card boot issue. The phone has an issue where it will force shut down if it connects to 4G or LTE. As the phome default connects to 4G or LTE, this means you won't even make it through set up with a SIM inserted. To fix the issue, set up the phone without the SIM card inserted. Once you can reach the home page, go to settings. Go to mobile networks and look for "Preferred Network: 2G/3G/4G". With this screen open and the device on, insert the SIM card. As soon as you can switch your network, click it and choose "2G/3G" from the menu before the phoke shuts down again. From here, the device will function as normal. This device has a decent processor, an ok camera, and good battery life. With Android GO edition, the device's 16GB of storage and 1GB RAM seems like a lot. The phone has Android 8 Go Edition and seems to get monthly security updates. If you're willing to go through the painful SIM setup process, I'd say it's a fine budget phone.

I spent a lot of time playing around with the display model, before purchasing this phone. Unfortunately, my phone did not perform nearly as well as the display model. Regardless of the settings, the phone would constantly power off. Then, I would have to completely reboot the phone. Additionally, the phone would never go into sleep mode...just power completely off. Several phone calls to the Asus tech support proved unsuccessful. After attempting to reboot the phone in safe mode 3x, the reps finally instructed me to return the item. Another thing that I found very strange was that the default settings and display never corresponded to display model on the floor. Ended up returning the phone and purchasing a different brand, and now I couldn't be any happier.

I bought this phone for use as a data hotspot while traveling in Europe. No issues with setting up phone or it turning off like others have said. However, it takes much longer to start up than my iPhone X. Also, the face recognition almost never works, so needing two hands to use the swipe or pattern unlock can be a pain. The worst part is the display screen. Asked about screen protector when I bought it, but was told there wasn’t one. I put the phone in my front pocket (where I’ve always put my phone). I pulled it out, and the screen is cracked all the way across. No drop, no hitting it, etc. I wouldn’t buy this again. I replaced a BLU XL phone that I couldn’t find before my trip. I’d definitely go back to the BLU. I’m afraid that this phone wouldn’t hold up to everyday use.

so first I would like to say that this is a fairly nice phone for the price, but I will warn you, it has major known issues. it likes to turn itself off for no reason all the time. there are workarounds and if you do them its not bad. the one I found was to put two sim cards in it. as long as it has two sim cards, even if one is inactive, it will work just fine. some other people on here have said that if you leave it in 3g mode that it will work with one card. best buy should warn people before they buy this phone that this problem exists.

Bought the phone on 09/04/18 and it just died! A couple of hours ago I turned it on, worked fine. Turned it on 2 hours later and no sign of life. Charged it several hours no action, not even the LED lights up to show sign of life. It's a poorly made phone, I am truly disappointed in ASUS with there phone products. I bought this phone to replace another ASUS phone I purchased on 04/26/18 (Zenfone AR) that has a display defect and no recalls have been made on that phone! So, now Asus is getting both of these phones for repairs. Never buying ASUS again.

Most of the issues I have with this phone come from changes to Android (missing features Google has deemed "inappropriate" now, nesting settings menu items many levels deep, etc.), but this phone just doesn't have enough RAM to get out of its own way. You'll select something and expect it to go there, but it waits..., and waits..., while you select it again thinking it didn't get the memo, but then it will select the next item to pop up AFTER your first selection, like it's always playing catch up. I went back to an older phone with twice the RAM.

The phone has not shutdown, i put the sim after i updated the latest software and no issues with phone shutting down as per earlier comments. Thanks to previous reviews to not experience the shutdown issue. Its a nice phone for kids to ensure they can make calls to parents as needed. It unlocked with dual sim. Haven't tried another sim but so far works good. Also was trying to put Garmin Connect app but that is not visible it the appstore on the ASUS phone, though that is available on the google appstore.