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Customer Review
Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2023
durability
i once dropped the phone on the gym floor while i was running, the screen was unaffected, great strength for the exterior chassis and screen stock as is. Carbon fiber is a good material choice for the back & sides of a smartphone. carbon fiber is a strong material.
convenience
like the convenience of dual sim & micro-SD card slot in the SIM tray. I am surprised to see a Chinese/UK smartphone in the u.s.a,the phones of that kind are usually built in a chinese sim reader in to a modular sim reader phone (like the iPhone 10 & 12), or found in China & and regions they are sharing with. on the note of that...i am considering swapping in the example models referenced above swapping in a chinese sim reader in place of a u.s one. the convenience of software upgrades by Samsung helps also. The A03 core has a lot of helpful features and loads of screen brightness for the phone it is. My favorite features being adaptive standby. The android 12 upgrade keeps user data conveniently, just adds the traditional samsung software to the phone. The phone also has a headphone jack, that is also a really helpful feat i found, though also very helpful it does run better on the cellular connection, WIFI is well worn.
downsides
doesn't have screen casting software preinstalled even in the android 12 upgrade. heats up ALOT in a case, don't recommend the phone in a case. connection does tend to degrade over time on newer samsung phones, I think it is just their design because my s20 has degrading cell connection also. why did they ditch the old antenna design on samsung phones? The older antenna design was so much more reliable.
if you are getting worse issues than me, then it is a bad batch from the seller
expected issues with newer samsung phones (it is still usable w/these issues)
-slower Wi-Fi/cellular
other problems that are worse
-not doing POST (power on self-test)
-locked to a SIM carrier
-not running on battery power
-app crashes
issues that can be worked around (any repair associated step requires the correct tools)
-phone in download mode
fix:
1.set it out of download mode or
2.flash the OS on the phone (recommend this route for security & mindfulness of the previous owner)
steps for option 1
-follow on screen instructions to reboot the phone out of download mode
steps for option 2
-connect your phone to a windows or macOS computer
-download the right OS version for the phone (make sure the binary version is correct or it will not flash)
-find a software to flash the phone with (you don't have to populate the user data section)
-select the option to flash the OS
-load the correspondent folders to the sections they belong
-flash the OS & wait for a setup screen
-set up the phone & test functionality
no POST
-repair a short (the screen can sometimes cause this, sometimes a shorted a part on the board)
locked to SIM carrier
-find a website or carrier to unlock the phone
-put a SIM card in it
-enter a code given or let the carrier do it
not running on battery power
1.replace the battery
steps
-remove the screen/midframe (use repair guide to assist in this step and further ones)
-locate & disconnect the battery (if one in there)
-find a working battery replacement (I wouldn't trust eBay on this unless you have sellers there you trust)
-install the battery
-test the phone without sticking in any parts (if it doesn't work, repeat steps starting from locating and disconnecting the battery)
-install the parts w/ adhesive
-test the battery long term
-use the phone
app crashes
-remove the screen/midframe (use repair guide to assist in this step and other ones)
-disconnect all connectors from the motherboard (start w/ the battery)
-remove all screws fastening the motherboard in place
-remove the motherboard
-find working replacement (I wouldn't trust eBay on this unless you have sellers there you trust)
-install motherboard screws (know what screw goes where to prevent long screw damage)
-plug in all connectors (ending with the battery)
-test all parts of the device (try reseating connectors first (make sure there is no dirt or misalignment in the connection, unplug battery first, and plug in battery last) if issue occurs then, remove & replace motherboard if any part isn't working)
-use the device
i once dropped the phone on the gym floor while i was running, the screen was unaffected, great strength for the exterior chassis and screen stock as is. Carbon fiber is a good material choice for the back & sides of a smartphone. carbon fiber is a strong material.
convenience
like the convenience of dual sim & micro-SD card slot in the SIM tray. I am surprised to see a Chinese/UK smartphone in the u.s.a,the phones of that kind are usually built in a chinese sim reader in to a modular sim reader phone (like the iPhone 10 & 12), or found in China & and regions they are sharing with. on the note of that...i am considering swapping in the example models referenced above swapping in a chinese sim reader in place of a u.s one. the convenience of software upgrades by Samsung helps also. The A03 core has a lot of helpful features and loads of screen brightness for the phone it is. My favorite features being adaptive standby. The android 12 upgrade keeps user data conveniently, just adds the traditional samsung software to the phone. The phone also has a headphone jack, that is also a really helpful feat i found, though also very helpful it does run better on the cellular connection, WIFI is well worn.
downsides
doesn't have screen casting software preinstalled even in the android 12 upgrade. heats up ALOT in a case, don't recommend the phone in a case. connection does tend to degrade over time on newer samsung phones, I think it is just their design because my s20 has degrading cell connection also. why did they ditch the old antenna design on samsung phones? The older antenna design was so much more reliable.
if you are getting worse issues than me, then it is a bad batch from the seller
expected issues with newer samsung phones (it is still usable w/these issues)
-slower Wi-Fi/cellular
other problems that are worse
-not doing POST (power on self-test)
-locked to a SIM carrier
-not running on battery power
-app crashes
issues that can be worked around (any repair associated step requires the correct tools)
-phone in download mode
fix:
1.set it out of download mode or
2.flash the OS on the phone (recommend this route for security & mindfulness of the previous owner)
steps for option 1
-follow on screen instructions to reboot the phone out of download mode
steps for option 2
-connect your phone to a windows or macOS computer
-download the right OS version for the phone (make sure the binary version is correct or it will not flash)
-find a software to flash the phone with (you don't have to populate the user data section)
-select the option to flash the OS
-load the correspondent folders to the sections they belong
-flash the OS & wait for a setup screen
-set up the phone & test functionality
no POST
-repair a short (the screen can sometimes cause this, sometimes a shorted a part on the board)
locked to SIM carrier
-find a website or carrier to unlock the phone
-put a SIM card in it
-enter a code given or let the carrier do it
not running on battery power
1.replace the battery
steps
-remove the screen/midframe (use repair guide to assist in this step and further ones)
-locate & disconnect the battery (if one in there)
-find a working battery replacement (I wouldn't trust eBay on this unless you have sellers there you trust)
-install the battery
-test the phone without sticking in any parts (if it doesn't work, repeat steps starting from locating and disconnecting the battery)
-install the parts w/ adhesive
-test the battery long term
-use the phone
app crashes
-remove the screen/midframe (use repair guide to assist in this step and other ones)
-disconnect all connectors from the motherboard (start w/ the battery)
-remove all screws fastening the motherboard in place
-remove the motherboard
-find working replacement (I wouldn't trust eBay on this unless you have sellers there you trust)
-install motherboard screws (know what screw goes where to prevent long screw damage)
-plug in all connectors (ending with the battery)
-test all parts of the device (try reseating connectors first (make sure there is no dirt or misalignment in the connection, unplug battery first, and plug in battery last) if issue occurs then, remove & replace motherboard if any part isn't working)
-use the device
