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Customer Review
Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2022
UPDATED: I owned the phone for FOUR MONTHS and the screen randomly went black. Tried to troubleshoot with YouTube videos. Tried every hack. Nothing worked. Filed a claim with Asurion. Thankful I bought insurance, although there was a whole separate nightmare with Asurion. Be sure to read my review under Asurion of how deceptive and terrible this insurance company is. Bottom line, I took the phone to a repair shop and learned the "random black screen" is a known issue and common in the Note 20 Ultra 5G. Samsung never issued a recall or addressed it, but nearly every Note 20 Ultra 5G eventually experiences a black screen, and THE ONLY FIX is to get a NEW SCREEN INSTALLED. A new screen runs $299.99 US. Asurion wanted me to pay the $299.99 and that's after I bought a policy for $149.99 and paid a "fee" of $99 + tax, total $109.19 to file a claim. When you buy an insurance policy, you have to pay a $99 fee every time you file a claim. So I was looking at $638 for the phone (excl. tax) + $150 for insurance + $110 to file a claim + $300 for a new screen ALL INSIDE FOUR MONTHS. Do the math, then decide if you should even buy the phone. I was livid when I learned all this. Asurion should be investigated by the FTC for unfair and deceptive business practices. In the end, Asurion paid for the repair, refunded my $109.19 so my investment was still just the cost of the phone and the insurance policy. IF YOU BUY THIS PHONE, BUY THE INSURANCE. Otherwise, be prepared to pay $300 bucks for a new screen when it dies on you.
ORIGINAL 4-Star Review: Phone looks NEW! Fingerprint reader is inferior to Note 8...my last Samsung Note.
Phone looks new. Delivery time was longer than normal. I like the features so far. The fingerprint reader is not so great. Seems slow reading, probably because the technology uses the screen and not a lens like on the Note 8. Older fingerprint readers, like on my Note 8 are faster, although rear placement, it's much faster using the camera lens or whatever the technology is that scans my fingerprint. Bottomline, it's twice as fast. The fingerprint reader on this Note 20 Ultra, which scans from the middle of the lower third of the screen, is slow and feels cumbersome. I'm constantly having to rescan or place my thumb over the fingerprint icon longer. Entering my PIN is faster. I may disable the fingerprint reader. I have to keep my thumb on the screen for 1-2 seconds to get it to unlock. Still new to using the phone. I got this phone as a memory upgrade to my Note 8 and so far I like that I have 512 GB internal and 512 GB microSD so I'm sporting 1 TB combined. Although it may have numerous features I haven't discovered yet, it feels very similar and familiar to my Note 8, which I like. Only one week with this new phone so we'll see how it goes. I may update my review.
ORIGINAL 4-Star Review: Phone looks NEW! Fingerprint reader is inferior to Note 8...my last Samsung Note.
Phone looks new. Delivery time was longer than normal. I like the features so far. The fingerprint reader is not so great. Seems slow reading, probably because the technology uses the screen and not a lens like on the Note 8. Older fingerprint readers, like on my Note 8 are faster, although rear placement, it's much faster using the camera lens or whatever the technology is that scans my fingerprint. Bottomline, it's twice as fast. The fingerprint reader on this Note 20 Ultra, which scans from the middle of the lower third of the screen, is slow and feels cumbersome. I'm constantly having to rescan or place my thumb over the fingerprint icon longer. Entering my PIN is faster. I may disable the fingerprint reader. I have to keep my thumb on the screen for 1-2 seconds to get it to unlock. Still new to using the phone. I got this phone as a memory upgrade to my Note 8 and so far I like that I have 512 GB internal and 512 GB microSD so I'm sporting 1 TB combined. Although it may have numerous features I haven't discovered yet, it feels very similar and familiar to my Note 8, which I like. Only one week with this new phone so we'll see how it goes. I may update my review.
