Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsExcellent condition, unlocked, worked with a European SIM card
Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2023
I needed an unlocked phone to use in Italy and Austria. I bought this S21+ along with an "Orange Holiday Europe" SIM card.
The phone arrived in excellent condition, with no scratches or dents. The screen appeared to have been replaced. After setting it up, I tested it by installing SIM cards from AT&T and TELLO, both worked perfectly - it's definitely unlocked.
Right before the trip, I installed the "Orange" SIM card with the phone powered down. Upon arrival in Italy I powered it up, and it immediately connected to the local service. We used Google Maps to get from the airport to our hotel some 50km's away, no problems at all.
Photos taken on the trip were excellent. We installed Google Translate and Microsoft Translator which worked perfectly and were a real asset in helping us navigate the foreign signs, menus, etc. We also set up Hot Spot and Tethering, and used that along with wireless calling on our US SIM based phones to make and receive free calls and texts to/from US numbers. It all worked as expected with no issues.
There are two minor issues to report.
The battery life was OK, I would start each day at 100% but by end of day it typically had around 30% remaining. My new (locked) S23+ easily gets two days on a single charge.
I did notice a minor blemish on the screen after a week of using it. At first I thought it was just a greasy smear, but no amount of cleaning has managed to remove it. I didn't notice this when I first received the phone so it most likely manifested after use. It would seem to be a flaw with the screen itself. I did not use a screen protector, which may or may not have helped to prevent it from occurring. Fortunately it's close to the bottom of the screen and has not really affected the viewing area, nor has it affected the touch screen in the area of the blemish.
All-in-all I am happy with this phone. I plan to use it for future international trips as it can do what I need without having to pay the $10-a-day AT&T International Roaming plan - that soon gets very expensive with 2 or more phones.