THE BUDGET RUGGED PHONE CHAMP
The BV5900 is a straight-forward, budget-friendly rugged phone entry from Blackview. Its spec sheet is more close to a mid-range smartphone but more inexpensive and mostly aimed at consumers that want to try out rugged phones and don't want to spend a fortune doing so.
The device is not as heavily spec'd as it's bigger and more premium brothers and it isn’t as massively powerful or blindingly quick. But for most users, it will run the Android apps that they need effectively well enough and all day long with its 5580mAh beast of a battery.
The BV5900 is a very admirable device for those that need a basic rugged smartphone who are likely to take it into dusty, wet, or harsh environments. People that work in the construction or industrial field of work will be confident carrying this phone around, with peace of mind that it will not be easily shattered when dropped or hit by a hard object. The BV5900 is Military Standard CERTIFIED (MIL-STD-810G).
What USA buyers need to know
- All Blackview Phones are network unlocked.
- Only SOME Blackview phones have the 3G and 4G bands to work in the USA.
- HD Voice is required for phones as 2G and 3G networks are being retired.
- Not all carriers are welcoming on BYOD Phones.
In short, we have tested BV5900 on AT&T and T-Mobile and have verified that the phone works great with these two major USA carriers. Verizon, however, only has a few frequency bands supported by this model so we do not recommend this carrier at the moment.
1. Blackview BV5900 is Unlocked
Compatibility to local carrier provider is 1# problem buyers face in buying foreign manufactured smartphones. This makes you can't buy every phone you want and expect it to work on USA Carriers. You should never buy a network locked Blackview set. They are also rare so this point should be easy to fulfil.
☑ Blackview BV5900 is unlocked by default.
2. BV5900 has bands that work on AT&T and T-Mobile
Based on data in devicesranks, frequencycheck, & kimovil.com, Blackview BV5900 should work with most USA Carriers. BV5900 supports many bands' frequency.
BV5900 USA Version Bands:- 2G GSM: B2/B3/B5/B8- 3G WCDMA: B2/B4/B5/B8- 4G FDD-LTE: B2/B4/B5/B7/B12/B17/B66; TDD-LTE: B41
Carriers can use many bands but there are only a few which is important. Please see the BOLD 4G LTE Bands.
Main bands for use in USA: 2,4,12,13,17,25,41, 66,71
As you can see in this bar chart, the vast majority of 4G LTE mobile data volume goes through mid-band spectrum. That would be the 1900MHz band 2 (B2) for AT&T; the 1900MHz B2 together with 1700MHz AWS bands B4 and B66 for Verizon; and pretty much the same combination of B2, B4 and B66 for T-Mobile.
Those bands make the backbone of 4G LTE network coverage especially for urban areas .In rural areas of the United States, the importance of low-band spectrum (below 1GHz) has a greater importance. Here, Verizon Wireless is particularly well invested with its 700MHz bands B13, B14, and B17. AT&T and T-Mobile, on the other hand, rely on 700MHz band B12.
☑ Blackview BV5900 has all of the main bands used by Carriers in the USA
3. HD Voice is needed from 2022
Come 2022, 3G networks will be retired. This means that your Voice Calls must use the 4G network. Hence some carriers like AT&T and Verizon have stopped activating non HD Voice Phones. Most new phones should have HD voice and BV5900 has no problems getting HD Voice on AT&T and Verizon.
A simple test to see if your phone is HD Voice Capable is to
- See if there is a HD or VoLTE icon at the signal bar
- Make a phone call and see if your network connection stays on 4G. It should not drop to 3G
- While on a phone call, surf the internet.
If your phone can do all three, you most likely have a HD Voice Phone.
☑ Blackview BV5900 has all HD Voice working on AT&T, Verizon & T-Mobile
4. Not all carriers are welcoming on BYOD
To activate your Blackview to mobile providers in United States such as AT&T, Boost Mobile, Cricket Wireless, FreedomPop, Google Project Fi, H2O Wireless, Lycamobile, Sprint, T-Mobile, Ting (GSM), U.S. Cellular, Verizon Wireless, MetroPCS, Mint Mobile, Straight Talk.
- Find your phone IMEI
- Register / call to your carrier mobile provider
- Then it will be activated
Here is a guide from AT&T: https://www.att.com/wireless/byod/
Sometimes carriers just won't activate your unlocked or BYOD phone. This is true if you do not have a BYOD plan or on some more restrictive carriers like Verizon/Sprint. In this case, feel free to use our 30 days refund/return policy.
BV5900 SPECIFICATIONS
Design
Dimensions159.00 x 80.00 x 15.00 mmDisplay
IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen Color / IPS TFT 16M colors
Screen Size
5.70"295 ppi ∼63.8% screen-to-body ratio
Screen Resolution
720 x 1520pxWeight
268.00 g
Connectivity
WIFI2.4 i 5 GHz v802.11 a/b/g/n
Bluetooth
BT4.2
2G
B2(1900)/B3(1800)/B5(850)/B8(900)
3G
WCDMA: B1/B2/B4/B5/B6/B8/B19
TDSCDMA: B34/B39
4G
FDD LTE: 2600, 2100, 1800, 900, 800TDD LTE: 2300
Performance
Operating SystemAndroid 9.0 Pie
CPU
MediaTek Helio A22 MT6761
CPU Clock
2.00 GHz / Number of cores: 4
GPU
PowerVR GE8300 @660 MHz
RAM
3 GB
ROM
32 GB
TF Card Slot
Support
Max TF Card Capacity
microSD, microSDHC(up to 32 GB)
USB
v2.0 OTG
Waterproofness & dust-resistanceIP68, IP69K, MIL-STD-810G
SENSORS
Light / Magnetometer / Gyroscope / Fingerprint scannerBatteryLi-Ion 5580 mAhChargingFast wired-charging
Camera
Rear Camera
13.0MP + 0.3MP dual rear cameras,Front Camera5MP