Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (Renewed)
Review: Excellent so far - 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, desertcart 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 desertcart 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
"desertcartrenewed". 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 desertcart 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.
Review: Strong quality. Durable with enough space - Screen is
smaller than a note 10 plus android phone. Camera quality is
good. Connected to my jamaican service easily because its
unlocked.
