Is there anything special I should know before buying a 5G phone?

5G has been a disaster. Most people I know, myself included, disable 5G upon getting a new phone to avoid battery drain. Unless you live in a major city, 5G access is very limited (at least here in MA), which can cause many phones to drain battery attempting to connect to 5G. Additionally, even when connected to 5G, the speeds are often as slow or slower than 4G.

You should be able to default your phone to 4G/LTE, depending on your carrier. You’re not going to miss anything. If I could buy a 5G-less phone, I would.

The S23 is supposed to be a great phone. Just make sure you but the US version. There are international versions sold in some countries in Europe that have an Exynos chipset rather than Snapdragon. Not only are Exynos chips far inferior overall, the modems are crap, resulting in far worse connectivity and greater battery drain.

In short, buy the phone, disable 5G (unless in major city), and make sure you’re buying US/Snapdragon version.

EDIT: I just read that the S23 is the first S series that doesn’t have the crap Exynos version. You should be good to ignore those concerns. The Samsung Galaxy S23 FE does use Exynos, however.

Samsung S23 is overpriced for what it gives you. Look at the Pixel 8 or 8A which are (a) perfectly good phones with (b) less crapware and© get frequent updates. There are other phones (the ones made by Nothing) that are of good quality.

5G works (at least where I live) and downloads are faster, and service (voice use) is clear as a bell. So it works just fine. It was overhyped, as @hat says, but it does work well.

My carrier – T-Mobile – does not charge extra for 5G. Make sure that your carrier doesn’t charge extra as well.

I have a 5G iphone, it’s about three years old. No problems. I use T-Mobile.

@elbanditoroso – I was a longtime Pixel user that ended up having to leave due to Google’s move to Tensor – specifically because of the Exynos modem (also in the Pixel 8). So, if @jca2 is a Samsung user looking to buy another Samsung, it might make sense to go with the S23, which is the exact same retail price as the Pixel 8, and happens to have a far superior chipset/modem. Samsung users often miss the Samsung UI. And Pixel users are really struggling >= Pixel 6 due to the poor modem. I ended up moving from the Pixel 5a, tried the Exynos modem and couldn’t get a signal here in MA, and ended up going with the iPhone. Still waiting for Pixel to use a real modem before I return.

In November, I purchased a Samsung s23. I recommend purchasing extra power cords as they are flimsy. Also a screen protector for drops. Also consider getting a break insurance, in case you drop it.

I regret purchasing Netflix and other streaming services that I was upselled that I don’t use.

Thank you all for the advice so far.

I’m looking at Amazon and I am considering the Samsung Galaxy a25. Any reviews or thoughts about the a25? It’s $250,unlocked.

I’m a HUGE fan of Samsung. I had an S23 g for 3 years & loved it…except for the price. I live in a small southern town & I wasn’t thrilled with the 5g service when I first got the phone. Then they finally updated the 5g system to where it was more reliable & I love it. Then again, I mostly use my phone as a phone & don’t watch a lot of movies on it nor play a lot of games. I do watch a good bit of YT on it. Now to the 2nd part of your Q…when I got the “new phone fever”, I switched over to the Samsung A series due to the difference in the price. My research indicated that the higher numbered A series are more reliable. I switched over to the A53 5g because it had features closer to the S23 & I saved several hundred $$$. My next “fever” purchase was the A54 5g. I bought the 128gb unlocked phone but it comes with the capability to add a micro SD card up to 1T. I copied all my music onto the SD card without filling up the memory included in the phone. I ALWAYS buy the unlocked phone & simply move the SIM card over to keep on going without having to have a contract with any company. I too use T-Mobile & have been very happy with them.

Whatever you do, no NOT buy your phone through Amazon!!! Once you open the box to get to the phone, it can’t be returned if there’s a problem. I buy mine through Best Buy. I don’t know enough about the A25 to give you any advice other than I love my A54 & I saved about $1K & I’ve not been sorry.

As for the screen protectors @RedDeerGuy1 mentioned, Amazon sells a TPI gel case for about $7.99 that protects the screen as well as a screen protector. Installing a screen protector one handed made me say words I didn’t even know existed where the case was simple to install.

Living in NY, I’d think that you’d have an excellent 5g services available to you. Just be sure to get a phone plan with unlimited use of the 5g or you may have some throttling issues.

@LadyMarissa I’m not sure if Amazon won’t let you return a phone, but because I need it quickly, I am going to go to Best Buy today and then I can get it all set by the end of the day.

Still, Jellies, if you have any advice on the a25, I would appreciate it.

Best Buy has the a25 for the same price as Amazon.

^ Confirm, but I believe Best Buy still has a very generous return policy for most electronics (14 days). So there should be little risk.

Unfortunately, the A25 uses Exynos rather than the Snapdragon used in the S-series. But you may live in an area with strong signal and you might not have any issues.

EDIT: I usually purchase my phones used, so if you end up returning the A-series Samsung and want to upgrade without buying retail, there are good options for used phone, like Swappa.

I’m not planning to get it from Amazon, but just out of curiosity I checked the Amazon return policy. The phone seller is Amazon, which I almost always try to get things sold from Amazon when I buy there. The policy says unopened phone can be returned in its original condition within 30 days, so good advice, @LadyMarissa, you are correct that once it’s opened, they won’t take it back. I am guessing if it’s faulty, it would be dealt with through Samsung Warranty.

I was just looking at a few videos on YT about the a25 vs a35.

I bought the Samsung a25 at Best Buy for 250. It’s 5G, and it’s charging now so I haven’t used it yet.

I see what the tactic at Best Buy is. They offer you an extended warranty (hundreds of dollars), no thank you, and they offer you membership into their club (forgot what it’s called, but you can bring things to the Geek Squad included in it), no thank you, and they offer you their BB Visa card (no annual fee), no thank you. I am guessing some people just say “yes” to everything and make the store extra money, and extra commission for the sales person.

I’ve had a 5G phone for 3 or 4 years. I get coverage where I’ve traveled (Milwaukee, Chicago, Grand Rapids MI, and surprisingly the Michigan Upper Peninsula).

It’s really fast, but that doesn’t matter to me. I avoid using much data when off wifi.

The sales person, who happens to be my neighbor (funny coincidence as I had no clue he worked there), told me he gets 5g coverage around here no problem, and when he goes to FL, he and his wife have it and no problem and if you’re in places where they don’t have it, it just drops to 4g.

I need to get a new charging adapter and one for the car. The two previous Samsungs I had take different chargers.