ZTE Blade A3L User Manual

User Guide

About This Guide

Thank you for choosing this ZTE mobile device. In order to keep your device in its best condition, please read this manual and keep it for future reference.

No part of this publication may be quoted, reproduced, translated or used in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without the prior written permission of ZTE Corporation.

Notice

ZTE Corporation reserves the right to make modifications on print errors or update specifications in this manual without prior notice. This manual has been designed with the utmost care to ensure the accuracy of its content. However, all statements, information and recommendations contained therein do not constitute a warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. Please refer to For Your Safety to be sure to use your phone properly and safely. We offer selfservice for our smart terminal device users. Please visit the ZTE official website (at http://www.ztedevices.com/) for more information on self-service and supported product models. Information on the website takes precedence.

Disclaimer

ZTE Corporation expressly disclaims any liability for faults and damages caused by unauthorized modifications of the software.

Images and screenshots used in this manual may differ from the actual product. Content in this manual may differ from the actual product or software.

Trademarks

ZTE and the ZTE logos are trademarks of ZTE Corporation.

Android™ is a trademark of Google LLC.

The Bluetooth® word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by the Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by ZTE Corporation is under license.

microSDHC Logo is a trademark of SD-3C, LLC.

Other trademarks and trade names are those of their respective owners.

Version No.: R1.0

Edition Time: February 28, 2020

Contents

Getting Started..............................................................	9
Getting to Know Your Phone ....................................................................	9
Key Functions ..............................................................................................	11
Setting Up Your Phone.............................................................................	12
Charging the Battery ................................................................................	14
Powering Your Phone On/Off ................................................................	15
Setting Up Your Phone for the First Time ..........................................	16
Locking/Unlocking the Screen and Keys...........................................	16
Getting to Know the Home Screen......................................................	17

Personalizing ...............................................................	20
Changing the System Language ..........................................................	20
Setting the Date and Time......................................................................	20
Changing the Ringtone, Notification Sound, and Alarm Sound21
Turning System Sounds On/Off ............................................................	21
Adjusting Volumes.....................................................................................	22
Switching to Silent or Vibration Mode................................................	22
Using Do Not Disturb Mode...................................................................	23
Applying New Wallpapers.......................................................................	24
Changing the Screen Brightness..........................................................	25
Protecting Your Phone With Screen Locks ........................................	25
Protecting Your Phone With Screen Pinning.......................................	26
Knowing the Basics .....................................................	28
4

Monitoring the Phone Status.................................................................	28
Managing Notifications............................................................................	29
Organizing With Folders ..........................................................................	33
Managing Shortcuts and Folders .........................................................	33
Rearranging the Primary Shortcuts .....................................................	34
Editing Text...................................................................................................	34
Opening and Switching Apps................................................................	35
Uninstalling an Application ....................................................................	36

Connecting to Networks and Devices ........................	37
Connecting to Mobile Networks...........................................................	37
Connecting to Wi-Fi...................................................................................	38
Connecting to Bluetooth Devices .........................................................	40
Connecting to Your Computer via USB...............................................	42
Using the microSDHC Card as Portable or Device Storage .........	43
Sharing Mobile Data Through Tethering............................................	47

Phone Calls ...................................................................	48
Placing and Ending Voice Calls..............................................................	48
Answering or Rejecting Voice Calls......................................................	49
Working With the Call History................................................................	50
Calling Your Contacts................................................................................	51
Checking Voicemail ...................................................................................	52
Using Options During a Call ...................................................................	52
Managing Multi-party Calls ....................................................................	53
Adjusting Your Call Settings ...................................................................	55
5

Contacts .......................................................................	62
Checking Contact Details........................................................................	62
Adding a New Contact.............................................................................	62
Importing, Exporting, and Sharing Contacts ...................................	63
Working With Favorite Contacts ...........................................................	65
Managing Contacts With Labels...........................................................	65
Searching for a Contact ...........................................................................	67
Editing Contacts .........................................................................................	67

Web Accounts ..............................................................	70
Adding or Removing Accounts.............................................................	70
Configuring Account Sync......................................................................	71
Gmail ............................................................................	73
Setting Up an Email Account.................................................................	73
Checking Your Emails ...............................................................................	73
Responding to an Email...........................................................................	74
Writing and Sending an Email...............................................................	75
Editing or Removing Email Accounts..................................................	76
Changing General Email Settings ........................................................	77
Messages......................................................................	78
Opening the Messages Screen..............................................................	78
Sending a Message ...................................................................................	78
Replying to a Message .............................................................................	79
Forwarding a Message .............................................................................	80
Deleting Messages or Conversations..................................................	80
6

Web Browser.................................................................	81
Opening the Browser................................................................................	81
Using Multiple Browser Tabs ..................................................................	82
Downloading Files .....................................................................................	82

Camera..........................................................................	83
Capturing a Photo......................................................................................	83
Using Manual Camera Mode..................................................................	85
Recording a Video ......................................................................................	86
Customizing Camera and Video Settings ..........................................	86

Voice Recorder .............................................................	90
Recording a Voice Memo.........................................................................	90
Playing a Voice Memo...............................................................................	90
Trimming a Voice Memo..........................................................................	91

More Apps ....................................................................	92
Calculator ......................................................................................................	92
Clock ...............................................................................................................	92
Downloads....................................................................................................	94
Google Apps ................................................................................................	94

Settings.........................................................................	96
Network & Internet ....................................................................................	96
Connected Devices....................................................................................	98
Apps & Notifications..................................................................................	99
Battery.........................................................................................................	100
Features ......................................................................................................	101
	7

Display .........................................................................................................	101
Sound...........................................................................................................	101
Storage.........................................................................................................	101
Security & Location..................................................................................	102
Accounts .....................................................................................................	104
Accessibility................................................................................................	105
Digital Wellbeing & Parental Controls...............................................	105
Google .........................................................................................................	106
System..........................................................................................................	106
Troubleshooting........................................................	108
For Your Safety...........................................................	113
General Safety...........................................................................................	113
Radio Frequency (RF) Energy...............................................................	114
FCC Regulations .......................................................................................	116
ISED Notice.................................................................................................	117
Hearing Aid Compatibility (HAC) Regulations for Mobile Phones
........................................................................................................................	118
Distractions ................................................................................................	120
Product Handling.....................................................................................	121
Electrical Safety.........................................................................................	126
Radio Frequency Interference.............................................................	126
Explosive Environments ........................................................................	128

Getting Started

Getting to Know Your Phone

Front camera	Indicator light
Earpiece/ Speaker
	Volume key
Touch screen	Power key
	Power key

Microphone

Headset jack

Back camera

Flash

Charging/ micro-

USB jack

Key Functions

	Key	Function

		Press and hold to turn airplane mode on or off,
		restart, power off, or toggle sound, silence, and
	Power key	vibration.
		Press to switch your phone to sleep mode or
		wake up your phone.

	Volume key	Press or hold either end of the key to turn the
	Volume key	volume up or down.
		volume up or down.

		Touch to return to the home screen from any
	(Home key)	application or screen.
	(Home key)	Touch and hold to use the Google Assistant.

		Touch to see recently used applications.
	(Recent apps	Touch twice to switch between the two most
	key)	recent applications.

	(Back key)	Touch to go to the previous screen.
	(Back key)

NOTE:

You can exchange the position of the Recent apps key and the Back key. From the home screen, touch Settings > Features > Navigation keys to personalize the setting and see tutorial.

Setting Up Your Phone

The nano-SIM card can be installed or removed while the phone is turned on.

The microSDHC card can be installed and removed while the phone is turned on. Unmount the microSDHC card before removing it.

Power off before installing or removing the battery.

WARNING!

To avoid damage to the phone, do not use any other kind of SIM cards, or any non-standard nano-SIM card cut from a SIM card. You can get a standard nano-SIM card from your service provider.

1.Place your finger in the slot at the lower left of the back cover to lift and remove the cover.

2.Hold your nano-SIM card and microSDHC card with the metal contacts facing down and slide them into their respective slots.

nano-SIM card

microSDHC card

NOTE:

Some applications may require a microSDHC card to work normally and/or may store data on the card. Therefore, it is recommended that you keep a microSDHC card installed and not remove or replace it randomly.

3.Insert the battery, making sure the gold contacts line up. Press down gently to secure.

4.Replace the cover over the back of the phone, and then press down along the edges to secure. Make sure there are no gaps.

Charging the Battery

Your phone’s battery should have enough power for the phone to turn on, find a signal, and make a few calls. You should fully charge the battery as soon as possible.

WARNING!

Use only ZTE-approved chargers and USB cables. The use of unapproved accessories could damage your phone or cause the battery to explode.

1.Connect the cable to the charging jack. Ensure that the cable is inserted in the correct direction.

2.Connect the charger to a standard AC power outlet. If the phone is on, you’ll see a charging icon, such as or , appear in the status bar.

3.Disconnect the charger when the battery is fully charged.

NOTE:

If the battery is extremely low, you may be unable to power on the phone even when it is being charged. In this case, try again after charging the phone for at least 20 minutes. Contact customer service if you still cannot power on the phone after prolonged charging.

Powering Your Phone On/Off

Press and hold the Power key to turn on your phone.

To turn it off, press and hold the Power key to open the options menu and touch > .

Setting Up Your Phone for the First Time

When you first power on your phone after you purchase it or reset it to factory settings (see Reset Options), you will need to set it up before using it. Select the language and then follow the prompts to set up your phone.

Locking/Unlocking the Screen and Keys

Your phone allows you to quickly lock the screen and keys (put the phone to Sleep mode) when not in use and also to turn the screen back on and unlock it when you need it.

Lock the Screen and Keys

To quickly turn the screen off and lock the keys, press the Power key.

NOTE:

To save battery power, the phone automatically turns off the screen after a certain period of time when you leave it idle. You will still be able to receive messages and calls while the phone screen is off.

Unlock the Screen and Keys

1.Press the Power key to turn the screen on.

2.Swipe up on the screen. - or -

Swipe away from at the bottom right of the screen to open the Camera app.

- or -

Swipe away from at the bottom left to dial a phone call.

- or -

Double-tap a notification to open the related app.

NOTE:

If you have set a pattern, a PIN, or a password as the screen lock, you’ll need to unlock the screen by drawing the pattern or entering the PIN/password. See Protecting Your Phone With Screen Locks.

Getting to Know the Home Screen

The home screen is the starting point for your phone’s applications, functions, and menus. You can customize your home screen by adding shortcuts and folders.

Status & notifications

Google search

Folder

Shortcut

Primary shortcuts

Navigation bar

Extended Home Screen Panels

Your home screen is extendable, providing more space for shortcuts and more. Swipe left or right to switch between home screen panels.

To add a new home screen panel:

1. Touch and hold a shortcut icon or folder on the home screen.

– or –

Swipe up on the home screen and touch and hold an app.

2.Drag the item to the right edge of the screen to create a new home screen panel and put the item on it.

Personalizing

Changing the System Language

1.From the home screen, touch Settings > System > Languages & input > Languages.

2.Touch and hold the language you need and drag it to the top to switch to that language.

To add a system language, touch Add a language and then the language you need.

Setting the Date and Time

1.From the home screen, touch Settings > System > Date & time.

2.Set the date, time, time zone, and time format.

To adjust the date and time automatically, touch to turn on

Automatic date & time.

To adjust the date and time manually, touch to turn off

Automatic date & time and touch Set date / Set time to change the date and time.

To adjust the time zone automatically, touch to turn on

Automatic time zone.

To adjust the time zone manually, touch to turn off

Automatic time zone and touch Select time zone to set the correct time zone.

To adjust the time format, touch to turn on/off Use 24-hour format or Automatic 24-hour format.

Changing the Ringtone, Notification

Sound, and Alarm Sound

You can customize the default ringtone for incoming calls, the default notification sound, and the default alarm sound.

1.From the home screen, touch Settings > Sound > Advanced.

2.Touch Phone ringtone, Default notification sound, or Default alarm sound.

3.Scroll through the list and select the ringtone you’d like to use.

4.Touch OK.

NOTES:

Many applications have their own notification sound settings.

See Set a Ringtone for a Contact for how to assign a special ringtone to an individual contact.

When selecting ringtones, touch Add ringtone to select an audio file in your phone or microSDHC card.

Turning System Sounds On/Off

1.From the home screen, touch Settings > Sound > Advanced.

2.In the Other sounds and vibrations section, touch the switches beside each option to turn it on or off.

Adjusting Volumes

1.From the home screen, touch Settings > Sound.

2.Drag the sliders below Media volume, Call volume, Ring volume, Alarm volume, and Notification volume to adjust the volume for each type of audio.

Switching to Silent or Vibration Mode

You can set the phone to silent or vibration mode by using one of the following methods.

NOTE:

Silent and vibration modes will not silence your alarms.

Press the Volume key and touch or to switch the phone to vibration or silent mode.

NOTE:

Press the Volume key and touch to restore sound.

From the home screen, touch Settings > Sound > Notification mode and select Vibrate or Mute to switch to vibration or silent mode.

NOTE:

Select Ring to restore sound.

Swipe down from the top of the screen to open the notification panel and drag the panel downwards. Touch Ring or Vibrate to switch the phone to vibration or silent mode. See Use Quick Settings.

NOTE:

Touch Silent to restore sound.

Using Do Not Disturb Mode

You can limit interruptions with Do Not Disturb mode. This mode silences your phone so that it doesn’t make sounds or vibrate when you don’t want it to.

Turn on Do Not Disturb Mode

1.Swipe down from the top of the screen with two fingers to access the Quick Settings panel.

2.Swipe left and right to find the “Do not disturb” icon and touch it.

Set Do Not Disturb Mode

1.From the home screen, touch Settings > Sound > Do not disturb.

2.Touch the following options as you need.

Sound & vibration: Turn on or off sound/vibration for listed items in Do Not Disturb mode.

Notifications: Set notification behavior in Do Not Disturb mode. You can block sound or visuals from notifications, or customize more restrictions. Note that critical notifications for phone activity and status cannot be blocked.

Calls: When Do Not Disturb is on, incoming calls are blocked. You can adjust settings to allow friends, family, or other contacts to reach you.

Messages, events & reminders: When Do Not Disturb is on, messages, reminders, and events will be muted, except for the items you allow.

Duration: Turn off Do Not Disturb automatically, manually, or set the duration each time you turn on Do Not Disturb mode.

Turn on automatically: Use rules to turn on/off Do Not Disturb automatically. Touch an existing rule to set or use it, or touch Add rule to create new rules.

Applying New Wallpapers

You can set the wallpaper for the home screen and lock screen.

1.Touch and hold an empty place on the home screen.

2.Touch Wallpapers.

3.Select a built-in wallpaper along the bottom, or touch My photos to select a picture on which you can pan and zoom to choose the area you need.

4.Touch Set wallpaper.

5.Choose where the wallpaper should be used by touching Home screen, Lock screen, or Home screen and lock screen.

NOTE:

You can also set the wallpaper by opening the Settings app and selecting Display > Wallpaper.

Changing the Screen Brightness

1.From the home screen, touch Settings > Display > Brightness level.

2.Drag the slider to manually adjust the screen brightness.

Protecting Your Phone With Screen Locks

You can protect your phone by creating a screen lock. When it is enabled, you can swipe up on the lock screen, and then draw a pattern or enter a numeric PIN or password to unlock the phone’s screen and keys.

1.From the home screen, touch Settings > Security & location > Screen lock.

2.Touch None, Swipe, Pattern, PIN, or Password.

Touch None to disable screen lock protection.

Touch Swipe to enable screen lock and allow unlocking with a “swipe” gesture. You can unlock the screen by touching the display and sliding up.

Touch Pattern to create a pattern that you must draw to unlock the screen.

Touch PIN or Password to set a numeric PIN or a password that you must enter to unlock the screen.

3.For Pattern, PIN, or Password, choose whether to further protect your phone with secure start-up. When it is enabled, you must enter the pattern, PIN, or password when powering on the phone in order to use it normally.

4.For Pattern, PIN, or Password, select how you want notifications and their contents to show when the phone is locked, and then touch DONE.

NOTE:

Remember the pattern, PIN, or password you set. Otherwise, you will have to contact the customer service to reflash the phone software to use the phone, and all data on your phone will be erased.

Protecting Your Phone With Screen Pinning

You can use the screen pinning feature to keep an app in view, so others cannot switch to other apps or access your personal information.

Turn On Screen Pinning

1.From the home screen, touch Settings > Security & location > Advanced > Screen pinning.

2.Touch the On/Off switch.

3.To automatically lock the phone after unpinning, switch on Lock device when unpinning and set up a screen lock.

If you have set a screen lock, you can switch on Ask for unlock pattern/PIN/password before unpinning.

Pin a Screen

1.Ensure that screen pinning is turned on.

2.Open the app you want to keep in view and then touch the Recent apps key to view recent apps.

3.Swipe up to find on the bottom card.

4.Touch .

Unpin the Screen

1.To unpin the screen and return to normal use, touch and hold both the Back key and the Recent apps key.

2.If the screen is locked, swipe up on the lock screen and draw the pattern or enter the PIN/password.

Knowing the Basics

Monitoring the Phone Status

The status bar at the top of the home screen provides phone and service status icons on the right side. Below are some of the icons you may see.

Indicator		What it means
Indicator		What it means
		LTE connected

		Mobile data in use

		Do not disturb mode on

		Vibration only mode on

		Silent mode on

		Battery low

		Battery full

		Battery charging

		Alarm set

		No signal

		Signal strength

	28

Airplane mode

Connected to a Wi-Fi network

Speaker on

Phone microphone off

Location service active

Wired headset connected

Data Saver on

Managing Notifications

The status bar at the top of the home screen provides notification icons on the left. Below are some of the icons you may see.

	Indicator		What it means
	Indicator		What it means
			New message

			New message(s) from the Gmail™ app

			Missed call

			Call in progress

Call on hold

Low battery

Upcoming event

New Wi-Fi network detected

Downloading/sending data

USB tethering on

Open/Close the Notification Panel

Notifications report the arrival of new messages, calendar events, and alarms, as well as ongoing events. You can open the notification panel to view the details of notifications.

To open the notification panel, swipe your finger down on the home screen or from the top of the screen.

To close the notification panel, swipe your finger up on the screen or touch the Back key.

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