Does the zenfone 5z work on this network?

[Pmastracci]

Looking to replace my phone, I want to get an asus phone, here's the one I'm looking at.
It's an international version of the phone, I'd imagine it probably works, but I want to make sure in case anyone knows. (I do not have an imei to check because I did not purchase the phone yet.)
Amazon.com zenfone 5z

[viraj]

I have a Asus Zenfone 5Q (ZC600KL) in Public Mobile. I'm using Voice and Data services without any issues.

[sheytoon]

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@srlawren wrote:@sheytoon you are a fountain of great information!  Thanks!

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You're too kind! 🙂

[wetcoaster]

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@paul5 wrote:

Go to home page and type in your make of phone and it will tell you if it is compatible .hope this helps

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@paul5

FYI: Public Mobile's "Check your phone" feature only accepts the phone's IMEI. That is not useful if you are locking at buying a new phone but "only" have the brand and model number.

Also please be aware that Public Mobile's IMEI checker is only checking if the phone is blacklisted. It's not reliable as a tool to check frequency compatibility, in fact it has returned plenty of false positives in the past. While no site is 100% accurate, willmyphonework.net works well in most cases.

[Pmastracci]

No worries! I actually used to be a pc tech so this is sort of up my alley, I never got into the different frequencies though so this is pretty interesting finding some of this out.

[paul5]

Go to home page and type in your make of phone and it will tell you if it is compatible .hope this helps

[srlawren]

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@Pmastracci wrote:

Sorry I can't accept multiple people as the solution but I've went with the suggestion to get the phone from bestbuy, it's in the mail and on the way, thanks everyone for all the information regarding bands though!

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@Pmastracci sorry about all the threadjacking discussing LTE bands.  But back to your original topic: sounds like a sensible decision.  Hope you love the phone!  

[srlawren]

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@sheytoon wrote:

Hmm, actually it's regional.

B2 in Bell areas.

B4 for Telus, with B2 as the next most common.

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 @sheytoon interesting!  I'm in the GVA, so definitely Telus territory.

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@srlawren wrote:

@will13am @sheytoon haven't paid much atention to LTE Discovery for a while, but just pulled it up.  Sitting on B7 right now at the office, near downtown Vancovuer.  

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 In the burbs today, Band 2.   EDIT: Band 17 currently.

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@sheytoon wrote:

Actually, propagation is pretty much the same.

Capacity is higher on B2 because it's 5 MHz wider than B4.

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@sheytoon you are a fountain of great information!  Thanks!

[sheytoon]

Actually, propagation is pretty much the same.

Capacity is higher on B2 because it's 5 MHz wider than B4.

[kav2001c]

B2 has less energy decay than B4

B4 has better capacity though

[sheytoon]

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@computergeek541 wrote:

I'm in Ontartio, so that would be Bell territory.  The Band 4 is definitely stil there, and I have connected to it before, but my phone almost always prefers Band 2, perhaps do to the lower downstream MHz. 

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Yeah they're both present at most locations. But the reason your phone stays on B2 is due to camping priorities assigned by the network, not because of availability. Unless you are completely out of coverage for one band.

[Pmastracci]

Sorry I can't accept multiple people as the solution but I've went with the suggestion to get the phone from bestbuy, it's in the mail and on the way, thanks everyone for all the information regarding bands though!

[computergeek541]

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@sheytoon wrote:

Hmm, actually it's regional.

B2 in Bell areas.

B4 for Telus, with B2 as the next most common.

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I'm in Ontartio, so that would be Bell territory.  The Band 4 is definitely stil there, and I have connected to it before, but my phone almost always prefers Band 2, perhaps do to the lower downstream MHz. 

[will13am]

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@computergeek541 wrote:

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@srlawren wrote:

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@will13am wrote:

Without B4 LTE, I would not classify this phone as being compatible with the Public Mobile service.  

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@will13am that's youre perogative to classify as such, but it's not totally true.  As long as phone has 850 + 1900MHz 3G, you're good to go, all the way to HSPA+ speeds.  If you're using a "3G" speed plan and suck on real UMTS 3G, you're going to get more speed than you're paying for anyway.  If you're ponying up for a full LTE speed plan, then yes make sure you get band 4.  

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With that being considered, depending on your plan, the LTE bands of your phone may be of less of a concern to you.  At present, I could care less about LTE bands because I currently have LTE deliberately disabled. 

With that said, I don't really see a reason to get a phone missing prominent bands that are used in Canada. I believe there to be enough of a selection of different devices that include full, or almost full, band support, that you may as well get one of those.  Of course, pricing is always a consideration.

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If I turned off LTE at work, I might as well disable mobile data.  3G is complete garbage.  The loading from just phone calls makes it unusable for data.  I can see how those on the LTE lite plans may like to stay on 3G. 

[sheytoon]

Hmm, actually it's regional.

B2 in Bell areas.

B4 for Telus, with B2 as the next most common.

[computergeek541]

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@srlawren wrote:

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@will13am wrote:

Without B4 LTE, I would not classify this phone as being compatible with the Public Mobile service.  

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@will13am that's youre perogative to classify as such, but it's not totally true.  As long as phone has 850 + 1900MHz 3G, you're good to go, all the way to HSPA+ speeds.  If you're using a "3G" speed plan and suck on real UMTS 3G, you're going to get more speed than you're paying for anyway.  If you're ponying up for a full LTE speed plan, then yes make sure you get band 4.  

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With that being considered, depending on your plan, the LTE bands of your phone may be of less of a concern to you.  At present, I could care less about LTE bands because I currently have LTE deliberately disabled. 

With that said, I don't really see a reason to get a phone missing prominent bands that are used in Canada. I believe there to be enough of a selection of different devices that include full, or almost full, band support, that you may as well get one of those.  Of course, pricing is always a consideration.

[computergeek541]

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@srlawren wrote:

@will13am @sheytoon haven't paid much atention to LTE Discovery for a while, but just pulled it up.  Sitting on B7 right now at the office, near downtown Vancovuer.  

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I've never really noticed much Band 4 LTE when I used my service. That doesn't mean that it isn't there, but for me, my phones have usually prefered to camp on Band 7 when outside, and Band 2 when I'm indoors. 

[stonechucker]

Oh, I did have B4.  I just checked.

[stonechucker]

I’m betting B7 or B2.  My Nexus 5 if I remember correctly didn’t have B4.

[srlawren]

@will13am @sheytoon haven't paid much atention to LTE Discovery for a while, but just pulled it up.  Sitting on B7 right now at the office, near downtown Vancovuer.  

[will13am]

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@sheytoon wrote:

@will13am, @srlawren

Fun fact: did you guys know that B4 is no longer the most common LTE Band deployed nationally on Bell/Telus RAN?

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@sheytoon, really?  I wound be interested in what the most popular band is now.  My guess would be one of the old 3G bands, either B2 or B5.  I do connect to B5 a lot at work.  My old phone which did not have B5 would get B4. 

[srlawren]

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@sheytoon wrote:

@will13am, @srlawren

Fun fact: did you guys know that B4 is no longer the most common LTE Band deployed nationally on Bell/Telus RAN?

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@sheytoon Fun fact: I defintely did not!  What is?  B2?  B7?  B5?  More [details], please!

[sheytoon]

@will13am, @srlawren

Fun fact: did you guys know that B4 is no longer the most common LTE Band deployed nationally on Bell/Telus RAN?

[will13am]

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@srlawren wrote:

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@will13am wrote:

Without B4 LTE, I would not classify this phone as being compatible with the Public Mobile service.  

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@will13am that's youre perogative to classify as such, but it's not totally true.  As long as phone has 850 + 1900MHz 3G, you're good to go, all the way to HSPA+ speeds.  If you're using a "3G" speed plan and suck on real UMTS 3G, you're going to get more speed than you're paying for anyway.  If you're ponying up for a full LTE speed plan, then yes make sure you get band 4.  

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In absolute sense you are correct.  Given the price of this phone, lack of warranty, the variants available, taken together the practical interpretation is this phone does not work in Canada.  Paying over $400 for a phone half works transcends a little more than somone's prerogative. 

[srlawren]

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@will13am wrote:

Without B4 LTE, I would not classify this phone as being compatible with the Public Mobile service.  

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@will13am that's youre perogative to classify as such, but it's not totally true.  As long as phone has 850 + 1900MHz 3G, you're good to go, all the way to HSPA+ speeds.  If you're using a "3G" speed plan and suck on real UMTS 3G, you're going to get more speed than you're paying for anyway.  If you're ponying up for a full LTE speed plan, then yes make sure you get band 4.  

[will13am]

Without B4 LTE, I would not classify this phone as being compatible with the Public Mobile service.  There are several other compatible LTE bands that will work but they are not present everywhere like B4.  I had an older Oppo that had only B4 LTE and I had no problems remaining connected to LTE.  The same experience with any other band is not likely, although a lot of B2 and B5 have been repurposed from 3G service.  No warranty, iffy LTE ccompatibility, and with alternate options, best to let this one go. 

[ShawnC13]

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@Alex888 wrote:

Others have said they have that phone and it works fine. However, you will likely need to configure the APN to get data working on it as it's not always automatic on them.

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@Alex888, it is great to see you being so active and helping out in the community!!  As a community based support group we really need to make sure the information we give is correct as this will only be as good as the support that is offered.  To say it will work fine because others have said it did isn't the best way to go about it as there are many versions of phones out there and we should be looking at the exact model the person intends to purchase before just saying it will work.  In this case there are three variants and the one this member was going to buy won't work on the PM network.

[tehowennathe · Accepted solution]

Your better off ordering from Best Buy. The version they have shows it has LTE band 4 so it will work on Public Mobile. 

https://m.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/asus-zenfone-5z-midnight-blue-unlocked/12718035

Hope that helps.

[stonechucker]

It's funny, the Amazon posting even says it doesn't work in the US, listing specifically it doesn't work with AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, etc...

For once, they have the correct information listed.

[tehowennathe]

It's always best to get phone from Best Buy website if going with an international version of a phone. They will only sell ones that work in Canada. I made the mistake of getting an international version in past on Amazon. They said it has the proper bands on phone but in the end it didn't work on PM LTE just 3G. So go with a store that sells phones for Canadian market.

[sheytoon]

@Pmastracci

There's 3 versions of this phone. Try not to get version A because it's missing LTE Band 4.

https://www.asus.com/ca-en/Phone/ZenFone-5Z-ZS620KL/Tech-Specs/

Amazon's specs are not always accurate, but this one seems to be version A (no LTE B4).

A version

FDD-LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 18, 19, 20, 26, 28)

TD-LTE (Bands 38, 39, 40, 41)

WCDMA (Bands 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 19)

EDGE/GPRS/GSM (850, 900, 1800, 1900MHz)

LTE Cat13 UL up to 150Mbps / Cat15 DL 4CA 4x4 MIMO up to 800Mbps

B version

FDD-LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32)

TD-LTE (Bands 34, 38, 39, 40, 41)

TD-SCDMA (Bands 34, 39)

WCDMA (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 19)

EDGE/GPRS/GSM (850, 900, 1800, 1900MHz)

LTE Cat13 UL up to 150Mbps / Cat18 DL 5CA 4x4 MIMO up to 1.2Gbps

C version

FDD-LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32)

TD-LTE (Bands 34, 38, 39, 40, 41)

CDMA (Band BC0)

TD-SCDMA (Bands 34, 39)

WCDMA (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 19)

EDGE/GPRS/GSM (850, 900, 1800, 1900MHz)

LTE Cat13 UL up to 150Mbps / Cat18 DL 5CA 4x4 MIMO up to 1.2Gbps

ASUS phone 3G/4G/LTE band compatibility varies by region, please check compatibility with local carriers.