Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G, US Version, 128GB, Phantom Black - Unlocked (Renewed)

I ordered it on Sept 20th at $339 plus shipping of ~$34 and Morocco VAT of ~$80, so totally I paid $449. Delivery was very good. I saw it was shipped on the 25th. On the 30th, I received an SMS from DHL saying they planned delivery on Oct. 3rd, but on the same day I got an email asking for copy of national ID and content description for clearing customs. I am not a Morocco residents nor citizen, so I sent my foreign passport instead. On the 3rd, Amazon tracking info said clearing custom was delayed as additional documents were needed. So I called DHL, and the rep said it would be delivered on the 4th instead. On the 4th, I saw a newly posted message about delay on Amazon tracking. I called DHL various times but couldn't get to anyone. I then sent an inquiry by email and get a response shortly saying it was being taking care of. Then late afternoon, I got the package. Upon arriving, the seal of the packing had an opening large enough to put in a hand but not for getting the phone out, so I didn't complain. Unpacked, the inner packing of the phone was in excellent condition, very much like the original packing but had no Samsung marking, rather, it had a marking of "amazonrenewed". There was a film covering the screen, like on a new phone. The phone appeared in excellent condition, only had a small scratch at the back when I looked in detail, and a hair of scratch on the screen that is only visible under bright light and in a particular angle. I tried but couldn't turn on the phone - there was no response. The box also included a USB-C cable and a cheap non-Samsung charger made in China. I used my own Samsung Charger to charge the phone. After plugged in, it showed the battery was at 0. So I let it charge to full. After started, it turned out fully unlocked. My Morocco sim card works with 4G. The phone's software looked already reset, but I reset it myself anyhow. Then updated to the latest system with Android 12, and loaded many apps I need. During about the first week, the battery appeared quite poor. With medium usage it lasted about a day. I tried all necessary settings to conserve battery, but it didn't seem to help much. These couple days, it becomes much better, lasting about 45 hours. I read it was likely due to some AI processes either from Android 12 or Samsung doing the learning work at first. But it's pretty bad the phone doesn't show any info. I would say I am very happy with the phone. And this is after having a terrible experience in the past with Samsung. The last Samsung phone I had was S7 Edge bought in Thailand (I am a traveler), new at a Samsung store for perhaps ~$800. I actually wanted the normal S7 (without the "edge"), but it was out of stock then. I never liked the "edge", it was a silly design in my mind. The phone worked well initially, but in the coming couple of years I had a terrible experience. About 5 months later when I was in Vietnam, the screen started to show shaded bands across. As I was wondering how or if I should return to Thailand to get the phone serviced, the bands disappeared after a month. Then about another 7 months later when I was in Azerbaijan, the phone couldn't start after I did a system update. So I couldn't use the phone for a couple weeks until I reached Tbilisi in Georgia when I had someone flashed it. About a year later, it died on me again when I was in Morocco. I had someone re-flashed it, but it was not successful. About 1 month later I reached the city of Fes where there is a Samsung service center. After checking, they said there was something wrong with the motherboard. Very shocking! I've never had such problem in my life with all the phones and computers, cheap or dear, and this was a flagship! So eventually, I sold it to a local repair shop for $200, for which they said they only needed the screen. That was end of 2017. So I never bought a Samsung again, and would definitely not buy one at the full price. I admit the S series is not worthless. At least, I like the camera. But I never had a chance to buy one at a largely reduced price (I won't buy from just any second-hand sellers). So now, the Amazon reviewed phone with some warranty got me interested. Yes, I have some risk, but to me with the past experience, the risk is not much higher than getting a new phone from Samsung, plus, I am putting in a much lower bet now.

I am always leery about buying used electronics. You never know if you get the one that was barely used, and the person is just a serial upgrader every time a new model comes out. OR, if the item was traded in because it was malfunctioning, and wasn't spotted before being resold. Not the issue here so far. Tested every feature that I would actually use and it runs smoothly and quickly. From a full charge in the morning before I go to work, and with moderate usage throughout the day, it is generally down to about 80% by the time I go to bed (usually between 1:30 and 2:00am). I am upgrading from a much earlier model Galaxy and the camera (both still and video) quality is spectacular comparatively. Particularly in low light. Verizon SIM card transferred over without issues and that Samsung transfer app was a God send for getting all of my stuff (including pix, wifi passes, etc.....) over to the new phone. The lack of an SD slot makes me a bit nervous, but this one is the 256 gig model so hopefully, I won't have to do much relocating of files, images and videos over to my PC with the space that there is on here. Physically, the phone was in pretty good shape. Though there were a few minor scuffs on the back, the glass for the screen AND the camera lenses were flawless. And, I always use a case/holster anyway, way back since the old flip phone days. So, I will never actually SEE the body of the phone anyway. All in all, up to this point, I feel like the investment was good. There is 90 days worth of warranty so if I stumble across something that is a deal breaker, I can return it. If you are looking for a phone that won't cost as much as a cheap automobile, this "renewed" option may be something you can look in to. I will be trying it again when it is time to make another upgrade.

Everything's great. Condition was mostly what I expected from excellent quality except for a couple of noticable scratches around the ultra wide lens, but I can overlook that, it's excellent otherwise. Everything works great, the battery life is really good.

Phone works great, it's super speedy and has zero hesitation when I need it to do stuff, as expected. But the screen they used to refurbish this phone is terrible quality. Smudges and smears constantly. Also the charger it came with is complete crap. Doesn't fit into the charge port correctly without force and stops charging while plugged in if you position the phone in certain angles. The phone performance is great, the refurbishment and charger, not so much.

Screen is smaller than a note 10 plus android phone. Camera quality is good. Connected to my jamaican service easily because its unlocked.

The phone was in new condition, it came in a white box with a charger and usb cord. Works great and my only complaint was the size. The screen is very tall, but was far too narrow for a decent sized keyboard, so I am finding it difficult to type with large hands. Phone was perfect for its size. The actual screen width is 67mm vs the Ultra with a 79mm horizontal screen width. Update, phone screen stopped working and went black after a few weeks. Lost all my contacts and accounts. Note, phone came with Samsung messaging and was attempting to force what they called an upgrade to google messaging (malicious app) update: screen started working again at random, then mobile network quit for a few weeks, then randomly started working again. The end call button does not end calls at all, it is just for looks, a glitch across multiple models by samsung. There was never any issue with the hardware, it works well.. the samsung software and firmware just isnt what it used to be.

All qualities required for phone was good, easy to use, camera excellent, screen size small if going for neatness, excellent product

Finally pulled the trigger on getting a new phone. I used to use a Galaxy S8 (what I used to take the pictures) and it held together for a good 5 years. However time and wear had taken it's toll. Battery lasting 8-10 hours with light use, a few cracks to the screen, you get the idea. I decided to keep with Samsung as I rarely is ever have issues with them. I had an LG Stylo for less than a week before I went with the S8 after my S6. Found this deal. Advertised as 'Renewed - Excellent', and I knew what quality that would be as that's what my S8 was when I picked it up. So I went a little over budget to pay that premium. It wasn't quite worth it. Pros : Battery seems to be great, lasts about as long as the first ads for the S21 Ultra when it first dropped. It's now day 4 since I decided to test the battery and keep it off the charger. With light use, I'm still at 39%. The fingerprint scanner hasn't given me an issue yet, Audio quality on calls and playing music is better than I was expecting to be honest. The 5G is a lot better than the 4G I was at with my previous phone. The camera is working pretty well, though the 100x is a bit too blurry, but at 50x, for example, it's definitely usable. Screen quality still lives up to the hype, though I still need to tinker with the phone settings as the color seems a bit oversaturated. And, for a user of Boost Mobile, this has been the fastest switchover from phone to phone I've ever had. No calling in, no visiting a physical store, not even punching some numbers into an internet portal, just literally took the SIM from my S8, slid it into the new phone, and in seconds I was active. Even the Boost Mobile site had the updated phone information already registered. Cons: Here's where my praise kind of ends. As I said, it's not in Excellent condition. There are two noticeable scratches on the screen. On mid way up the phone from left to center that I can see at arm's length, and one in the lower right quadrant that I can see when the light hits it just right. At lest you can't see them with the screen on. Man, those two hard to get clear images of. I might not have noticed them if I didn't remove the ill-fitting screen protector with plans to replace it. There's some deformation in the bottom right corner as if that's where they used a metal tool to pry up the old screen. It's not sharp, but you definitely notice if you run your finger over it. The charge port is deformed as well. Slight bend on the rear side towards the front. Not enough to interfere with plugging it in, but it's there. And speaking of ill-fitting protections, the camera were covered with a piece of tape. Even after I removed it, it took more than a little work to clean off the adhesive that was left behind. They seller was 'nice' enough to include a cable and charger. The cable is a sub-standard 4 wire USB-A to USB-C. At least the data lines were connected so I could get SOME use out of it, but no chance of any change plugging it into a USB 3.0 port, as opposed to USB 2.0. The charger itself was a basic 5 volt 2.1 amp mini brick. I'm glad I already had the proper charger and cable so I could get the proper charging speed. So understand that you might not get what's advertised. According to Amazon's own policies, this should have been 'Renewed - Acceptable' at best. That $40 difference, from sellers providing the same, I could have put toward a case, proper screen protector, and maybe even a charge/cable bundle. Definitely not worth the full price I paid.