Hi 
An FAQ thread for Blade users.
Credits to StevenHarperUK
This is a guide to cover most of the common problems.
It contains some words like ROM and Build.props and RECOVERY. PM me if u can't understand anything
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--I want to know whet generation of phone I have
[GEN1] or [GEN2]
There are now 2 Generations of the ZTE-BLADE device.Each have a different style memory
layout.[GEN1] BLADES use the baseband of 0x02A00000 and can use all of the ROMS made [GEN2]
BLADES use the baseband of 0x02600000 Trying to install a GEN1 ROM onto a GEN2 device will
brick it. GEN1 devices can be recovered and converted with a TPT
--How to find out what BLADE you have (GEN1 or GEN2)
You need to install this app Ask Mr Pigfish When you run the APP the first line will be
Mr.Pigfish says you have a Gen1 model
--How do i root my phone
ZTE Blades with Android 2.2 or lower can be rooted using z4root mod. If it doesnt work, or you have 2.3
blade there is a How to root thread in the Blade Android Development section
--How do i install a rom
-Download the Rom
-Download GoogleAps (CyanogenMod only)
-Backup your data using software like Titanium Backup
-Install clockworkmod recovery from Rom manager
-Boot into recovery (Power + volume down)
-wipe data/factory reset
-wipe cache
-install zip from sdcard option ---> select your rom
-do the same for GoogleApps
-reboot (first boot takes a while)
--The Custom ROM wont Boot Properly. Gets Stuck at the Animated/non-animated boot
screen.
This can be because of a few things You have installed a new ROM and need to clear you cache
and factory reset You installed a Theme or patch without letting the new Custom ROM boot
first The ROM you flashed was damaged when downloading - check with md4sum - re-download and
re-flash. Your SD card is in a very bad state Your SIM has a pin card (effects some of the
early 2.2)
--I want to change my partition sizes
Doing this will require a TPT. These can be made or downloaded using the App TPT helper from
the Play Store ( as of now, there is NO TPT for Chinese Blades )
--I Want to send my Phone back to the Operator - how do I make it back to stock?
The best way to do this is to run a TPT which has been made for your operator's original
ROM. A TPT that is built to do this restores the phone to exactly as it comes out of the
factory. This includes BOOT, RECOVERY and SYSTEM partitions. The DATA and CACHE are also
wiped.
--I can not get into Recovery (clockworkmod)
Make sure you are pressing (and holding) the Volume Down button (-). If you Just see some
large text of FTM then you have not installed a Custom Recovery Image yet
--Phone cannot READ/Mount SD Card
1)SD Card is Damaged
2)Card is not formatted correctly. Download - MiniTool Partition Wizard
3)Card not Seated correctly in Holder
4)The Card needs cleaning : take it out and carefully clean it with alcohol (and a
cottonbud)
--Fastboot can not Install ClockworkMod
If you get waiting for device Check USB debugging is on.On windows check drivers. On others,
check your running as root and try other USB ports/ cables. Try using ADB Wireless from the
market. If you get "writing 'recovery': FAILED (status read failed (Protocol error))
android" change the usb cable, and try another USB port.
--I want to get rid of the inbuilt apps but don't feel comfortable installing a ROM
This is possible, you gain root on the device,then use tools to remove the apps. Eg: Root Uninstaller or Titanium Backup
--Have I got TFT or OLED?
Well if you have a UK device you may have OLED If you purcashed it in 2011 you almost
certainly have TFT Both are good- but having a TFT device means that you must avoid non-TFT
compatibe ROMS (All new ROMs are TFT friendly)On some ROMS you can use the Dialer to find
out. Dial *983*24474636# in the dialer. On the Stock Orange ROM Devices that have TFT
Screens have the build Number OUK_P729BV1.0.0B08 (OLED can have this buid also - but rarely)
Devices that have OLED Screens have the build Number OUK_P729BV1.0.0B0. The build Number can
be found in - Settings | About Phone | Build Number
--How can I keep my apps and settings when I install a new ROM?
Before installing a new ROM you can use Titanium Backup to backup all apps you have
installed. After the new ROM has been installed you can restore the apps plus their data (to
keep your Angry Birds progress and scores, for example). The paid-for version of Titanium
Backup allows you backup and then restore many/all apps with the batch command to save time
reinstalling each app individually.
In general, system settings should not be restored on a new ROM. Restoring them can undo the
effect of wiping data/restoring to factory settings before you flashed the new ROM and you
run the risk of incompatible settings causing forced closure of system apps or, even worse,
random reboots of the phone. Contacts can be restored automatically (and safely) by syncing
with your gmail account(settings->accounts & sync and turn on both sync options) - you need
to do this in your old ROM so the data is in place before you install the new ROM. Many
people have reported that SMSs can be restored safely between most ROMs with Titanium
Backup, but other system settings, e.g. wireless access points, may cause problems that may
require the ROM to be reflashed. In all cases you should always use Nandroid backup in
Clockwork to save the state and settings of your previous ROM which will easily allow you to
return to a working state of your previous ROM in case things go wrong.
--How do I remove a custom theme I installed on any ROM, without factory reset?
Simply Re-flash the original ROM over the top in Clockwork. You'll get the original theme
back.
--I want to install a ROM, but remove some of the
included APPs
Simply open the ZIP file you downloaded and browse to /system/app Then remove the APPS you
don't want - be careful, you don't want to remove apps like mms.apk (SMS) and Phone.apk
--Orange SIM card will not make calls, other networks SIM cards work
The phone, as delivered by Courier is barred from OrangeUK's own network until "activated"
If you buy your phone from an Orange shop they are activated (unbarred from the Orange
network) and handed to the purchaser.
--Phone won't boot - only vibrates when I press power
When you try to turn the phone on with the power button you just feeling a quick succession
of vibrations. This means there is not enough power in the battery to boot. Make sure your
phone is plugged into the Adapter and is using the supplied USB cable.
--Wifi Keeps dropping
On 2.1 and leaked 2.2 ROMS - wifi is a real problem. There are many different work-rounds;
however now the kernel source for 2.2 is released - new ROMs don't gave it. Alternatively
there's a Blade wifi fix app available
--Phone wont turn on. It just Buzzes and red light is on back button
Try charging with another cable - your phone is out of battery
--The phone is Not connecting to 3G/ Cant get Data/ Cant send MMS, etc.
If you cannot get data over 2g/3g then your APN setting may be wrong You edit the APN's in
Setting / Wireless & Network Settings / Mobile Network settings / GSM/UMTS Options / Access
Point Names / then click the phones MENU button (hard button) then choose Add APN.
Also check your SIM is 3G
--I am trying to unlock the phone, how do I get to the enter code screen
You can only see this screen by putting in a SIM that is not the same as the ROM you have
expects So if you have a Orange TFT device that is on the standard (stock) ROM, you will
need a SIM that is not Orange (Virgin/TMobile) Once you insert a SIM that is not unlocked
you get the ENTER code screen
--The Phone Wont Read Any SIM Cards
Thickening the SIM with layers of tape (on the non useful side) has proven to work
--Cant make outgoing calls when Wifi is ON
The icon on the the top bar shows 4 reception bars gets a small x on it, the red led flashes
and outgoing calls cannot be made. Switched to airplane mode and back returns the signal -
it only ever does it when wifi is on. This is probably because you are running one
of the leaked Chinese beta kernels. Running a ROM that has a new 2.2 source
Kernel will fix this.
--What is an MD5hecksum
MD5 is a way of checking that the file you have downloaded has not been corrupted in any
way. when you run the MD5sum command against a files the response is the files
"fingerprint". If this differs from the expected MD5, then you need to re-download the file.
MD5 can be checked directly on the device by using a file manager like astro - if you look
at the details of a file an MD5 is generated Windows
Get your md5sum utility from:
http://www.md5summer.org/md5sum.zip
Extract this Zip file contents and put them into the folder you want to run the command in.
--I want to change the files in the system partition
To do this you can use ADB to modify files or Root Explorer
--I Used Factory Reset now my Phone wont boot
Custom ROM resets are best done in clockwork. However you may have problems with
Unsigned Themes. If you have a theme Installed, you may need to re-install the Original ROM
over the top to get it to boot.
--I want to change how my phone's screen looks like / Theme my phone
In any ROM you can change your background(click the MENU hard button when in the home
screen). However some custom ROMs have themes
made for them. There is a whole section on themes and Apps for the ZTE Blade - However the
most themes are specifically matched to a single or a few ROM's. Some themes are simply
applied to launchers that support them - i.e. launcher pro.
Other need to be installed via Clockwork just like a normal ROM - for these you should
always boot the ROM before applying the theme. Also you should always do a clockwork
(nandroid) backup before applying a theme.
--I dont like the keyboard I have
Keyboards on Android can be swapped. To change a keyboard - Activate it in Settings >
Language and Keboard Then in ANY app do a long hold in any text areas wich wold normall show
the keybaord - then choose Input Method
--Bluetooth file Transfer doesn't work properly
Plain vanilla Android has seemingly limited general file transfer capabilities. You can
download market APPS that are far superior. Bluetooth File Transfer (free) Astro File
Manager (free) add the Astro Bluetooth module (free)
--I want to use A2SD but what do I do
Firstly you need a ROM that supports A2SD, next you need to know if it support EXT2/3/4. Now
you need to change the way your SDCard is Partitioned. In Ubuntu use GParted - in Windows
get the home version of partition wizard. Now Copy EVERYTHING off the SD Card. Make the
FIRST partition the FAT32 one (primary partition) - leave 512MB or more for the EXT2/3/4
(where apps will be installed) Now Make Another partition (must be the SECOND) as EXT2/3/4 -
also make this primary. Now mount the Card and copy all your data back to the FAT32 Part -
assuming it fits. When you install/next boot you ROM, the EXT2/3/4 partition will be mounted
as DATA / this is where your apps go from now on.
--I have bought a bigger SD Card and want to swap it into my Phone
If your just using FAT32 (no app2sd) this will be easy. Right Simple - mount the current one
over USB on your Computer (you can do this in Android - or in Clockwork) Copy everything off
onto your computer. Unmount and Swap new card into phone. Remount over USB. Copy everything
back on
--I am upgrading my ROM and don't want to lose my contacts
If you sync your contacts via Google (gmail account), then the contact will be re-
downloaded when you re-enter your Google Account after flashing. You can see your accounts
in Menu > Settings > Account & Sync Otherwise you can go into the Contacts App and choose
Menu > Import Export. The Export will made a new large file with all your contacts in. This
will be written to the root of your SD Card. Import will scan your SD Card and look for any
files that are contact backups.
--I set a BAD SSID in the Wifi Hotspot - now I cannot start Tethering
If you set a SSID on your hotspot to be too long (over 32 characters) or with non valid
characters - then you make it impossible to start the Hotspot. You MUST use ADB to edit the
hotspot name manually
: adb -d shell
: sqlite3 /data/data/com.android.provid
If sqlite3 is not installed on your ROM you can download titanium backup from the market
then use the alternate command
:adb -d shell
:/data/data/com.keramidas.TitaniumBack
--I want to import all my contacts into Gmail - so they can sync with my phone
Google dont tell you anywhere what the Magic format is of their CSV. Copy the first line
from below, then simply add all the contacts you need into the format of the
2nd line Most Spreadsheet programs will let you open the CSV and edit it. Then just import
the file into Google Contacts (selecting a group when you do it) - I suggest a new group.
--How do i get ICS on my phone
There is no official ics for the blade, however, There are several ics roms to choose from. However there is no perfect release and all of them have certain bugs and issues.
--Can I boot more than one rom on a ZTE Blade
Thanks to android@sam, Snap.IT and Jinxxed, this is now possible. Head over to the Blade Android Development subforum to see the threas
September 21st : ZTE BLADE DAY
Guys feel free to reply with corrections and suggestions so that I can add then to the OP
Thanks to yash_p90 and karthiknr for assistance
An FAQ thread for Blade users.
Credits to StevenHarperUK
This is a guide to cover most of the common problems.
It contains some words like ROM and Build.props and RECOVERY. PM me if u can't understand anything
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--I want to know whet generation of phone I have
[GEN1] or [GEN2]
There are now 2 Generations of the ZTE-BLADE device.Each have a different style memory
layout.[GEN1] BLADES use the baseband of 0x02A00000 and can use all of the ROMS made [GEN2]
BLADES use the baseband of 0x02600000 Trying to install a GEN1 ROM onto a GEN2 device will
brick it. GEN1 devices can be recovered and converted with a TPT
--How to find out what BLADE you have (GEN1 or GEN2)
You need to install this app Ask Mr Pigfish When you run the APP the first line will be
Mr.Pigfish says you have a Gen1 model
--How do i root my phone
ZTE Blades with Android 2.2 or lower can be rooted using z4root mod. If it doesnt work, or you have 2.3
blade there is a How to root thread in the Blade Android Development section
--How do i install a rom
-Download the Rom
-Download GoogleAps (CyanogenMod only)
-Backup your data using software like Titanium Backup
-Install clockworkmod recovery from Rom manager
-Boot into recovery (Power + volume down)
-wipe data/factory reset
-wipe cache
-install zip from sdcard option ---> select your rom
-do the same for GoogleApps
-reboot (first boot takes a while)
--The Custom ROM wont Boot Properly. Gets Stuck at the Animated/non-animated boot
screen.
This can be because of a few things You have installed a new ROM and need to clear you cache
and factory reset You installed a Theme or patch without letting the new Custom ROM boot
first The ROM you flashed was damaged when downloading - check with md4sum - re-download and
re-flash. Your SD card is in a very bad state Your SIM has a pin card (effects some of the
early 2.2)
--I want to change my partition sizes
Doing this will require a TPT. These can be made or downloaded using the App TPT helper from
the Play Store ( as of now, there is NO TPT for Chinese Blades )
--I Want to send my Phone back to the Operator - how do I make it back to stock?
The best way to do this is to run a TPT which has been made for your operator's original
ROM. A TPT that is built to do this restores the phone to exactly as it comes out of the
factory. This includes BOOT, RECOVERY and SYSTEM partitions. The DATA and CACHE are also
wiped.
--I can not get into Recovery (clockworkmod)
Make sure you are pressing (and holding) the Volume Down button (-). If you Just see some
large text of FTM then you have not installed a Custom Recovery Image yet
--Phone cannot READ/Mount SD Card
1)SD Card is Damaged
2)Card is not formatted correctly. Download - MiniTool Partition Wizard
3)Card not Seated correctly in Holder
4)The Card needs cleaning : take it out and carefully clean it with alcohol (and a
cottonbud)
--Fastboot can not Install ClockworkMod
If you get waiting for device Check USB debugging is on.On windows check drivers. On others,
check your running as root and try other USB ports/ cables. Try using ADB Wireless from the
market. If you get "writing 'recovery': FAILED (status read failed (Protocol error))
android" change the usb cable, and try another USB port.
--I want to get rid of the inbuilt apps but don't feel comfortable installing a ROM
This is possible, you gain root on the device,then use tools to remove the apps. Eg: Root Uninstaller or Titanium Backup
--Have I got TFT or OLED?
Well if you have a UK device you may have OLED If you purcashed it in 2011 you almost
certainly have TFT Both are good- but having a TFT device means that you must avoid non-TFT
compatibe ROMS (All new ROMs are TFT friendly)On some ROMS you can use the Dialer to find
out. Dial *983*24474636# in the dialer. On the Stock Orange ROM Devices that have TFT
Screens have the build Number OUK_P729BV1.0.0B08 (OLED can have this buid also - but rarely)
Devices that have OLED Screens have the build Number OUK_P729BV1.0.0B0. The build Number can
be found in - Settings | About Phone | Build Number
--How can I keep my apps and settings when I install a new ROM?
Before installing a new ROM you can use Titanium Backup to backup all apps you have
installed. After the new ROM has been installed you can restore the apps plus their data (to
keep your Angry Birds progress and scores, for example). The paid-for version of Titanium
Backup allows you backup and then restore many/all apps with the batch command to save time
reinstalling each app individually.
In general, system settings should not be restored on a new ROM. Restoring them can undo the
effect of wiping data/restoring to factory settings before you flashed the new ROM and you
run the risk of incompatible settings causing forced closure of system apps or, even worse,
random reboots of the phone. Contacts can be restored automatically (and safely) by syncing
with your gmail account(settings->accounts & sync and turn on both sync options) - you need
to do this in your old ROM so the data is in place before you install the new ROM. Many
people have reported that SMSs can be restored safely between most ROMs with Titanium
Backup, but other system settings, e.g. wireless access points, may cause problems that may
require the ROM to be reflashed. In all cases you should always use Nandroid backup in
Clockwork to save the state and settings of your previous ROM which will easily allow you to
return to a working state of your previous ROM in case things go wrong.
--How do I remove a custom theme I installed on any ROM, without factory reset?
Simply Re-flash the original ROM over the top in Clockwork. You'll get the original theme
back.
--I want to install a ROM, but remove some of the
included APPs
Simply open the ZIP file you downloaded and browse to /system/app Then remove the APPS you
don't want - be careful, you don't want to remove apps like mms.apk (SMS) and Phone.apk
--Orange SIM card will not make calls, other networks SIM cards work
The phone, as delivered by Courier is barred from OrangeUK's own network until "activated"
If you buy your phone from an Orange shop they are activated (unbarred from the Orange
network) and handed to the purchaser.
--Phone won't boot - only vibrates when I press power
When you try to turn the phone on with the power button you just feeling a quick succession
of vibrations. This means there is not enough power in the battery to boot. Make sure your
phone is plugged into the Adapter and is using the supplied USB cable.
--Wifi Keeps dropping
On 2.1 and leaked 2.2 ROMS - wifi is a real problem. There are many different work-rounds;
however now the kernel source for 2.2 is released - new ROMs don't gave it. Alternatively
there's a Blade wifi fix app available
--Phone wont turn on. It just Buzzes and red light is on back button
Try charging with another cable - your phone is out of battery
--The phone is Not connecting to 3G/ Cant get Data/ Cant send MMS, etc.
If you cannot get data over 2g/3g then your APN setting may be wrong You edit the APN's in
Setting / Wireless & Network Settings / Mobile Network settings / GSM/UMTS Options / Access
Point Names / then click the phones MENU button (hard button) then choose Add APN.
Also check your SIM is 3G
--I am trying to unlock the phone, how do I get to the enter code screen
You can only see this screen by putting in a SIM that is not the same as the ROM you have
expects So if you have a Orange TFT device that is on the standard (stock) ROM, you will
need a SIM that is not Orange (Virgin/TMobile) Once you insert a SIM that is not unlocked
you get the ENTER code screen
--The Phone Wont Read Any SIM Cards
Thickening the SIM with layers of tape (on the non useful side) has proven to work
--Cant make outgoing calls when Wifi is ON
The icon on the the top bar shows 4 reception bars gets a small x on it, the red led flashes
and outgoing calls cannot be made. Switched to airplane mode and back returns the signal -
it only ever does it when wifi is on. This is probably because you are running one
of the leaked Chinese beta kernels. Running a ROM that has a new 2.2 source
Kernel will fix this.
--What is an MD5hecksum
MD5 is a way of checking that the file you have downloaded has not been corrupted in any
way. when you run the MD5sum command against a files the response is the files
"fingerprint". If this differs from the expected MD5, then you need to re-download the file.
MD5 can be checked directly on the device by using a file manager like astro - if you look
at the details of a file an MD5 is generated Windows
Get your md5sum utility from:
http://www.md5summer.org/md5sum.zip
Extract this Zip file contents and put them into the folder you want to run the command in.
--I want to change the files in the system partition
To do this you can use ADB to modify files or Root Explorer
--I Used Factory Reset now my Phone wont boot
Custom ROM resets are best done in clockwork. However you may have problems with
Unsigned Themes. If you have a theme Installed, you may need to re-install the Original ROM
over the top to get it to boot.
--I want to change how my phone's screen looks like / Theme my phone
In any ROM you can change your background(click the MENU hard button when in the home
screen). However some custom ROMs have themes
made for them. There is a whole section on themes and Apps for the ZTE Blade - However the
most themes are specifically matched to a single or a few ROM's. Some themes are simply
applied to launchers that support them - i.e. launcher pro.
Other need to be installed via Clockwork just like a normal ROM - for these you should
always boot the ROM before applying the theme. Also you should always do a clockwork
(nandroid) backup before applying a theme.
--I dont like the keyboard I have
Keyboards on Android can be swapped. To change a keyboard - Activate it in Settings >
Language and Keboard Then in ANY app do a long hold in any text areas wich wold normall show
the keybaord - then choose Input Method
--Bluetooth file Transfer doesn't work properly
Plain vanilla Android has seemingly limited general file transfer capabilities. You can
download market APPS that are far superior. Bluetooth File Transfer (free) Astro File
Manager (free) add the Astro Bluetooth module (free)
--I want to use A2SD but what do I do
Firstly you need a ROM that supports A2SD, next you need to know if it support EXT2/3/4. Now
you need to change the way your SDCard is Partitioned. In Ubuntu use GParted - in Windows
get the home version of partition wizard. Now Copy EVERYTHING off the SD Card. Make the
FIRST partition the FAT32 one (primary partition) - leave 512MB or more for the EXT2/3/4
(where apps will be installed) Now Make Another partition (must be the SECOND) as EXT2/3/4 -
also make this primary. Now mount the Card and copy all your data back to the FAT32 Part -
assuming it fits. When you install/next boot you ROM, the EXT2/3/4 partition will be mounted
as DATA / this is where your apps go from now on.
--I have bought a bigger SD Card and want to swap it into my Phone
If your just using FAT32 (no app2sd) this will be easy. Right Simple - mount the current one
over USB on your Computer (you can do this in Android - or in Clockwork) Copy everything off
onto your computer. Unmount and Swap new card into phone. Remount over USB. Copy everything
back on
--I am upgrading my ROM and don't want to lose my contacts
If you sync your contacts via Google (gmail account), then the contact will be re-
downloaded when you re-enter your Google Account after flashing. You can see your accounts
in Menu > Settings > Account & Sync Otherwise you can go into the Contacts App and choose
Menu > Import Export. The Export will made a new large file with all your contacts in. This
will be written to the root of your SD Card. Import will scan your SD Card and look for any
files that are contact backups.
--I set a BAD SSID in the Wifi Hotspot - now I cannot start Tethering
If you set a SSID on your hotspot to be too long (over 32 characters) or with non valid
characters - then you make it impossible to start the Hotspot. You MUST use ADB to edit the
hotspot name manually
: adb -d shell
: sqlite3 /data/data/com.android.provid
If sqlite3 is not installed on your ROM you can download titanium backup from the market
then use the alternate command
:adb -d shell
:/data/data/com.keramidas.TitaniumBack
--I want to import all my contacts into Gmail - so they can sync with my phone
Google dont tell you anywhere what the Magic format is of their CSV. Copy the first line
from below, then simply add all the contacts you need into the format of the
2nd line Most Spreadsheet programs will let you open the CSV and edit it. Then just import
the file into Google Contacts (selecting a group when you do it) - I suggest a new group.
--How do i get ICS on my phone
There is no official ics for the blade, however, There are several ics roms to choose from. However there is no perfect release and all of them have certain bugs and issues.
--Can I boot more than one rom on a ZTE Blade
Thanks to android@sam, Snap.IT and Jinxxed, this is now possible. Head over to the Blade Android Development subforum to see the threas
September 21st : ZTE BLADE DAY
Guys feel free to reply with corrections and suggestions so that I can add then to the OP
Thanks to yash_p90 and karthiknr for assistance
Last edited:
