This troubleshooting guide will help diagnose problems with your ZTE Max XL phone.
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You are experiencing problems charging the phone.
If the phone is not charging, you could have a loose charger. Check that the charger is connected to the outlet, the USB is fully connected to the charger, and that it is securely plugged into the phone’s charging port. If the phone is still not charging your phone’s charging port is faulty, replace the charging port using this guide.
If the phone chargers intermittently while plugged in, the connection of the charger may be faulty. Check metal contacts on phone and charger for corrosion or debris. Use bottled air to remove any dust found within the charging cord or the charging port. You could also use a small amount of rubbing alcohol to clean the contacts. Take care to not touch the metal with your fingers because the oils on you skin can cause issues as well. If you are still experiencing charging issues, you may need to replace the charging cord. If you still are having problems after replacing the cord, you need to replace the charging port using this guide.
If the phone will not charge with one charger, but does with another, it may be due to a broken charger cord. Look for kinks in the wire or exposed wires within the cord. If there are kinks/exposed wires in the cord, buy a new cord.
The screen is not working correctly or is distorted.
If your screen looks distorted, it is possible that you have a cracked screen. Look at screen from multiple angles to check if there are any cracks. If you find cracks in the screen, replace the screen.
If you hold the power button and there is no indication of powering on, the phone may have a faulty screen. Assure phone is adequately charged and you are holding the correct button. If the buttons on the bottom of the screen light up then screen may be faulty. After going through all these steps and you are still experiencing issues, you need to replace the screen.
Phone dies in a relatively short amount of time and/or does not hold a charge.
While using the phone and the phone dies quickly, your battery’s useful life may be diminished. Be sure you are using the recommended charging accessories and they are in working order. Close applications that you are not using to reduce power consumption. Dim screen and turn off GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi when not in use. If your phone is still dying quickly, you need to replace the phone’s battery using this guide.
If your phone is plugged in to charge, but you do not see the charging symbol, you might have faulty charging accessories or battery. Assure the phone is not overheating and/or the charger is connected. If you are using the suggested charging accessories and they are in working order, we suggest you replace the phone’s battery using this guide.
Issues with Sim Card tray or Sim Card detection.
If you try to use the phone, and notification says that the Sim Card is not recognized, you may not have a Sim Card inserted correctly. First, assure there is a Sim Card in the phone and that it is correctly placed in the Sim Card tray. If you are still experiencing issues you may need to replace the Sim Card through your provider. After replacement and you are still running into problems, replace the Sim Card tray using this guide.
If you are having problems ejecting the phone’s Sim Card tray check to make sure there is nothing in the pinhole to release the tray and that your Sim Card removal tool is straight and level to the phone. If the tray will not eject, follow this guide.
Your phone is stuck in Field Test Mode (FTM).
When turning on the phone and it says Field Test Mode, your phone has been put in FTM state. Turn off phone holding power key for 10 seconds. Power on the device and make sure you are not holding any of the volume keys while booting up. Also, assure volume keys are not stuck when powering on. Follow our guide for a more in-depth description of what Field Test Mode is and how to get out of it.
When taking pictures using the front-facing camera there is a distortion in the image captured.
There could be finger print smudges or dirt on your front-facing camera lens. Clean it using a microfiber cloth. If there still is a distortion, we recommend replacing your camera using this guide.
If you have already cleaned your front-facing camera lens and are still experiencing distortion in your pictures, the camera itself may be broken. A few other ways to tell is horizontal lines and/or discoloration in your photos. If you are experiencing these symptoms, we recommend replacing the front-facing camera using this guide.
