Introduction

To connect an Antminer Z15 Pro to ViaBTC's ZEC pool, enter the ZEC pool address and your userID.workerID in the miner's Settings page, add a backup connection, and save. Then check the miner's connection and operating status alongside the worker's activity and reported hashrate in ViaBTC. If your firmware exposes accepted-share responses or counters, use them to confirm directly that the pool is accepting submissions.

An accepted share is work submitted by the miner and accepted by the pool as valid under its share requirements; it does not mean the miner has found a block. Powering on the unit and seeing fans spin does not establish that work is being accepted. This guide explains the Z15 Pro configuration steps and how to distinguish direct acceptance evidence from supporting status indicators.

Confirm hardware and firmware

Before entering any pool settings, confirm that the physical and network setup matches BITMAIN's documented requirements for the Z15 Pro. According to BITMAIN's current specifications page, the unit requires a 200–240 V AC supply rated for 20 A, delivered through two separate AC inputs, each carrying up to 10 A; both inputs must be connected for the miner to run, as required by the Z15 Pro manual (BITMAIN Z15 Pro specifications). The unit connects to the network through a standard RJ45 Ethernet port at 10/100 Mbps — there is no Wi-Fi option, so a wired switch or router port is required.

BITMAIN also lists an operating temperature range of 0–40°C and an operating altitude limit of 2,000 m. At altitudes from 900 to 2,000 m, the maximum operating temperature decreases by 1°C for each additional 300 m; follow this derating requirement when planning cooling. Equihash ASICs generate substantial heat, so airflow that keeps the intake within this range is a practical precondition for stable operation rather than a cosmetic detail.

Once powered and networked, locate the miner's IP address either through the router's connected-device list or BITMAIN's IP Reporter utility, then open the address in a browser to reach the web interface. BITMAIN's Z15 Pro manual documents root / root as the default web-interface username and password; because this is a published default, it should be changed immediately after first login rather than left in place (BITMAIN Z15 Pro manual). While in the interface, check the firmware version shown at the bottom of the backend interface, as documented in the manual, against BITMAIN's support site, since pool-connection behavior and available configuration fields can vary between firmware releases.

Verify current pool endpoint

Stratum endpoints and ports are subject to change, so the configuration step should always start from ViaBTC's current published values rather than from an older screenshot or third-party guide. As of ViaBTC's September 2026 update, the ZEC global endpoint is stratum+tcp://mining.viabtc.io:3002, with port 302 on the same host documented as a failover entry. ViaBTC also lists an alternative global hostname and a separate Europe-region endpoint for users who prefer a geographically closer connection (ViaBTC Mining Pools Information).

Because endpoints are maintained centrally by ViaBTC and can be revised, treat the support page as the source of truth and re-check it if a previously working configuration stops connecting.

Configure the worker

On the Z15 Pro web interface, open Settings. BITMAIN’s manual documents three pool slots, with priority decreasing from Pool 1 to Pool 3; a lower-priority pool is used when all higher-priority pools are offline. The documented fields are Mining address, Name, and Password (optional). Labels may differ by firmware version. Enter the following into Pool 1:

Mining address: stratum+tcp://mining.viabtc.io:3002
Name:           yourViaBTCUserID.z15pro01
Password:       x

This is a format example, not a literal configuration — the portion before the period must match the reader's actual ViaBTC account identifier or sub-account, and the worker ID after the period can be any label that helps identify the specific machine. ViaBTC's ZEC mining documentation specifies the userID.workerID format, with the worker ID limited to lowercase letters and numbers, up to 64 characters (ViaBTC ZEC Mining guide). ViaBTC specifies that the worker password is optional and can be any value, such as x; it is not your ViaBTC account login password.

In Pool 2, enter stratum+tcp://mining.viabtc.io:302 and use the same Name and worker password. This provides a backup port on the same hostname. Click Save, as documented in the Z15 Pro manual, then allow the miner to start mining with the saved settings.

After saving, verify operation in two places:

1. On the miner: Open Dashboard, the monitoring page documented in BITMAIN's Z15 Pro manual. Check that the hashboards show activity and review their temperatures and chip status. These are local operating indicators, not proof of pool acceptance. If your installed firmware exposes pool connection details or mining logs, check for successful connection and authorization, then look for accepted-share responses or an increasing accepted-share counter if available. Repeated authorization failures, DNS errors, or connection timeouts require investigation. The location and availability of these indicators depend on your firmware.
2. On ViaBTC: Select the account or sub-account used in your worker name, open the ZEC pool dashboard, and locate Workers. After roughly 10–15 minutes of stable operation, check that the expected worker appears and has a reported hashrate. ViaBTC also notes that worker status may take about 10–20 minutes of continuous operation to become active (ViaBTC ZEC Mining guide). Review rejection-rate information where available, together with any rejection reasons exposed by your miner. Use the metrics actually available in your dashboard; separate share counters may not be provided.

A miner-side accepted-share response provides direct evidence that a submission was accepted. An active worker with sustained pool-reported hashrate provides supporting evidence that the pool is receiving and accounting for work; local hashrate or successful authorization alone does not establish acceptance. If the worker remains missing or inactive after the documented interval, first check the selected account, coin, pool address, worker name, and network connection. If those checks pass, investigate the miner's operating status, power, temperature, firmware, and connection path rather than ruling out other causes.

Compare local and pool-reported hashrate

Once a worker is active, the Z15 Pro's local display and the ViaBTC Workers page both show a hashrate figure, and the two numbers are frequently not identical. The miner's local reading is calculated directly from the ASIC's hashing boards. The pool's figure is an estimate derived from the rate and difficulty of valid shares the pool has received during its own measurement window. Because share arrivals follow a probabilistic process, a pool estimate taken over a short window — particularly in the first hour after startup — can run noticeably above or below the miner's local reading without indicating a problem.

BITMAIN's specifications list a typical hashrate of 840 KSol/s for the Z15 Pro, with actual output subject to a stated ±3% manufacturer tolerance, and a typical power draw of 2,780 W at 25°C with a ±5% tolerance (BITMAIN Z15 Pro specifications). These are manufacturer test-condition specifications, not a guarantee of what a pool dashboard will display at any given moment; a pool's short-window estimate should not be read as confirmation or contradiction of the rated 840 KSol/s figure. For an operator monitoring a fleet, the more useful comparison is typically a multi-hour or daily average on the pool side against the miner's local reading over the same period, since this smooths out the short-term variance inherent to share-based estimation.

Troubleshoot connection and share issues

Start with the observed error rather than assuming every problem has the same cause:

• Wrong endpoint or coin mismatch. Re-confirm that the pool URL is the current ZEC endpoint rather than an address for a different coin or an outdated port.
• Authorization or worker-name errors. Check that the account or sub-account name is correct and the worker field follows userID.workerID. The worker-ID portion must use lowercase letters and numbers, within 64 characters.
• DNS failures or connection timeouts. Check the hostname, local DNS settings, network cable, router, firewall, and connection path to the pool. Try the documented backup port. A timeout alone does not identify whether the cause is local, upstream, or at the pool endpoint; a shared hostname does not rule out a pool-side connection issue.
• Persistent rejected shares. Check the reported rejection reason where available. Stale submissions call for checks of network delay and connection stability. Invalid submissions call for checks of settings, temperature, power, firmware, and hardware stability; they are not proof of either a configuration error or board failure. Duplicate submissions call for checks of software and reconnection behavior. ViaBTC's rejected-share guide explains these distinctions.
• Environmental or local operating problems. Check intake temperature against BITMAIN's operating limits, including altitude derating, and review hashboard and chip status on Dashboard. Confirm both power inputs are connected as required.
• Unchanged default credentials. If the web interface is still reachable with the default root / root login, change it independently of the mining-performance checks.

If these checks do not resolve the issue, record the firmware version and relevant error messages. Consult BITMAIN's official Z15 Pro support resources for miner or firmware problems, or ViaBTC support for unresolved pool connection or share-accounting issues. Include the affected worker, endpoint, time period, and logs or screenshots that show the problem.

FAQ

Does the Z15 Pro need both AC power inputs connected to mine normally?

Yes. BITMAIN’s Z15 Pro manual requires both power inputs to be connected simultaneously for the equipment to run. Its specifications list two AC inputs, with 10 A per wire. See the manual, page 4.

Why does my worker show as inactive right after I save the pool settings?

ViaBTC's documentation indicates that a newly configured worker may need about 10–20 minutes of continuous operation before its status updates to active on the Workers page; an inactive status immediately after saving is not necessarily an error.

Is the hashrate shown on the Z15 Pro screen the same number ViaBTC uses for payouts?

No. The miner's local display reflects the ASIC's own measurement, while ViaBTC's dashboard shows an estimate derived from valid shares received during its own window. Payout calculations are based on the pool's share-accounting method, not on the miner's local display.

Can I use a placeholder password when configuring the pool connection?

Yes. ViaBTC’s ZEC guide allows any worker password and states that it is optional. You can use x; this is separate from your ViaBTC account login password.

References

1. BITMAIN, “Z15 Pro Specifications”, updated August 14, 2024.
2. BITMAIN, “ANTMINER Z15 Pro” support page and manual.
3. ViaBTC, “Mining Pools Information”, updated September 16, 2026.
4. ViaBTC, “ZEC Mining” guide.
5. ViaBTC, “Why Are My Mining Shares Rejected?”, June 14, 2026.