Last Updated: November 24, 2018 (Refresh Now)

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Overview

Review Summary

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Specs

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Samsung Galaxy S5 Black 16GB Verizon Wireless

Last Updated: November 24, 2018 (Refresh Now)

6.1

SCORE

/10

Total Reviews

1000

Old Reviews

Unverified

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5.1 inches

DISPLAY SIZE

2.5 GHz

PROCESSOR CLOCK

Review Analysis - 968 recent, verified reviews

Detailed Mode

Product Reliability

194

years, ago, samsung, refurbished, shuts

+26%

-74%

" ... I love my s5 (had mine for 5 years but getting tired) so wanted another one, but not this one . ... "

" ... I had to buy a new phone 3 months later. ... "

" ... Samsung said it was defective. ... "

" ... It worked for about 9 months and then the screen stopped working. ... Doesn't seem like anything really lasts these days. ... "

" ... The seller replace it very fast but the second device after 2 month's of use start with some hardware problems. ... 4 months since the purchase and the cellphone goes down. ... "

" ... The phone came blacklisted and was unusable. ... "

" ... Recieved the replacement on Sat and seemed to be all good until Monday as it was doing a System Update it went to an unrecoverable black screen and I will be returning it for a full refund. ... "

" ... not working, do not buy it. ... "

Marketplace

127

refurbished, brand new, described, advertised, counterfeit

+51%

-49%

" ... The phone was exactly as described. ... "

" ... I strongly suggest carefully considering whether or not to purchase a warehouse deal phone. ... "

" ... I verified that it was authentic. ... "

" ... Will recommend and purchase again from seller ... "

" ... Just as described. ... "

" ... This phone is new as advertised. ... "

" ... GOT IT THANKS! ... "

" ... You really have to look at the history and comments on the seller much more than the product when it comes to cell phones. ... EXCESSDEALS was a solid seller that sold me a New phone. ... "

Battery Life

117

charge, hours, battery life, charged, hold a charge

+32%

-68%

" ... Battery died with 35%. ... "

" ... The phone wouldn't stay charged. ... i charged it to 100% and in an hour it was dead. ... "

" ... Battery life was very poor ... "

" ... First it's started by not wanting to charge. ... "

" ... I place my order on November 2017 and after 9 month the battery just awful. ... It wont even last 3 hours. ... "

" ... battery going dead extremely fast. ... "

" ... I like the phone but the battery dies after a few hours of lityke to no use. ... "

" ... I replaced the battery twice and still could not get it to hold a charge. ... "

Charging

charger, charging, battery, charging port, port

+22%

-78%

" ... The phone wouldn't stay charged. ... i charged it to 100% and in an hour it was dead. ... Then it just stopped charging and would not turn on. ... "

" ... Horrible, got the box with a battery, charge cord and ear buds but NO phone ... "

" ... However it was sent with an incorrect charger that made the phone break, it quit charging and turning on. ... I took it for repairs and I was told it quit working because I was using the wrong charger. ... "

" ... Unhappy, I received my first galaxy s5 and doesn't charge well. ... "

" ... First it's started by not wanting to charge. ... Took it into AT&T and they told me the port was going bad so I needed to use a different charger. ... At first it was only once or twice the whole time it was charging. ... Since yesterday every time I charge it it shuts off and on every minute and gets very hot. ... "

" ... It kept turning on and off continuously and now it doesn't turn on unless you keep it charging ... "

" ... I replaced the battery twice and still could not get it to hold a charge. ... "

" ... Second, this phone stopped charging by July 17, 2018. ... I tried new batteries, cables, chargers, and nothing worked. ... "

Returns

refund, returned, returning, return the CAT, purecell

+8%

-92%

" ... How do I return it? ... "

" ... I would of returned this but I need it for work. ... "

" ... I think it was returned for poor functionality and I got stuck with it. ... Now I have this marginal phone outside the return window. ... "

" ... I returned for a refund. ... "

" ... I returned it. ... "

" ... I returned it for a full refund. ... "

" ... It took me several months to attempt to get the phone working and it is too late to return it. ... "

" ... Had to return product. ... "

Delivery

arrived, shipping, delivered, new, shipped

+81%

-19%

" ... Phone arrived in new package works as intended. ... "

" ... Great buy, exactly as described, and delivered quick. ... "

" ... Great phone, arrived much earlier than the projected delivery date. ... "

" ... Worked perfectly when I received it, thanks ... "

" ... I got this phone way ahead of it's scheduled delivery. ... "

" ... Item was as described. ... "

" ... It arrived quickly. ... "

" ... Phone arrived in what appeared to be original box ... "

Price

paid, great price, worth, 200, waste your money

+58%

-42%

" ... Beautiful and worth every penny ... "

" ... Personally for this price range, I think this is the best phone you can get. ... "

" ... It's a good phone, good price. ... "

" ... Note --- it's better than buying a new screen for the cost. ... "

" ... If you are interested in this phone, purchase at your own risk. ... "

" ... Good price but unlock ... "

" ... Saved me a lot of money. ... "

Display Clarity

brightness, scuffing, screen, months, glitching

+10%

-90%

" ... The screen locks up with no warning leaving you to restart just to scroll up or down. ... "

" ... and I am unable to get out of the screen I am in and unable to even turn the phone off, the only thing I can do is take the battery out. ... "

" ... Phone "like new" on exterior, but within a week discovered screen glitch causes it to fail to turn on the screen randomly, rendering phone useless (buttons light up, so the power is on, but blank screen). ... Screen also flickers when on lowest setting, but that is not a terminal problem and a minor issue like that is to be expected with a used phone. ... "

" ... First of all, it came with a defect in the screen, like a screen burn-in. ... "

" ... If I take pictures, then go to view them it just shows me a black screen. ... "

" ... It's been doing great until today when it was sitting next to me, the screen lit up on it's own, and the headphone symbol at the top of the screen turned on. ... "

" ... screen started to flicker green. ... "

" ... The screen became non-responsive before gluing it. ... "

Build Quality

glass, shape, back cover, scratched, many times

+36%

-64%

" ... Not so in this case. ... "

" ... The case on the back is literally crumbling apart. ... Cracking and not once have been dropped AND it has a cover on it too . ... "

" ... My first phone back cover chipped and broke in less than a week. ... "

" ... However, it would break down again every time. ... "

" ... For starters, it's built out of the cheapest plastic I've ever felt, with a rear battery cover so thin that I'm afraid it would shatter if I so much as breathed on it. ... "

" ... Product was advertised as new but the back is cheap replacement plastic that cracks when you take it off. ... "

" ... The back cover slowly peals and breaks off in peaces its very brittle . ... "

" ... I 'might' have been a little more understanding of this issue/failure if I were hard on my phone but I have an otterbox case on it and I've never even dropped it. ... "

Screen Protection

glass, screen protector, dropped, tempered glass, screen went

+14%

-86%

" ... Then the glass in front of the camera cracked and i had to replace it. ... "

" ... Not happy as I had separately bought a protective case and screen protectors for it that. ... "

" ... First of all, it came with a defect in the screen, like a screen burn-in. ... "

" ... My first phone back cover chipped and broke in less than a week. ... "

" ... There's always a screen protector and shock absorbing case on it as well. ... "

" ... Came with some generic screen protector on it, white tape holding the box together at the sides instead of wrapped, and a burned-in screen of the keyboard that clearly visible if you're looking at an all white screen. ... "

" ... The screen was literally peeling off at three corners. ... The screen became non-responsive before gluing it. ... "

" ... Only worked for 5 months and then the screen went black and wouldn't come back on. ... "

SIM

sprint, verizon, sim, new sim card, unlocked

+16%

-84%

" ... Apparently this phone could not be identified as either a locked, unlocked, prepaid or postpaid handset, as well as some other technical issues. ... "

" ... It also did not have a sim card in it. ... "

" ... I wish I could return it but some of my information that was not on my SIM or SD card is locked in the phone. ... "

" ... I had trouble getting my sim card to work and everytime i restart phone it says sim card unavailable despite the fact that it is in there. ... "

" ... Didn't come with a Sprint SIM card which is unfortunate. ... "

" ... no quick start guide or Verizon micro sim recd with phone. ... "

" ... Was not unlocked ... "

Call quality

hear, call, speaker CAT, person, make calls

+18%

-83%

" ... The battery wouldn't hold, speaker phone was bad totally garbled, dropped every call. ... "

" ... Couldn't make calls. ... "

" ... It does this all the time , when I am searching the web, on a call, or when a call comes in and I can't do anything, when this happens except take the battery out and restart OMG. ... "

" ... Can not make calls or receive calls. ... "

" ... Now I can't use it to make phone calls since the other party can't hear my voice at all. ... "

" ... Now in order to make a phone call I have to turn it on speaker. ... "

" ... Had I needed to make an emergency call, there's be no way to do it! ... "

" ... I couldn't hear very well. ... "

Camera

photos, takes, takes great pictures, high quality, terrrrrrribly

+76%

-24%

" ... The S5 has a great camera and the video quality is as good if not better than the most recent galaxys and iphones. ... I've taken thousands of pictures and every single one is very high quality. ... "

" ... Amazing camera quality. ... "

" ... Good back camera quality, nice amount of storage. ... "

" ... Takes fantastic photo' etc. ... "

" ... The bezel around the camera also looked like it had taken a hit or two (see pics). ... "

" ... Great camera, compared to the old S4. ... "

Apps

google, facebook, updated, something like, software

+36%

-64%

" ... Also would not update to latest AT&T software. ... "

" ... Definitely, I don't recommend Galaxy S5. ... "

" ... This is not my first Samsung Galaxy S5. ... "

" ... First of all, this phone came rooted. ... "

" ... The phone comes loaded with dozens of useless apps that you'll likely never use, but you can't uninstall -- things like Play Games, Polaris Office 5, Samsung Health, S Voice, and a garbage Samsung Internet app. ... "

" ... Even after a factory reset with no apps installed, the battery only lasts for one hour now. ... "

" ... But the problem is there a very few NEW Galaxy's S5 available for sale and none for less than $350. ... "

" ... Also, the phone is starting to lag a bit when I try to use the apps on my phone. ... "

Device Compatibility

s5, texts, new CAT, email to work, wont

+42%

-58%

" ... I have only had this phone about 6months, and already is it starting to restart automatically or shuts off while typing a text ... "

" ... It does this all the time , when I am searching the web, on a call, or when a call comes in and I can't do anything, when this happens except take the battery out and restart OMG. ... "

" ... The Samsung version of Siri is just terrible. ... "

" ... I started having issues with texting and verified with my carrier that it was not a network or carrier issue. ... "

" ... I bought one Dec 2016 now in Sep 2017 I want to switch carriers and it did not work! ... "

" ... Wont connect to sprint network although said it was for Sprint. ... "

Software Platform

google, software, updated, email to work, samsung

+31%

-69%

" ... Also would not update to latest AT&T software. ... "

" ... First of all, this phone came rooted. ... "

" ... The Samsung version of Siri is just terrible. ... "

" ... try to reset to factory settings, etc.). ... "

" ... Yet another epic failure my Samsung. ... "

" ... I usually use Spotify, Google Maps, and Facebook Messenger every day. ... "

" ... Apps shut down for no reason, random ads pop up at various times. ... "

Product As Described

advertised, exactly as described, works as advertised, new as advertised, new

+85%

-15%

" ... The phone was exactly as described. ... "

" ... Just as described. ... "

" ... This phone is new as advertised. ... "

" ... Exactly as described. ... "

" ... Item as described. ... "

" ... Item was as described. ... "

" ... The phone is as described. ... "

" ... This phone came to me exactly as it was advertised. ... "

Defective Delivery

condition, received, refurbished, great condition, defective

+42%

-58%

" ... Unfortunately, I question whether the Amazon Warehouse Deal was discounted due to damaged packaging …. ... "

" ... Nothing against the seller, the phone was defective. ... "

" ... it was received defected and not working ... "

" ... so was unaware it was a defective phone. ... "

" ... The phone was defective and appeared possibly NOT to be new. ... However, that does not excuse the fact that the phone was defective and was possibly not new. ... "

" ... Ordered "new" phone, clearly phone is not new. ... "

" ... It is a completely broken mobile ... "

" ... they replaced faulty product after notifying them so ok but not great ... "

Setup

repair, instructions, came, told, technician told

+52%

-48%

" ... It came pretty quickly and was easy for him to set up. ... "

" ... Activation very easy. ... "

" ... this ATT refurbish phone arrrived on time, was securely packaged, and works properly. ... "

" ... It came with earphones, instructions, and everything looked perfectly fine. ... "

" ... 3 hour project. ... "

Lagging

freezes, factory reset, restarting, randomly, whether

+7%

-93%

" ... The screen locks up with no warning leaving you to restart just to scroll up or down. ... "

" ... Constantly shutting down or rebooting . ... "

" ... I have only had this phone about 6months, and already is it starting to restart automatically or shuts off while typing a text ... "

" ... Will not turn on, turn off, factory reset, or reboot in any way. ... "

" ... It freezes frequently. ... "

" ... The camera crashes at times, and when I say crashes, I mean it crashes the phone to the point that you have the remove the battery to get it to turn back on (that's right, the power button doesn't even work at this point). ... "

" ... Also, the phone is starting to lag a bit when I try to use the apps on my phone. ... "

" ... It would freeze and then restart frequently while I was trying to use it. ... After a few weeks, it would restart every couple of minutes whether I was using it, or whether I wasn't. ... I would be sitting on my desk at work just restarting constantly. ... because some of the time it would just turn off and then not restart unless I removed the battery and put it back in. ... "

Original Product

counterfeit, chinese, brand, original box, brand new

+31%

-69%

" ... was not refurbished. ... "

" ... A PIECE OF CRAP!!!! ... "

" ... The phone is a piece of garbage. ... "

" ... This one is junk!! ... "

" ... When I got the phone, it was clearly refurbished when it was labeled new. ... "

" ... It was sold as a "new" phone, but it was clearly refurbished. ... "

" ... I ordered a refurbished phone, not a broken one. ... "

Design

s5, looks great, classic, brand new, spanking

+69%

-31%

" ... It was a beast, tough, rugged, they don't make them as sturdy as this anymore. ... "

" ... Classic phone ... "

" ... Phone looks brand new never used. ... "

" ... Phone looks and operates like a brand new phone, doesn't look like it was ever used. ... "

" ... Looks like new. ... "

" ... I ordered the used S5 so I was nervous of how it was going to look. ... It looked brand spanking new. ... "

ISP

sprint, carrier, sprint network, said, provider

+52%

-48%

" ... I may get this phone again from another provider because I did like it while it worked. ... "

" ... We had a replacement plan with our cell phone provider previously and found that it didn't pay to have it. ... "

" ... Sprint provided me with one for free. ... "

" ... It was an upgrade from his JV3 with verizon. ... It was easy to set up, we didn't even have to contact verizon. ... "

" ... This has the advantage of being out from under a contract. ... "

Ease of Use

CAT is great, user friendly, user, technician, store

+82%

-18%

" ... So switching to the new phone was so easy. ... "

" ... I like the updated phone easy to use and the new features are good but I had s3 for over 4 years never had a problem with service but with this phone from the first day I have horrible service I can barely use my phone at home and even where I had great service before it is not great and have to reboot that's my only complaint. ... "

" ... Just the right size and easy to use. ... "

" ... There's a lot of cool features to toggle, but some parts of it are difficult to navigate. ... "

" ... It was the easiest phone change over I've ever had. ... "

" ... Activation very easy. ... "

" ... still learning how it works. ... "

Fit

dropped, back cover, cover, understanding, splintered

+14%

-86%

" ... I had to glue it back down. ... "

" ... I 'might' have been a little more understanding of this issue/failure if I were hard on my phone but I have an otterbox case on it and I've never even dropped it. ... "

" ... Also, I took off the case off to have Verizon to check it out, the back cover started chipping off! ... "

" ... The phone speaker that you hold up to your ear doesn't work at all. ... "

" ... It was not blacklisted, however, it did show that a financial hold was or may still be on the device. ... "

Sound Quality

unbearable, speakers, sounded, scratched, persistent

+10%

-90%

" ... Also, the speaker is distorted. ... "

" ... The fone is nice but the sound doesn’t work ... "

" ... suddenly screen blank,lights out, weird background noise when talking. ... "

" ... I don't have headphones in. ... "

" ... The speaker phone on the other phone is basicly unusable as well. ... "

" ... The phone isn't for English speakers. ... "

" ... I cannot hear on it. ... "

For Kids

son, loves, daughter, year old son, older

+89%

-11%

" ... My wife uses a cover, My daughter uses an S7 because it has a better camera, but I'm fine with the S5's. ... "

" ... I am still running Kitkat on mine, my kids are running Marshmallow and even the picky teenagers are happy. ... "

" ... Bought this for my girlfriend, she likes it a lot ... "

" ... Nice just bought older model for granddaughter not ready for note 8 yet ... "

" ... bought for son he loves it ... "

" ... Good phone for my 9 year old son. ... "

Controls

placed, click the power, restart, button, responding

-100%

" ... The screen locks up with no warning leaving you to restart just to scroll up or down. ... "

" ... Will not turn on, turn off, factory reset, or reboot in any way. ... "

" ... After a few weeks, the power button quit working, the touch screen didn't respond, and it became very slow. ... "

" ... The phone not turn on. ... "

" ... Also don't like the design of where the power button is placed. ... By responding I mean i press the power button and the screen would not turn on. ... "

" ... there is no voicemail icon or banner that appears. ... "

Cables

charging, charge, power cord, charging cable, charger

+38%

-63%

" ... El único defecto fue el cable que mandaron, no sirve! ... "

" ... I tried new batteries, cables, chargers, and nothing worked. ... "

" ... Sent wrong charging cord attachment (outlet to USB was fine, but USB to phone cord was wrong). ... "

" ... We had this phone a total of 24 hours before the port used for the charge cord came loose, making the phone worthless. ... "

" ... Edit: it is now day three with my new device, and the charging cord has broken off inside of the phone and I had to remove it with pliers. ... "

" ... Doesn't charge with Samsung cord provided. ... "

" ... The cords do not even plug in correctly ... "

Network

reception, weak, gps, verizon, towers

+31%

-69%

" ... Very weak reception at best. ... "

" ... It stays stuck in 3G and won't hold a signal. ... "

" ... I did not receive the same signal, I no longer had service at home. ... "

" ... Had many disconnect/dropped calls, weak signals, garbled conversations, etc. ... "

" ... These phones get terrible reception. ... "

" ... In addition, GPS signal receiver is too weak. ... "

Features

feature, save, tons, tethering, recognize

+46%

-54%

" ... Phone did not function. ... "

" ... Second issue is with the "hotspot-tethering" feature. ... "

" ... light won't even come on now 😠 ... "

" ... While on power save mode. ... "

Cleaning

scratch, wipes, semi, ruined, oil

+62%

-38%

" ... It is what I was expecting - nice clean phone that works perfectly out of the box ... "

" ... Inside and outside cleaned well. ... "

" ... The screen was flawlessly clean, though it's immediately ruined by any amount of oil on your hands. ... "

" ... No scratches or markings of any kind. ... "

" ... Came quickly, clean ESN. ... "

Storage

card, sim card, add an sd, sim, several

+45%

-55%

" ... I wish I could return it but some of my information that was not on my SIM or SD card is locked in the phone. ... "

" ... The SD card slot doesn't work and it has some major scratches . ... "

" ... UPDATE- Ignore my review above- After several days of use I tried to install an SD card- several in fact and it said the card was not supported. ... "

Picture Quality

photos, images, pictures, burned, image section

+73%

-27%

" ... I've taken thousands of pictures and every single one is very high quality. ... "

" ... The picture taking quality is good with adjustment features. ... "

" ... Amazing picture quality and pretty fast on the web and downloading if you got good service. ... "

" ... Turns out the screen has burned in images (see pics). ... "

" ... It seemed like it would lose 70% power with one picture. ... "

Headphones

power cord, honestly, hold, genuine, earphones

+36%

-64%

" ... I don't have headphones in. ... "

" ... The phone speaker that you hold up to your ear doesn't work at all. ... "

" ... Honestly i'd rather have the battery than the earphones. ... "

Fingerprint

unlock, fingerprint, finger print, finger, water

+20%

-80%

" ... And the fingerprint function does not work. ... "

" ... Fingerprint scanner does not work. ... "

" ... It has a fingerprint scanner for security and is ruggedized to be dust and water resistant. ... I don't recommend using the using the fingerprint scanner for unlock unless you're extremely paranoid since you have to slowly swipe your finger over the sensor and it can be a little persnickety. ... "

Water Resistance

waterproof, ruggedized, pool, inside, housing

+40%

-60%

" ... It has a fingerprint scanner for security and is ruggedized to be dust and water resistant. ... "

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Specifications

Performance

Processor Clock: 2.5 GHz

Display

Display Size: 5.1 inches

Recommendations

...

5.1 inches

DISPLAY SIZE

2.5 GHz

PROCESSOR CLOCK

Recommendations

...