Question 1

Is the storage expandable and the battery removable?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the storage is expandable (looks like microSD) and the battery is removable. In fact I removed it and inserted my SIM card (it has 2 SIM card slots).

Question 2

Hey everyone,

I have been looking at this phone, and it looks amazing (despite the camera not being amazing). The only thing stopping me from buying it is the compatibility with MetroPCS. Am I able to buy this phone and just switch over to it, if I have MetroPCS phone service?

Thanks for the info

Accepted Answer

Since MetroPCS is now under T-Mobile and accepts unlocked phones, this phone can be used with their service. But, LTE only works in areas with the original band 4 and refarmed band 2 and not in areas with the new band 12 that they acquired from Verizon.
Also, there is no wifi calling. 
For more info regarding metroPCS, you may want to call them.

Question 3

Has anyone used this one t-mobiles network? I am just looking to confirm it does work on its LTE network before i purchase it, Thanks!

Accepted Answer

Robert, I bought my Zenfone 2 Laser in the early Nov week when Newegg released it. I am using it on T-Mobile network. Hope you managed to get the special Black Friday/Cyber Monday pricing for this! You do not need to wait for the ZE601KL model.

Question 4

I contacted US Cellular to ask if I could use this phone on their network, they said no.  I thought all I needed was a sim card, what am I missing about that technology?  Does anyone have this phone and use it on a US Cellular network?

Accepted Answer

Unfortunately, US Cellular may be correct on that.  There are two main radio bands for cell phones - GSM and CDMA - and both are unfortunately incompatible with eachother.  The Asus Zenfone 2 Laser works with GSM bands, which are provided by carriers such as AT&T and Sprint.  US Cellular appears to use CDMA, which is the opposing standard also supported by Verizon and T-Mobile.

Long story short, this sadly is not the phone for you unless you want to switch providers.  It is not the end of the world though, as there are plenty of other fine budget phones that are compatible with CDMA (I believe the Moto X is among them...)

Question 5

Will this phone work for Metro PCS?

Accepted Answer

It depends on whether your service is GSM or CDMA.  It must be GSM for this phone to work.  Metro PCS used to be only CDMA and I don't get the impression that is completely phased out.  You may need to check with Metro PCS to make sure which band you are on.

Question 6

How do I same all my contacts and phone number from my non GSM Samsung Galaxy S3 phone to this Asus Zenfone 2 Laser Unlocked phone?
thanks

Accepted Answer

Google account will take care all your contact saved on Google.  If you have all your contact saved on the SIM card, moving the SIM card (assume you are not changing the cellular carrier), will take care moving the contact information for you.

Samsung, like all other manufactures, has their own contact application that they use to save contacts.  I suggest for those contacts, you can save to Google, save to SIM card, or export it out to some file format so you can import it again once you get your new phone.

Google moving contact to new phone for additional information.

Question 7

Given that it's already 2 versions of android behind.  Any hope of an unlocked bootloader?  Upgrade schedule?  Or is this phone going to be stuck on 5.0 forever?

Accepted Answer

Android 6.0 Marshmallow plan for ASUS Smartphones

We are planning to support the Android M upgrade for below model:

PadFoneS (PF500KL)
    ZenFone2 (ZE550ML/ZE551ML)
    ZenFone2 Deluxe / Special Edition (ZE551ML)
    ZenFone2 Laser (ZE500KG/ZE500KL/ZE550KL/ZE551KL/ZE600KL/ZE601KL)
    ZenFone Selfie (ZD551KL)

Please stay tuned to ZenTalk for the latest update on rollout timing.

Question 8

Will this phone work with USCellular?

Accepted Answer

I would think so.  I am using the phone with T-Mobile on their 4G network without any issue.  I believe US Cellular taps into T-Mobile and Sprint's cellular networks.  I won't expect it to work better, but I won't expect it work any worse then what ever phone you are using now.

Question 9

I am planning on getting this phone for T-Mobile's $95 unlimited data plan; so that i can cancel my home internet which is  $80 per month (10mb down, 0.80mb up) and i wanted to make sure this phone supports tethering? so i can have like 2 laptops and a desktop hooked into it's tethered wifi? 
(this may be a stupid thing to some people, but i need to know if it will work...and if i can still do things such as download steam games and such)

Accepted Answer

Yes, Asus Zenfone 2 laser supports tethering. The setup is simple and easy. I suggest you to get Cricketwireless $70 month for unlimited data ($65 with auto monthly payment) so you'd save more. There 's no tax or fee added in like T-mobile. Furthermore using Cricketwireless, you connect AT&T wireless network so better interception and broader coverage area.

Question 10

So is this phone the 551ML or the 551KL? One is 10 months newer. Advertisement disguised as phone specs refers to both on this page. NEWEGG offers no help in their product description. Does anybody know? Also, have read many reviews of this phone all over the NET and it's either a piece of garbage or some sublime creation. Is rooting this phone doable or not? I'm tempted just because of the price.

Accepted Answer

Good questions.  I registered my phone, and ASUS says it is the 551KL. Internally, the phone says it is a Z00TD.  However, it is a replacement for the one I bought ... within a month, the USB connection overheated when a moist charging cable got plugged into it.  ASUS sent a new phone right away for $25 (I had to return the old phone after I got all the data transferred).  I don't know about rooting it ... haven't done any of that since I was a Palm Pre user.  Is this phone Beauty or Beast?  A little of both.  I bought the original ZenFone 2 (Intel Atom processor, 4GB ram, etc.) The dual SIM option is very helpful in the work I do ... a couple of locations I visit regularly have no coverage for MetroPCS, so my second SIM is a low-cost Cricket. I bought the Laser because my first ZenFone 2 ran hot and began resetting several times a day.  The Laser is much more stable.  However, the OS is stuck at 5.02 and I use the Boost button a lot to free up memory.  The first ZenFone 2 allowed me to use the phone on one SIM while also using the data connection from the other SIM.  The Laser only allows use of the data connection from whichever SIM is primary.  So if am using Cricket data, for example, and a MetroPCS call comes in, the data connection goes away.  There is a ton of ASUS software, almost none of which can actually be uninstalled; however, there is an "auto-start manager" I visit after every update, to shut down any apps that have decided they should get to run all the time.  For example, I just noticed that "ZenTalk" got switched over to "allow." One touch and that permission is revoked.  Another annoyance: if wi-fi is active, sometimes it will cause vocal distortions on phone calls.  It tends to be more noticeable for people on the other end of the phone call. That can be a problem if the cell data signal is weak ... it sometimes drops out on phone calls.  All in all, I would buy another one because of the price ... Galaxys are expensive! Hope this helps a bit. -R

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