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Help never activated, ZTE z990g Merit Tracphone

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permela

Newbie
6/29/2019

My new, never activated, ZTE z990g Merit Tracphone has a 2.3.5 Android operating system, 125 MB internal storage, and a 1.85 GB SD card.

Can my farmer friend use it to watch downloaded Youtube videos that I transfer to it from my HP Windows 10 computer? He has no computer and no access to the Internet. His cellphone is not a smartphone.

I am a novice and this is my first post. If I need to do anything sophisticated, e.g.,unlock my ZTE z990g Smart Phone, please provide me with a link to a helpful website or video.
 
permela said:
6/29/2019

My new, never activated, ZTE z990g Merit Tracphone has a 2.3.5 Android operating system, 125 MB internal storage, and a 1.85 GB SD card.

Can my farmer friend use it to watch downloaded Youtube videos that I transfer to it from my HP Windows 10 computer? He has no computer and no access to the Internet. His cellphone is not a smartphone.

I am a novice and this is my first post. If I need to do anything sophisticated, e.g.,unlock my ZTE z990g Smart Phone, please provide me with a link to a helpful website or video.
Click to expand...

I am sure you can rig up something to work. Will it update to any later adroid version? Generally truly a burner phone.
 
permela said:
6/29/2019

My new, never activated, ZTE z990g Merit Tracphone has a 2.3.5 Android operating system, 125 MB internal storage, and a 1.85 GB SD card.

Can my farmer friend use it to watch downloaded Youtube videos that I transfer to it from my HP Windows 10 computer? He has no computer and no access to the Internet. His cellphone is not a smartphone.

I am a novice and this is my first post. If I need to do anything sophisticated, e.g.,unlock my ZTE z990g Smart Phone, please provide me with a link to a helpful website or video.
Click to expand...
start here, https://www.getdroidtips.com/unlock-bootloader-zte/

You will want to download ADB and Fastboot. Easiest one is Minimal Adb and Fastboot.
https://androidmtk.com/download-minimal-adb-and-fastboot-tool

Also get a copy of your factory rom should something go wrong.

https://secretspecs.com/model/zte/zte-z990g/firmware/

Go into your settings, then to about phone, phone software, find there is says build and tap several times until it says you you now have developer options. scroll down and tick OEM Unlock if available. Then scroll down to USB debugging and tick that. Then go into security under settings and tick allow unkown sources. You will also want to install all the drivers for the phone so your computer picks it up. Which appears to be in the link I gave you. Good luck and ask for help if needed. Here and XDA has a ton of great folks with experience.
 
6/30/2019

I used my ZTE Trackphone for the first time to play a Youtube video via WiFi from my ATT modem.

Please suggest a web site or video that explains how I can safely download a Youtube video (a procedure I've never done before) to my HP computer. I found plenty of websites that explain how to do this but I do not want to risk downloading software that contains adware or a virus .

I want to transfer that downloaded video to the aforesaid 1.85 GB SD card via a cord so that I can try to watch it via my ZTE z990g Merit Tracphone without unlocking it.

I thank ocnbrze and Eric Harper for their encouragement and useful responses to my first message in this forum. I intend to follow their advice.
 
permela said:
6/30/2019

I used my ZTE Trackphone for the first time to play a Youtube video via WiFi from my ATT modem.

Please suggest a web site or video that explains how I can safely download a Youtube video (a procedure I've never done before) to my HP computer. I found plenty of websites that explain how to do this but I do not want to risk downloading software that contains adware or a virus .

I want to transfer that downloaded video to the aforesaid 1.85 GB SD card via a cord so that I can try to watch it via my ZTE z990g Merit Tracphone without unlocking it.

I thank ocnbrze and Eric Harper for their encouragement and useful responses to my first message in this forum. I intend to follow their advice.
Click to expand...
here you go:
https://www.wikihow.com/Download-YouTube-Videos-in-Chrome

its no video, but it explains it pretty well. you just need chrome as your browser at least for the first option. options 2 and 3 you do not need the chrome browser.
 
I thank OCNBRZE for the URL of the web site at https://www.wikihow.com/Download-YouTube-Videos-in-Chrome about how to save copies of Youtube videos on my computer. Doing so was almost as simple as using the dictionary at http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ .

I pasted the URL of a 78 minute long video into the input field, clicked on DOWNLOAD, and selected the .mp4 file format. A window opened and began playing the video after I clicked on DOWNLOAD again. After about 78 minutes I returned to my computer and saved the 275 MB .mp4 file to my desktop computer. I connected my Smart phone via USB cable to my computer, transferred the .mp4 file to the SD card in my Smartphone, clicked on the file and watched the video again. My friend who does not have access to the Internet can now watch the video via my Smartphone. I'll download more videos for him to watch after he returns my cellphone.

People who don't have access to the Internet hear only what their exploiters want them to hear.
 
Thanks for helping me to learn how to download Youtube videos safely and to transfer them to my ZTE z990g Merit Tracphone.

I did not use Method # 1 at https://www.wikihow.com/Download-YouTube-Videos-in-Chrome because it requires that the "YouTube Video Downloader Extension" be installed on my computer.

I used Method # 2 to download two videos and transferred the .mp4 files to the SD card in my Smartphone. My friend also asked me to download a third video, but I was not able to do so via Method # 2. I tried to download it via Method # 3 at https://www.wikihow.com/Download-YouTube-Videos-in-Chrome and discovered that "This site has been shut down following legal action for copyright infringement".

Does anyone know of a web site that allows downloads of the Youtube video at
?
 
permela said:
<span style='font-size:15px';>Thanks for helping me to learn how to download Youtube videos safely and to transfer them to my ZTE z990g Merit Tracphone.</span>

<span style='font-size:15px';>I did not use Method # 1 </span><span style='font-size:15px';><b>at </span></b><span style='font-size:15px';><b>https://www.wikihow.com/Download-YouTube-Videos-in-Chrome</span></b><span style='font-size:15px';><b> </span></b><span style='font-size:15px';>because it requires that the 'YouTube Video Downloader Extension' be installed on my computer.</span>

<span style='font-size:15px';>I used Method # 2 to download two videos and transferred the .mp4 files to the SD card in my Smartphone. My friend also asked me to download a third video, but I was not able to do so via Method # 2. I tried to download it via Method # 3 </span><b><span style='font-size:15px';>at </span></b><b><span style='font-size:15px';>https://www.wikihow.com/Download-YouTube-Videos-in-Chrome</span></b><b><span style='font-size:15px';> and discovered that '</span></b> <span style='font-size:15px';>This site has been shut down following legal action for copyright infringement'.</span>

<span style='font-size:15px';>Does anyone know of a web site that allows downloads of the Youtube video at </span><span style='font-size:15px';><b>https://www.youtube.com/embed/K8R739YBO1w?wmode=opaque</span></b><span style='font-size:15px';><b> ?</span></b>
Click to expand...

https://en.savefrom.net/1-how-to-download-youtube-video/

There ya go
 
permela said:
<span style='font-size:15px';>Thanks for helping me to learn how to download Youtube videos safely and to transfer them to my ZTE z990g Merit Tracphone.</span>

<span style='font-size:15px';>I did not use Method # 1 </span><span style='font-size:15px';><b>at </span></b><span style='font-size:15px';><b>https://www.wikihow.com/Download-YouTube-Videos-in-Chrome</span></b><span style='font-size:15px';><b> </span></b><span style='font-size:15px';>because it requires that the 'YouTube Video Downloader Extension' be installed on my computer.</span>

<span style='font-size:15px';>I used Method # 2 to download two videos and transferred the .mp4 files to the SD card in my Smartphone. My friend also asked me to download a third video, but I was not able to do so via Method # 2. I tried to download it via Method # 3 </span><b><span style='font-size:15px';>at </span></b><b><span style='font-size:15px';>https://www.wikihow.com/Download-YouTube-Videos-in-Chrome</span></b><b><span style='font-size:15px';> and discovered that '</span></b> <span style='font-size:15px';>This site has been shut down following legal action for copyright infringement'.</span>

<span style='font-size:15px';>Does anyone know of a web site that allows downloads of the Youtube video at </span><span style='font-size:15px';><b>https://www.youtube.com/embed/K8R739YBO1w?wmode=opaque</span></b><span style='font-size:15px';><b> ?</span></b>
Click to expand...

https://en.savefrom.net/1-how-to-download-youtube-video/

There ya go
 
7/1/2019

I thank Eric Harper for writing: "Will it update to any later Android version?"

I don't know but I would like to try to do that.

I also thank Eric for the following instructions about how to unlock my ZTE z990g Merit Tracphone.

Eric wrote: "start here, https://www.getdroidtips.com/unlock-bootloader-zte/
You will want to download ADB and Fastboot. Easiest one is Minimal Adb and Fastboot.
https://androidmtk.com/download-minimal-adb-and-fastboot-tool
Also get a copy of your factory rom should something go wrong.
https://secretspecs.com/model/zte/zte-z990g/firmware/
Go into your settings, then to about phone, phone software, find there is says build and tap several times until it says you you now have developer options. scroll down and tick OEM Unlock if available. Then scroll down to USB debugging and tick that. Then go into security under settings and tick allow unkown sources. You will also want to install all the drivers for the phone so your computer picks it up. Which appears to be in the link I gave you. Good luck and ask for help if needed. Here and XDA has a ton of great folks with experience."

I'll try to follow these instructions and ask questions if I need help.
 
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A copy of the aforesaid "The Ethnic Origin Of Communism, Bolshevism and the Russian Revolution (Documentary) " video is at https://www.bitchute.com/video/gsTHrrhmRP0X/ (Youtube's copy will probably be deleted).

It costs ~$5 to download this Youtube video via the web site that Eric kindly recommended at https://en.savefrom.net/1-how-to-download-youtube-video/

A pop-up at https://www.4kdownload.com/video/how-to-use-4k-video-downloader asked me if I want to try the online download so I entered the Youtube URL of the aforesaid video and clicked on the Download button next to "Video・MP4・360p".

I waited 82 minutes for the video to finish playing, clicked on the three dots icon in the bottom right corner, selected the DOWNLOAD button and my computer saved the video to a folder on my desktop. I then used a USB cable to connect my Smartphone to my computer, selected the option to open the SD card on my Smartphone, opened my Video folder and transferred the aforesaid video to it from the folder on my desktop.

Mission accomplie ! Thanks for all the help.
 
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https://www.gsmarena.com/zte_avail-4244.php
That's a pretty dated model, given the age and its current state, you're going to be putting a lot of effort into to getting that phone into any kind of realistic, practical, working condition. It's capabilities are sub-par and you're always going to be taking extra steps to 'dumb-down' and scale down video files just to meet it's very dated specs, for the most part any device with a 480x320 display will only be able to show the most minimalist resolution video.
Even a budget-class new phone or a newer pre-owned phone will give you and your friend a much, much better experience.
https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-budget-android-phone/
https://swappa.com/buy/phones
 
Downloading videos via my HP Envy computer and transferring them to a Smartphone was easy. The ZTE z990g Merit Tracphone played the videos smoothly. I was pleased with their visual and sound quality. I was able to read the text in the informational videos easily via its small screen (a person with poor eyesight can use a large magnifying glass).

If my friend has time to play around with the Smartphones alarm clock and other APPs he may change his mind about upgrading to a Smartphone. I doubt that he'll ever try to connect the ZTE z990g to the Internet via WiFi.

If I try to unlock an obsolete phone just to learn and fail it won't be a costly experience.

I thank Android Expert svim and ocnbrze for their comments and links.
 
Can my friend remove the SIM card from his non-Smart cellphone and insert it into a rooted Tracphone so that he could make telephone calls via a Smartphone?

My friend has never had an email account so I intend to open a Gmail account for him via my never activated ZTE z990g Merit Tracphone so he can use it to access the Internet via Wifi at a library after I eliminate my own Gmail account and Youtube videos from it by Factory Resetting it and its SD card (I received email via this Smartphone and transferred videos to it just to see if I could).

I may also install a Google Voice account on it so my friend can try to use it for text messaging and making telephone calls via WiFi.

Is there anything else I can I do to help him learn how to use a Smartphone?
 
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Could my friend make telephone calls via a Smartphone instead of via his non-Smartphone if he removes the SIM card from his non-Smart cellphone and inserts it into a rooted Tracphone?

I thank Eric for the link to the video at
.
It shows beginners how to use an Android Smartphone.
I may not have to explain as much to my friend if he watches it (I've been using an Android 7.1.1 OS for several years).
 
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